I just did a pretty big XC ride with a friend of mine. He was on his Spark RC, I on my HT.
Yeah, I am sticking to the HT. He is a very skilled rider, also races Pro and I have ridden with him at Mammoth and Summit and can affirm that he is NOT a dirt roadie. He was struggling to make it through and over stuff on his Spark that I was doing on my HT. The bike is just too long. The small advantage he has in straight line speed on the DH just didn't make up for my bikes superior handling in tight situations. He was unclipping and walking so much stuff that I could ride though.