I am 5.4 with short legs and a long torso. I am more of a road bike rider and never felt very comfortable on technical trails. The two bikes are like night and day. I felt like the 29er was eating the trail! I rode over logs / drops that i would walk with the 4300.

We have a lot of SORBA Trails around my area, one of the reasons I wanted a new bike. We rode 11 miles just under 2 hours, trails are a combination of tight and twisty and up and down, a couple of log crossing and a rock garden. I rode it all clipped in
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions about the Cali.

Lisa