My first thoughts the second I jumped on the bike was how comfortable it was. Coming off of two years on 29er race bikes it was nice to get on a bike that was comfortable, my next concern was how that comfort was going to climb. I started to head up the dirt road to the top of Lincoln Hills and was pleased, the front end wanted to wonder a little bit but nothing a little slide forward on the seat would not take care of. The fork absorbed every small bump with ease, but as Alex acknowledged, it had a harsh top out on the rebound. Something that would be unacceptable on a high priced bike but something that could be tolerated on an entry level bike. The brakes took a bit to get used to, but they did stop in an on/off fashion but I have high hopes that after they burn in a little (something that all disc brakes need) that they will have good stopping power. I am also not going to touch the bike as far as tune-up or wipe down for 2 months, which is the amount of time we expect to see a new bike back for a warranty tune. I will lube the chain to stay happy though. I will try and keep ya posted on things that come up.