so Fred... I'm trying to understand what were the key geometry targets to focus on for a new bike.
From your BikeCad drawing your bike has a 73 d HTA and 65 mm of rake versus the Rawland's 73.3 and 70 mm of rake. Is that correct? So too much trail on the Rawland?
Also I noticed you have 8 mm more bottom bracket drop than the Rawland. It seems that most of the 650B bikes are closer to the Rawland's drop no of 65mm. Is that an important factor also?
Also you mention handlebar width. I know Jan likes narrow bars and he has said he feels that it works better with low trail bikes. It seems that off-road a slightly wider bar may be better for singletrack even with the quicker steering. I can't fathom going back to a narrow bar as I love the fit of a 46cm bar.

What other design factors are important to control besides chainstay length?