There's also option 2.5; build or buy a new steel bike.
I bought this Marin Nicasio during COVID and tweaked a couple things on it. Every time I think about getting something more road-oriented or trying to find another full-suspension to bomb the trails on here I hop on the Marin and the desire for anything else just melts away. Depending on how much your time is worth to you, this might also end up being the cheapest route vs. finding a frame, sourcing the right parts you'd want on a custom build and then building + dialing it all in.
