...obviously I would prefer the better components as well...
Agreed. I think better components are very worthwhile for better performance and a more pleasurable ride. Smoother shifting, smoother braking, less friction, less weight, less tiring. But further to my point below, good components can help make a good frame into a great bike. And even with mediocre components it'll still be a good bike. Whereas if you start with a poor frame, even the best XO or XTR can't turn it into anything more than a mediocre ride. Which is, I think, exactly what you were saying about Trek/Specialized.
I'm very curious now to see how some of the new bikes feel and perform compared to my Paragon. Will post back at the end of summer and let you know if it's worth switching. What's encouraging, is that the prices don't seem to have climbed much. You can still get a well-outfitted 29er hardtail for under $2500, and that's full list. And there is so much more choice out there now, which is brilliant.
On the subject of the rise in popularity of 29ers, I rode with my 13 year old daughter last evening in our local forest, and we watched some of the weekly Tuesday night race that was going on. I would say that about 50% to 60% of the bikes in the race were 29ers. Remarkable. Only 2 years ago that number would have been 5% to 10%. And of 29ers we saw, about one third were of the fully rigid variety -- carbon or chromoly fork only. Not sure if any were single speeds, though, but I'm sure there were a few. Cool!
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