Here it is in slightly better lighting. The dog in the backround [rescue greyhound] weighs significantly more!
Weight as pictured ~15.85kg. I still have a few ways to reduce weight a bit (albeit not much).
Rear brake has bedded in, now performs much better.
All I need to do now is cut the steerer tube.
But because it's a direct mount stem, there's almost no margin for error. That's why I've been putting this task off. So I will raise the top clamp 1cm to give a bit more room for error, and put the 1cm of spacers underneath.
Seatpost at maximum extension as I was just riding on mostly flat ground. Saddle a bit too far forward (I was trying to move my weight distribution forward a bit as I think my rear spring is slightly too soft), I may need a 500lb spring.
I was pleased to see that the compression damping works pretty well to eliminate pedal bob, which I think was always a problem on big travel single pivot bikes wasn't it? Although only ~5 clicks of adjustment; I was expecting more range than that.
I had trouble running the chain guard + tensioner simulteaneously. I soon found out that they're not meant to be run together. I may actually run the bike without them as the rear derailleur has a clutch mech (my first one) and the chainring is narrow-wide which supposedly helps with chain retention.
Will probably move up to a 12-23T cassette (from 11-21T) though when funds allow and/or smaller chainring.
Overall, I'm happy with it!
I'll try to get some better pics another time...