I am a total beginner but have been keen on getting into mountain biking for a while.

My company will soon be joining the bike to work scheme so I thought I'd take the opportunity on to buy my first bike.

After having a little look around I think I'll get one of the following bikes:

Ridgeback MX5 2010

Carrera Fury 08 or 09

GT Aggressor XC1 or XC2

Boardman Sport 09

Which of these would you recommend and what would be your order of preference?

Thanks in advance

Most important is fit, and then spec comes next - especially frame and fork.

But if the Boardman fits, go for it.

As above regarding fit/feel and the Boardman. Also, look at one of these - :

Iron Horse Sunday World Cup

You know this stopped being funny months ago, yes?

If you're buying it on the C2W scheme it's worth paying a little extra per month and getting a slightly better bike.

On our C2W scheme the total cost works out at about 60% of the rrp and was spread out of 18 months.. hence I decided to go for a £1k bike