Brettoll

Orange Zero!

I tell you what though.. that new Jitsie Varial Hybrid is remarkably like the Marino Vader....

I am trying that first

Cheers will check out Ted James. Pinged an email to the Curtis team a while back and it worked out about £700ish to have one of their older trials frame redone as a one off.. it's tempting

I could probably produce a small run somewhere for that! Jeez...

Well that is a little bit much.. in that I can get a Curtis for sub £1000 as a one off!

Well this is on their Insta

Let's see what they come back with..! Dropped them a note, cheers!

Yeah I dropped them a mail, seemed to remember them being about £600 - let's see if they still do. As their blog is full of Russian Mail Order bride posts... Cheers!

Morning all! In the hunt for the dream set up, I am weighing up having a frame custom built with the geo that I felt most comfortable on (a mid wheelbase all rounder). I previously used Marino as a builder and had an OK experience, however reviewing the forum it seems the service has dropped off a considerable amount. Are there any other reasonably priced frame builders people have used? Cheers, Brett

3rding Mark's comments, you can start on a bike and learn the basics etc. The above helped me a lot when I first started out on a MTB in the 90's. Go and enjoy

Slight shift, half the party can't make Wednesday. So a couple of us are riding in Slough which is probably a little bit far out? How long are you in Basingstoke / Alton for though as a Reading ride will be on in the coming weeks

Currently ironing out the details with a few other riders, looking like 4 of us.. will be an evening affair - 7pm onwards most likely. Will post in this thread once it's all sorted! There are still a lot of spots in Reading, they seem to knock some of the classic stuff down then somewhere else build something amazing.. the new station has some concrete block benches and this stair set for example:

A few of us going out in Reading next Wednesday evening - which is 30 mins from Basingstoke

I think it was a number of things all coming into play for me: Mainstream MTB Media Coverage // Peer Group // Attainable on your own bike (not specialist) Coverage 1997 I had stopped riding BMX a few years ago and was into XC a bit more, a mate just purchased a street style bike and had a copy of Chainspotting and an MBUK subscription. Aged 14 I had never seen any riding like it before and I wanted to find out how it could be done on a bike that looked a bit like mine. Watching how the Marts and Tongues controlled their bikes it just looked cool and was different, it flicked a switch. It was so well covered in MBUK with top riders, riding in spots that were either where I lived or looked like it. Spurring me on to just go try things out. Also in the magazine ambassadors having monthly sections to showcase parts, people, trends etc. was pretty cool. I believe the fun side of trials has always been a bit underground - it was a word of mouth, smaller but devoted set of riders which gives it a bit of a rep to the rest of the bike world (they don't get it). Peer Group Growing up in Reading I was surrounded by some epic trials spots and it wasn't long before we bumped into other trials and DJ/Street riders from around the area. In the early 2000's there was a collective of riders across all sorts of backgrounds (street, BMX, trials, DH) riding a 5 days out of 7, going on road trips and generally having fun. It was fun meeting other riders in other places, pushing each other to progress and just having fun. Then sticking the bikes in the back of the car and getting a pint. Attainable I was a teenager when I found trials, so skint basically. The ability to get into trials by just changing some bits on my bike from the money I earned / was gifted helped me feel a part of it not only appreciate the sports diverse (comp / street on the same bike) appeal, but also help me become obsessed with all kinds bikes, how to build and adapt them and ride different disciplines better. As I got older and started working, the bits were getting more specialist and the bikes were changing from less adapted bikes to focused products. Comp was driving seatless big move set ups and control, street was custom frames akin to bigger looking BMX's with a smidge of the old school converted MTB about them. Keeping Riding Hands up! I have not been riding that much, life has been wonderful (with family) but also hard and expensive resulting of selling every bike I owned. After a change in jobs and some hard work I decided purchase a trials bike again late last year (and split it and built a Hex, TGS = not for me). Why? I missed the ability to ride it anywhere, push my skills and scare myself again. I can be 10 seconds away from a kerb or 20 mins from a town with urban furniture to just test myself when I have a spare 15 mins or out around the local estate with the family.. Cheers, Brett