one other bike to consider is the pricepoint sette 29er. well thought out geometry, and AWESOME component spec for the price if you are comfortable working on your own bike. I think its $1200 for a reba, x7/x9 group, elixir CR with g3 rotors, and mavic tn719 rims to xt hubs. total bike weight is only 26 lbs for a medium.