I've decided to treat myself to a new bike this year, and after alot of e-shopping have narrowed it down to the following choices.
My budget is around $3300.
My criteria is pretty strict; I want to keep it around 31 lbs or less, 150-160mm of rear travel and a 160mm travel, 20mm fork with stable geometry (66-67 degree head angle, steep seat tube for climbing).
I like to split my time between climbing and descending - but I climb to descend, I foresee a trip to the Chilcotins this summer, 7 summits and Keystone Standard basin as well. I ride 2-3 times a week and usually climb to earn my descents. Descents involve lots of rock slabs, chunder, lots of vertical and steeps.
Options are as follows:
2011 Specialized Enduro Comp
2011 Nomad with R-AM kit
2011 Banshee Rune (unsure of kit).
I'm leaning towards the 2011 Enduro Comp because it meets most of the criteria with the factory parts spec. The nomad is nice and I like VPP suspension, but the seat angle is a little slacker than what I want. The rune is a killer bike and I've owned Banshee's in the past so it's a possibility but I'm not sure what kind of build I'll get for the price, and might be hard to keep it in my target weight.
Any suggestions or recommendations for different bikes that I've overlooked?