am doing this on a budget so am limited to 2 adequate but probably not perfect for the job bikes being:

Boardman CX Cyclocross bike 2012

or 2011 Boardman fs pro MTB (full suss, 120mm travel, 26 inch wheels)

yes I KNOW, enough with the boardman's ... i've done the SDW in 20 hrs on the FS 26er MTB and it served me well there but that was bone dry south downs summer conditions so am expecting this to be a different beast altogether.

am probably travelling Lightish despite my 90kg frame (with all in one backpack) as blind ambition and limiting the time away from the family will force an attempt at sub 24hrs. will be using fairly lo-fi kit tbh without much comfortable sleeping kit.

would really appreciate some advice from them that know on which bike to use for the ride, am currently favouring the MTB but it has put in a lot of hours of faithful service and not 100% sure of it's reliability over the distance...

Time for some 10hr sessions to test!!

Go with MTB, last year I've rattled my soul out on alloy CX And this year it should be more difficult

If the route were like last year on the CX you'd feel smug for the first bit, shaken in the middle bit and probably feel like crap towards the end regardless of what you were on!

The inevitable hike a bike will be better with a light bike but over all I'd take the comfort & control of the Susser.

Unless your best friend is Mr Pain, i'd leave the cross bike at home.

Over the terrain and distance i'd always go for comfort.

As for this years route i'm expecting a lot less sub 24 hour times than were achieved last year, so i wouldnt be planning on that based on your first attempt (but good on you if you do).

Stu's been tight lipped about the route, but we're all aware that there will be a significant reduction in tarmac over the last route. If that drops from 40% to say 20% i'd expect average times to increase by 2-4 hours.

cheers guy's, that's pretty much settled it. time for some reliability testing for the MTB and some serious off road miles. have't touched the mtb in about 6 months. has been all commuting, CX and road bike. my lower back is in for a fright...

After my welsh c2c experience I'd go for mtb!