Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
The only problem I have with the bikes you mentioned is that they come with suspension forks, low costing suspension forks are more trouble then they're worth. They are heavy, non responsive, they take more energy to push the bike forward, they won't last long and when they do break it will cost you almost as much for a new bike! Really, the only thing a suspension fork is good for is down hill racing! But you can't do that with a low end fork because it will be destroyed after the first run, not to mention they won't follow the contours of the trail well at all.
I know suspension forks look macho and all, but the reality is you're wasting money, if you want a good suspension fork you have to spend at least $900 on a bike to get one with a decent entry level fork.
I personally think you should be looking gravel bikes, but that's just my opinion.
I agree with the advice of
rekmeyata. I've been riding for awhile and go mountain biking quite a bit and I ride a completely rigid frame bike, no front or rear suspension. Granted, I'm not doing anything too technical but I'm not on the bunny hill either. Unless you are doing serious mountain biking, suspension is unnecessary and only adds cost to your bike. I used to have a full suspension 29er that was fairly expensive. The one thing that I hated about it the most was how much maintenance the suspension required and how much it cost me. Having a suspension fork is all good and well until it doesn't work and then you realize you're riding around on a boat anchor that is going to cost you more money to get serviced. So if money is tight, suspension is not your friend. For regular riding adjusting your tire pressure a little can go a long way to compensating for not having suspension.
Also, I obviously don't know the market where you live but I would think that for $680 you could get a very nice used bicycle and have it tuned and serviced at a local bike shop.