When I lock out the fork on my MTB, it doesn't have any travel. In don't know how much 'hard suspension' (?) it has when locked out, but I suspect it's less than the rigid forks on my hybrids which are curved to allow flex.

I haven't ridden off-road with my MTB, but I suspect the inexpensive suspension fork would be an asset even though it's not the best quality or design. I rode and raced mountain bikes before Paul Turner developed RockShox. Suspension was a great improvement for mountain bikes.

I wonder how the stock forks on my $700 2010 MTB compare to those early designs?