Yeah!  Brake pads!  Because I have about 15 guys who I maintain bikes for, I tried the Shimano compatible brake pads.  6 sets for something like $15 USD.  My buddies are happy.

2 of us are running Hope X2s and I just saw those pads as well.  Gonna grab another 6-pack.  Hope I don't get drunk, LOL!

I've heard that about Michigan.  Actually, a friend of mine, Erica Zeboor, who races for Stradalli team is a pro from that area.  I think she is up there now doing a race.  She is on a small 036. :-)

My wife is from Grand Rapids.  At some point we will make the trip and I'll for sure hit you up.

Those are strong words...

Strong like my BO after a ride in this crazy SW Florida heat and humidity! 

Ahh.. Yes, you are correct in those numbers, but you are also referring to full suspension bikes.  He is looking at a hard tail.  FS will generally have lower head tube angle, along with higher bottom bracket and other geometry variations. 

Then you also have to throw in the discipline factor - XC/Trail/All Mountain/Enduro/Gravity-Downhill.  Hard tails are pretty much XC only, except for dirt jumpers and Free Ride, but none of these 3 disciplines experience ultra high speeds (or rarely), most of the time under 25mph and averaging more like 12 - 15mph, and 25mph on a hard tail with any kind of terrain bumps, rocks or variation is gonna be sketchy. 

When you start to get into All Mountain and into the Gravity disciplines, more intense descents and speed are usually involved.  Enduro and Downhill, well, those are the extreme Gravity ones, serious speed.  If you look at bike geometry based on discipline, you will find the more slack head angles, higher bottom brackets and longer suspension travel on the Gravity bikes. 

So, there is a lot more to it than just the head tube angle, but that being said, the key here is to compare hard tail geometry with other hard tails.   

FYI... All the new bike frames have less than 69 ° slack and short chainstays. That frame would be obsolete.

That's a bit of a BS statement.  Go look at Niner, who focuses on 29er builds.  Their hard tails are 70 degree and just redesigned this past year.  Also the Giant XTC Advanced sports a 70 degree.  If memory serves me correctly, the Specialized Epic hard tail is > 71. 

Obsolete, absolutely not.  Granted the chain stays are a few MM longer depending on what bike you compare it to, but a lot of the bikes handling has a lot to do with the complete geometry, not just head angle and chain stays.  Then you have the fork itself.  What is the offset?  This will also come into play with how the bike handles.

Some things to consider:
Where will you be doing most of your riding?  What will your average speeds be?  I was in a similar situation as you, but I came from a 26" wheel.  I purchased the CarbonSpeed MB-01 and I did so based on the geometry, and being located in southwest Florida where it's generally flat with a few rock quarries around to get a few drops and technical riding in.  Basically, my average speeds are between 10-16 mph most of the time.  Having a BMX background, I wanted to build an extremely agile 29er, which I did.  I actually pushed the boundaries by doing 2 things:

1 - I went with the Fox Factory SC fork in 44mm rake instead of 51mm
2 - I'm 5'10" and on the border between a medium and large frame.  I went with medium to shorten the wheelbase just a little.

Coming from a smaller bike, something else to consider is your wheel setup.  You will want to minimize the rotational weight was much as possible, because when a wheel is spinning, the gyro effect fights changing direction.  I would recommend carbon rims, tubeless tires, and try and select tires that are < 700g. 

Seems to be an issue with some of the newbees....  Let me put this down straight for all of you.  If you are ordering a frame from Peter at Carbon Speed, or similar reseller, you should include in your order extra parts like dropouts, pivot bolts, etc...  These guys like Peter are offering you a very reasonable price for a carbon frame with competitive geometry and technology.  So as a rider, you should know enough about you bike to know that there are some wear and tear parts.  After breaking a derailleur hanger on my 4 month old MB01, I now NEVER order a frame without including an extra set of dropouts, pivot bolts, etc.   This should literally be common sense to most of you and if not, then it's your own fault.  We have access to factory pricing, but at the expense of some parts being proprietary.  So spend the extra $20 and get a few extra parts with your order..... GEESH!

Minion SS on an XC HT...

Why do you hate speed?

It was the customer's choice of tires, and it was a setup specifically for CRP Trail here which is basically a 10 mile, clay, pedal track.  Yeah, they are a little heavier, but they roll super fast and there's not much technical on that course.  We have several riders running them on that course and they work quite well.

Sharp looking bikes! Thanks for sharing.

A few questions, if you don't mind:

- Is that a chiner seat? How do you like it? I'm curious about longterm durability with those, but interested due to the price, weight, and surprisingly positive reviews in regards to comfort that I've read.

- Do you think the frame inserts in the seat stays effectively absorb terrain?

- What was the weight? Sub 20lb?

I can't speak for the seat on the new MB01 other than a short test ride and it seems comfortable.  However I find the full carbon seat on mine to be more comfortable believe it or not, and with a gloss finish, it's easy to move around on to position weight on technical sections. I actually rode a buddy's bike last week with a padded high end Selle saddle and hated it.  Feels like the leather grabs at my shorts and I couldn't find a comfort zone.

Yes, the inserts do take some bang out of the ride.  I used a follow cam under the seat and there is about 3-5mm of vertical movement on harder hits like root and rocks.  Probably another reason why the carbon seat doesn't chatter my back teeth out, LOL!

My bike is 20.3.  Mainly because I have GX on it and it's not the lightest, especially the crank.  His bike is basically the same weight, but that's because of wheel set and those tires are heavy, I weighed them and they are 825g!  Mine are 613g front and 641g back.  His bike sits at 20.6, but I imagine if we switched wheels, his would be high 18s or low 19s.