Yeti sounds cool but the nearest dealer is 2,000 miles away so I've never ridden one. Also the geo is the same as my trek on their 5 inch bike, just a better suspension pivot.

The wheels are another good idea, i built all the wheels on all my other bikes. I'm running the stock wheels, some no-name shimano hub and bontrager duster rims, straight gauge spokes. I like the offset spoke bead on the duster rims but the hubs are complete crap; the cones keep loosening up every few rides and I'm sure the races are going to be shot pretty quick. Otherwise they've stayed true since their initial re-tensioning.

If I got new wheels and disk brakes I could put the old wheels and brakes on my loaner bike which has V-brakes now...

Hmmmmmmm

Chris Bling hubs but what rims? I weigh 180 and do mostly rocky rooty XC trails, no big drops or super gnar.