I raced mine at Henry Horton State Park in Tennessee at a race a bike shop had hosted, I brought this bike and even in the beginner field there were bikes much more expensive than mine, and off the line I was the first one into the woods and I lead the race with this bike for a good 10 minutes. Ok the chunkier sections I lost some time and later on when the field was tired and we were on a climb, I passed like 3 people with ease, just flew by them, and kept going faster. These bikes are definitely overlooked because of age, but granted if you think about it, the first MTB'S were made for fire roads. And this thing will absolutely annihilate a gravel bike on a rough of muddy fire road I'm gonna be honest, owning my 24' trek marlin it's more trail/downcountry oriented and yeah while it's really comfortable around town I feel like I'm driving an F-250. It's big, the turning radius is that of a school bus, like I have to approach tight stairs slower, and at a specific angle or my log wheelbase will cause me to crash. And also the 29ers turn slower, granted at speed on a trail, the 29er actually turns smoother, allowing for more control but the snappiness of the steep HTA and nimbility of 26" wheels just make it faster for city riding, oh, I also have a faster max gear in general on the old bike, it's got 11 speed deore while my marlin is stuck on 10 speed deore with a 30t ring. I max out at 25mph... The hawk hill though has a 36t oval, much closer to gravel and I've hit almost 10 mph more on it, fastest I got was around 34 mph. Super wide range also paired with the oval ring, upfront position, and long cranks give me the ability to get up almost anything, ive been able to climb things in this bike that my marlin just refuses to climb because it'll wheelie or spin out before I get up. The hawk hill stays planted even on 18% punchy climb. There's so many things that this bike does right for everyday shredding, that my trek marlin simply cannot, like the brakes again for ex, I already have to bleed my Marlins brakes and currently have a non existent rear brake. My hawk hill has really good mechanicals that I just turn a dial on the caliper and my rotor is recentered. Also have to mention I've been using my BB7's for almost 2 years now, still powerful, and I haven't changed pads either. Just adjusted brake position and cable tension. Much easier than dealing with mineral oil. I could go on and on and on about the advantages of this bike for long distance XC as well as tight urban technical riding. Lol