a week ago i made a silly thread asking if it was ok to swap suspension + hydraulics. based on the reviews & internet research i thought this was reasonable but turns out they don't always translate to reality. only today did i see the mountain bikes for the first time...and realized how ridiculously and naive i was being. the front suspension was awesome! my lbs & rockshox indicated that the fork is reasonably easy to maintain. i'm not giving it up for a pound of flesh no wonder people were puzzled. my bad. likewise, i went to the shop with precise numbers of standover etc. in mind and none of that seemed to really translate. a bike that was supposed to be too big according to charts was too small! moral of the story is that hard numbers, reviews, and forums are great resources but they don't always translate very well to a test ride or reality. i am newbie and still learning the obvious. i can't wait for my trek cobia to arrive

Wish I'd learned that one early myself. Lotta crap out there. Remember, you're riding a bike, not a spec sheet.

Well, you do your research and daydreaming. Then you find just what you want, and it was none of the above, but you like what you got.

I am on a forum often used for relationship advice. Lots of advice offered, some serious, some not, and much contradiction. Maybe the discussion helps the OP make his own decision, and it's completely different from anything that's offered. So long as it doesn't hurt, it might help.