[djjohnr]

No irony here, simple question: at that point, isn't the outlay in cash greater for two forks and two sets of wheels greater than having two (used) bikes that would arguably be better at their intended purpose?

No, because my intended purpose in shopping was to find a DH bike that I can comfortably spin up 2-3k foot fireroad climbs. For that it's perfect. As a bonus I got a bike that will let me change it to an AM bike on road trips, where I'm usually limited to one rack space (as my friends are usually taking up the other 3 rack spaces).

Also when it comes to bikes, I generally don't buy anything used that does any kind of mechanical movement.
The Mattoc Pro only cost me $600, and I already had the 26" wheelset.

 

[Trasselkalle]

I tested a few more configurations this week:

- 180mm fork (570mm A-C) w/ 27.5" wheels front and rear (stock config): Handles like a burly AM bike with a lot of travel. Needs a weight shift to the back seat compared to the other configs.

- 180mm fork w/ 27.5" front and 26" rear: Handles like a short travel DH bike. I'm able to distribute weight evenly/comfortably at speed. Good fun.

- 203mm fork w/26" wheels: Winner winner chicken dinner. Handles like a DH bike should. I'm able to weight the front with confidence. Still able to climb any fire road.

I have a Mattoc on order that I'll try at 160mm. The road trip setup may be two forks - 203mm and 160mm and two sets of wheels - 26 and 27.5.

Sounds like fun to test all the options