Some month’s later Madison (the UK distributor) did the deal with the Atherton’s and the rest as they say, is history. Or history in the making anyway.

Problem was with massive growth in demand comes massive pressure on the small team at Commencal HQ, and it's fair to say the ball was dropped, more than once. To their credit the few times it happened Commencal held their hands up and did everything in their powers to put things right, and they did, it just took a while sometimes.

When myself and a few other premier UK Commencal dealers went out to the Alps to see the new 08 range, the bikes looked amazing, but amazing bikes was not what we wanted to hear about, what we wanted to hear was how communications were going to be improved in 08.

At the 08 launch the first thing that came out of the presenters mouth was not about how great the new bikes were, it was about how they knew where they'd messed up in 07 and what they'd done to make sure it didn't happen in 08. Music to my ears. The fact that what followed was a presentation of some of the best 08 bikes I've seen just rounded off the whole trip.

This is one of the things I've always liked about Commencal, the people behind the brand are the ones working the brand. As a dealer if I need to speak to Max, or anyone of the crew I can email or pick up the phone and get an answer, if they feck up, they admit it and put things right. They don't hide behind marketing bullshit, they take it on the chin and sort it.

I'm not gonna bang on about the new 08 range as you've all seen our previews, I'll just mention once again, for the millionth time, we got Commencal Dealer Of The Year, how cool is that! :D

Moving on from Commencal we come to our other main bike brand Kona.

I like Kona. No, I love Kona. They are great bikes. My first proper MTB was a Kona, a Kilaeua, I really wanted the Explosif but couldn't afford it. I loved that bike, rode it for years, only sold it when I moved to full suspension in about 1995.

When people come in to look at a Kona they often have other brands bike listings with them, and point out that on the same priced hardtail from some other big faceless brand they get better brakes, or a better fork, or a better chainset. It's true, your never going to buy a Kona if your buying on spec. But then they ride a Kona and they get it. A Kona is something quite special and rare nowadays: It's a bike that is always more than the sum of it's parts.

I think it's because kona bikes are still spec'd by riders not accountants, it means whilst on paper the specs might not stack up against some of the more mass marketed competition, in terms of ride, they generally blow everyone else away. Some call it the Kona ride, others call it something else, no one can quite work out why, but a Kona rides like a Kona, and nothing else rides quite like it.

In terms of sales Kona's have not hit the mark too well this year. I remember back two years ago when everyone wanted a Kona, we couldn't keep the Coiler or Stinky in stock, this year they've been a bit less in demand. Why? Everyone has a different reason. Some say they need to re-invent their suspension platforms, some say the graphics are too last year, some don't like the colour. The reality is there is no one reason, 2007 was just not a Kona year. But this is nothing new to a brand that believe it or not is still very small, and for the last ten years has knocked heads with some of the biggest bike brands in the MTB world, and held their own.

Some years you're hot, some years you're not. Kona are not a one year bike, they've been around since the dawn of the MTB, damn it they pretty much invented the modern hardtail, they will be back at the top of the pile, and sooner than most would think.

On Wednesday next week I'm off to see and try the new 08 bikes, I'm really looking forward to trying the new Magic Link suspension platform. Will it work? Will it take off? Who the hell knows, but it's good to see Kona pushing the boundries again. Long live Kona.

More on the new 08 Kona bikes next week.