Sorry about the undetailed info, hows this...
The balance of the bike is great, the trails this time of year are really torn up from the hunters, and so it makes it hard. There is one spot where It was a very steep incline with ruts, with my old bike (the Sherpa), I lost balance, and couldn't climb the hill, but the c'dale was much easier to stay on, and I flew right up it. Probably a combination of new tires for better grip, and a much lighter bike. Most of the downhill spots are very rocky, with large size rocks the size of your fist! Plus they are sharp, so it really is bumpy on your bike. I was suprised becuase its a hardtail, and so I assumed it would still be bumpy, but it seems that most of the hit is in the front, and I was able to come down faster than I usually can. Hope that will clear it up for you...