Hi everyone,

Decided to post after lurking and taking the time to read this thread because this is precisely what I was looking for. Props to Raiyn for starting this.

I've gone to two LBS (I'm learning the jargon) that I'm pretty happy with. I am leaning towards one more than the other only because they're a dedicated bike shop whereas the other also sells hockey equipment (Hey, this is Canada). I spoke with the people at the two shops and came away with a list of bike models that I was going to research further. That's when I came across this thread and decided to take some of the info found here, the info from the various manufacturer's web pages and input from a buddy of mine who is a hardcore mountainbiker.

My first draft is attached below as an image. I will update it as I get further input. The pink highlighted fields are what has been described as "to avoid". The green is what has been described as "desirable". The yellow has been described as "okay". Obviously any input, corrections and obviously any RECOMMENDATIONS are greatly appreciated.

You'll notice that I've only stuck with Giant, Gary Fischer, Kona, DeVinci and Specialized because that's what these two LSBs carry.

EDIT: I will take the time to test ride the bikes once I've brought the list down to a few.