I tried both the XTR and the SD7. While the XTR has a higher build quality and feels more solid, the SD7 fits perfect to my hand, so for me it's the perfect lever!
Is there any type of bicycle he did not ride yet? Fixie, downhiller, racebikes, bmx, crosser, ...
The only one I can think of would be a tandem bike... perhaps we can get Danny and Chris on one bike?
Found this on Tribalzine: http://www.tribalzine.com/?Le-nouveau-bike-de-MacNobile
Apart from the halflink chain, the frame height and the stem this is the most beautiful bike I've ever seen!
edit: can somebody fix the title?
Unfortunately I am in a similar situation as you
A few years ago I had two accidents while riding trials. In the first incident I was doing backwheelhops on an old MTB and the brake cable snapped. I fell off backwards and smashed head first into the floor. I was really really lucky since I only had a slight concussion although I did not wear a helmet. In the second incident I was training pedalkicks on the lawn when something happend to the rear brake (I think the cable slipped a little bit because it was not tightened enough). This time I wore a helmet, but I had severe upper back pain for a few weeks.
Right now I am trying to learn to manual but it is f**king hard because my brain just shuts down when I reach the balance points. I am totally scared of this moment when you feel that the back wheel is passing below you and I end up hitting the break although I know it is not dangerous at all... I don't really know how to overcome this except getting really really drunk...