First of all I want to say thanks to the people keeping this sub-forum alive and especially Supercow for pointing out Pinkbike for second hand bikes 
After having my 26" hard tail Specialized for 3 years it became apparent that as soon as my friends upgraded to 29ers I was falling behind and seemingly having to put in more effort than they were over the ground. My search started for a 29er and to have XT groupset as a minimum with around £800 max budget. I found an awesome bike on a well known auction site - A Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon Comp in medium. However, as soon as I opened the box I could see a crack in the frame
It took another 6 weeks to get my money back through resolution. In that time I broadened my search and my budget to £1000 and noticed that I could get a decent full sus with a XT groupset. I found a Whyte T129 Works which ticked all the right boxes but it got sold the day before I going to view it.
On Supercow's recommendation I went to Pinkbike and found a beauty 60mins down the road - Trek Superfly FS 9.8 and it ticked every box imaginable. 29er, XT, Full sus, and carbon! So I decided to push my budget out further and bite the bullet to buy it. I took it on it's maiden voyage around Rutland Water and it was blisteringly quick and effortless! Even the uphills with the 1x10 setup were not too bad after I thought losing the granny ring would kill me on climbs. It no longer feels like I'm dragging the bike up hills!
So in summary I want to say thanks to the forum and for those who want to move to a 29er then I would recommend it in a heartbeat!
After having my 26" hard tail Specialized for 3 years it became apparent that as soon as my friends upgraded to 29ers I was falling behind and seemingly having to put in more effort than they were over the ground. My search started for a 29er and to have XT groupset as a minimum with around £800 max budget. I found an awesome bike on a well known auction site - A Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon Comp in medium. However, as soon as I opened the box I could see a crack in the frame
It took another 6 weeks to get my money back through resolution. In that time I broadened my search and my budget to £1000 and noticed that I could get a decent full sus with a XT groupset. I found a Whyte T129 Works which ticked all the right boxes but it got sold the day before I going to view it.On Supercow's recommendation I went to Pinkbike and found a beauty 60mins down the road - Trek Superfly FS 9.8 and it ticked every box imaginable. 29er, XT, Full sus, and carbon! So I decided to push my budget out further and bite the bullet to buy it. I took it on it's maiden voyage around Rutland Water and it was blisteringly quick and effortless! Even the uphills with the 1x10 setup were not too bad after I thought losing the granny ring would kill me on climbs. It no longer feels like I'm dragging the bike up hills!
So in summary I want to say thanks to the forum and for those who want to move to a 29er then I would recommend it in a heartbeat!