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I'd still live to try it on something like a Following or Trance 29.

I've been reading a lot of articles and reviews of the Message from riders on MTBR and whatever else I can find and I am gathering that the largest hurdles are set up and expectations. People who just base the fork on looks alone have no idea what they are talking about outside of personal aesthetics and armchair engineering (and neither hold any water). Both of these actual “issues” are just two sides of the same coin as I see it. Everyone is coming at the Message from a telescopic fork and therefore bringing telescopic knowledge to their set up...