Specialized Enduro Expert Travel (F/R): 6/6 Weight: 15.5kg Lockout/SPV: Fox 36RC Talas fork and Fox DHX Air 5.0 shock Cost: AUD$4950 Took the Enduro to Majura and ran it around Bat Cave in 6:19, roughly 30 seconds slower than either of the Canondales, but a good 40 seconds faster than my old previous best time on the VT2. So it seems to sit in the middle of the efficient Cannondales and my old VT2 for run times. It feels heavier than all the other rigs I tested (and it is :)), but that suspension and cornering, and fun factor is second to none. This bike eats downhill as well as my Giant HD with Boxxer World Cup forks, the fork is phenominal and the rear tracks well, although I am haviing some issue with the rear brke, they just don;t feel like they are modulating as well as I had hoped, the XT brakes on the Rush were better, which surprises me as the Avid Juicy 7's are supposed to better if you believe the reviews. Anyway, this is a true FR ride bike and loads of fun, not the fastest XC rig, but certainly the most fun XC'able rig I have ever ridden. I love downhilling on it, the suspension feels better than my old 7" DH rig and it's 5kg lighter, so flickable, and the beauty part, at the bottom, I can pedal back to the top... best of both worlds really :)
	Canondale Rush Travel (F/R): 4.4/4.4 Weight: Between 10 and 12kg depending on model Lockout/SPV: Front and Rear (rear has three lock modes and pro pedal) Cost: $6K for the 2000 model (carbon lefty), $4600 for the 1000. My review: Trialled the Rush 2000 this morning, XT groupset was fun to use, but traditional systems would be faster I think, Rapid rise XTR rear was sweet. Climbs like a rocket, can stand up hammer it and feel no bob or loss, it decends well, the carbon lefty was great, ubless there are rocky bits, then feels a little awkward (mat have been the brakes being right hand for rear that had me panicky). Flat single track is where it rocks out, I imagine this would be the Sparrow Hill killee bike. Bat Cave used to take 8:00 on my VT during training for the MONT 6 weeks ago, it took 5:50 today, Auto Alley used to take 11:30, on the Rush, 9:15, this is thing is a deadset XC weapon, I am ~30% slower on my old bike, a staggering difference. Not that speed is my focus, just something easy to directly compare, I am really after something easier to ride, so I can ride for longer and have more fun without struggling with a heavy bike, and this bike was certainly much easier to climb and pedal around, those fast laps felt fairly easy and like I was going no harder than on the other bike. Bunny hopping things feel solid and it took the small Majura jumps no worries, a little chain slap though. I am requesting a demo Prohpet from Canondale, as I suspect the extra 30mm of travel will be plusher and more comfy, but the Rush was fine, so lets see how much the extra weight of the Prophet affects me. This model weighed in on my scales at 12.0kg and it felt awesomely light to pick up and climb, amazing what difference of a mere kilo or two feels like.
	Canondale Prophet Travel (F/R): 5.6/5.6 Weight: Between 12 and 13kg depending on model Lockout/SPV: Front and Rear (rear has three lock modes and pro pedal) Cost: $6K for the 2000 model (carbon lefty), $4600 for the 1000. Mbr>My Review: Trialled a Prophet 1000 today, it was 13.5kg, SRAM X9 groupset, no lockouts, but SPV front and back, maxxis high rollers, downhill wheel set and think handle bars, this baby is heavy duty FR capable (and only 13.5kg!). Did not climb like the Rush, but ate the descents as hard as I could dish it out. Reminded me a lot of the VT2, but plusher and more heavy duty for the same weight. I never felt as much acceleration as the Rush had, and after 2 hours, I felt quite tired, the heavy wheelset and tyres were sucking my energy. The SRAM gears played up a bit too, and the brakes were not as good as the XT on the Rush. Although the Rush was stiff and bumpy in rock gardens, the thrill of the acceleration and climbing so easily, made it my choice, I got off the Rush and said "I have to have one", I got off the Prophet and said "I'm tired". nb: Here's an interesting statistic though, I time trialled these rigs at Bat Cave, a 6 minute sprint up a steep twisty hill, with a ripping down hill back, the Rush and Prophet were 2 seconds apart over the 6 minutes, which is surpirising, but even more bizarre is the Prophet climbed it 10 seconds faster, and descended 10 secs slower... I would have expected the opposite. During both runs I did the exact same average HR of 162bpm, although at the peak of the climb, I was 167 on the rush, and 170 on the prophet, so perhaps I just tried harder on the Prophet and was tired on the way down, not sure.
	Santa Cruz Blur LT Travel (F/R): ?/5.4 Weight: ~11kg Lockout/SPV: Has VPP, which is better than Heckler Sime reckons. Cost: $7000 MTBR: 4.9/5 from 20 Reviews (Normal Blur rates 4.7 our of 5 from 132 reviews!)
	Yeti ASR 575 Travel (F/R): ?/5.75 Weight: Frame is 6.1lbs Lockout/SPV: Cost: Prolly $6K built, Frame only $2699
	Santa Cruz Heckler Travel (F/R): 5.2/5.6 Weight: 12.5-15kg depending on build (frame only is 6.5lbs with shock) Lockout/SPV: Float X Fork + Float R shock Cost: USD$3500 for full bike or AUD$2450 for Frame Only at Phantom Probably a bit too free ride for me, the Blur LT prolly suits better MTBR: 4.8/5 from 91 Reviews Notes: Brake jack due to single pivot rear Quotes: This bike is phenomenal compared to my old cheap bike--it just sucks up things that would have put me in the hospital with my Trek. With the terralogic fork, the SPV on the rear shock and the shocks fairly stiff, the bike is a very efficient peddler with minimal bob including out of the saddle both on the level and up steep hills. It is definately a comfortable ride, climbs well and you can still huck it.
	Giant Reign 1 Travel (F/R): 5.5/6 Weight: 13.6kg (frame only is 8lbs with shock) Lockout/SPV: Front lockout on Rock Shox Pike Team Air, Manitou 3 way Maestro SPV Rear Cost: $4400 RRP at Phantom It has bottom bracket bearing problems. Review from mtbr.com: Amazing. No Bob. No brake jack, and VERY laterally rigid. Experiment with the shock as 10 psi either way can make a HUGE difference in the ride. If you have(or upgraded to) an SPV fork, turn the red adjuster in and get bottomless travel. Giant has hit a home run with this bike. This bike will do 3-4' to flat without a wimper, and way bigger with a transition. It is a WEAPON on rough XC terrain(think Moab). I can pedal SEATED through terrain that has the 4' boys crying for Momma. The comfort make 65+ mileage days realistic, and I plan to ride a 125 on mine. Rebiew from a guy on Farkin: Its a Reign 1 , the 06 model. When I picked it up from the shop , they weighed it and without pedals , it came in at 29.5 lbs I'm using Crank Bros eggbeaters for XC / trail and DMR V8's for FR / DH. So still fairly light for a 6" bike. I bought it for an all round ride , something I could do enduro racing with , but still take it up the local trails and have fun on the downhills. Im 6ft tall and got a 20" frame. I could have gotten away with an 18" , I had a test ride on one , but decided I'd rather "shrink" the bigger bike with a short stem and seat position , than have to "stretch" everything on an 18" to be comfortable. I don't really do much FR stuff , but I have done some small drops on it , around 3 ft and have bottomed it , but it didn't feel harsh , ramped up nicely at the end of the stroke. Its excellent on rough stuff at speed , the rear end is very active and quite plush for an air shock. When seated on climbs and with max pressure in the spv chamber , it sits in the sag and doesn't move. Bobs a little when standing up , but still , its minimal. As I said , the rear end works very well. I have done some light DH on it too and it was great fun , so much lighter than my DH bike which made it really "flickable" , just had to take it easy through rock gardens , as I have 2.1 tyres and didn't want to smash those nice rims up! The parts spec is what really sold me on the Reign 1, in particular the 06 spec with SRAM XO rear derailleur and X9 shifters (05 had XT shifting , I'd rather the SRAM stuff) So far , the shifting has been faultless , its a pleasure to ride knowing the shifting will obey your every command. It has Pike 454 dual air forks , which again , for air sprung are surprisingly plush. The Maxle feature is a ripper , really stiffens up the front end. Crossmax XL wheelset , I'm surprised how strong they are , still dead true , not even needing a tweak yet ! Avid Juicy 5's , great brakes. The standard pads are fairly hard and have glazed a little , but they still work great regardless. The only things I have changed are the cranks , as I mentioned in the thread , and the bars and stem. I found the Easton 100mm stem and low rise bars put me in a bad riding position , too far forward and stooped over the front too much. I had an old Kona bar and stem laying around which added about 2" of rise over the Easton bars and the stem is 70mm. The improvement was dramatic ! I prefer an upright position , even for XC riding and this did the trick. Shame I had to ditch the Easton stuff , its super light , but impractical in this case. I'll probably put some lighter 2" rise bars on it and have my eye on a Thomsen X4 stem. Yum ! I will be changing the tyres too , The Hutchinson Bulldog on the rear started to fall apart after a few rides , they are very soft and don't like rocks ! The front has been okay , still using it , but I figure I have UST rims , might as well go tubeless. Trying to find some 2.3 Kenda Nevegals , but having trouble locating some. 2nd choice will be Maxxis Highrollers in single ply with stans goop added , should be a light and durable combination hopefully. After 6 weeks of owning it , I'm happier than ever. I raced in a 12 hr enduro last weekend , and came close to the lap times of my team mates that are 10 years younger than me. Can't say it was the bike , but maybe it had a some influence there. Heaps faster than last years laps anyway ! I saw a few Reign riders at the race , they were all very happy with their new rides too. I'll put some more pics in my personal gallery. They aren't current pics , I took them when I'd just gotten it , so still with the Race face cranks , Easton bars etc...
	Specialized Stump Jumper Not enough travel
	Specialized Blur Looks like the Yeti :) Not enough travel
	Giant Trance Not enough travel Travel (F/R): 4/4.2 Weight: ? Lockout/SPV: Front lockout, Maestro SPV Rear Cost: $4500 RRP
	Merida Mission Carbon Drew says has a custom shock that will be hard to obtain parts for
	Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon Drew says has a custom shock that will be hard to obtain parts for