I personally found a using a bumbag with a 2nd bottle and phone and keys in ( tube, co2 and tyre levers strapped to frame ) to be more unstable and uncomfortable than a small evoc backpack . It’s not a £75 ‘ enduro race pack ‘tho, just a northface bumbag which cost £15 so maybe that’s the problem

Ridge Components
Not used them but I know several people who have and I’ve not heard a bad word about them so far( 5 out of 5 in mbuk review ). They were doing Hope pro4 builds for £ 699 before Christmas and have offers on their Instagram page now and again, defo worth a look

If it has to be Specialized I’d go for the butcher or hillbilly in grid casing, used controls a few years ago and they would pop at the 1st sign of rock. Personally it’s either a Magic Mary or a Maxxis Shorty at this time of year, Minion DHF or Magic Mary in summer, although the trails in the north east are currently bone dry and dusty so any of the 3 above will be good year round, always go 3c on the front if its maxxis tho

Ghost recon wildlands

Broke mine a couple of years ago ( stupid crash, barely moving ), no displacement or surgery, cast for 6 weeks and was back to work 2 weeks later (welder in a heavy engineering company) using a wrist support from decathlon which was by far the best of a lot that I tried. Also used whilst riding for around 6 months after I started riding again but left it another month after going back to work before trying the bike ( going back to work was against doctors advice, recommended at least another month off due to the job, stat sick pay only so had no choice). Doctors said it would be up to 2 years before it was fully recovered

A lad I ride with was having trouble with his second set yesterday( 1st set were replaced on warranty ), same problem of bite point changing. Sometimes it was just not biting at all then 5 mins later working normally, then back to nothing. I personally have a set of slx m7000 on my hardtail and so far so good, they are basically the same but without the bite point adjustment ( doesn’t work anyway to be honest ) so just as good with less to go wrong.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Mondraker-Foxy-Carbon-RR-Mountain-Bike-2018-Trail-Full-Suspension-MTB_110966.htm?sku=411904&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqd_Wp8rA3wIVg7HtCh2K1A_pEAQYAiABEgJit_D_BwE#

Should tick most of your boxes, even if its marketed as an ‘enduro’ bike. I currently have a dune r carbon and while it needs more maintenance than most bikes I’ve had it easily the best I’ve ridden and pedals amazingly well with the shock fully open, I’d guess this thing will pedal better still

+1 for what jam bo said, also helps with linking them into a proper ride

No expert and skinny legs as well but I’ve been told deadlifts are the best weight training for mtb

+1 for the Hydroshot

Madison Zenith DWR, I have a pair of endura waterproof shorts as well and they’ve never been out of the draw since I got the Madison’s

And it was last wkend of October the first year

Entered both, I didn’t race this year as I was just back riding after a broken ankle and couldn’t face it 2 days in a row. The stages are a mix of steep rooty rocky off camber stuff in the trees and flat out open moorland ( stage 5 which was dropped for the race due to weather forecast was over 3.5km last year), only ridden the golfie once but the wooded stages are pretty similar, not quite waterworld steep but pretty close in places. Most people I spoke to said it was harder and better than they expected, race day was very wet 1st year and as said above the fresh cut track was pretty tough but great fun. The only negative thing personally (due to my lack of fitness more than anything else) last year was the overall route being almost 25 miles with under 4 of actual racing, the transition from stg4 to 5 was a killer. Already in for next year

Currently got MM on both ends of a mondraker dune, grip is unreal on natural/off piste trails but the drag is too much for trail centre stuff, usually run a rock razor at the back which is surprisingly grippy in corners and rolls faster, as said above braking can be pretty scary tho

Dainese Trailskins

Laggan wolftrax is pretty good, although not the biggest it’s probably one of my top 3 trail centres ( black trail is esp good ) and is worth a trip if you’re in the area, quite rocky so won’t be boggy. There’s a load of unofficial stuff over the road but I’d guess it’ll be a mess after heavy rain so I’d give that a miss

Hamsterley is defo worth a visit if you’re passing, as a few have already said avoid the official red route as there’s a lot of pointless fireroad climbing that can easily be missed out if you know how. Start on black from visitor centre until you reach a small bridge with the end of the nitrous trail on the right afterwards,  then up to the K line and finish on the rest of the red. Loads of cheeky trails, some are easy to find, some pretty hard to find, most of it is on Strava. There’s also Danny Harts bike park although it’s pay to ride and full face helmet only, uplifts run pretty much every Sat / Sunday but I’d book in advance. Probably 50 / 50 between dh and trail bikes these days, bikes and full face lids can be hired at the bike park cabin

+1 for Hope, got e4’s with 203 f and 180 r floating rotors myself and no complaints, I’d go for v4’s if you’re over 11 stone or you ride a lot of dh tho

Never broken 1 personally but did see 1 snap clean in half whilst watching a dh race at Hamsterley a few years ago. The lad was going full belt down a pretty hairy rock garden at the time and I’m not sure if the stem snapped before or after he hit the ground but it does happen, direct mount on dual crown fork as well

+1 for Dainese trail skins

Just noticed leisure lakes only have small trousers left, when I reproofed the shorts they didn’t really need it but was doing a jacket so I put them in at the same time

Leisure lakes bikes currently have Madison Zenith zip off waterproof trousers for £55,

Madison Zenith DWR, used all through last winter n by far the best waterproof shorts I’ve tried, I also have a pair of endura mt500 shorts which have never seen the light of day since I bought the Madison’s. They are pretty long and cover the knee, not badly priced either, I always use nikwax techwash and reproof them once a year and can’t fault them so far

I had an slx m675 lever returned from shimano with an m7000 caliper after a warranty claim last year, still working fine

Worth a try, totally off topic but have you by any chance tried to fit crank boots ? I’ve tried a few raceface ones and the hole centre of the boot doesn’t line up with the pedal insert on the crank,  eventually gave up after repeatedly being told by silverfish that I wasn’t fitting them correctly

nixie, I’m gonna guess the cranks ( 2016 aeffect direct mount ) on my Mondraker have the self extracting outer cap and that not all aeffect cranks come with it. There is an 8mm inner bolt which threads into the inside of the 24mm spindle and a 10mm outer cap, when the inner bolt is loosened it pushes the drive side off the spindle by pushing against the rear of the outer cap, the non drive side then needs a little tap with the dead blow hammer to release it, and can then be removed easily by hand. I’ve had Sram GXP cranks which were removed in exactly the same way

Rape/panic alarms WELL HIDDEN in the shed with a string or wire attached to the inside of the door by a hook, leave enough slack so you can open the door enough to unhook the string but if it’s opened any more than that the alarms will go off. Worked at the old man’s after a couple of break ins, they didn’t hang around 3rd time

Aeffect cranks with 24mm spindle do not require a crank extractor, 8mm hex/allen key and a dead blow hammer ( for non drive side ) is all I’ve needed to remove mine, the do have to be VERY tight or they work loose pretty easily so might take some force to loosen if it’s the 1st time they’ve been off the frame

Let all the air out and see if it uses the full shaft. I had and rp23 on a Spesh enduro and was convinced by a local suspension ‘expert’ to replace it with a monarch plus. The rp23 had a limiter inside so although it was a 63mm shaft it only used 54mm at full travel, the monarch was 63mm but used the full length which resulted in a snapped shock mount. Luckily I did this with no air in the shock while standing still or I’d probably have been on the way to A&E. Set the sag based on the stroke length, not the shaft length

Had a pair of Dianese trail skins for a few years, can’t fault them for anything but full on dh stuff, can honestly say I forget they’re there when riding, don’t slip and don’t get 2 sweaty

Heard good things about Ridge Components wheelsets, guessing they use similar rims as Sixth Element and look to be around the same price. The guys who run Ridge are local to me so I’ve seen a good few out on the trails and not heard a bad word about them so far

Used a Montero for around 2 years now, no problems with pads and easily most comfortable lid I’ve ever worn, paid around £85 so bit of a bargain as well

Had a set of Roval wheels do the similar, nipples snapped & corroded to threads, spokes therefore had to b replaced. A local SPECIALIZED dealer could not manage to get the correct length spokes from specialized & after waiting around 5 weeks and missing out on several long planned rides I ditched the wheels for a set of Hope/Stans Flow EX. If you get them repaired I’d go for brass nipples & do the lot, if a couple have gone the rest won’t be far behind

I use Magic Mary & Minion DHF 3c on front depending on where & when I’m riding, find the MM better on everything apart from dry hardpack trail centre stuff, usually run a dhr2 or high roller 2 on the rear, not 3c tho. Magic Mary both ends if it’s really wet and I’m riding steep stuff, only done this 4 racing tho

Mercedes vito

I’ve had a carbon dune for over a year, no problems so far although as mentioned above the linkage bolts do work loose pretty easily. Looked at a foxy xr when I bought it but it was a fair bit more £££ so went with the dune, best bike I’ve owned but needs 2 b ridden fast or can be hard work

GT85 sprayed onto a cloth/rag if it’s any alloy or steel frame

Dakine, had a few of their jerseys that weren’t too in your face and pretty well priced compared to other brands

+1 for one up components

Endura do some around that price, never used them so can’t say if they’re any good. I can 100% recommend Adidas Evil Eye Evo but they are a fair bit more expensive