Hate agreeing with deepak!
Then again, two custom road bikes will keep you from the Crumpton, so tough call.
It's not as much the MTB FRAME lasting forever, as say, the fork. Knowing Mike, he'll go high end, or one step down. That will typically be using the most advanced/newest tech. He'd probably want to go with a 1.5" HT, and then he could use more things, by changing headsets, no? There's the bottom bracket issue going forward as well (remember, we're talking "Upgrade Mikey" here).
Just let DeSalvo build what they think will win awards, so you can have a trophy to go along with your kit.
**BRENT**