Sorry ahead of time if this is pretty hashed out. And yes I have done all the searches but a good dela of the info there is pretty stale.
This spring I 'm going for my first FS bike, and could use a bit of help. First off, I'm 6'4" and about 200-210 with all my gear. I ride mostly East coast singletrack now, but I'm from Vancouver and will be going back before the bike dies. I have been riding a strictly rigid bike forever so I'm smooth enough to not be snapping componentry all the time.
I really like technical singletrack and drops. (I have done stuff that is about shoulder high to flat on my current bike, although I don't drop to flat from above 3 or 4 ft. often - with a good transition I will go quite a bit higher). I also like a bike to be responsive and a lot of the bigger bikes I have found to be really sluggish. I don't need more than 5" or 6".
I guess what I'm after is something that has enough squish to take the edge off the big hits, but still rides pretty solid. I dont want to worry that I'm going to shatter my frame everytime I try something new.
As of now the bikes I am looking at are:
Transition Preston FR (need current info from anyone who rides one of these!)
SC Heckler
Kona Coiler Dee
Banshee Chaparall (never ridden one, but it has a very high factor)
The Iron Horse 7 point series looks interesting, but really heavy (42 lbs I think) and probably too much travel for what I need.
OK, any other suggestions or input is appreciated. Thanks.