I'm baaack

Gents, my shoulder is healed, doc says I can ride again, I'm fat and don't want to be, and now I'm not a broke guy stringing together bikes with hand-me-down parts or used stuff that I repair with JB weld (RIP, Fox forks).

I have a few different options in mind, looking primarily at Trail / AM / Enduro / buzzword bikes but I'm leaning quite heavily towards one…

1. Scott Genius. Seriously, remote lockout for front and rear, adjustable shock mount, great specs at various price points (I'm looking around 6 +/- a bit).

2. Rocky Mountain Altitude(s). Ditto (minus the remote lockout bit). And 9 way adjustments? Are you for real? How sick is that??? They knocked it out of the park from what I can see. (this one is the clear leader in my mind, but I hear bad things from time to time about the longevity of the fox forks last year… any info? I haven't been paying much attention to the industry while injured and lazy - might swap the fork for a pike if that's clearly the better fork and I go with this one, or make sure I get a talas).

3. Pivot Mach - Change nothing. Looks great. Except feelings about the fork above, I don't know what to do there.

4. Knolly Warden. I loved the podium when I rode it, no reason to think I won't love this. With the XT / Race face components, and one of the shocks.

Thoughts folks? Help me spend my real job dollars on a bike, good times, and a smaller stomach.

Where do you live?What do you ride?(type of trails).

IMO lockout is a somewhat useless feature for anything but fireroad climbing (and even then..); you're better off with quality suspension featuring independent low/high speed compression adjustments.

Live: Calgary

Ride: Rocky mountain cross country, prairies, and foothills. I think the pure dh days are behind me, but I'm not sure yet.

Trail - there ain't a fire road out here, but I plan on a vacation once and a while to the coast, since my lovely other half wasn't a transplant like me and actually has family out there. My bike is welcome to come with us on said holidays, I want it to do that stuff too…

Past rides - Demo 9, Surly Karate Monkey, Kona Hoss (for the last time I was a tub), Kona Jake (obviously not MTB, but fun none the less), and a Cannondale Judge… I also had a Kona Cadabra that I could ride whenever, but didn't own.

For the most part, my downhill bikes were fronted by a horrible blown boxxer that I made work, until somebody gave me a great deal on a fox 40. I wrecked both forks in brutal high speed crashes, the same way the Demo and the Judge went… I was stupidly aggressive then, now, not so much, but still want on the hills and to see the occasional drop to falt - a solid pink bike 20 feet once and a while, for fun.

I'm surprised to see the beefier bikes on your list with the goals and terrain described. I would expect RM Thunderbolt instead of Altitude, but I may be misinterpreting terrain and ignoring rider preferences.

Out of your options, I think I'd be leaning on the Altitude if I were you. Looks the most fun to be out on all day on your terrain. I must say frames that don't run conventional bearings do scare me, but I haven't heard horror stories so my fears likely aren't justified. Still worth researching maintenance cycles before you buy though. Rocky generally specs their bikes quite competitively. Maybe just include the idea you want a pike on it an make the purchase accordingly. My quick search didn't turn up spec prices so I have no further comment here.

Just going to throw it out there since you mentioned the Scott : Cannondale jekyll. Being able to change travel along with separate damping and spring rates at the click of a switch is way better than a little lock out.
I know a couple people on them and they have had great experiences.

The new altitude looks like a stellar bike. That would be on the top of my list if I were you too.

Welcome back. I took a couple years off from riding(for different reasons) and was so happy to get back at it a couple years back.

Just going to throw it out there since you mentioned the Scott : Cannondale jekyll. Being able to change travel along with separate damping and spring rates at the click of a switch is way better than a little lock out.
I know a couple people on them and they have had great experiences.

I had a really, really bad experience on a cannondale. I sheared my headtube at Mt. Washington, endo'd, and went tumbling down a boardwalk at mach 1 head over heels. Luckily, no injuries - I had a friend paralyzed when the same thing happened to him at a race. I'll never ride a Cannondale again, right wrong or otherwise.

Whatever you chose, it will look like a Trek. That being said - the Trek Remedy 8 was a bike I was actually considering (though with a different fork than the Fox 32).

I don't know much about the bikes you have mentioned, I have looked at the Scott bikes, but even guys in shops tend to say they prefer bikes they can do their own work….and those proprietary shocks aren't so fun to consider, lockout or not. You can reach down and turn on a lockout if needed on other bikes.

Live: Calgary

Ride: Rocky mountain cross country, prairies, and foothills. I think the pure dh days are behind me, but I'm not sure yet.

Trail - there ain't a fire road out here, but I plan on a vacation once and a while to the coast, since my lovely other half wasn't a transplant like me and actually has family out there. My bike is welcome to come with us on said holidays, I want it to do that stuff too…

Past rides - Demo 9, Surly Karate Monkey, Kona Hoss (for the last time I was a tub), Kona Jake (obviously not MTB, but fun none the less), and a Cannondale Judge… I also had a Kona Cadabra that I could ride whenever, but didn't own.

For the most part, my downhill bikes were fronted by a horrible blown boxxer that I made work, until somebody gave me a great deal on a fox 40. I wrecked both forks in brutal high speed crashes, the same way the Demo and the Judge went… I was stupidly aggressive then, now, not so much, but still want on the hills and to see the occasional drop to falt - a solid pink bike 20 feet once and a while, for fun.

Out of those choices and what you ride, I say Altitude as well. Moose Mountain is a blast on an AM bike, but you still will want to be able to climb Pneuma to the top to get to the goods.

I rode a Nomad Carbon and I'm now on a Banshee Spitfire. With a DH background, I think the Spitfire could fit the bill nicely - pedals pretty well, especially using the climb switch on the CCDB, and is an absolute riot heading downhill. Mine is set up with 650b wheels and I think they provide a great platform on which to build up a shorter travel bike.

Of the bikes you mentioned, the Warden takes highest marks in my book followed by the Altitude. I've always been intrigued by Knolly's designs, and the Warden has gotten very good initial reviews. The Altitude is a solid frame, nothing too remarkable about it, but its pretty, seems reliable and has good geometry.

I'm on a Chilcotin but mainly because I'm a big guy who has gone down to one FS bike and want something that can hit the bike park for a couple of days a year but doesn't punish me for pedalling the rest of it.

That said, if I could have a DH bike or was riding the trails you are, Rocky's Altitude or Instinct BC Edition would be top of the list if I was getting a new bike.

Out of those choices and what you ride, I say Altitude as well. Moose Mountain is a blast on an AM bike, but you still will want to be able to climb Pneuma to the top to get to the goods.

To the OP:
Depends what you want out of Moose IMO.

I pretty rarely ever hit anything else than TW on my AM bike because, by the time I'd pedaled Pneuma I certainly wasn't going to waste my time with ROS.

If you're going to do that then a skinny XCish rig may be not the right choice.

Regardless - this is the advice I'd give to anyone coming from DH or Moto or any 'aggressive' type of riding: go for a bike that is half a category burlier than the marketing tells you.
You're not an XC noob nancying your bike down the trail, you already know how to ride and as much as you intend to 'take things easy' how likely is that to really happen? You're going to love how much you can rally your new bike you don't want to be held back on the fun bits. And you know they're the fun bits right?

Edit: I loved my Jeykll and would whole heartedly recommend one to you, but given your position on Cannondale (fair enough) check out the Scott. Twechnical climbing will reward a shorter travel bike, and the descents will make you glad you've got the ability to add some travel back in. I used my DYAD shocks remote all the time.

Zendo friendo, do post a picture of your Spitty. can't get enough of these bikes. how do you find the fit compared to the Nomad? do you find the reduction in travel to make much difference in how you ride or the terrain you're comfortable on? speed over ground?