Reading through the posts. I'm pretty new to the biking after been off the bikes for around 9-10 years. I used to commute everyday which had a bit of road cycling, soft off road trails and cycle paths. I used to ride with a giant defy 1 but hated the off the road part that could get very wet and muddy. I bought a 29er orange clockwork and started using that with the 120mm fork locked out . First thing I did was change the tyres I got some cyclo-cross tyres as the 700c would fit the 29er wheels. This made for a fastish big wheels bike. It made it very fun to commute. So if I was you I'd start with just tyres and see how you get on.