I'll just add my two bits here.
I rode the bike three times - and primarily on very steep DH-worthy technical terrain. It did take some time for me to feel comfortable on the bike. And by some time I mean about 30 seconds. If felt immediately comfortable. The bike gets on the back wheel easily and can be bunny hopped more easily than most 29ers I've ridden. It readily changed direction and swapped sides of the trail. On the gnarly trails I was riding the 5.5 made me feel more confident than usual and I even hit a few lines I'd never attempted. Because I wasn't testing the bike, I left the rear set up for Dave, who outweighs me by 25 lbs or so, and the quality of the travel was so good that the wheel wasn't hanging up or bouncing me at all. (admittedly for the rides I did virtually all the weight was on the fork and I would have tweaked it for other scenarios). And yet for all its dh capability the 5.5 is a venerable pedaller. I did manage to sneak in a few tech climbs and it made life easy. Unlike some people I have no issues climbing slack bikes with big forks so your results may differ. The SB5.5 is a winner.
Nov. 28, 2016, 4:47 p.m. - Cam McRae
I'll just add my two bits here. I rode the bike three times - and primarily on very steep DH-worthy technical terrain. It did take some time for me to feel comfortable on the bike. And by some time I mean about 30 seconds. If felt immediately comfortable. The bike gets on the back wheel easily and can be bunny hopped more easily than most 29ers I've ridden. It readily changed direction and swapped sides of the trail. On the gnarly trails I was riding the 5.5 made me feel more confident than usual and I even hit a few lines I'd never attempted. Because I wasn't testing the bike, I left the rear set up for Dave, who outweighs me by 25 lbs or so, and the quality of the travel was so good that the wheel wasn't hanging up or bouncing me at all. (admittedly for the rides I did virtually all the weight was on the fork and I would have tweaked it for other scenarios). And yet for all its dh capability the 5.5 is a venerable pedaller. I did manage to sneak in a few tech climbs and it made life easy. Unlike some people I have no issues climbing slack bikes with big forks so your results may differ. The SB5.5 is a winner.