I’ve just bought a new bike that is considerably longer than anything I’ve had before and I’m faster both uphill and down on it, I’ve spent 6 months demoing all sorts before taking the plunge. As soon as I rode it this bike just felt right and better than anything else I demo’d including both longer and shorter travel bikes. I do have a Schwinn protocol at the moment and I can’t fault that to be honest, it’s an awesome bike, just wish I went for 27.5 rather than the 29er. Anyways, it just my opinion you may even go for Nashbar or Diamondback kind of popular models.