Ross McArthur

Another frame that could have been cool if the seat tube wasn't so slack. I wonder if there are any still out in the wild?

Liking the all black levers on those brakes. Is the front brake a hope lever blade? Not seen them in black before for that age of brake.

Please enter by following the below link to the Scottish Bike Trial Home page. https://www.scottishbiketrial.co.uk/events

Oh he did now did he?! I’ll be having words with him about that!

First thoughts was a BT Raven but the top tube was kinked more and cant find a google image of a BT with those dropouts. Second guess would be a Toxin 🤷‍♂️

I know you might not be the bar spin or tail whip type but you could always just spin the bars and leave the rear hose at the length its at? Love the choice of the Zees too! Shimano with its servo wave wins the day. Nice no nonsense build with nice and light alloy rims and hope hubs.

Maxxis are great for informing everyone what that particular type of tyres grip is, what does it say on the sidewall? Used to be Maxx Pro, Super Tacky and Slow Reezay. Now I think its Maxx Terra and Maxx Grip. What type of wet surface are you asking about? Porous rock, marble, grass, tarmac, concrete, bla de bla de bla...

Here’s Ben Travis, Jack Heard, Ricky Towler and Adam McGuire riding Aberdeen and Perth.

My 2 cents. I have tried the whole steep head angle short stem thing on a long WB 24" bike with a relatively high bb. It felt like an absolute barge and I didn't like it. 😂 I think the geo was 1060, 74, 50, 380. What did I do wrong? Not grow my limbs long enough?

You don't lose points, you just don't gain them. I've been riding the new rules for a couple of years worth of competitions now and really like it. Maybe the ones unsure of the new system should give a competition a go, you never know, you might come round to liking it too! Comps have been going down the pan for a good while. I'm honestly thankful of the change as there's nothing worse than stagnation.

What percentage of Joe public understands footballs offside rule? They might not get it but doesn't stop them enjoying a game. I was watching the Champs in Glasgow Green and was stood next to many Joe and Jane public and heard them talking amongst themselves. You are right, they don't have a clue what was going on. Even after the simplest of explanations; don't put your feet down, go through the gates, do it in 2 mins, you could see in their eyes that they still didn't "get it". What I'm saying is, its not the rules that's the problem haha.

What's not to like?

The no tape is most likely a single use plastic thing, much like downhill using poles now. The look of no tape is much better I think and not seeing bin bag after bin bag full of used tape calms my inner turtle. Dabs do count. Dabbing means you do not achieve the 10 points for the sector you are in. "Sectors" being the area between the gates. The routes should be set so the gates get harder. This means the rider isn't out at the first gate, which can be disheartening for new riders (and old). The new points system is meant to stop riders being rewarded (on the old system) for strategically dabbing through a gate and finishing on 1. The rider who keeps to the spirit of the sport tries the gate without a strato dab and gets a 5 for failing. Think that's fair?

Round 4 of the Scottish Bike Trial championship will be held in Newcastleton on the 24th of September with a fun set up day on the 23rd. Follow the link below to enter. Events — SBT (scottishbiketrial.co.uk)

Hate is a strong word 😅 What didn't you like? The rim brake, 5mm longer stays or the colour?

Yea, used to enjoy listening to what Doddy had to say in the tech show. Now its just hired in help to read off an auto cue and it really comes across that they don't have a clue. But what does that matter, they've said the words!

Shame the writer wrote Martin Ashton under a photo with Martyn Ashton on multiple top tubes 😂 The Ashton-Cannondale fooled him too! 🥸

Seeing him ride it in person was awesome. I'm not saying I'd buy the frame if it went into production but I hope it does!

Few clips on Scottish_Bike_Trial on Instagram too if you're on it?

Found these few clips from the Glasgow street ride last week.

I recently pulled my right shoulder doing a drop to flat from maybe 10-11foot. I say to flat, it was actually to a slight slope, and the issue with that was that my body/bike was fully expecting the front wheel to hit the deck but instead kept traveling that little bit further than normal and yanked my shoulder along with it. I now have a bit of a fear of doing that same drop during trials shows in case the same happens again, so I've been shying away from it which is a shame as I did enjoy sending big drops!

I've always been an advocate for single side lock on grips. I run the outside of my palm on the end of the bars, so having a double lock on grip would mean leaning on a harsh feeling bar clamp. I used to be a fan of the longnecks too but eventually found that the mushroom style had a little too much squish and my hands were working hard to compress the grip to find the core leading to arm pump. So a happy medium for me is the Burgtec Bartender or the DMR Deathgrip both in soft compound and thick (Deathgrip).

A trend? Not to be confused with trendy, hip or cool.

What's your conical washer set up like behind the pads? Could you get a lower profile set up which would bring the arms inboard a bit more for heel clearance?

Great venue. Get the date in the diary. Application details to come.