For a budget of $750, you will be best to look at quality used or consider smaller brands.
- Full suspension at that price will be a pile of **** thrown together. No shops even sell full suspension at that price and for a reason.
- Forks that come on bikes for $750 and less are spring instead of air- this means they are heavier and cant be tuned as well. Not all spring forks are bad, but most spring forks are underwhelmingly designed.
- You dont need full suspension to have fun on trails. You also dont need aggressive enduro/downhill geometry to have fun on the trails. In fact, if you ride trails that are relatively twisty, then the modern MTB geometry(slack head tube) may be frustrating because at slower speeds its like driving a tank when you want to drive a fiat.
- a 1x drivetrain where there is only 1 ring on the front is great for MTB and especially beginner riders as there is less thinking about what and when to shift. 1x is still usually on mid-upper level models though.
- hydraulic disc brakes come in many levels of quality from **** to great. My kids have some pretty basic Shimano Hydraulic brakes that work great- they are Alivio level which is pretty entry. Just an fyi to not expect all Hydraulic brakes to work great(especially entry level tektro and promax brand).
**in general, bicycle supply is seriously low right now. between china being shut down from their new year thru the end of covid combined with a serious increase in demand due to life otherwise being shut down- a lot of people want bikes this spring. Multiple shops around me are nearly sold out of anything under $1500, regardless of if its road, MTB, gravel, or kids. While a list of suggestions is below, who knows what your local shops have in stock. Its best to see what they have in stock in your size, then research that. A general rule- nothing at a bike shop will have the value(either lower cost or higher spec components) of online, but the bike shop is great for beginners because they can provide in person advice and assistance to reduce confusion.
In your budget-
Giant Talon 2- its older geometry, but that means it isnt long and slack in the front center and could be excellent for the riding you describe.
Cannondale Trail 5
Trek Marlin 7
A bit over your budget-
Kona Mahuna
COOP DRT 1.2
Marin Bobcat Trail 5
Trek Roscoe 6
Kona Blast
Edited to add- forgot to list the Jamis models. Hipoint and hijack are their 29er and 27.5 models that have quality components for the price. One offering is within budget and one is just above budget for each model. The geometry is not extreme too.
