First is the Cannondale Moto, seen above in Carbon 2 guise, with 160mm of travel front and rear, a lightweight carbon frame and essentially a single pivot set up. It's a pretty butch spec but still comes in under 30lbs and £3000 I believe. Odd to say that and think it's good value though...

Second, Commencal have had a lot of praise this year for the Meta 5.5 which offers around 140mm of travel using a single pivot and suitably reliable components too. At least this bike is a lot more affordable than the Cannondale at around £1900.

I'll admit here and now, I haven't any experience of either of them but they both strike me as being bikes that someone looking for longish travel machinery should be putting on their list. Both bikes are from proven manufacturers that seem to know their stuff, both offer the bump swallowing joy of single pivot suspension and, as you might have noticed, both offer great colour schemes!

For me, that's the clincher. Just look at the lime green and white colours of the Moto with those great red DT wheels and hubs - I want some of that! Just crying out for some red anodised KCNC jockey wheels I wouldn't you say? And then look at the Commencal, a touch more discrete (if that much white can ever be discrete), accented with lime green banding. It's not too difficult to see where our fashion riders are heading is it, probably with Dave P leading the way!?

If anyone's interested in the Commencal, Head for the Hills in Dorking are the local dealers and have a pretty good reputation for service.

And with all these long, warm evenings we've been making a semi-regular pilgrimage over to Pitch Hill, starting from the Peaslake Stores, heading off for some great evening rides and finishing off at the Hurtwood Inn for a sweet pint.

With an ever expanding range of riders and aquaintances though we've started to venture a bit further and it's been a revelation. One benefit of Pitch Hill over it's more obvious neighbours is it's relatively lightly trafficed. At least, it's generally other riders rather than horses or walkers and there's plenty of room too in the maze of trails out there.

It's a bit technical in places with some surprising rooty steps and drops, plus it can be arduous especially if you start to wind the pace up, at which point the sinuous singletrack turns into real rollercoaster stuff. The best bit is the same as what unifies Leith, Holmbury and Pitch Hills - free draining, loamy soil that seems to come with a bit of spring built in.

If you haven't made it to Pitch, we'd thoroughly recommend it but it's best with someone who really knows the area. It's easy to get lost in the mazy trails that all seem to spit you out at the same key spots after disorienting you with their twists and loops. After several visits, frankly I'm still pretty clueless but at least we've got some riders who know what they're doing!

As yet, it's untried in as much that we haven't actually given it a go but it does seem to be quite promising, the routes being shown as an overlay on Google Maps and allowing you to download them to your GPS in .GPX format.

Not that we have anything against helping out where we can but sometimes local knowledge is hard earned - we certainly don't know everything there is to know round here that's for sure. In some ways I think it's nice just to meet up with local riders who show you what they know. Sometimes you can add something of your own, but at the very least you get to meet different people and see a new perspective.

Even so, I guess we'll try some of these rides out, maybe contact the 'authors' for help. Some of those monster loops of the Surrey Hills look pretty daunting though...!

My main criteria was not too bulky, should be wearable all day but with plenty of protection particularly round the sides as I have an old injury to my IT band on the outside of my left knee that I'm anxious not to exacerbate.

661 is a company I've heard good things about (love the idea of their top of the range padding that is flexible but hardens on impact), I even have a pair of their winter gloves which are pretty good. Plus, Colin has been running a pair of 661 Kyle Strait knee pads for a while now (errm, ever since his off last year in fact!) so he was a good source to ask for feedback.

Overall, I've been pretty impressed. The Kyle Straits come with substantial padding over the knee cap as you'd expect, but also have several smaller pads either side of the knee. They're a reasonably flexible material which probably don't offer quite as much protection as a hard shell but seem plenty good enough, plus you can add shin protectors too as Jem has done. All in all, a pretty good compromise of protection versus ease of use.

The pads are put on over the foot and slide up the leg into place, so probably not a good option if you plan to 'pad up' when you get to the top of the mountain or if, in my case, you're incapable of organising yourself so you put your pads on before your shoes. They're secured by 30mm wide velcro straps top and bottom which do a good job keeping everything tight and in place even if like me you have legs like pipe cleaners. I've got the medium size by the way and they're just right.

In use, it's an odd feeling at first. You feel even more gladiatorial than usual as you dress for the trail but once on the bike the pads are pretty unobtrusive under baggy shorts, making them look from a distance like 3/4 trousers. At first your knees seem improbably hot (but winter rides as a result are likely to be much more comfortable). After a while though you get used to them and effectively forget they're there, in fact I rode with them all day in Afan without really thinking of them.

Since then, I've tried to ride with them on our local rides, for two reasons. I'm undecided if they really are comfortable in the hot weather we've had (on balance I think they are) and secondly am worried about the Law of Sod whose almost inevitably is going to strike just as I decide 'Oh, it's OK I'll just chance it...'.

But a big thumbs up from me for these knee pads, at the end of the day under £40 for serious knee protection is well worth it I reckon.

It was the first time I had dismantled the SRAM X0 cage and on removing the old jockey wheels I could see that though they had a bearing cover on one side, the carbon fibre back plate was doing the same job on the other. So I prised off one of the gold bearing covers and slotted in the KCNC jockey wheels, where they fitted perfectly.

Time will tell if the missing bearing cover really is an issue or not. Personally, I don't care as this must be the cheapest, most cost effective pimpage available at only £15 a pair! Seeing the way the jockey wheels now perfectly compliment my SRAM Red cassette makes it all worthwhile and straight out the box the shifting seems fine.

Available in a range of colours, I know at this stage I'm the guinea pig of the group. But if the performance is half as good as they look, expect to see some multi-hued gearage out on the Pitch Hill trails sometime soon!

I quite fancy a blue set for my 2003 Shimano LX groupset on my On-one which is an attractive blue-grey metallic and anyone running gold piston caps on their Hope brakes has to think about some gold jockey wheels to compliment them. Dave P was keen to know if you could mix and match and considering they come in individually wrapped packets I'd guess it's worth a phone call to Clee Cycles.

Green, red and gold... rasta baby!

Secondly, and more importantly, he wasn't fazed by the problem either. I thought it was a bin job but he just took his Dremmel (carefully) to the bottom bracket shell and five minutes later handed me my crankarm sans problem.

At home I took some wet and dry to the axle to get rid of the rusty rim of muck still remaining and fitted my new Hope bottom bracket and RaceFace combo onto the bike with copious amounts of grease.

I'm not exactly confident for the future as the axle is quite pitted from the damage caused by the RaceFace bottom bracket and I haven't had the chance to ride the bike yet. But at least I haven't had to spend more money just yet and we'll have to wait and see how it goes from here.

UPDATE: In the interests of fairness, I've taken this problem to Cycleworks in Leatherhead, who appear so far to have solved it. Still doesn't show RaceFace bottom brackets in a good light though...

Find out more in my RaceFace Deus XC Chainset follow up.

Perhaps the title of this is a bit disingenuous since it's more a bottom bracket issue but I'm calling it this because of the significant collateral damage. As I've documented recently, my Orange Five has become overdue for a heart/lung transplant in the shape of some drivetrain love. Disastrously as it turns out it appears the Orange is more of a love slut than I ever imagined.

After a bit of price shopping (I'm always sobered by the cost of components), I've finally accumulated all the bits I need. So, last night it was time for the Orange to go under the knife and turn all taut and firm again.

Things were going swimmingly with the cassette change and chainring swap. I'd put off changing the jockey wheels so they could be the last final blingle to go on the bike and decided to turn my attention to the knackered bottom bracket.

Things are much better than they used to be with chainsets, all I needed to do was get a bit of welly behind the self extracting crankbolt to remove the driveside arm and cranks. After which, I tapped the hollow axle through with a rubber mallet to remove the non driveside arm and axle. Except, in the process it became graphically clear why the bottom bracket had been making so many complaints.

Basically the non driveside bearing had disintegrated, as in failed utterly and completely and had managed to weld it's remaining parts to the axle. As I removed the crank arm, dry, rusty ball bearings bounced all over my driveway followed shortly by the tinkle of lightweight bits of metal and swarf.

So now I'm staring at my RaceFace Deus XC crank arm with the inner shell of my RaceFace bottom bracket rusted solid onto it. And hoping (since it's only a year old) that it's a valid warranty claim!

I'll keep you posted...

1. me
2. the bike

Sunday morning saw me plan a BNM (Billy No Mates) ride - unable to fit in with the normal schedule, I headed out real early with my GPS to 'discover' some more of the fine trails on offer in the area.

There's a risk to riding alone and oh so predictably, I lobbed it. It was one of those rides when really, I should have taken the hint, turned around and gone home after a very minor and unintentional trip into the bushes early on.

After that, I seemed to fall into the trap of looking at my front wheel - not the best thing when going down BKB. So I lost the front and went superman style towards a felled tree. My hands saved my face, but not my ribs, shoulder or shin.

Having dusted myself down and whinced (not minced - I have got rid of those gloves!) on my way, I found my left shifter bent beyond use.

Undeterred, I headed up onto Pitch and consoled myself by riding the T trails before heading back to Holmbury, blasting round Surfer Rosa, then down Telegraph Road back to the car.

Unlike Matt, I'll spare you the images of the damage. In future, I'll save the BNM trips to the more unchallenging stuff. I got away with it this time but it shows the value of some company should the worst happen.

Stay upright.

As a relative newbie to this all-consuming sport, I soon found myself thinking after a few months of owning my Giant XTC that it would be fun to upgrade. So, first the forks and then some months later came Mavic 321 wheels and Formula Oro brakes.

There was some science behind the upgrading – I knew in my heart a new bike would be not too far round the corner and the parts would be transferred over. If only my national lottery number selection was as predictable.

After only a year of MTB (during which time I had a lay-off after throwing myself down the track on Happy Valley) I was only too aware how much I had to learn.

I also felt like something a bit ‘alternative’ (us finance geeks are always finding lame ways of appearing interesting!) and walking past Head for the Hills in Dorking, I saw the dialled bikes Prince Albert. Yummy.

Who the hell are dialled bikes? – a small company based in Epsom who design a variety of MTB and BMX frames. Mike, the owner and designer has applied his considerable experience and knowledge to develop a range of frames that work in the real world without any influence from those dreaded marketing men, trying to sway us in the direction of the next big thing.

They have a bit of a following amongst the Diary of a Mountain Biker forum folks. The frames are made in batches in Thailand, ensuring top quality build whilst keeping costs more than reasonable (£240 currently for the frame).

The metallic orange paint catches the eye and the finish is much better than the Cove Stiffee I was considering as an alternative. The neat new-style dropouts and curved seatstays add a nice touch too. Other than that, it’s a simple recipe for success – good geometry and Reynolds steel tubing.

Steel frames have become increasingly rare in this age of extruded aluminium and the temptation is to think that steel = lardy. However, steel = compliant yet tough as hell, so tubes resembling RSJ’s are not needed. In other words, weight and strength are not an issue and it certainly does look quite ‘alternative’ with the skinny pipework.

A test ride was booked and we instantly fell in love. Although very childish and unscientific, I think the biggest influence was when crossing a field I decided to pop a wheelie, like you do for no apparent reason when you’re a man desperately clinging onto his youth. I was most certainly last in the queue for wheelie skills when they were dished out and my XTC only helped to reinforce that belief.

HOWEVER, on the Prince Albert I found myself balancing on the back wheel for at least 5 full revolutions (crank not wheels!). [Update – I have not been able to do this since!] Decision made then. In all seriousness, I couldn’t fault it. I purposely found the steepest climb and DH sections on my usual stomping grounds and it was superb – very planted going up and extremely responsive and agile going down, just the way you want it.

The geometry is cock-on and cornering is also a revelation compared to the twitchy and skitty XTC. As an example, the two S-bends on the bridleway approach down to Bocketts farm have been transformed. Previously any attempt to take at speed would result in the front wheel tucking-under followed by a light lunch of terra firma, whereas I can now take them faster and lean the bike over just like on the motorbike – great fun!

You may think the slacker head-angle would slow down the steering but perhaps this is compensated for by a flat 70mm stubby stem and wide bars which, when combined with the confidence-inspiring and planted front-end, mean I feel I can chuck it around more.

Steep climbs no longer see the front wheel pawing at the air whilst I try in vain to get as much of my 80kg over the front as possible to prevent it. On the Prince Albert, with its longer-than-average top tube, I just lean forward a little and carry on grinding, cursing my lack of fitness and strength.

Having had the bike for over 6 months now (this article was originally drafted 5 months ago), I am still chuffed to bits with it. The recent weekend in Wales has made us ‘bond’ even more and was amazed at how I was able to ride and launch off the same stuff at the same speed as the faster Moles on their Orange 5’s. In fact, I’m so pleased with it that I really can’t see any point in getting a bike that bounces at both ends. It does everything I need it to and is SO MUCH FUN to ride, so involving.

All that leaves is my concern with the name. Clearly not getting out enough lately, I had no idea what a Prince Albert is. When it was pointed out to me and I googled it in disbelief, I was shocked. The toptube decal clearly gives further evidence of the link. I don’t know why, but rest assured, a trip to the local body-piercing shop is not on the cards for me – ever.

Here's some more of my favourites. First, my shot of Colin on the bermy play area at the top of the Whites Level climb.

And finally our tribbles laid out in their glory at the Glyncorrwg car park. Sometimes it's not until you see the bikes massed together that you realise how much wedge we've invested into our hobby. And that's by Dave alone!

But, as you can see from the picture, the best part was that bikes were involved! We took our tag-along with us and hitched it to the mountain bike I hired during the heaviest rainstorm I've been in for some time. Having got ourselves properly wet we set about enjoying the Parc (sic) together and spent the rest of the week hooning up and down hills every time we needed to get anywhere.

The bike was a bit short in the top tube and had only a semblance of effective gearage but we managed to zoom down the hills and my boy proved a pretty useful stoker on the climbs (it's not often you can say that!).

Great fun, even if his aunt and my wife both wondered obliquely at the speed we were going at! Our youngest enjoyed the free ride on the child seat on my wife's hire bike too.

Closer inspection of the drivetrain revealed jockey wheels like ninja throwing stars (I throw that in for anyone in the bike industry to chuckle over and use on their next hapless customer), a middle chainring whose teeth had been filed to sharp points by the trail pixies and a chain that 'probably' needs replacing. At which point it seems likely that my SRAM cassette is 'quite likely' to cause shifting problems if I don't change that too.

Here the downside of running a top spec bike becomes clear. A quick look on Chain Reaction suggests at bill of around £150 to replace everything pretty much like for like, excepting a punt on a new Hope bottom bracket to try and avoid even more future expense. £17 for X0 jockey wheels is a sobering (and possibly 'ha! saw you coming') thought. And SRAM Red cassettes are not cheap either even if they do look rather pimp.

So big a pill is it for me to swallow that I've finally been prompted to sacrifice my 2003 Marin Rift Zone on the eBay altar to free up funds for my Orange's heart/lung transplant. Hannah might point out that it's just £13.50/month or so for 11 months of riding but then I'd like to point out it's not her having to pay for it!

So, for a short while my On-one is being pressed into service while I go shopping...

Here's the Energy section of Whites Level Trail to get you started.

And here's a reminder of Mark's Afan review and our photos on Flickr.

Next, an artful shot from Colin of the start of Grand Canyon on the Skyline Trail. Apart from the boulder field merriment, the rest of the trail was smooth flowing and great fun.

Finally, another mood shot of Dave P's bike above Llyn Fach on the Riding High trail on Skyline which I'm rather proud of.

All our Afan 2008 MTB pictures can be viewed on Flickr. There might even be a picture of a Welsh family taking their cat for a walk somewhere!

The first low was undoubtedly about 10 minutes into our first ride. As Colin has already mentioned the Wall trail is a bit full on, especially if like me you are not good with heights. By the time we reached the big open Zig Zags, I had already managed to fall off my bike, and encountered the thrill of trying to grab a passing tree to keep me from sliding half way down the hill on my arse. With a fall already behind me, the seemingly sheer drops of the Zig Zags scared the crap out of me. Oddly enough it was probably a good intro to the trails at Afan, as switchbacks and big drops feature in many of the trails.

The next low was next morning, with the prospect of a 6km uphill slog to reach the top of White’s Level. Again the inevitable switchbacks, and the inevitable pointy grey rocks that made up a fair percentage of the trails. I struggled to get into a rhythm on the first sweep of the switchback, my mood not helped by watching Dave P take a tumble, and being close enough to hear the wind being knocked out of him as he hit the ground. Once I got onto the second sweep things “clicked” and while it was a long old slog to the top things went OK. The reward was the short section of berms and jumps at the top, and then the rest of the White’s Level trail.

The final low was on Sunday, which was the sheer length of Skyline. There were too many long slog fire track climbs for my liking, added to the fact I was absolutely knackered. This was brought home to me early on, when I fell off again. On one of the rock tables on the way up I wobbled and needed to dab. Easy enough, if I had remembered to unclip my foot and put it on the ground! When we venture to Afan again, I would opt for the “short shortcut” version, or ideally find a cut through that would take us to the top of Handy Andy, without having the climb all the way to the top up the long long track past the quarry.

As for the highs, most of White’s Level would make it in for me. The Energy trail was fantastic. While in reality I looked like my gran wobbling her way over the obstacles pushing her zimmer frame, in my mind I looked more like Steve McQueen jumping the fences on a motor bike toward the end of the Great Escape.

I rode the last part of White’s Level on Matt’s Orange 5. It put a totally different complexion on the downhill sections, and I enjoyed giving Matt’s bike a good tonking. (But please get your bottom bracket sorted out Matt, noisy or what?!)

Much of the Penhydd trail is a blur. I made a right cock of Hidden Valley, and then had a puncture while riding Sidewinder. Dead Sheep Gully stands out however. It was probably my favourite downhill section of the whole weekend.

Finally I would pick the rock garden on Grand Canyon. Riding across was one of the strangest bits of cycling I have ever done. Pick a line, stick to it and just keep peddling. With the rest of the lads cheering me on, I cleared it at my second attempt. As Matt remarked afterwards “No one can ever take that away from you.”

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. Big thanks go to everyone who went, Dave C, Dave P, Jem, Jez, Colin, Simon, Matt and Rob, for making it into a real event. Special big thanks to Colin for getting it all organised, Jem for driving all the bikes up in the van, to Dave P and Jem for cooking a great barby on Saturday evening, and to my wife Emily for not ripping my bollocks off when I got home roughly 3 hours later than I had imagined we would.

Having ridden all 4 trails I would love to go back again, and cherry pick the best bits. But first I would like my legs to recover (my walk to the station on Monday morning was a somewhat slower and more bandy legged affair than usual), give my bike a bit of TLC (if only to stop Matt going on about what needs fixing on my bike), and for my memory to remember all the good bits, and let all the not so good bits fade away.