Is it right to assume when you say "new in Spring 2011", you intend to buy a 2011 model, or do you just mean "new" to you? I have an ’09 Gary Fisher Marlin (which I later put BB7 disc brakes on) and I absolutely love it. You surely wouldn’t have to upgrade any of the parts within the first month (or year, for that matter). I’ve had mine for almost 2 years and the only replacements I’ve made were purely by choice rather than necessity. The only other manuf’s that I test rode when I was bike shopping were Cannondale (F5) and Raleigh (Mojave 8.0). I liked the cannondale a lot, but there was something about the Fisher that just felt better to me. Anyways, hope this at least provides some insight. I know there are folks on these forums with much more experience & knowledge than myself, so hopefully they can shed some light as well. Good luck!