Shopping for a "do it all" MTB - recommendations?

[batwood14]

I went through a search almost identical to what you’re looking for recently and ended up with this bad boy with the help of the board.

BMC Agonist Two

Just spent a week with it riding in Sedona and Tucson (rocky as hell) and it was everything I wanted it to be. It was everything I needed it to be. Couldn’t be happier with it.

Check out this thread - it was super helpful:

MTB Recommendation?

Hey all — I’d love to get some community feedback on an upcoming MTB purchase I’d like to make in the next 6 months. Here’s some background: I live in Chicago, so mountain biking won’t be a every day thing. However, I take a MTB trip every year to Tucson, and love that terrain. I’d like to take trips to Copper Harbor, MI for those who are familiar with it. I’ll never ride full downhill, and probably only intermediate difficulty if I’m anywhere serious. Also, I’d like to race The Iceman Comet…

and this thread…

Mountain Bike Fit?

I am about to pull the trigger on a Mountain Bike, and I have narrowed it down to either the Specialized Epic Evo or the Yeti SB1000. My problem is that there isn’t a dealer anywhere near me that has either of these bikes in stock – especially the Yeti. And none of the Specialized dealers are currently stocking the Epic Evo. Which means, if I buy one of these I will do so having never ridden it. Is that dumb? Is MTB fit as critical as road bike fit? Or is it less specific and if I get the …

It was @grenhall who pointed me towards the Agonist – it was helpful that my LBS is a BMC dealer.