Gilman

Hey all I wasn't really sure where to put this. I had a radio interview recently and it is up on their website. It really promotes trials. we also talk about my disability briefly. Not sure what you all with think since it is a local station in another country. Either way I think it is good for trials. This was my second radio interview but the first to air. The other one on anotherr station will air sometime this week. I will post that one up as well. Here is the link http://www.wbsbn.com/site/2009/09/intervie...th-matt-gilman/ I also just started a web page for my self so check that,as well - www.blindbiketrials.com Thanks and let me know what you think. Matt.

Yes I am and yes I do. I actually have a few videos up on you tube and I posted them up on here as well. Here is video 2 - Video 1 - Just for those who haven't seen them before. I also have a facebook page which has photos and more. Look at the link just below in my sig.

Thanks all. The video isn't all that good but it shows more of how I go about riding. Hopefully I can make another demo video with better riding.

Here is a demo video that I did a few weeks ago. The announcer explains allot plus you get to see how I go about riding. Riding isn't the best, it was my first demo. i think they will get better once I get some kind of routine figured out. Let me know what you think.

For those of you who are interested I have a downloadable link. Video 2 - http://www.vimeo.com/5617322 Video 1- http://www.vimeo.com/5617661 Thaks.

well I am an old skool rider so I have always been used to bars that way. Plus I am a former bmx rider which bars never went up nearly as far as trials bars do. I tried out different angles but nothing felt nearly as good as the way I have them set up. It works perfect for me so why chang it? To everyone else, thanks so much for all the great comments!

No worries man. It's perfectly fine with me. I didn't realize that someone else posted it up before me.

Hello everyone!! Here is my new video. Let me know what you think. Hope you all enjoy it.

This is an interview with me. Helping promote trials as best as I can. http://www.mtnbikeriders.com/ Thanks.

Nice! That's awesome! Wish I could get into a mag. I wish the U.S. actually wanted to have trials in a mag.

Well I guess the fact is that my plaz pads that I was talkingabout were from 1999. So maybe an old compound that they changed later on. I actually replaced my pads and they didn't seem to work as well as my really old ones. Now I am running the 44 tango. They work pretty good so far.

Monty 219 alp, got rid of it as I wanted something lighter. Monty 220, broke. Monty 221, broke it. Outback, hand made custom trials frame, not mine just used it until I could get a new bike. Monty 231, it was ok for a first stock bike but i really hated the geo. Echo es4, sold it as it was really short and had a huge dent in the downtube. PX tibo, Sold it because I wanted something stiffer and a different geo. BT 6.0. riding now but I am getting something new in the next few months. The next frame is either going to be a 44 califera or a *** - WTF or something else that I can find that I like. Anyone want to donate a frame to me?

Yeah. Though I am running DX32 rims and they have a machined side wall. I like lots of modulation though. Most people like the wheel to stop and not move at all, I like it to stop when I want it to but I like it to roll as well. If I hold lightly on the brake it will roll. If I pull a bit harder it locks up. I trust my brakes and am fine with it where most people don't trust their brakes enough to ride like this. I am sure that this sounds crazy but I hope it came out the way I wanted. I guess I ride this way because I am an old skool rider. I learned how to ride trials on bikes that didn't have brakes that worked all that well. So you learn how to use it the way it is and now I just ride that way.

I use the stock avid pads in the front. They work well with as much modulation as you could ever want. With a little pressure they lock up just fine. It's a front wheel and there is not that much force on it to worry about a soft pad. As far as the rear goes, I used plaz pads for years with no grind. They worked fine for me. I recently tried the Mo pads and they were ok but they didn't work all that well in the wet. THe plaz pads worked in all conditions. I am currently trying out the Tango pads and they are awesome, they work great and also work in all conditions and seem to be lasting longer then the plaz pads. I was having issues with the plaz pads, chunks of the pads kept ripping off. This is why I have been trying out some new pads.

Yeah when I go to the shop I was going to face the frame again and try a different King headset. Tarty on OTN gave the most logical thought, which sounds like it may be the case. Friends of mine think that my head tube may be ovalized so I will measure things and see if this is so.

It is not the wheel. Cones are tight. When you check the hedset by holding the front brake and rock the bike back and forth, the headset spacers move along the top race. They don't move with your hands, spin or jiggle. That is tight. The best way I can describe it is that the fork is moving inside of the top race. THe race it self is not moving on the top cup. Just the spacers moving when you shake it. The headset is tight when you ride it. If you use force you can feel a knock. It is not the fork as I tried with 2 different forks and the same thing. The headset is only 3 months old and it is a King. I tried 3 different top king races and 2 bottom king races all with the same result. Bearings in the headset are tight and smooth. I have had alot of King headsets and this is the first time that I have ever had anything like this happen.

Ok so I am having some headset issues. I made a thread on OTN about this. I am not really gettinganywhere with it there. It is in detail over there, so I will include the link to it. http://www.observedtrials.net/vb/showthread.php?t=39775 If you can give me some suggestions that would be great. Before you post please read down the page a bit as I left out some info on the first post and I added to it down a few posts. Thanks for any help you can give.

Ok, so I am getting a new frame in this upcoming year. I ride stock and I was thinking of going to horizontal dropouts. I am also keeping the 135mm spacing. I have been reading around and hearing that most people don't like horizontal dropouts for stock. I can't seem to get a reason why that is. So I present my question here, which do you prefer and why? I was thinking that horizontal is cleaner and lighter then a vertical with a hanger and a tensioner. I know that people are going to say it is harder to adjust and that there will be slipping issues. I have ridden mod and I never had any of those issues. So can someone help me decide on which way to go. Thanks, Matt.

Thanks everyone for checking out my video and giving me such positive feedback. You guy's are awesome!

I put a new U Tube link at the top of thread. Uploaded a high quality to it and now it is no longer choppy. Hope you guys can see it better and enjoy it. Thanks once again for the comments.

I have a talking software on my computer. I also have a large monitor that I can zoom in so that text is the size of your head. I use the voice feature the most though. I wish that I could see the shapes of rocks. Basically on natural it's like looking at the pavement while lying on your stomach. Meaning all I see is one color, no difference. It sucks. I have to walk things so many times to learn those short lines in the video. It's really going to suck this weekend as I am doing a comp, natural at that. We will see how it goes.... It's funny. I am just about at the same level as I once was. This year I have been really pushing myself to get back to my old level. There are still things that I can't do, things that scare the sh*t out of me. I am working on it though. Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I hope you all enjoyed the video. I added a U Tube link to the top of the thread, for people that like that sort of thing.

Here is a video of me riding. this is a link to OTN where the video is. http://www.observedtrials.net/vb/showthread.php?t=38521 Please check it out and let me know what you think. Also a high quality download - http://rapidshare.com/files/154752109/Blin...Trials.avi.html --EDIT-- Here is a new U Tube link. Very high quality on there and is running perfectly smooth now .

Yeah use some lock tite. Just make sure that you give it 24 hours to set after applying it before the next ride, to get it to work properly.

+1 for the Middleburn's. Though I recently got a set of Bonz trials cranks and all I have to say is WOW! I am completely inpressed with them. They are stiff and the bash ring is the smallest 22t ring I have ever seen. Not to mention they have a 10 year warranty; Yes,yes I know that the middleburn's have a lifetime but this is a good alternative.

To help you find some riders in your area. Google search for www.biketrials.ca I believe that is the canadian trials forum, or go to www.observedtrials.net there are alot of Canadian riders on there. Finding riders to ride with will help you out with every kind of technique that you are trying to learn. Most people benefit most with one on one instruction. Good luck.