Owned my Jamis Dakota 29er Since Feb 07
Dude, go with the Dakota. I've had mine for almost a year now. I bought mine for 1200
total cost from bicycle bananas (
www.bicycleblowout.com). Quick plug for them, they shipped to an APO (military address) in Turkey. Anyway, you'll probably end up swapping out the handle bars since they're pretty narrow, but other than that I swapped stuff out mostly due to prefference. I swapped 'em for the Sette carbon risers, which we put next to my buddy's monkey lites (easton) and they were virtually exactly the same, actually they were lighter. The juicy 3's will do the trick, but I got a killer deal on some 7's. As for the shimano shifters, mine were a bit stiff and I trashed the rear deurailer, so I swapped both for some X-9s. The pedals are fine for clipless, but again out of preference, I switched for some platform Zu-Zu's. As for the shock, it may not be the reba, but the Tora has worked awesome for me. As a matter of fact yesterday was the first time I added air and I ride everyday to an from work, plus once or twice a week on some pretty rough trails. The rims and hubs have given me no problems and the Ignitors are still in great shape despite the road miles. They roll over just about everything and are real grippy too. The total weight with my current set-up is about 32-34lbs.
The trails out here in Turkey are not very forgiving and the bike has taken everything I've thrown at it and smiled, to include a couple of wrecks, and dare I say and OTB experiance or 2 (yes its possible, not easy, but possible to go OTB on a 29er). If you do go with the Dakota, you'll be very pleased:thumbsup: .