Rebelistic

I know what you mean about old school frames, I'm just about to build up my 04 Pure - I'm looking foward to riding it again, I seem to remember it being really good. First positive comment about the frame. I'd be tempted to try one but not enough to part with £300. Still it's nice to see a modern old school frame. Shame no one seems to have one.

:$ Haha, my metric/imperial conversion isn't too great. Should have said 2 inches! Now I have been tempted by 24 inch for a while. Maybe when I get my stock bikes sorted (and my bank account recovers) I'll try an Inspired 24 or something similar.

I don't understand - do you mean the break mounts are in the wrong place, or the chain stays/seat stays are too long? - doesn't it use standard 26 inch wheels?

Hi, I was just browsing on Tartybikes and noticed the Czar Freetials 08 frame. It looks quite nice, has anyone ridden one? Just wondering how they ride?

I would seriousley consider it! Like I said I'll build up my old pure and then try and compare the two. If I find my old pure better (more comfortable) then I'll be looking to get an 'in between' frame. The new pure has quite a different head angle too, I bet that makes a difference. Cheers, John.

Hi, I've been riding an 07 Echo Pure (short version) since october and generally it rides quite well however I'm starting to think that I don't like the 35mm BB rise. I have fitted the longest highest stem I've seen on a stock bike (I forget the exact measurments) as I seem to get back ache with any stem smaller (and it feels more cramped). Even with this big stem I still seem to get a bit of back ache sometimes (never got any with my old frame). I'm suprised that I need such a large stem as I'm not that tall and my old Pure (04 I think) has a shorter wheel base (and I used a shorter stem). I can only guess that the high BB is making the bike feel very short. Does anyone have any thoughts about this - I've heard some people don't like very high BB's, is this why? I'm thinking of building up my old Pure (04) to compare with. Cheers, John.

I really love Freediving, that and trials are my two main sports/hobbies. Off to Kalymnos in Greece in May - can't wait!

Hi, Where's bunny cement works then? (Leicestershire?) I'll most probably be riding at the weekend if my cold is a bit better! Cheers, John.

Lower the front wheel (allow your weight to be slightly more over the front) then release the rear brake as you pedal kick fowards. Check out Trash Zen for a better explanation, watch some videos etc.

I agree with the comments about people on here saying things like 'if it was me I'd have knoked him out'. It's easy to say, but when faced with some phsycopath (sp?) it's not so easy. The guy obviously has a problem with his aggression and self control and is probably very dangerous. If it was in the UK then I would call the police however maybe that's not the best solution in Bulgaria. It's a shame this kind of shit happens!

I've had an 07 pro2 for over a year - no skips, no problems.

Ah cheers! It says on the entry form that 'if numbers allow, entries will be accepted on the day' - is this usually the case? (I'm not sure where my cheque book is and I don't have a paypal account). Thanks again, John.

I'm temped to come along if I can. I've never riden a comp before and I'm not really bothered about being ranked or anything. I don't really know much about the rules - my bike is single speed stock, I'm 24 years old and not a particularly good rider. Do I just send the membership form in and ride 'out of class' in the easy route (blue or green?)? Also are there some directions to get to Shipley Glen anywhere? Any other riders going from Leicestershire? Cheers, John.

I'm sure that's a joke. Vegans and hippies are pretty cool (usually).

I think alot of the time it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind" with this kind of stuff - the average consumer seems pretty thoughtless to me. It's a bit like clothes made in sweatshops, if there was a picture of a poor exploited child on the packaging then (most) people wouldn't buy them, but the reality of the production is kept behind closed doors so people just see a cheap shirt. It's the same with alot of food and meat production (although the chicken is perhaps the worst off) that is done on an intensive scale. The production methods are quite wrong in my opinion but they are hidden from public view. I'm glad Jamie Oliver is trying to improve things. Producing all of your own food (as someone here suggested) is very difficult, however you can buy locally grown organic food - I do. Every week we get a box of locally grown veg and we know that we are paying the farmers directly - not the supermarkets and they get a better deal. It isn't cheap but food is under valued.

I gather the original question was basically - Do we have free will or not? I think it's impossible to tell for sure but it's an interesting thread. We seem to have free will, I can choose to turn left or right for example. Suppose I choose left. That seems to have been a free choice. However when I look back, I went left not right. How do I know if I really could have gone right? If time went back, would I have made the same choice? Perhaps what happens, happens and could not have happened any other way - because it didn't. Is there a well known book by Dawkins or someone who recons free will is an illusion? Are we just products of our genes and our environment? Basically I don't know.

Cheers, I've re-ground and put my plazmatic pads on - brakes working pretty good at the moment. - I have only ridden street with it though, I suspect that 10 mins down the local woods will make it all slippy again. I'll take something to clean the rim with next time to try and stop grime from building up on the rim. Funny though - I did try cleaning the rim with the green thingy from the washing up, but it didn't make much difference perhaps steel wool or something would be better. Thansk again, John.

I'm right handed and right footed but ride left foot foward too. It may be that you use the back foot quite a lot to sort of regulate how much power you get from the front foot, and also the back foot is used to lift the back end of the bike. If that makes any sense?

I think it's not a bad idea - It would be a like a stunt peg on a BMX, I think some street MTBs have them. I am left foot foward and side hop to the left. I know I am supposed to go the other way but like you, it seems really hard to move the back end of the bike. Also my tensioner is on the right and whenever I attemp to sidehop right I just know I'm going to hit the tensioner. To me there seems to be some sense in side hopping to the non-drive side of the bike. I'd love to have some kind of bike where the drive chain is protected - like that Onza proto type with the dropped chainstay. Then I could practice side hopping to the right with no fear. John.

Thanks for the replies! My rim is about 8 months old - not sure how many grinds it has had. So koxx blues arn't very good then? And possibly tryall rims arn't too goood either? Is there a pad/rim combo that will always perform well (in the wet/mud) with out having to re-grind the rim every ride? For now I'm going to re-grind the rim and grind the Pads (to clean them) and see how that goes. I also have some plazmatic pads to try but I'be heard they are no good in the wet. I've got a spare Onza rim to try, but I'll need to get a new hub and learn to wheel build before I can use it. Cheers, John.

Hi, I'm from Leicester. Have a look at the Leicester topic for more! Cheers, John

Hi, Basically my rear brake is performing pretty poorly these days and I really want to sort it out. My setup: Rim - Tryall with a recent(ish) grind (I suspect that the rim is the cause of my problems) Pads - Koxx blox blues (supposed to wear fast but perform well in all conditions) Brake - Maggy with recent water bleed (feels solid) I think I've heard that Tryall rims don't hold a grind very well - is this the case? I've been riding natural in the wet wich is when the brake went bad - Koxx Blues should be ok with this though? I'm going to re-grind my rim but I doubt it will be long before the performance drops again (next time I ride in the wet). Could it be that riding in wet/muddy conditions cause the rim to loose its grind? Sorry if this is a re-post (I did post a similar topic ages ago but I think the cause was different). Cheers, John

Hi, Yeah I'm a fellow Leicester rider - I live just by Victoria park (not far from the station). Where abouts do you other Leicester guys live - I'm usually up for a local ride after work or weekends. My mobile no. is 07956038389 let me know if anyone's up for riding sometime! Cheers, John

Hi, I rode Tenby Summer before last. Yeah those sea defence rocks are pretty cool - loads of lines. Also some good bits by the harbour. I stayed for about a week - think my chain was about rusted through by the end. Watch your punctuation and you should get validated soon (maybe try to space your writing out a bit so it's easier to read). John.

I'll have to try the tyre in the centre thing next time I need to replace my tube. I usually use a pair of old kitchen knives - works pretty well aslong as you angle the blunt part of the knife towards the innertube.