Rebelistic

I agree to some extent with Jake that telling people what to do is not really the way foward. If you ride with someone who doesn't wear a helmet it's perhaps better to ask them why they don't rather than just tell them they should. Having said that, if someone was starting trials and wanted advice I'd definatley advise them to wear a helmet. I do take a safety first attitude to my own riding though - I always wear helmet, gloves and knee/shin pads and if something seems too dangerous I leave it. Fear is there for a reason and should not be completely ignored.

Perhaps you subconsciously got the word after reading some posts I've made - I know we've posted in some of the same topics so you'll of seen it. I like to think I derived the word myself - from rebel and realistic On topic: I think if people grow up without learning basic skills then it's their parent's fault really - I know I'd tech my kids practical skills if I had any (kids not skills).

Cheers Rebel Did you take the word 'rebelistic' from my name or is it just a coincidence - Not that I mind

On Christmas day I usually end up with family sitting about at my grandparent's house being a bit bord and restless. The last couple of years I've taken my bike with me and gone to the local skatepark in the afternoon as soon as I can persuade people to go for a walk in the park - I feel a bit antisocial if I go off on my own but I hate sitting around indoors during the day. I love to ride chrismas day as I find it boring really otherwise - I'm expected to be with family but they just want to sit around doing f**k all. I bet riding city centres is cool as no one is there - no security guards etc.

I think the cost puts a lot of people off, along with the (perceived?) difficulty of most of the techniques. Also the thing that put me off getting a trials specific bike is the fact that they are not much use for any other type of riding than trials. A freeride-lite bike can be used for transport, XC, DH,FR and a bit of trials. A trials bike is not much easier than running and so it's purpose is different to your average bike. I don't think trials is premoted as something that can be done on any bike because most riders know the benifits of trials specific bikes whereas to a non-trials rider a trials bike looks weird (low gears and no seat). Trials is not really part of mainstream MTBking and is very expensive for a 'street sport'. I hope this makes sense

I ride 22-18 too and it's perfect for me at the moment. I did initially think it was too hard and changed to 22-19 but went back to 22-18 after a few days. 22-18 seems better for pedel-ups and rolling gaps and is good on the back wheel but slighty harder to lift to back wheel on a rough surface than 22-19.

I use that on my main PC. I prefer it to the newer versions. I think it's version 6 - not too sure though. If you install new codecs you can still watch new WMV files etc. If you have already installed a newer version then I doubt it will let you go back to the older one - Microsoft are annoying like that.

Yes there's quite a few. There's a Leicester ride this Saturday - Check out rides/locations on the forum. Are you a new rider or new to Leicester?

I could be wrong, but I think you can ride most comps with single speed. It might just be a problem at the higher levels and world champs. I think you can ride all comps single speed but may not get any points for it and someone might complain.

I'll be there

I think it's good to be original as possible, but trials does rely on some core techniques (side hop, tap, pedel up etc.). So to be a pro I would imagine that you would have to have mastered the basic moves to a very high level. I quite like to see the traditional 'boring' trials moves like drop gaps as well as more original stuff.

If I can get the day off work I'll be there Edit: Got the day booked off!

I've often thought that it's interesting the way 24" bikes are nearly always 'street' bikes with the exception of the Zoot. In theory a 24" bike could be built that would combine the best things from mods and stocks. I wonder if we'll see more bikes like the Zoot - I've never ridden one but they seem to be well rated by people on here. Intersting topic

I've always prefered the feel of hydrolics over cables - just feels smoother and no cable stretch. I've never tried an expensive V brake though, perhaps with better cable they perform better. As far as hold/bite goes, I don't think there would be much difference as long as the pads are good.

Oh Bol**cks, I've just remembered I'm on call for work this weekend so I can't leave Leicester. I hate being on call, fancy riding somewhere new aswell. I'll be riding Leicester though if anyone's about Sat or Sun.

I always wear a helmet when doing trials - it's saved me a few times now. I nearly always wear knee/shin pads too - I just feel like I'm going to whack my knee if I don't.

What time train are you getting? I'll meet you lot at Leicester station if thats cool.

I'll try and make it. I'll probably get the train as I don't know Brum. What time/place are people meeting? Is it near the station? Anyone else going by train from Leicester? Cheers

I run a Maxxis 2.5 on a thin mavic rim. Seems good to me but I'm tempted by a fatter rim.

If your old frame is still a complete bike, try riding it with the crank bolt removed and hopefully it should work loose - It worked for me. Just be careful and don't forget you've removed the bolt - could be nasty if the crank comes off!

If you run gears at the moment then count the teeth on the cassette for your preffered gear and go for that ratio (I use 22 - 18). I'm just using a sprocket off an old cassette and some plastic spacers - seems to work ok for me, but if you get a proper single speed sprocket then it will probably have longer teeth and be less likley to skip.

It seems that getting validated can be a bit hit and miss. It depends if you get noticed or not. It took a while for me to get validated, then I asked a question about validation and got validated. I was surprised about that. Sorry but your grammar isn't perfect (full stop after a question mark (?.)) - I'm not getting at you or anything, I really don't care how good or bad people's grammar is. I'm not sure how much grammar affects chances of validation. Just keep posting and follow the rules and hopefully you'll get validated. Good luck

I find Marzzochi(sp) forks to be pretty good. I've got Drop Off's on my freeride bike and they seem good for that, I used to use MX Comp's (I think) for street (both made by marzzochi(sp)). For trials I believe you can modify them to reduce the travel - I think Ryan Leech has done this - Not too sure though. They're not the cheapest but I would not recommend cheap suspension forks for Safety reasons, I've heard of cheaper forks falling apart - That could cause serious injury. Hope this helps.

Don't quit (unless you don't enjoy trials). I think there should be more female riders. It's a shame trials is a male dominated sport but perhaps more girls will be encoraged to ride if they see you.

If you don't want to build it yourself, you can get a custom build from Tartybikes I think.