thanks for all the clarifications... only takes three pages of posts to get there

May I suggest now that I get what's going, that in a quest for FS you be very mindful of geometry? There's a lot of variation in body position. Based on what you are saying you are after, you might like an all mountain type set up for body position, which is more comfy and stable than a race type position.

An AM or "trail" set up has a more slack head angle ( front fork is at more of an angle) by a few degrees. The handlebar/stem set up also puts you a little more upright. The more classic race type geometry has your butt higher than your handle bars - which is great for speed but not necessarily the best for technical riding and comfort. We are talking "degrees" here but I was reminded of this yseterday when I rode my friend's GF Cake with flat bars and didn't like it at all.