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Welding one on creates a stress point in the forks where they routinely fail when put under the extreme loads found in trials riding. Forks that have had them in the past would fail there like clockwork. Not putting one on presents no real issue for the user - if you're worried about the look of it then just use a loop of transparent sticky tape - and means that they've been made with longevity in mind. The warranty may only last six months, but they design the product to last as long as possible. (For the record - it's not just Inspired. Most trials brands have a very short warranty period, to the extent of a historic Koxx sister-brand called NoWar offering zero warranty right from the date of purchase. NoWar = No Warranty.) Edit: The trouble with internal hose routing is that it's more of a faff to replace/exchange them. They used to come with the option to internally route, and maybe they still do - I don't know. But trials riders typically fiddle with brakes a lot, and if you have to disconnect them and rebleed them every time you want to take them off the bike... it's hassle. Especially true for the rear, as it has the added problem of hoses getting torn in crashes where the bars go spinning. Sure, you could fix that with what people now think is a revolutionary product in the BlockLock headsets that Monty did with their Stop Steering System getting on for 30 years ago, but that adds more weight, complexity, cost, and if using Acros as they all do, plastic compression rings which have absolutely no place in trials Honestly, these are problems that mountain bike companies solved that just don't exist for trials usage. I question the need for them in MTB even, but they know people will buy it so why wouldn't they sell it in this broken, terrible world?

The former. I'll come out and potter for special occasions (read: twice in the last year, both at Rad ), but my back problems got ridiculous so I'm limited to somewhat tame MTB on a full suspension bike now. The result is that it's quite a bit better in general, but as soon as I push too hard it kicks off again.

Numbers of riders really dropped off - especially in the north. Reduced numbers and social media made a fragmented scene even more so. People are still about, but in their own friend groups. More like it was before mass internet adoption. Now, if you're not in some horrendous, giagantic group chat you may as well not exist. The number of brands reduced, and even ones that stuck around produce less stock. From what I gather, not by choice. Increasing costs and decreasing market, and those that remain have less to spend. Some companies started selling direct to customers instead of through shops. Comp riders went off-the-charts absolutely bat-shit f**king nuts. I'm down and out now and I was in your position before anyway so not a reliable source, but yeah - it seems like it's still around but you have to have an "in". It's not as public as it once was.

I have a Mega TR that I run 9 speed on. I currently use a SunRace RDM900 for a clutch mech and it works, but it's not without it's issues. What is that one you have on there?

I was a huge fan of the Maxxis Aggressor. It's a 2.35, but maybe that's close enough. Not super aggressive tread, but really grippy and I found really good against pinches even in EXO/TR. They're around 880g, if memory serves. The knobbles are wide-spread so lots of friction points, but relatively short so not very squirmy. Did me really well as an all-round tyre, rather than specialist in anything.

I've no experience with modern freewheels as I switched to Hopes about 12 years ago, and this is very likely unfair but by my instinct I 100% wouldn't trust a freewheel made by either of those brands. People seem to prefer volume these days, so you might be hard-pressed to find what you're after. You might be able to bend the springs inwards or shave the extension down in height so there's less material pushing back in the Trialtech to alleviate some of the volume/drag. Not ideal, I know, but if all else fails... Josh is probably your guy for advice on bespoke solutions like that. I imagine he's fettled with all sorts of options before landing on double-springs in his own.

Sadly have to contradict. I was using mine for general hardtailing and have killed two driveshells in approximately 9 months. They refuse to replace them due to "spares not being available", but then bare-faced sell them to the public. The second died quicker than the first. Stumped up for a Pro 2 Evo in the end. Buy cheap, buy thrice

The UK has an overwhelming population density compared to Finland (279 people per square kilometer vs 18!) so a huge number of people living in the UK will find it quite hard to access "nice forest and rocks". It can definitely be done, and there are some great spots available, but you must have your own transport and time to get there. In some places I've lived, the nearest natural spot with enough to be a good ride was over an hour away in the car. I think a lot of it is cultural, too. Likely in part because of the population thing, a lot of people here don't view being away from lots of people as a good thing. I've known some riders who are more scared to try something out in the woods because if they get hurt in town it's very easy to get help. Riding also has a social dimension for a lot of people who didn't grow up riding alone, too. I think it feels very similar to if you went on a ride and forgot your helmet. If you forgot your helmet, you can still ride and have fun, but it doesn't feel right to try difficult things in case it goes wrong. For some, there's a sense of security and even "rightness" to riding with other people versus riding alone, if you didn't grow up riding alone. I've always found riding with a couple of other people will make me willing to try things I wouldn't try if riding alone. We were also fortunate enough to have a ridiculously rich riding scene in the 2000s, but a lot of the riders were quite young (so can't drive) so they rode whatever they could near home. When they made videos of it, other people wanted to do it so would CHOOSE to ride in towns because they had this or that landmark they wanted to visit. And then when you've grown up on it, it's just what you're used to. I personally enjoyed both, but I usually had more fun on street just because of the style of riding I grew in to. Street and rocks are very different, so it's not surprising you find it scary if you never do it. It's a lot like anything else - if it's scary to do something, do it 100 times and then you'll usually be much less scared of it. That isn't always the case, but very often it is. Edit: Here's a thing that might be a shock for your perspective. A large number of the people that ride here NEVER ride alone. It can get to a weekend and they want to ride, but if none of their friends are available to ride with, they just don't. Not everyone is like that, of course, but quite a lot are.

I think I can take a guess, but just to confirm, which companies are these? That f**king stinks.

Just FYI, plenty of people have used both of these, historically. They're a bit heavier, is the only concrete reason not to. Other than that they're just not fashionable, and a huge percentage of the people riding these kinds of bikes seem to be very concerned with having the culturally accepted parts, rather than what works for them/is cost effective. If you're looking at DJ rims though, just be careful when ordering to get the right spoke hole count. A lot of them come in 32 and 36 hole, so just double check. Definitely not speaking from experience 🙄

Really? I find them far nicer than hydraulics. Did you loosen the spring tension at the caliper? I have one on the front of my Cannibal and both on my 456 - regular pads on the 456 though. Organic chucked me over the bars on tech decents one too many times

Avid BB5 with organic pads, SP51 cable outer and an FR5 lever with an SLX RT66 or Storm HC rotor.

No.

That's the most disappointingly accurate summary of trials I've seen in a while