Just finished (sorta) the build on my medium Nickel; got a 15QR kashima talas rlc with a rp23 in the back. The parts kit is a mix of 3 generations of XT/XTR, and some pretty stout wheels I laced up personally with XT high flange (Boat anchor!) hubs, 14 gauge spokes, and DT ex400 hoops. Still figuring out what stem and seatpost works best, so no final weight but it was a few c-hairs over 29 pounds with a maverick speedball post and race face diabolus stem. Hoping to bring it down closer to 28 lbs by not using spare AM/DH parts...
Anyways with the insane build disclaimer out of the way, I must say that this bike is really superb. It pedals and climbs like a blur when the fork is in 120mm mode, and slackens out nicely for rough ground like a nomad in when in 150mm mode. The frame is stiff, so it is pretty confidence inspiring, and encourages more agressive riding than 125mm of rear travel would suggest. Even with 10mm more travel in the front than recommended, it still rides fine, and is a great bike to have a travel adjust fork to alter the geometry to suit the trail.
Overall fit and finish is good too, the head tube was cleanly and evenly machined and almost mirror smooth on the inside, the bottom bracket shell had good clean threads, and the decals are so clean that they look like fine, hand-painted china. There are a few tiny drips and runs on the powder coat, for example a little wart on the rear IS brake mounts, but nothing that cannot be corrected or that is too noticeable.
Looking forward to spending more time riding the Nickel and getting it dialed in, as it's a bit unconventional in a lot of ways. I think it will work for a lot of different types of riding, similar to how the Blur 4x and Specialized Pitch do, but with some modernized features like a tapered headtube, angular contact bearings, and creative options on cable routing.
I'll see if I can find anything I don't like about the bike, but so far it looks like Santa Cruz has knocked another one out of the park!