I currently ride an 09 Rockhopper 26er and recently demo'd (demoing, I just can't give it back!) an '11 Stumpjumper Comp hardtail 29er and am quite impressed w/ the bike. I had the thought process that 29ers would be slow, unresponsive etc, but I'm really impressed w/ this bike. Maybe it's because it's higher up the line than my Rockhopper or maybe it's the 29er wheels. It seems to roll up and over rocks logs steps etc w/out issue. I also switched from a 19" frame (Rockhopper) to a 17.5" frame (Stumpjumper) and that seems to make it feel more responsive. I'm not sure, but I'm currently liquidating my vintage road bike collection to fund a purchase of a demo bike (that has XTR cranks instead of the ones that come stock and fall off). Just my thoughts