I started mtb'ing in 1987 and have never stopped enjoying it since then. Over the years I have owned a number of hardtail mtb's (never took the full suspension plunge) but the best bike I have ever had and still use is a Trek Stache 9.5. (Carbon fibre hardtail, 29x3.0" tyres, 1x12 Sram, dropper seatpost). The wife and I don't ride competitions but we love exploring wilderness areas, hence these bikes (she has a Stache too) join us on all our 4x4 touring trips to the Karoo, Richtersveld, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and even as far as Uganda. With their 29x3.0" wide tyres they go almost everywhere and we tour river beds, sandy tracks, beaches or gnarly jeep tracks. (honourable mention is the Bridgestone MB-1 I bought in 1989, I loved that bike. No suspension but what a bike at that time.)
