So, just went for my first ride on the trails and it was a fucking disaster.
My legs burned all the way, my lungs were weezing and I think my heart might have stopped. The bike complained about me all the way to the top. Think I'm going to have to ditch this rider and get a new one.
The bike is magnificent. Quietest thing I've ever ridden. Everything is working beautifully, although the suspension felt super-stiff (30% sag on the rear, 22% sag on the front. It still did the job well, just felt like I never really sank into the travel when I should be. Might have to read the manual and have a good play around with that.
I put a half spacer under the 50mm/10* stem on there now. It felt better but there's still too much weight on my hands when riding on flat ground. My instinct is to shorten the cockpit a smidge b trying a 43mm stem, but might need to do some reading before I settle on that. Everything else felt bang on.
Once I reduced the sag on the front (was at 40%) the bike felt a bit bigger and I could feel the difference from the 26er Remedy that I'm coming off. But it wasn't a huge change. Maybe when my attention isn't so divided by my lung capacity I will have more time to notice the changes. Who'd have thunk that not riding for most of a year would impact your fitness!?