I do still have this bike. It's good for the purposes you mentioned. It's a little heavy at 28 lbs. Other than that, its a good bike, imo. I just took it for a ride tonight.
The only other bike I've thought about is the Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross frame, but its a canti frame.
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dr_lha, that reminds me. Are your canti's noisy? I've always dodged canti's due to the goose call syndrome that all seem to have.