Maverick Boy's list looks pretty good to me but it depends on your budget. You might get a fairly good one for under a grand if it's cycle scheme. I'd look into that. I got a Trance X5 last spring under the scheme and I've hardly been off it since it's a great bike. The new Boardman got a good review and has great components. The Zesty's had good reviews too and looks like a work of art in my opinion but will probably cost you a fair bit more.

I got the X5 and soon put an 80mm stem on and a comfier saddle. I'll post some pics when I get some uploaded.

Ok thanks everyone. @br: It has the Rock Shoxx Recon solo air 335's it came with on the front. They seem to have mixed reviews and I don't really have anything to compare them too. Maybe I'll test ride some bikes with higher end forks and see what they're like. I am happy with the Giant shock and would probably upgrade wheels and maybe even brakes first.

I'm going to have to try out one of these soon, they sound great. On a more serious note…..I like to think that I put practicality ahead of looks but to put mud guards like these on a mountain bike is so wrong.

Maybe the driving ban is fair but not the sentence. People don't take enough care on the roads and she should have received a longer sentence for driving like a retard. She may not have set out to kill someone but if you don't concentrate whilst driving that's what you'll end up doing. I'm surprised more cyclists aren't killed by crap drivers. How many times do you see motorists actually bother to signal when overtaking cyclists or give them sufficient room? Then there's all those idiots like Clarkson who slag off cyclists for getting in the way.

Ok thanks for your help. I'll look at all those options.

I much prefer natural stuff to trail centres. Trail Centres are usually just bad weather options for me. One of my favourite trails starts up above the tree line and descends into the woods. It has some very fast bits and enough technical bits to keep things interesting. I like technical but not so technical that it slows me down too much.

You could dismantle the bike and put all the bits and frame in a small box which you could hold closer to your body as you stand on the scales. This would be more acurate. If you have a beer belly make sure you tuck that into.

Maybe global warming is debatable but one things for sure- we should stop raping our planet. It'll only end in tears and has already for many.

I haven't had any problems with mine and hopefully i won't (touch wood). It seems to fit the Trance X frame well. I think you just need to make sure it's all done up right even when you're tired at the end of the day. I have had one problem though which was my fault. I noticed a scratched/worn area on the headtube and couldn't figure out how it got there until i realised that the turbulence of the bike being on the roof had forced the brake cable to rub against the frame. I was very disappointed as it was new but then i chipped paint of a chainstay on a rock soon after so the scratched head tube didn't seem so bad then :P.

I have a Thule roof rack and a Giant Trance X. Can't remember which rack it is but it's one of them ones with the lockable clamp thing. I noticed once when I was securing the clamp that it can slip if it's not located on the downtube in a favourable position. It seems to fit nice and snuggly where the downtube begins it's curve towards the bottom bracket so then downtube and bracket are at roughly a right angle to each other. I do it up nice and tight and make sure I lock it then i give the bike a bit of a shake this way and that to simulate in journey turbulence etc and check everything is tight.

It's also worth checking your roof rack every so often too. I have a cheap roof rack and luckily noticed that some of the screws had loosened off a bit when it was new.

My first full susser is a Giant Trance X5. I was limited to <£1000 as I got it in the cycle to work scheme but probably the best bike I could have got. If I'd had the money I probably would have gone for the Anthem X at the time as reveiws were awesome and it's meant to be very fast on xc stuff. However. I'm really glad I have the Trance X as it's more suited to the kind of fast gnarly single track I like to ride.

You need to think about your needs. Like Swalsey says the Anthem is probably better for most trail centre and xc stuff if that's what you'll be doing but if you think you might want to progress onto bigger challenges the Trance might be a better option. Having said that, the Trance is a perfectly capable XC bike. I've ridden mine 50km + in a day without getting too tired and it doesn't even have pro pedal or lockout. I don't know about the Anthem but one thing to consider with the Trance is the low bottom bracket. It doesn't cope well when the rocks get big and the ruts get deep but it makes it very stable and good at cornering.

I'm glad I found this site it makes interesting reading. I think I must be the only person in the UK with the Trance X5 but it was probably the best full susser I could get on the cycle to work scheme. It's my first full susser so nothing to compare it too. I just know that it seems to do anything I want it to very well. The Giant shock doesn't even have pro pedal or anything and I can just pedal away all day on it. I've put a shorter stem and a comfier saddle on it. I like the idea of getting longer forks and dropping the stem, might try that in the future.

I think it depends what kind of riding you do too. My Giant Trance X5 came with a 100mm stem. This is good for climbing as it helps keep the front end planted but has the draw back of making the steering less snappy on descents and harder to lift the front end over obstacles etc. So now I have an 80mm stem which I think is a good compromise. I'm also 6'2" and I moved the saddle back so that I wasn't cramping the cockpit. I would think about the kind of riding I want to do but make comfort my top priority.

I did a route starting from Aberfoyle on Saturday and had one of the best days out on my bike yet. I headed east from Aberfoyle and did the single track heading NE alongside the Menteiths down to Loch Venacher. The ground was mostly frozen but it looks like this section would normally be very muddy in places at this time of year. Headed west alongside Loch Venacher then up to Loch Drunkie and back to the start via David Marshall Lodge. It's a pity you didn't get your coffee John. Winter opening times can be very unpredictable so I always take my own supplies to save disappointment.