When John Tomac was a bike tester/reviewer for MBA Magazine he gave the Jamis Dakar a pretty good review so I snagged one as my first dual rig. Meant for XC/light freeride duties but it has been used for All Mountain riding all its life. I love this bike. I recently swapped out the Manitou Black fork for the Fox 32 TALAS R. I also upgraded the rear shock to a Fox Vanilla Coil-over because I am getting into heavier freeride and hucking on the trail. The rear shock is uber-stiff yet reacts to a bigger hit. I will be adjusting the damping in the next few weeks to tune it in a bit. Same for the fork as the adjustable travel has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities. Awesome is all I can say!