Yeah, next time were going I'll give u a shout on here. Wont be until middle of July, got a few busy weekends coming up.

Llandegla is hella good, id recommend getting down there or coming with us next time we go and hiring a hardtail and see how you find a hardtail on an XC route. Thats what my flatmate did and it persuaded him to buy a full sus. dont get me wrong plenty ppl ride hardtail on XC and there fine with it. Its personal preference i suppose. I am from right up near the scottish borders and have riden alot of the 7 stanes and there really good set-ups for mountain biking. Best thing to do is not buy the first bike you see, go to your local bike shop and try some bikes, even riding them round there car parks you will soon find the type of frame and set-up that just feels right.

Yeah me and my mate at Uni try and get out every weekend. Where abouts in Liverpool do you live? We live right in the city centre and just hop through the Kingsway Tunnel to chester and into North Wales quite abit. If your wanting to do XC and some more aggresive riding, I would not recommend a hard tail, you are very likely to snap the frame and also after spending a few hours doing XC on a hardtail your arse will be numb as hell. The Giant Trance that the guy posted in response to your forum post is a very good deal, its really well spec'd and looks like its been kept in fantastic condition.

Me and my flatmate both ride AM bikes, and I ride a Norco Six Three.

bbinabit going for a smoke

yep and then you have to think of spares, easier to get 26 tyres etc than 24 especially DH tyres

i was going to get 1 about 18 moon ago but other things popped up so i left it

bottle rocket

just kona bars it was a kinky trials frame