Originally Posted by
samburger
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...0+08+Bike.aspx
The Komodo is practically sponsored by one of the forum mods
It's a super strong frame more than worthy of building up on, but still comes with a solid fork & components. It leans more towards the dirt jumping style MTB (MTB dirt jumping, in essence, is really no different from dirt jumping on a BMX bike) so ergonomically it's going to be worse for fire roads & XC trails.
It's a cool bike and you can't beat the price. The Komodo I (which Sam linked to) actually has a fork that sets it up less as a DJ and more as an AMHT, though you could put a 100mm fork on there and make lean more towards the DJ side (that's the route the more expensive and slightly nicer spec'ed Komodo II goes). Alternately, you can slacken it out even more with a bigger fork. The fork that particular bike comes with is pretty much crap, but unfortunately, you won't find a great fork on a cheap bike. The good news is you can easily upgrade it later on down the line. It's heavy and overbuilt for fire roads, road riding, and easy trails though, so if that's your purpose, you may want to look elsewhere.
Only other thing I'll mention is that Cannondale's and Giant's entry level stuff is fine. C'dale takes a lot of heat around here for whatever reason, but really, their stuff is perfectly fine. At a given price point, barring any sales, the offerings from all four of the companies you mentioned will be roughly equal, so it comes down to which one's geometry fits you best (and one of them WILL ride better than the others for you).