What was the spec before? If it was still only 26lb, bet it wasn’t half bad before!

I had some Mavic hoops (cheap) and XT throughout. Couldn’t afford to get my dream bike in one chunk so did it in two – with a few years in between.

Port Isaac – Cornywall

I only read MBUK, MBR and of course STW. Gave up on WMB about 12 months ago – wasn’t really going anywhere. I still flick through it in WHS but have not felt the urge to part with cash for it. If times are hard – MBR may go the same way. STW and MBUK are consistently good reads.

My Crank Bros 17 has been excellent as well. Comes in a handy metal container and slips into the smallest of back packs. No issues after 12 months use.

Went to Paris and walked about in the sunshine – the warmth is starting to be felt….

Also, went to a conference and heard Sir Ken Robinson talk about creativity and education – pretty awesome – check out his stuff on t’internet.

Yup – Mud X are the south east saviours!

Cool – thanks for the advice :-)

LBS – which I think is getting them from Hope directly. I will go back to them in the morning and check. Do Hope rotors work with XTR I guess I should ask – sure they will but worth checking.

Yup – deffo 160s for XC use. Will have to find out whether they are coming with rotors now – not sure why I wasn’t asked!?

I’m riding a bog standard factory set-up Heckler from 2010 and it rides like a dream. Revelation fork and assorted bits n bobs from Truvativ. Will look to pimp it over time but needed something a little harder hitting for those bits of Wales that needed extra travel (Yeti ASR was too little and Cove Stiffee was too Stiffee for an all day out session). So it sits in the garage waiting for those days when I need that little extra travel which, overall, inspires confidence and huge grins when you clear things that you would not normally get over/down/through/etc. Took me ages to decide which bike to get in this area of travel but the price/brand/ride all make sense so definitely gets my thumbs up. Sorry – no pics though……

Best ones that I have used are the Bang and Olufsen A8 headphones. Hang over the ears so don’t shake off and sit comfortably in the ear for great sound. Have ridden for 2 years and not a single problem (even in rain and mud). Search around as they can cost the earth but can also be found pretty cheap on ebay….

Have a green stiffee (ooerr) with RockShox revelations (140) and fitted with mainly Hope stuff for winter weather (M4's, ProII hubs, etc). Wanted to get a winter HT to offset the damage to the links on my Yeti asr. It is so much more than just a winter HT. Now taking fast, rooty downhills as quick as I would on the Yeti but it just feels more fun. Light as well. Been to Afan and climbed on it all day – up against my mates Spesh Enduro, it held its own. Haven't tried a Ragley but did do quite a bit of research before opting for the Cove.