Brake hoods just give you a little bit of a cushion to make it more comfortable to rest your hands on top of the brakes. Better bang for the buck would be a bit of foam pipe insulation cut to size, secured with a bit of electrical tape.
Save your money, ride this bike, learn how to maintain it, but avoid putting money into it. You'll need that money to buy the bike that the Murray will help you learn that you will really want.
Go to the Park Tools website for lots of bike repair help.
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Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer