Hey Paul!

Well, the OH negotiated the budget down to £1600, and I may have let it creep up to £2k again.

I’ve been out today on my old Compulsion and aside from clearly not checking it after 10 years in the shed and the rear mech cable coming loose and me having to basically carry it home, I’m really enjoying the riding and can’t wait to hit the trails.

I am thinking that if I’m hitting £2k for the Cotic Hardtail, I may as well just add on the extra £250 (ish) and get the Aether 7. It seems pretty much a great do it all bike. Plus the rear suspension may save me from a bit of a lapse of concentration, as being self employed, no workey means no money and I already snapped my wrist racing Dual Slalom when I was younger..

If not I think it will be the Zero 29. As much as I love steel, I don’t think I can warrant the extra £400 or so on a bike that in all honesty, I won’t know the difference with.

I may go with the Aether,with a view that if I want a hardtail I’ll save up for a Cotic.

There man maths on getting from a £1600 hard tail to a £2.3k FS…

Helped a mate do it with the DIY kit, used two kits and it wasn’t great and ended up costing more than a recharge.

Take it to a garage, ask if the do a free leak test.

Since lockdown hit I have decided to get on with getting a Tamiya car(s) that I wanted as a kid.

I had a Bear Hawk, but wanted a Manta Ray and dreamed about an Egress.

Fast forward 19 years and I found an original Manta Ray, bought it and turned it into a shelf queen (mostly).

Another 12 years and I seem to have gone a bit mad and picked up a Manta Ray reissue, Egress reissue and got my dad a Sand Scorcher (he had one back before I was born).

I’ve just put the Manta Ray together with a Sport Tuner 540 and a load of shiny bits and am now having a look at spraying the shell.

I’m saving the Egress for when I know what I’m doing.