SC has never been afraid to charge "dentist" prices for their wares as they were the first to roll a mountain bike out for $10k nearly ten years ago. I'm a dentist and I would not buy one prêt-a-porter. I had a recent discussion with a pal who felt priced out by today's bike costs. However, the truth remains that if you have patience, flexibility and are a smart shopper you can get what you are looking for at much lower costs. If I was starting with a blank slate and wanted to spend less to get something with nearly the same performance and 100% of the fun factor I'd buy either a Stumpjumper EVO alloy or a Status frame and build it up. You could do this for $3k+/-.

I like what SC did with the new Megatower in terms of modern geometry. In frame storage should be a goal of all bike makers for these kinda bikes (trail or enduro) so bravo on that. SC has never been shy about having eye-watering prices, being the first to drop a bike for over $10k nearly ten years ago. That said, for a minute they offered a bunch of their bikes in alloy base level versions. They could likely do so with this as well as the newer Bronson and sell tons of them.

Speshy has always been the company that everyone loves to hate. However they have really been making some great stuff of late. I run Specialized tires, a Tactic lid as well as their 2FO shoes and they all work exceedingly well. The Status in either travel version has everything you need to get out and have a great time at a price that no other company can come can touch. I'd venture that the 140 model would be amazing as a do-it-all chaos machine on the cheap.

I am a longtime Kona fan, but there is not enough difference nor benefit b/t this and the Status that I would recommend someone buying this over the Specialized. Especially not for having to deal with a press fit BB, weaker brakes and $1400 more.

There really isn't anything that touches this bike (or the 140 version) for the price. As for any drivetrain/future proof concerns I would have like to have seen Speshy use a Microshift 10 speed 1x, but you can always do that later. The Microshift stuff is lighter than any of the base level stuff from big red or blue, works great and is a screaming deal. Juan Velez who took 2nd and 5th at Red Bull Monserrate and Val Pairaiso respectively rode this bike smoking riders who were on bikes that cost thousands more.