They are nice bikes but with the rigid forks that they weren't designed for they just look ill!
The headangles are far too steep and the distance between the frontwheel and downtube looks awkward, I can imagine them being skittish to ride on rough downhills as well, I suppose it depends on what you use them for. Your saddle position just looks wrong, I'm glad you've fixed it!
Horses for courses and that, but I think these bikes should be run with nice lightweight (sid?) suspension forks.