Owen Lottering

I am a very average rider and have ridden a 26 hard tail for a few years. I always struggled to keep up with the guys I ride with - they were all on 26 duals -scott 50's and 40's etc. I recently bought Scott 29 elite dual supension - the whole bike weighs 12.4kgs. What a difference. I am riding much faster and don't battle as much and its great not be bounced around on corrugations etc. The only thing that is slightly more difficult is cornering on single track - you feel much higher and so it feels like you are going to fall over when leaning into a corner - I wont go back to 26er

I have had my 29 Spark Elite for a week now. So far so good. Dont know much about the trek bike but I suppose it would depend on how serious a rider you are as to how discernable the differences would be. I'm loving my Scott - it just rolls over everything with ease.