people tell me to either get the air shock enduro, or go full on and get the demo-8...I really want to ride ALL MOUNTAIN, with the ability to hit fat drops and crush rock gardens---what's your opinion on this EVO's ability to climb? I was planning on setting mine up 1X10, with a fox 36 VAN up front, for added durability

thanks for your two pennies worth

 The Evo has just about as good of pedal efficiency as the enduros with air shocks so it pedals uphill pretty darn good. Yes it lacks the pro pedal feature that is on the fox rp23's but the majority of the pedal efficieny comes from the linkage. The dropper post makes the all mountain experience so much better and I would never go back to a regular seat post. As far as hitting big drops and doing free ride stuff and jumping, the Evo surpasses the other enduros. Obviously it's not like riding a demo on drops and stunts, but the demos are not designed to be an "all around bike." I too would like to convert to 1x10 down the road, but so far I have had no problems with the 2x10 setup. You might find for all mountain riding with lots of really steep uphill sections that you will want to keep the 2x10. Oh and this enduro comes with a fox 36 van r. The new model evos that are coming out for 2013 have slightly more travel and aggressive geometry than this bike, but are still designed to be in the all mountain category. Bottom line, don't buy a demo if you are looking for a bike that can tackle more than one discipline and if you plan on hitting stunts and bigger drops, you will find the coil fox dhx2 (or cane creek DB on the 13 model) to be more suitable than the air shocks on the other enduro models.

 Btw, my LBS gave me a GREAT deal on this bike! Just bustin your balls man haha. I just know that my experience at the shops that I choose to visit has been nothing but good. I know where you are coming from because I have been to some pretty shitty shops that I have plain walked out of. Just give the good shops that are out there a chance if you ever decide to visit one man! Let me know if you ever decide on an Evo, I really enjoy sharing experiences with people who ride the same bikes!