DirtCrab

As usual @R-M-R: nailed it. Stem length is one variable that affects handling. Period. Pick the stem length that gives the steering feel you're looking for. If you can't feel a difference, that's great. Feel free to shut up about it. Personally, I'm all about the 42mm stem with 44mm fork offset @63.5 degrees. Bar roll just a hair forward of neutral. Of course there are other variables that matter here. Nothing wrong with any other setup if it works for you, but after testing like it's my job for nearly a decade (because it was) that's 100% the setup that's fastest, most predictable, and most comfortable for me, regardless of reach, wheel size, or suspension travel. 35mm slows down direction changes more than I like. 50mm delivers more feedback to the bars when things get wild. There's nothing magical about it. Just standard bracketed testing - improve until adjusting in either direction makes it worse.

Yikes. Glad it wasn't worse. Consider this a friendly reminder to seek outdoor-focused first aid training, and stay up to date.

Not a dealbreaker, but the downtube storage was a surprisingly big quality of life upgrade. Having tools and med onboard makes it easy to go for a quick ride with only what's in your pockets.

@TheGrey724: There was a time when I was in the same boat re: "waste of funds." Now that I no longer earn a living turning wrenches, I'll gladly shell out a few bucks for suspension service to avoid the "waste of time." That's especially true for issues that can be handled locally by a trusted mechanic, rather than returning the item in question and waiting weeks or months and hoping that the manufacturer makes it right. Your point is well taken though. We as end users should not have to QC our own suspension. Not that "should" means much.

Unpopular opinion: a brand new suspension component should not be considered "ready to ride" until it has been fully stripped, inspected, and serviced by a qualified suspension tech. I learned this lesson the hard way multiple times. Since 2017 I've had every suspension product I've purchased or received rebuilt by a trusted local suspension tech before the first ride. That's five sets of suspension, plus a rear shock. More than 50% of those units was assembled incorrectly in a way that caused a potential safety issue, and more than one was returned on a warranty claim straight of the box. Other than creaking CSUs, every one of the warranty issues you mentioned will be found during the initial teardown. I don't like it either, but I regard it as a cost of doing business at this point, rather than trusting my safety to manufacturers who have proven to be consistently inconsistent.

This is the way. Although 3L GORE-TEX is truly amazing when used as intended, it's not engineered for applications where users are approaching max heart rate, no matter the weather conditions. Save it for lower output use when you need a portable storm shelter. Most mountain bikers are better served following what outdoors people did for countless generations before modern waterproof materials were invented. If it's above freezing, don't worry so much about staying dry, instead learn to be comfortable damp. Layer smart. Choose materials that insulate when wet. Avoid cotton at all costs. Minimize heat loss at your hands and head. Prioritize getting dry when you take a break.

@Hayek: From 2012-2020 I worked in marketing for THE world's largest SC dealer. It's also the largest dealer for a number of other high end brands you know. Info on total SC units sold comes from multiple annual sales meetings with SC execs. Info on Trek/Spesh is drawn from my former employer's internal reporting, and confirmed through the grapevine against sales data from employees working in dealer support for both companies. NDAs prevent me from saying much more about this. Like any dataset, mine is also incomplete. But it's neither speculation nor pulled from publicly available information.

@BoneDog: lol a lifetime of reading, an English degree, and a 10+ year career as a marketing writer will do that to a person.

Yet another piece of evidence that different is not always better. Certain people in the industry got irate when it was pointed out that the RS1, with its very heavy proprietary front hub, weighed more than a Pike with a Hope front hub. Strangely, despite the outright hostility I experienced when pointing this out, none of my fellow marketers in the pro RS1 camp ever actually articulated a tangible reason to purchase one, other than it looked cool. Thankfully the (at the time) new Pike was stunningly good, to a point where it completely redefined the benchmarks against which we measure trail bike suspension.

The 2014 GT Force (and Fury) really don't get the credit they deserve for introducing many of us to the benefits of wheelbases in the ~50" range, at a time when most large enduro bikes were under 47". Other than the ridiculously linear suspension, both models have aged MUCH better than almost all of their contemporaries.