Discussion: Dual suspension bike

I am planning to move up from my current hard tail [Trek 6000] to a full suspension for racing this year.
I love my hardtail, but am aiming to do longer races hence I need to go easy on my body and hence the dually.

Am wondering what you guys would recommend? One of the bikes on my radar us Fuel EX 8.

Any thoughts/tips would be greatly appreciated.

I think the EX 8 is more of a trail bike but would still be good and comfortable, just maybe not as racey. A giant anthem would be up there, get insane value with components and a high quality alloy frame. You could also try a 29er hardtail. A guy I know just did a 100km race on one and said it was wicked and comfortable also.
Hope this helps :)

The geometry and suspension design of all the top manufactures are similar enough that my advice would be to see what you can get a great deal on first, then test ride and see if you like it. There is not a large enough difference between the different frame designs that I feel it necessary to decide what you want first, unless budget is off little concern.

I ride a Santa Cruz 29er and really love their virtual pivot point design, but guys beat me on all sorts of stuff all the time. Trek, specialized, giant, and pretty much all the other guys make great bikes as well. Also, if you're 6 feet or over, you should forgo the little wheels or go 29er as well. They makes long races more comfy.

Am 5.8 & my budget is about $2500. I would ultimately have replace my Trek 6000 with 29er hard trail but not currently, mostly not year...

@tommyg: I checked Anthem X2 which has similar components as Ex8 & priced similarly as well.

@FoxShadow: Do you have any bikes in mind??

For that budget, I'd definitely recommend giving the 29'er hardtail a look. FWIW, I ride a Kona King Kahuna, which is a more like 3K USD, but you might be able to find one on sale. I've used it in a 100K race last summer on a moderately rocky trail and found it every bit as comfortable and fast as the Specialized Epic (full suspension 26) I used the year before.

26 inch - comfort Pivot 5 or 5.7, Fisher Roscoe 2 if you can find one. I have the Trek ex 7 and hate the suspension system.
29 inch - Specialized Epic hardtail
29 inch F/S Salsa spearfish, Fisher Rumblefish

Specialized has a full suspension Epic 29er starting at $3100 this year. The Epics are very fast and nimble racing bikes.