This is a top thread so i thought a would stick my side in. Basically i can agree with the deng situation, i had an a2 when they came out and loved it, but i find his frames especially are getting heavier all the time, and there is no new ideas from the factory anymore, it is for this reason that i have now bought an XTP2. I wanted a bike that looked like there had been some real thought put into and the new xtp seemed to fit the bill, also bloody light. On the rider side of things though, down on the south coast where im from, there seems to be more riders all the time, it seems to be going from strength to strength. And i still feel that riding down here is very light hearted and good fun, when we went to London in january we all thought it was a bit split up and were very dissapointed. It seems we will stick to pompey and soton and have a top day with our mates. It seems that the decline of trials is a regional thing and all areas will have strong times and weak times, having never been up north to ride i dont know what its like. But we will be there for the vince ride. Andy b