certainly a less extreme departure from what I am used to. 150mm, slacker angles, smaller wheels, bigger tires. Then I saw the 700's announced this week (and the Norco Killer-B's last week) and I started to doubt the 970 as the right bike for me. I've been worried the 'wagon wheels' and steep angles would take too much of the fun out of the funnest (but shortest) part of the ride. my usual riding (around Vancouver and the 'sea to sky corridor'), while it involves some epic climbs, the decent are always STEEP and gnarly. But this would be my first 29er, I have not done any significant riding on a 29er before (beyond a parking lot), and I am nervous about going from a slack 170mm down to a pretty steep 120mm for my every day bike. Seems to be specifically designed for the kind of riding I am doing. The Altitude 970 caught my eye for its reputation to be durable under big riders (#1 concern), a great climber, and a pretty good descender. (any bike that survives 8 years of clydesdale abuse including 5 test of metal finishes deserves to be commended!) The 40+ lbs Gemini is not the ideal for most of the riding I do now, but it has held up to some pretty extreme abuse. But over they years I have shifted my focus to more endurance cross-country riding, including the occasional endurance race (finished my 5th 'Test of Metal' on the Gemini this June. When I got it, it was a perfect fit for my usual riding on 'freeride' end of the AM range (with the occasional whistler bike park trip), the Gemini (170mm 26er) was perfect for this. It is my do everything bike, but is getting long in the tooth, and is less fitting now than it was then. Some background, I'm BIG 6'6" ~270lbs, I have been riding a Cannondale Gemini 900 for the past 8 years. Any suggestions/opinions on my dilemma would be appreciated. I've been contemplating various 'Trail' 29ers and thought I had my choice narrowed down to the 970, and I have an opportunity to get one of the last new 2012 XL 970's, but with the 700's announced this week I am starting to have second thoughts.
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