It's great, it really is. Don't notice it on road, only up hill sprints standing up, and even then it's not that bad. Lockout is good but has got a tiny bit wobbly though. I ride it off road, not as fast as an mtb obviously but over tracks and singletrack etc it's fine. Lot of fun.
My winter roadie is toast, so wondering whether to build up an Orange C16 into a commuter, maybe SS too, maybe 700C wheels, or a new road bike, or as winter only use maybe a CX bike. Seeing yours kinda stirred the CX stuff again.
dunno actual weight. Reckon maybe 24lbs? Feels considerably heavier than the Merlin which is 21lbs. I suppose it's the headshock and those Aksiums. But they are nice solid wheels.
It's nice as you can cruise at 23mph on the road and still get up steepish off road sections as it's got an 12-32 block. Might put a granny ring on too. Headshock even makes roots more do-able.
I love it.
Am thinking about putting drop bars on the XLM actually. Might be interesting.