I’m also riding a pretty upgraded 9.5, and it’s been great for me so far. There’s not much that you can’t do with a hardtail and some skills.
There is a little added complexity with the iso-speed, but far less than what comes with a full-suspension bike, and you do feel a difference on the smaller bumps and vibrations.
Coming from a gravel bike, this could be a great next step, and I find that this is the bike I ride most of the time nowadays. It has the potential to be really fast all around – especially on fire roads and singletrack, yet I can keep up just fine with everyone else on their full-suspension bikes at all of the local trailheads.
If you plan on jumping into steeper terrain with jumps and drops right away, this won’t be the best tool for beginners, but otherwise, I’d say go for it!
I did upgrade my fork since the cheap Rockshox ones don’t typically hold up too well (sounds like this one didn’t either as it was already warrantied).
