I use to live in South Eastern Pennsylvania, The terrain is so different from park to park, most of my friends and I have a FS and a SS. Have you ever looked into a Steel hardtail with gears? My steel hardtail is equivalent to a 4″ travel 26er full suspension bike and is stable on rocky trails then an aluminum hardtail. Sometimes you can pick up one online for under a grand with top of the line parts such as wheels, hubs, brakes drivetain and not have to worry about replacing pivot points.