realskiers

My thoughts are very similar to bushwhackers...I owned an older 26er Dragon and loved it.  Niner quality and Jamis quality are about equal, and since there are not many Taiwanese factories working in 853 Reynolds steel frame construction, chances are very high the MCR and the Jamis dragon are made in the same place.

400.00 or so for a new reynolds 29er frame is pretty decent, in my opinion.

Caveat-While I have no qualms about Niner quality, I have never cottoned to their geometry.  I spent 2 weeks on a SS Sir 9 my buddy was looking to unload.  Good bike, had a nice spec, but just felt pretty blah about the handling....on the other hand, Niner has many, many enthusiasts who say other wise.

I got a chance to put in some rides on a Demo Giant XTC Carbon 29er....I'm not usually a carbon bike fan, but that bike rode wonderfully, looks good, and accelerates better than any big wheeled bike I've ridden.  Geometry is very nice for endure style racing.   

Bush, big, chunky soft compound tires make that sort of riding doable (and people have done it for years) even with tubes-Best rider I know runs Ardent 2.4 29ers, with Tubes @ 30psi-doesn't flat and kills it in New England Chunk...but,  I agree that those same tires  run Tubeless will handle even better.