neil, Mr MC’s post seized solid on its second (admittedly very wet) ride and whe he finally forced it down was rewarded with a face full of welsh muddy water, so unless Ran thinks it reasonable to service (which is a simple task) every ride we’ll be sticking to a boot as a first line of defence. I’ve heard the same argument for years against shock boots on rear shocks, which is reasonable if it encourages you to neglect the component and not maintain it. Mr MC is a pathological tinkerer and fettler so that wont be an issue.
LOl @ r_r, my point being if you have a nice bike built out of good looking quality components, a cut-down bit of tube looks a bit heath robinson and cheap compared to something purpose-made.