Originally Posted by mcmoose

To follow up on saeyedoc's comment, it does seem your main choice is whether or not to go with a front suspension (e.g., the DS line) or not (e.g., the FX line). If you do go with the FX line, I would suggest moving up to the 7.4. I've had my 7.3 for about a year now, and the only thing I don't like about it is the aluminum fork -- straight-blade aluminum forks pretty much send every vibration and shock right up to the handlebars. The 7.4 gives you the carbon fork, which is more forgiving (although not as forgiving as a front suspension).

Ironically, the steel forks on the lower-end FX bikes are more forgiving that the aluminum on the 7.3 -- however, you pay the penalty of weight. If you have the money, I'd use that weight to "buy" a lock-out suspension, as saeyedoc suggests.