Bit soon for that I’d say. Everyone is still in the “totally lovin my new 29er, cant believe all bikes arent like this”
They’ve been available for 10+ years now!
As for the OP, what kind of “big wheeler”? They’re not all the same, just as if a newbie bought a 29er as their first bike, you wouldn’t tell them a 26er is better and expect them to come to the next XC ride on a 224? I really rate my Swift for XC/singletrack riding, it’s brilliant, but, so are a lot of 26″ bikes. And I don’t subscribe to the “we’ve made it handle just like our 26″ bike” school of design, it’s different, it always will be, and that’s why it’s better at somethings, but not others.
If you meant “I fancy a 100mm hardtail, and considdering a 29er” which seems to be the main ‘niche’ they’ve excelled in then i’d say the following:
1) they feel more comfortable
2) they feel faster (as the ground feels smoother, so you pedal more)
3) they feel like a short travel FS 26er, but at the same time, they feel like a hardtail, don’t buy an XC race bike and expect it to replace your 5″ trail FS.
4) they really suffer on ridiculously steep techy sections, as there’s no getting away from the higher COG of the bike and foreward weight bias (result of the chaisntays and steep head angles).