thoughts on 2012 Trek mamba for entry level?

[countrygirl]

Hi Forum Peeps,

I am new to mtn-biking and just bought a 2012 Trek mamba 29er, WSD. I just now registered for this forum so there may be more about it in the archives, but just google searching (which also turned up some discussions on this forum), I was kind of amazed at how little info there is about it on the net, it seems that there is mostly reviews and discussion about the 2011 Mamba, which got a big upgrade in 2012, so many of the complaints don't carry over to the new model. People kept saying that it's worth it to step up from the 2011 mamba to the 2011 or '12 Cobia, but now with the hydraulic brakes and rockshox fork, I wonder if the Mamba is the best bike for the price range? Does the Cobia really have so much advantage over the 2012 Mamba as it did over the 2011 Mamba?

Also do some of you ride the 2012 Mamba and how do you like it? Are there upgrades you could suggest to start out with? I found the saddle to be really uncomfy esp. the WSD one. Also the grippies were not great, and I've heard some people straight away replace the handlebars, seat and tires (to tubeless). I don't want to go to crazy upgrading it after paying $900, just wondered what the most obvious upgrades would be to increase enjoyment of the bike.

Thanks for helping a newbie! My hubby got the regular 2012 Mamba, it seemed the best deal for entry level. Hope we were right!