It's WAY too big for me. I'm happy at very short distances now. I did double centuries for a number of years long ago and now events about an hour are great. (cross!) I'm tempted by some special events like Downieville's all-mountain though...
Regarding a bike, I'd probably do a Castellano frameset. Either go softail for weight, or his full suspension rig. Why? mostly because it's ultra-simple, tough and doesn't bounce like some simple pivot designs. I'm the odd one who sees value in the simplicity of it. If I had infinite budget, Dean Duke. No carbon!