Wow- now ain’t that a loaded question…..
Who’s the hottest actress?
What’s the best beer?
What’s the best dog breed?
etc……
Ask 10 people and get 10 different answers.
Isn’t this what makes this country so great? We can have debates over toys that cost (in some cases) several thousand dollars.
My short veriosn answer would be – its hard to go wrong. So many manufacturers making excellent products. Whether or not they have been producing quality bike for 30 yrs or not is irrelevant. There are many engineers/builders/designers/welders/… that have worked for multiple companies (Pivot is a good example). I think my ride is the best, my buddies all think theirs is the best,,,some are on 29ers and some on 26ers…..it also depends on where you ride and how you ride.
Since this response is long enough I’ll say there’s my $0.05 worth.