Guys, thanks for the great feedback. Some really good advice here, and lots to respond to.
Before I bought my Fischer Paragon, I seriously considered getting a FS 26er. That was three years ago, when 29ers were just coming onto the market here in Toronto area. They were few and far between - I think they were much more common in the US in 08. So, shopping for a new bike to replace my 20 year-old steel rigid 26er, I first started test riding aluminum hardtails, and hated every one of them -- way too harsh riding. And the FS 26ers that I was testing, or borrowed from friends for a couple of hours, were simply underwhelming in their performance -- so much energy lost from pedaling, poor acceleration, lazy handling... boring! I was despondent. The compromises on either side were too great for me to live with. I thought I'd never find a suitable bike, until I test rode a couple of the few 29ers available here, and LOVED them!
So, I ended up with an aluminum hardtail 29er, which gave me exactly the kind of ride I was looking for (well, almost). Ful-suss 29ers were just not available at the time -- I think Specialized made one, but I wasn't confident that the design was any good. In the meantime, however, the design of rear suspension has really improved, to the point that I would actually consider buying one now. My brother just bought a new DeVinci FS 26er, XC geometry, and I gotta say it impresses even my skeptical mind. But for my height (6'2") the 29er size just "fits", and feels right. But whether I would go FS in a 29er? Hmmm.....probably not. For a couple of reasons.....I would rather learn to ride the rough stuff on a hard tail, and improve my skills, than give up the immediacy and connection to the ground that I love about a hard tail. And, I kinda miss the feel of steel. BW -- you're bang on, those frames have a way more compliant feel than aluminum. They feel supple, but powerful. Ask Gary here on the forum how he feels about his new light aluminum road bike vs. his old and heavier steel frame bike.....
Now that 29ers are everywhere here, there is a lot more choice available -- eg. just saw a sweet Reynolds frame single speed Marin in our little local shop...brilliant. So, my next bike will most likely be another 29er hardtail, but either Reynolds or Ti frame. In the meantime, I'm very happy with my Paragon. It was close to the top of the Fischer XC line at the time, and has great geometry, decent frame quality, good components (SRAM X-9, Fox fork, etc.).....but, the aluminum frame could be more comfortable, and I find the rear triangle a bit too mushy when really cranking on the torque.
Having said all that, thanks for the riding advice. That is something I really have to practice -- to keep pedaling over rough terrain. Not only climbs, but on flats as well. There are trails here that have long flat sections that are riddled with roots large and small. Keeping momentum up on that stuff without sitting down and giving my butt a thrashing hasn't been easy. Will seriously look at wider tires to give me more cush. The Bontragers on there now are 2.2 nominally, but actually measure only 2.1 or so. Will look at some 2.3s for sure (see other thread).
So, I definitely have to work on balance with butt off the seat while pedaling rough sections. Liam, your point about weight on the balls of the feet, finding balance, and relaxing more is good stuff. I am constantly catching myself tensed and clenched, and have to mentally force myself to stay loose and relaxed. When I do, it is all SO much easier, but it doesn't come instinctively yet.
BW -- like you, my wife and I took a long hiatus from mtn. biking to raise our kids and run our business. Now that we have more personal time (a little bit, anyway), we are really enjoying getting back into the sport, and are relearning so many of the techniques that we got so good at 16 years ago on our old heavy steel frame rigid bikes. And now our daughters are riding with us, and loving it too. We're teaching them, and they're teaching us too (indirectly, just by us watching what they do
)......Fun!
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