Can anyone recommend some hydro disc brakes please?

Budget is £70 - £100 per brake, must be easy to service and strong enough to stop 17 stone travelling at speed! XC/singletrack use only.

Also, some forks for a GT Avalance (hardtail) - to replace Rock Shox J3 - budget £150 - £225 - would prefer air forks, need to have 80 - 120mm travel, lockout and adjustment.

 Thanks guys

According to Hot wheels, this bike should be fitted with Cane Creek 1 1/8th zero stack head set. That way, it doesn't add any height to the head tube.

 They are about £23.00 on most sites.

I have had unbelievable problems trying to get the correct headset for this bike.

It's a GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc 2006 (The red and white one).

The original dust collars top and bottom had Cane Creek logos but no other markings on the headset at all.

A 1 1/8 bearing alone looked to be a tiny bit different in diameter and there is no information with the bikes spec list.

I have tried three local bike shops plus Halfords and Wiggle. None of whom know which headset is correct.

I e-mailed Wiggle who made some suggestions but couldn't guarantee that the headset they would supply would be correct fot the bike. Halfords looked the bike up on their system and showed me a picture to confirm "is this your bike?" and sold me a matching FSA headset in 1 1/8.

Since fitting it has never felt right. A tiny turn too far and the handlebars become stiff and a tiny bit too little and there is lots of play.

I've even e-mailed GT bikes who admit they don't know and suggest that once shipped to Europe, "stock" parts are fitted to the bikes by importers. Wierd?

Hot Wheels (the uk distributor) haven't replied yet.

Does anyone know what headset should fit this bike?

It is the type with  loose ball bearings in a race top and bottom, with a dust cap collar on the outer sides, two crowns (one top, one bottom) and metal inserts to cover the bearings. The original DID NOT have cartridge bearings. Is that integrated type?

Can I fit cartridge type bearings? They would last longer and not fall out! I want to fit something that costs as little as possible as I'd rather replace annually than pay out for a better headset. I don't need anything too fancy as I don't compete anymore.

Your help would be greatly appreciated as I am slowly losing my patience with this issue and I am pretty disgusted that GT don't know what parts to fit. (I wish I'd paid the extra £100 for the Kona I wanted in the first place)

I recently fitted Continental Speed Kings 2.1 on my GT Avalanche, which were thoroughly recommended by a friend who swore by them and has never had any problems. I bought the standard wire bead ones.

First, they are a complete sod to get on. I broke all my plastic tyre levers and had to buy steel ones. Have cut my knuckles up so many times, even when using fairy liquid or duck oil to slide the lever around. In my opinion they are way too tight for the rims, but I guess this is to stop them rolling off the rim.

Secondly, I have had more punctures with them than in 15 years of MTBing combined. 7 in the last two weeks alone, of which 3 this weekend. I knew they were puncture prone, but this is ridiculous!

My friend thinks this is odd, but he is a slim, fit XC racer. I weigh 17 stone, but fit and ride fast, so maybe some could be overloading, I dunno? If I fit slime tyre liners will they eliminate most of the thorn punctures? I've been running them at 2.5 psi, the recommended pressure.

If I have to buy some other tyres, what can I get for a similar price (paid £25 the pair) that is a good XC tyre (weight not a big issue) and is MUCH more puncture resistant? I know Schwalbe are good, but I don't want to remortgage my house just to buy tyres.

I ride on singletrack and firetrack about 40 miles per week in Thetford Forest, and I do my 2.5 mile each way commute on roads daily. Any suggestions would be REALLY REALLY appreciated 'cos otherwise I'm gonna give up MTB and get a road bike!