David,

I own a 2005 JP xcite 165 (yes, I'm a little on the heavy side!!) after cutting my teeth on an older longer board and getting hooked, I listened to a fair bit of advice and went with a new wideboard, (although the xcite has a more streamlined shape than most.)

I've found the learning time with the xcite to be cut down substantially and although the board is wider, it powers along and seems to handle chop with ease, placement in the masttrack is critical to keeping the nose down on the gusty days. The main downside is the square nose, I've damaged mine quite a bit, (the mast seems to line up beautifully when getting catapulted) I'm waiting on a nose protector (mast deflector would've also worked).

A mate owns a *board Go and, if you want a fast, very smooth ride, this board is marginally better, although the wide rounded front seems to catch a little wind on the "better" days.

I hope that this info helps a little, as a begginner I'm not keen to give advice to what I don't know alot about, but I'm confident that the info I gave is correct.

I'm interested to know what the difference is to the techno, that was my second option when I purchased the JP, I only went with a friends reccommendation based on reviews he'd read.

Hope I helped a little,

Scotty.