Originally Posted by
Muirenn
So, does XC mean a less upright position?
Generally, yes. The top tube on my Santa Cruz Juliana, an XC bike, is longer than any of my other bikes (my road bikes aren't particularly aggressive). It can feel uncomfortable if I'm just tooling around on the bike. On the trail, I don't notice it at all, but that's mostly because I am rarely seated for long. The longer cockpit gives me plenty of room to manuever--and that's what you can expect to do on an XC bike. An XC bikes seems like the right choice for you in terms of weight (trail, all mountain and downhill bikes are all heavier than XC) and travel, although based on what you've shared in terms of the off-road riding available to you in S.C., I don't know that you'll benefit from a FS bike over a HT. I guess it depends on where you ultimately want to ride the bike.
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