I'm looking at these 3 bikes, any thoughts/advice?

[Hobbio]

Hi

I'm looking to get a bike, for on and off-road riding. I've kind of settled on the 3 below, as I live about 2 mins from a Merida dealer and I know they are a decent make.

The cheapest option I'm considering is this one here. It's more road-biased, but will handle trails. It's £375.

The next option is this one. It's an upgrade on the bike above, with hydraulic disc brakes and hidden cables. It's £500.

The third option is a 29er, obviously more biased towards off-road. It costs £550, and although it's probably more than I'll need off-road at the mo it does give me the option to go for it if I want to. I don't know if it'll be compromised on the tarmac though. I also happen to think it's sexy as hell

Any thoughts? I'm leaning towards the Big Nine, but I really don't know if it'll do what I want it to on the road.

Or am I over thinking it?

In a bit

 

[Pale Rider]

I have a 29er and the rolling resistance on the road is lower than the 26" bike I had.

Much depends on the tyres, my 29er has Marathon Supremes which are semi-slick.

Knobblies are hard work on asphalt and some don't like lots of road use.

 

[Hobbio]

It comes on Maxxis Crossmark 29er 2.1 wires, and from what I've read they're designed for hardpack. I suppose there's nothing stopping me getting a set of more road biased tyres for it as well.

I've been checking the local area and it looks like I can get to the places I'd want to take it without spending too much time on tarmac anyway.

Thanks for responding!