most confidence inspiring bike I've ridden, and I've had trek slash, yeti SB6, and quite a few others. I also use a FOX36 170mm fork. I'm going on 48, and want to keep doing this for quite a while as I ride almost every day (gotta love California weather for all-year riding). I often compare the bike to a cadillac, or to a town car, as going over chunky stuff, rock gardens, etc., is just super-smooth on this bike. Granted, it is a big bike and my particular config weighs about 32 lbs. Super confident in the downhills.

going uphill. I'm working out more often with kettle bells and various other weights to build up my legs so I can push this bike uphill like I've come accustomed to with my other bikes. It's just a tough bike to get uphill, so highly recommend getting 12 gears. Once you're up hill, there's nothing you can't ride down, nothing...