I just ordered a new bike. I have consistently purchased longer travel trail bikes until today. I ride a Trek Slash 9, which I love, and am blown away by it's capabilities. Before that I had a Yeti SB-66c with a 160 Fox Talas. Prior to that I had a Transition Bandit 26. I have ridden each at The Canyons bike park. I have ridden each at Snowbasin on their cross-country trails. I have always felt I needed more travel, but I still hopped on shorter travel bikes and even hard tails that I enjoyed. So, even though I imagined that I needed more travel, it was never founded.
Today, I bucked my long travel trend and ordered Yeti's newest, awesomest Switch Link bike, the SB-5c. But it's an all new Switch Link called Switch infinity. They have been developing it for 3 years now and say that they haven't had issues with the new link wearing out. It has external ports for lube and is completely sealed. Every review ranks it in the top for trail bikes. It's lighter weight than previous Yeti Switch bikes. All of this is good, but the silhouette really got me. These tube shapes are gorgeous.
They only offer it in full builds with Sram 1x drive trains and Fox suspension. They have a mount for a front derailleur, but don't offer it as frame only yet. I'm told it will be available late to mid-August. Last time I took a risk on a 5-inch bike and ordered it unseen, I was very happy. I have a feeling I'm going to be equally pleased this time around. Ask me in about a month about it.