Greetings all.

I am a lapsed mtber (ex of West Wiltshire and Bradford Yorkshire) and have the yearning to get the dirt flowing under me again. Except 1) I have been out of The Scene for the better part of 10 years and 2) I have emigrated to Botswana.

I met a guy on top of a roof a few weeks ago who said he had bought a bike from CRC and thought it was a good deal (shipped free to South Africa), so I got 'netting and am now confused/indecisive.

From CRC I found a couple of possibilities: Cube Elite HPC K18 and Cube Reaction RX. An old riding buddy has described these as "Euro XC" and then pointed me at 18 Bikes.

I have been in correspondence with them and they suggest a Genesis Altitude 20, or a Cotic/Ragley custom build. Very helpful guys, but shipping looks like it is going to be a killer.

My budget for the bike is about quid1500 including VAT. CRC has free shipping, so that's money in my pocket. Money from reclaimed VAT applies across the board, so does not affect the comparisons.

Local rides are generally fast dry hardpack with dust/sand. Mud is very much absent. Not much in the way of ups and downs: quite flat and fast cruising (based on where I walk the dogs and drive my Hliux).

Rides are likely to be half-day to day rides.

I used to (1997-2000) ride an Orange Prestige with a 150mm stem and the widest bars I could find on epic day rides out of Bradford/Calderdale/Bingley. (Anybody know where Matt Wenham can be found?)

I have browsed this and other forums and see a lot of talk about slack angles, tight and loose handling and wotnot.

I like the idea of a nice steel frame (Cotic from 18 Bikes is current favourite), but the price (quid200-300 cheaper once shipping is considered) of the CRC options is very attractive, and I like bar ends 😯 . The Cube Elite HPC looks very sweet, but I don't like the idea of brittle failure – how real/likely is this problem with carbon frames? I am not a big-hit hard-riding type.

The question is this: What would be best suited for this kind of riding?

Then, what are the essential tools/spares? Spare brake pads for sure. Any other special/indispensable tools required in this day and age?