Novice buying choice

[Midlifecrisis71]

Folks

Sorry to barge in on a new part of PH for me, but I havnt been on a bike since I was 20 and I'm now 44 and need to do something to be a little fitter. I cant do Gym's and I don't fancy running, so I like the idea of a mountain bike.
Things seem to of moved on from my Raleigh Tough Burner or Peugeot road bike days, so I would appreciate advice

I have been looking for a MTB that can handle 30-90 minute rides on muddy tracks and potentially the odd forest excursion. As I'm not sure how enthusiastic I will remain in the coming months, my budget is say £300. I will add extra budget for shorts, jacket, lock etc etc

Option 1: Diamondback Sync 3.0 (main attraction is hydraulic disc brakes) - £350 new or £300 ex-demo
Option 2: GIANT ATX 27.5 2015 model - reduced to £270 brand new (cable disc brakes)

Should I go for the DB ex-demo as it has hydro brakes ? or the Giant as its brand new & cheaper ?
Any advice welcome
Thanks

[LarryUSA]

I am strictly an amateur MTB and road biker. Cable brakes are no problem on the road bike as they are barely used. I wouldn't consider anything other than hydraulic disc brakes on the MTB though. Even in my fairly basic usage I've been down some tough runs that cause me to be hard on the brakes for a long period of time. For me, that is the most essential part of the bike and they last ages. In fact, I've never replaced my pads....

[Kermit power]

The Voodoo Hoodoo (from Halfords, but don't let that put you off!) seems pretty well rated at that sort of price point. It's currently on at £399, but people generally pop up on here telling you how to get that down further.

Also take a look at paulscycles.co.uk who specialise in discounting prior year models.

The buy/sell section of pinkbike.com might also throw up something nice near you if you're happy with the idea of buying second hand. Downside is that you might have to replace bearings and the like, but the upside is that you'll get potentially a lot more bike for your money.

I'd definitely go with hydraulic brakes if you can. It's not so much for the extra stopping power - if you're riding off road, then you're unlikely to need full anchors on even on cable brakes to lock up the tyres - as for the better modulation (ie, more sensitivity) and the fact that hydraulic calipers are self-adjusting, whereas mechanical ones will require manual adjustment as the pads wear.