Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Better is entirely subjective. Pros don't ride fatbikes either...

Pro's tend to ride what they are told to ride.

Hub gears tend to be heavy, Pro's hate extra weight, it has been suggested that given the free choice then v-brakes would have been in racing far longer as they where/are lighter than disc brakes.
In the case of suspension bikes, gear box bikes make sense, or mounting the hub gears in the frame, keep as much weight off the swingarm as possible.
Then we have hub gear product lifespan, they are not all rated for heavy abuse.

If hub gears where a bit lighter or matched the normal cassette/mech set up weights and more affordable then i would have them.

I had a Grifter too, in blue, swear Raleigh skipped the lightweight gas pipe and just used scaffold poles for the frame........ many a happy hour on home made ramps and skids and tucking the little mudguard in so it rubbed the tyre making moto noise :)

And once you got the front end up, you could wheelie for miles!

To have a bike that you can ride in the shittiest winter mud without caring is a joy.This was a single speed for me but may have to become a cheap 1x10 to get better training benefit.

The irritating aspects of standard drivetrain maintenance are cleaning cassettes, jockey wheels and replacing jockey wheels.

Schtaaaaaaaaaaap

Naaa, just fall off the back, never could wheelie then mostly ends badly even now :)

Pros don't ride fatbikes either...

Ned Overend is a Fatbike champ

Pretty sure there were pics of Contador rocking a Specialized Fatboy whilst lycra'd up too.

What I meant was, Pros don't ride fatbikes in WC XC races so basing kit choice on what they run isn't really valid.

Though David Millar when he saw my commuto x bike said to a friend it was the kind of thing he wanted for when he retired.

But Neds not normal :) and a proper pro would go fixed to ditch the boat anchors of brakes and drivetrain.

Did you get the weight specs on Neds bike........ to compare to what most mere mortals can afford :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zph8tcxTqI

Joe Breeze on the first production mountain bike.

Video/Audio or it didn't happen ;)

What mtb shoe do you guys ride in winter?

Northwave boots - one of the few benefits of winter, love em.

Ah yes, I've heard good things.

http://northwave.com/en/catalog/scarpe/gore/37

I wear the Shimano MT-91. Iz good shoe.

Dominators

5:10s all year round

This. My last pair lasted me three years.

Possible cheaper alternative:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sealskinz-thick-mid-length-sock/rp-prod88140

Last 3 years I've worn Northwave Celcius. Great shoes, basically use them like wellies in mud/river crossings.

Also have Shimano M089 combined with Gore Socks, works a treat in all but coldest conditions. Had M088s before, they lasted about 4 years I think, somewhere around 10000 mile mark. Tour Divide killed them in half.

Do the sealskinz keep you toesty as well as dry?

They do indeed! Like I've mentioned before they're waterproof to the point where you can fill them with water and they don't drip at all!

Haha, yeah my sealskinz gloves are super waterproof like that but they're just not warm.

I've always found them pretty warm hence not wearing them during summer but then I've also got pretty good circulation. They are quite thick and woolen though!