Rufus,
Thanks for writing and for the love and sorry for the lengthy delay in my getting back to you. It's been pretty hectic (exciting) around here as we make final preparations for Interbike.
You raise a very good question and unfortunately one that is very risky for me to answer. If you asked me the same question on the hill or in a dark alley, my answer would probably be a little different, but I need to be very careful with what I say from this desk. So - here's the official answer;
the Mission was not designed for slope style. It's an all-mountain trail bike that happens to be incredibly versatile, but it wasn't meant to be used for slope style riding.
That said - I
will tell you that the Mission
has been used for that kind of riding during its development and with much fun and success and it was even ridden at Bike's Monster Park event last month at Snowshoe, WV. That's all I'm going to say about that because
the Mission was not designed for slope style riding.
As far as the Sabbath goes; that is a new bike that is a product of our Diamondback brothers across the water in the UK. You can read more about it on their website
here or write to DB UK Product Manager Mike Sanderson at
MikeSanderson@raleigh.co.uk. You'll want to ask about distribution of that bike if you are interested in one because it is not a model that we (Raleigh America) will be distributing in the States.
Thanks for your patience and sorry again for the delay, Trevor