I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick one of these up when they become available in a month or two. It's a singlespeed but I can put gears on it. It is a road bike but I could put cyclocross tires on it and hit some dirt. I have a steel 29er frame sitting around I was going to build up for road use but I think this might actually be cheaper in the long run.
http://www.salsacycles.com/casserollCompSS08.html
http://www.salsacycles.com/casserollCompSS08.html