Darkside adventures

My 2004 GT Avalanche. Owned from new. The wheels, frame, seatpost and brake cylinders are original. My go to bike for commuting, shopping and weekend club rides when the roads are damp.

I used to do a lot more XC but I have lousy offroad technical skills. I'm faster going uphill than down on anything that might require more than a weedy bunny hop and that really is not bragging about my climbing abilities.

Hardtail MTB if I was forced to choose just 1 bike. Can pretty much tackle anything.

I think MTB can be as complicated as you want to make it.

I'm still using a Trek Superfly from 2017. Fast, light 29er with 100mm travel forks and (now) a 1x drivetrain. 

Have raced XC on it, done long gravel rides on it and messed about at local trail centres (Beecraigs, Comrie Croft).

I've used it for two seasons CX racing as well with narrower chopped down bars and some dedicated CX tyres.

I think a lot of the new trends and fads (tubeless, droppers, massive bars) all offer something to the experience (fun, no harm in that) but none are strictly necessary and are 'addicitive' e.g. once you go there you won't go back! I'd rather not know what I was missing and keep my bike simple, cheap and light... Same as my road bike actually!

Absolutely. I started out as a teenager mountain biking (over twenty years ago). Got into road cycling when I moved up to Sheffield about ten years ago. Then got back into mountain biking and did quite a lot in the Peak District. I really enjoyed it, and the odd times I went to trail centres I really loved them too. But the 'winch and plummet' nature of Peak District mountain biking just got too much in the end, and I ended up not really enjoying the uphills. I never really took the time to work on my skills, so the downhills too ended up often being exercises in hanging on for dear life, with my hands and forearms really painful afterwards. Also did some when I lived in the Lakes but that was even, though worth if dor the epic nature of the rides. I wasn't really doing much when I came back to Sheffield, then my mtb got nicked anyway. I mainly ride road now, and I've found that cyclocross racing, and just riding my 'cross bike off-road ('gravel riding'!) satisfies me now when I fancy some time away from the cars.

I've been more MTB for most of my cycling life until very recently...I may just be 60% roadie now. 

It is very complicated to be honest. I dont know what half the shit means and jeezo there are way more bits that need maintained.  

So far i've never had the same laughing like a looney, jumping up and down celebrating by myself in a forest at how awesome a trail was kinda high that you get from MTB on a road bike. Closest I guess is getting a KOM you really wanted BUT the more subtle achievement of smashing out a huuuuuge road ride over a whole day is also something you dont often get from riding Enduro type rides. 

Good thing I dont have to decide between the two! 

And unfortuantely todays standard will not be THE standard in a little bit.

When I chose 27.5x3 it was already becoming a redundant format.