So far ive read a whole lot of chit chat about everything but 140mm bikes...:drum:
Ive whilttled it down to 4 contenders
Giant trance
Mondraker foxy
Banshee spitfire
Yeti sb5(127mm) i know but its a yeti and ive love em
What are you leaning towards on that list?
What else do you have in your quiver?
Are you looking for a longer legged trail bike or a shorter travelled charger?
Also, don't let the actual numbers of travel dissuade you from some of the best trail bikes in those categories. Gravey train was rolling the SB5c with a longer fork for all the Australian enduro series.
The Following has been met with amazing reviews with its capabilities, especially with the same treatment of throwing 140mm up front, as long as you get along with slacker seat post angle compared to modern geometry standards.
I own a 2016 Stumpy FSR S-works 29er and if I didn't have such an attachment to my SB66c it would be out of a job. It's seriously that good! The way that bike behaves is just the best of all worlds, planted when it ploughs rough, and poppy when it wants to play. It was a second off my best times on one of the roughest descents out here (short of the DH tracks) on its first ride; a time set on my Yeti, which at the time, had 4,500km of familiarity.
And if you don't like the idea of buying a Specialized (I know there are some holdouts amongst you all still), Santa Cruz Hightower gives you the same geometry but you swap a SWAT box for sensible shock spacing and a threaded BB.