John,Jeff and mulehead. Thanks fo your response all very helpful. As I can’t and don’t want to spend 3 or 4K on a bike. So it’s good to hear that at least “some” of the new lower end components are much better than they were, back in the day. Right now I’m still leaning toward a 27+ but am hearing good things about 29’s. The search continues. Meanwhile the old stumpjumper keeps rolling along. Thanks again.