Help! Buying advice

Hi,

I am looking to buy a bike and would like some, advice or at least someone to play devils advocate against my rational.

I live in New Zealand and so a fair few options are cut out due to the exorbitant cost of shipping. Also I get a really decent discount at a specific local retailer through work so in terms of ‘Bang for buck’ I am keen to stick with the options they have. With that said I am completely open to ideas / options.

I am specifically looking for a hard-tail trail bike, something I can do some longer trails with friends on but also throw down a hill and still enjoy.

I have so far been tossing up between

Trek Roscoe 7
Probably the bike I am most keen on.

Whyte bikes 529
Highest price by a fair bit. I like the aggressive angles,

Whyte bikes 801
Literally just a cheaper version of the above, same price as the Roscoe 7 but with slightly lower spec components

Giant Fathom 2 29″
Second most expensive though not by much, Seems fairly run of the mill for this price point although I have read some really good anecdotal reviews about this.

Does anyone have any experience with these bikes and would or wouldn’t recommend any. I’ve not really heard much about the Whyte bikes so I would especially like to hear if there is any feedback on them. One of the staff at the shop raved about the Whyte range and another persons rated the Roscoe 7 just based on specs.

Any help would be great!