I bought the Trek fro $600 and its been a good bike and I also fitted a child seat to this bike to carry my son on it too. The gears and brakes are very fiddly to adjust but then all new bikes are like this now. Its a very stable bike and comfortable on long rides. Even with my son on the back the V brakes work fine and the bike is still very stable. A good budget known brand mountain bike.
The weight of the bike and the qaulity of the parts
I would prefer disc model and I did have a rear rim fail but this may have been to incorrect brake adjustment.