Have the 26 AM which is more or less the same – 10mm less rear travel and 1 degree less head angle – although not sure if this is just based on a 150 v 160 fork on the factory builds. Have not ridden enough full sussers to compare, but its a real tank of a frame at over 8lbs and needs to be really pointing down hill to get the best out of it. Happy to plough through stuff but seems agile enough to me even coming from a Bfe, particularly at nearly 34lbs – not as long or low as something like an Alpine.
Taken a while to sort out the rear shock and lyriks. Basically sped up the rebound front and back and more LSC up front. Also being heavier, a spacer put in the CTD which seems to give better mid stroke support.