Hmm, all great advise guys! What’s funny is I was 100% sold on getting a bike with at least 140mm travel fork, BUT…Bike Nerd as I was reading yours I thought ‘you know, my bike now is 120mm and the fork works really well, so do I ‘need’ more in the front’? Maybe your suggestion about a lighter less forked bike is a good route to consider!
edulmes, I live kinda near DC so I have a TON of trails nearby, everything from downhill to uphill, rocky, rooty, etc. ‘most’ of the trails I ride aren’t super rocky/rooty though.
Regarding the Xfusion, I have their McQueen HLR fork on my bike now and it’s awesome, BUT, I did have their dropper post fail after about 10 months of owning it. One problem I’ve identified with the Release is their Dropper comes with a 170mm which will be too much for me, so I’d have to swap it out. That’s cost there. 🙁
I may have looked into the Giant Trance X 29, but I’ll look at it again. I really appreciate the comments!