I personally prefer the paint on the Session 8. Although that aluminum finish is starting to grow on me, kinda reminds me a bit like the finish on a macbook pro.

Yeah, I'd have to say this is true to some extent. Most definitely the narliest and sketchiest trails out there are pretty inimidating, heck, even 4 foot drops intimidate me. But I don't think it's mountain biking's image that needs to be softened up. It's women's general lack of information that needs changing. Not ALL trails are riddled with 20 foot gaps and 4 inch wide skinnies. There is a wide assortment of trails of varying difficulty levels. And with proper technique and practice, you can eventually ride almost any terrain. A "softening up" of mountain biking's image is what we don't need. Yes, we should help cater to the women, but you have to be upfront about the dangers of the sport too, not by sugarcoating them and pretending that things are all okkie dokkie. Education and training is what's needed. Women are always surprised at how fun mountain biking really is and that a lot of their old fears disappear once they learn proper riding technique and get some experience.

Wow. The blue and red lighting give the course such an interesting look. I like it.

Excellent reviews. And I loved the rider bios as I can look at the rider's styles and take the info from the rider that is roughly the same size and rides like myself. Always one of my first questions is how does this bike ride when a person of my size and skill rides it? Sometimes reviewers from other sites are large people (over 6 foot) and have gripes with geometry with XL frames when all I care about are the smalls and mediums. The multiple reviewer method was excellent and I loved the different perspectives.

I agree that the landings at the dirt jumps at Shaunessy are scary! There are rocks sticking out of the dirt everywhere! One cased landing and it's over! Although the skills section with the teeter totters and log rides are decent. I personally don't mind where it's located either. I like the nice wooded lot they chose. Lots of shady places to rest on the really hot days.

I personally don't see a problem with the 12x142 standard. I just bought a bike with the new standard and don't have ANY wheels lying around that are 12x135. Most people are like, "Oh no! My old 135s won't work." I'm like, "Uhm... I don't have any 135s only 142s" So, as long as they keep supporting this standard I'm all for it (cause that's all I got).

Thank goodness they shaved some pounds over the current Fluid. The lightest Fluid is 32 pounds for an extra small frame. I hope the rest of their 2011 lineup goes on a diet. I love Norcos but they've always been on the heavy side.

I guess you and I are opposites, I got the Scratch because of the shorter top tube. Probably cause I'm not that big.