• I know nothing about mountain biking and I've never owned a mountain bike, but I've been increasingly inspired by adventures like SRMR and other epics. Realistically I'm not going to do any ultra racing any time soon, but in an attempt to stave off middle age dullness and decrepitude, and as a 40th birthday present to myself, I'd like to try and ride the Southern Upland Way (a ~200km walking route across Scotland that is also MTB-able). Obviously this is also an excuse to buy a new bike so I now need the hive mind to tell me what to get.

    After a little bit of googling my current favourite is the Trek Procaliber (maybe 9.6). I think I can stretch to around £2k if I get it through cycle2work which needs to go through one of the local LBSs, so one of the big name brands seems easiest. I think an XC bike would be best for this kind of ride, but also I do a little bit of cross and I'm pretty drawn to trying some XC races too. I'd also really love an off-road Tri if I ever get back into swimming/running. One concern might be luggage capacity, but from SRMR and others, many riders seem to use strap on luggage, and this kind of "long" distance adventure is going to be a rarity.

    Thoughts? The Specialized Chisel comp also looked nice?

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