and are they any good?

want a year round bike that can cope with the slop, preferable decent spec level so upgraditis doesn’t kick in.

EDIT – this looks tasty 🙂
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/fortitude/fortitude-adventure

Genesis fortitude adventure

Go for a Singlespeed. And rigid forks are a viable alternative on a 29er, depending on your riding.

had a gensis io ss for a couple of years, great in terms of maintenance but started getting knee trouble from pushing it to much on climbs, and not a fan of walking when supposed to be riding. Alfine hubs have appealed for a long time…though £1500 for a rigid alfined 29er seems steep.

Genesis iO SS and Fotitude Adventure owner here, for the “off-the-peg” 29er with Alfine gears my vote goes for this brand! I’ve bought my Fortitude as a frame only and build her up as a SS with slightly longer than standard Salsa CroMoto fork(emailed Dom @ Genesis to confirm compability) as I prefer more upright position on the bike. I’m going to run it with 3spd Sturmey Archer and front hub dynamo for the ultimate commuter experience…and with mudguards and rear rack with child seat for dad-with-son-on-the-bike experience as well!
Awesome frame to ride, really nice and responsive while still comfortable and not too heavy to wear you off…

Lots of Singulars with Alfines – they set up very nicely with them – cable routing is ideal and the EBB make is simple to keep it all very clean. Not ‘OTP’ as such, but any of the dealers would be able to help you put something together – or you could deal with me direct.

Early Swift without cable guides. This is at Head for the Hills in Dorking as a demo bike

A Gryphon with the J-Tek shifter, this has the cable routing now common to all disc equipped Singulars.

Thanks for the responses, food for thought, not in a position to buy yet. Got a few things to shift first. Any more suggestions?