first stinky was in 99, but it was a direct copy of the 98 stab. and pedal bob city? compared to a hardtail maybe, but i dont think its bad at all, and i dont use a platform shock and my bike weighs a svelt 44lbs on my bathroom scale. and i trail ride the thing, single ring and all. stop whining about bob and either get stronger or learn to pedal better, a smooth stroke will make almost any bike "pedal well" and a crappy stroke will make almost anything pedal like crap.