My cat loves the rear deraileur too! Can I ask what your rear shock PSI and rebound setting are? I'm same weight but taller and on a large frame, running 240 PSI with rebound at 6 clicks out from closed. Feels a little too fast vs the front end at times.
I counted 10 clicks from full rebound toward softer, At just under 200psi. I bet the shock behaves differently on a larger frame.
For the newer people like me, when you pump up the rear shock make sure to equalize the chambers by compressing to 25% about 20 times. Then check the sag and PSI again. Also, this shock tune is: 2018, FLOAT DPS, P-S, A, 3pos, Trunnion Evol LV, Giant, Anthem 27.5 2, 165, 42.5, 0.8 Spacer, DCM, DRM, CML, YS 2272/YS 2272 Logo
That 0.8 spacer means bottoming out the rear shock is really tough. Thats why I go for such low rebound, with semi-high pressure. Of course, I dont really know what I am doing.
I wonder if I'm missing a plastic reduction bushing or something like that on my rear shock. The hole is 15,2mm on my float DPS
This is what you need:
https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/fox-rear-shock-mounting-hardware-8mm-x-22-19mm-0-874-5-piece-aluminum-1
This is what I used too, worked perfectly.
This is great feedback. My stats are about the same as yours; 5'10" and 165 lbs. I'm on the fence about Med vs Lg. I'm riding a large XC hardtail now, but could see the advantage of a more 'compact' sizing for a bike I'd be getting a bit rowdier on than I do with the hardtail (which is generally really long sessions of power to the pedals and less tech stuff). I'm leaning towards Med for this frame.
I think the medium is a good size. I have a short stem and 750mm handle bars. Maybe go for 780mm bars.