If 7you could demo a bike for a week, or ask a buddy to help you dabble or borrow one…. find out how serious you want to be about mtb, and level of commitment you think that you will input the future. pencil out how much you can afford to spend, save your money and get a decent hard tail FOR YOUR ABILITIES…. have fun… sound like this bike might be setting you up to throw good money after bad…..pencil out… 300 dollar bike that has 100 dollar/month maintenance, or $1200 bike that you probably wont have to put money on for the first year would not only be cheaper but lets consider the following.
1) a bike in the shop is a bike your not riding, and you are spending money on at the same time.
2)how much as enjoyment worth to you in literally .
3) any resale value (not with the 300 most likely)
4) having something worth upgrading or building on (don’t but fox 34 on a used 300 bike).
5) if you end up going full steam ahead with mtb, then you will have a beloved hard tail, first bike worth upgrading, stress and exercise minimization, and other factors that are undervalued by to many people when getting a bike.
….finally…. thank god for biking and enjoy