Originally Posted by mstateglfr

Someone comes to you with a $300 budget and you tell him to buy new from a shop and increase it(already said he cant) and to get a carbon fork(not gonna happen at that price) as well as avoid standard components on everything up to twice his budget.

oh, or get a single speed. Ha, yeah.

sure, front suspension on budget bikes is typically not durable, but he plans to ride 30mi a week at most. Pretty sure holding up to singletrack isnt a concern.
oh, and the suggested seatpost that costs probably $140 thru your shop sealed it. Strong work there.