I bought a used gary fisher sugar 293, 29er full suspension, bike earlier this year. I didn’t set out to buy a 29er but it was the first bike I bid on on e-bay that didn’t end up going way over what I thought it was worth. My old bike is a low-end iron horse hard tail so its not really a fair comparison but I do like the gary fisher better 
. I’m not a big guy at 5’10" and a 150lbs but it fits me well. I don’t know how much of its the 29" wheels, the FS, or just the fact this bike isn’t too damn big for me but my confidence has gone way up along with my speeds and climbing ability.