Excellent advice, just what I was looking for. Thanks!

I'm looking for recommendations for a good build. I'm a novice with parts and components, but I have a buddy that has agreed to help with the build. Here are my constraints/requirements:

1- $2,800
2- Full suspension 29er
3- I'm an upper-intermediate rider
4- I'm 6 feet tall and 210 lbs (hoping to get that down to 185 and stay there)
5- I live close to great trails in Utah. As there's a lot of elevation here, it will have to climb like a mt. goat (lockouts) and be able to switch to descend on the fly (dropper).

With that, I'll be very interested to hear your suggestions.

Thanks!

I'm Scott in Farmington, Utah (just north of Salt Lake). Avid cyclist - currently looking to sell my 2 motorcycles (Honda Trail 90 and 110) and do my dream build. Currently ride a hardtail aluminum 29er from bikesdirect with a 1x9 SRAM x9 setup.

Absolutely LOVE this site - what a fantastic resource! Many thanks to those that started it.

I may just treat myself to a father's day carbon wheelset for my road bike.

Cheers