Well it's a 16"frame, I put the Truvativ Hussefelt riser & 60mm stem on purely to compare to stock set up but found it instantly more responsive and alot better reach wise for me. Handling is great but obviously the shorter stem means going up hills isn't quite as good - just have to put a bit more weight up front. Great bike though, equally good on the bitumen and the dirt.
Definitely love having a duallie - I found the Judy TT fork pretty dismal - but I had good use out of the old bike and I guess I was at the stage where I was really ready for an upgrade - it felt a bit like a pogo stick where I usually rode (that could be just lack of riding ability though?). The Tora is great - still to get the rebound setting right though and the Trance weighs around 13.5kg (bathroom scale) but feels light to ride - well almost same weight as my hardtail was.

Other bikes I test rode: 05 Specialized FSR XC, 05 Trek Fuel 70 and considered the FSR XC Comp, Trek Fuel 80, Norco Fluid 2.0, Kona Kikapu Deluxe, Kona Dawg and lastly thought about a Giant Reign, in my list, but the Trance came up tops in value for money and also had great reviews overall.
The Specialized FSR XC Comp was probably my 2nd choice.

In the end it's between what you can afford, performance, value for money, and what you like - I know I never really considered some bikes purely because I didn't like the look of them. In the end whatever I chose I'd be stoked with (well as long as you don't get a heap of people telling you that you made the wrong choice!).

My husband still has his Hardrock Comp (2001 model) and it's virtually like new, the most dirt it saw was when I rode it when I was between bikes after selling my old one!

I'm in Townsville QlLD (Australia) at the moment, but pending a job interview we may be moving to Cobar NSW.