I used to be a pretty serious (read:addicted) road cyclist. Now I'm looking to get into MTB, after a 3 year hiatus from cycling altogether. I tried MTBing with my wife a few times on her fathers entry level Ironhorse and Trek. We both realized we had fun and decided to buy our own bikes. So, at the beginning, we'll definitely be riding only occasionaly, like on the weekends and vacations. If that develops into something more serious, I cannot say.

I realize the difference between the GT and GF isn't that one is a racing bike and the other isn't. I just want to know that the difference of $250 doesn't come with a catch that I'll regret down the road. I don't mind that the Karakoram is a tad heavier, but I just don't want to find out that that's due to the fact that the frame is made from some cheapo aluminium from melted window frames or something.

These days it's pretty easy for some factory in China to buy the GT name and just mass-produce bikes with the GT logo on them with little to no research or quality control.
Is that the case with GT?