I primarily mountain bike, just ride the road for daily workouts mostly. If you are building on a budget, go rigid with the fattest tire you can find. I wouldn't bother with any of the budget suspension forks. I mostly ride a Monocog 29er and a Salsa Fargo on trails now, both are rigid. I had tried a Manitou air fork on the Monocog for a spell, but it didn't hold up. I had broken the stock forks on my old Specialized Rockhopper and Hardrock before I went rigid on everything 6 years ago.