Pros: This bike is LIGHTNING fast, very light, extremely responsive, and silent while on the move. The suspension is EXCELLENT! It rolls over rocks, and the rear end bob is way controlled.It is a total masterpiece of workmanship for extreme downhill racing.

Cons: I bought this to replace my old Scalpel 2000 which was a XC bike. I was a little disappointed, since it has it's shortcomings as such. I have finally learned that when doing the really killer downhills, these factors are not important and the bike performs flawlessly.

Recommendation: I would absolutely buy this bike if you want to race hard, or ride a lot of level singletrack, this bike will rock for you. This is my backup, and second bike so I can choose when to ride it. If it will be your only bike, I suggest the Rize , which is another totally insane ride..I review that too. It is very fast on the take off, but seems sluggish when you are going at a clip, and want to really take off..as I said, for downhill racing, non issue.