Phil H

A manufacturer doesnt recieve a bike fully made. They 'manufacture' them, so as I see it, it would just be another step in the chain of producing the bike. If however your talking about someone like Tarty doing it I agree would be hassle but would be an advantage over competitors in my opinion, never the less. Phil

A beginner doesn't know what a soft compund pad is I presume, I certainly didn't. I agree if they ran a disk would look gash BUT most cheap bikes don't come with a rear disk hub anyway. I seriously doubt more riders run water in theirs! (preety confident) Not being bitchy, just what I think Phil

True however if its going to last you longer than twice as long its got to be worth it. as the old saiyng goes Buy Cheap, Buy Twice Phil

Yeh completely agree! Hope tarty bikes will have some input on this discussion..... Phil

I would have to disagree. I am talking about bikes for beginners and im preety sure none of them come with echo rims. I'm talking about £500 and downwards. Thanks for contributing. Phil

haha very good point. Didn't consider that one. Still think its a good idea:P

Been thinking about going to a comp for a while with a couple of mates from my home town. I've been riding a year or 2, not a great rider but ok, got gaps to front and all that business. But anyway if you have never ridden a comp before can you just turn up and ride higher than novice runs or just go on the novice run? What about paper work wise? Do you have to be a member? Cheers, hope you can help. Phil

Ah yeh so it was, my bad Phil

I was thinking...... New trials bikes ordered from anywhere come with smooth rims, which allthough with HS33 work with ok can get abit slippy. Surely if they came with a light grind alot of tailbones would be saved! When I first got a trials bike I didn't even know what a grind was and was quite content running my 33's on a smooth rim but looking back it was abit risky and a couple of times I was ruined. Also, if someone like Tarty started offering new bikes with the option of a grind (free or small charge) this would give them a massive leg up againt the opposition selling trials bikes for similar prices. Criticisms: - I am aware most people when getting into trials on their first bike wouldn't be doing anything extreme but I still think it would be useful. - I am not saying all bikes should come with this as some people like a setup with a smooth rim. Just a thought, might be stupid. Your views? Phil

I wouldn't go anywhere near DMR revolvers, was considering when I was in exactly the same situation as you however most the reviews I read about the Revolver were saying it was terrible. (go look on crc) In the end I brought a new wheel with a hope xc hub which is still going strong I know you said otherwise but consider looking for a second hand hope xc or pro 2. Phil

Cheers for the reply guys sorted it now In the end just oiled it and went out for a ride, eventually it loosened up and now is fine. Phil

Yeh I agree with most people above, don't bother upgrading your hardrock. Back in the day I snapped my Hardrock doing backhops! No joke. To be fair back then I was abit of a pasty. Phil

Has happened to all trials riders. Just take the pain for now, will be gone soon. When I took a month out going back my hands got destroyed but now they are as hard as nails. My friend uses 'palm protectors' which seem to have worked for him (look them up on crc). We both ride with gloves In conclusion take it like a man Will heal over soon Phil

Yeh tried that and tried it after the oil had worked its way in. Not having much luck, If I could find the spare bit of the chain I'd just put some of it in but not sure where it is. Ahhh hassle. Phil

Snapped my chain today. Took out the link and put it back together. Now I have a beasty stiff link. Ive tried working it back and forth but didn't help too much. Oiled it and left it to soak in a minute ago. Anything else I can do? Cheers, Phil

Hmapshire Bike Trials club in Eastliegh Not sure what its like, me and some mates are going to look it up soon. Got the contact detaisls of the organiser guy when I met him and got chatting at the bike show last year. Phil

I agree with the above. Most likely you just pulled a muscle. Happened to me a couple of times trials riding and can be really annoying. Try ride through the pain I guess. I think changing your bike would be abit too extreme, maybe make sure you give it a 5 second stretch before you ride and see if you can build up the lower back muscles with back raises. I've started concentrating on my lower back at the gym to prevent such problems Phil

Haha cranks on the spec 1 are complete bullsh*t bent in a couple of weeks. Middleburns for the win Two of the rings on my original casette actually snapped doing big gaps! Back hub got destroyed Stem snapped etc But anyway Hifi might be nice with it, for now I've chucked on a slightly longer, alot stronger onza stem with more rise that im finding quite nice. Looking for some new bars because frankly im scared of the originals especially holding after down gaps. I was looking at these Echo Bars on Tarty and I think they'd go well with the Hifi stem, not sure how much rise I'd want though. Im running drivetrain wise 22t middleburn pro on the front with ss 18t on the back, running through a derailer. Works well Phil

Aha good point, didn't really consider that. Another question I have now I think about it is: Which technique is mostly used? The sidehop technique where you are completely still on the back wheel and the sidehop? or The technique from where your wheels are flat, kickhop once, dip the front and sidehop straight up? Phil

Dear god! That EXACT thing happened to me today with that piece of sh!t stem! So savage, was tucking ready for a gap and as I kicked it jsut snapped on me. I think its safe to say most things on a spec 1 t-rex will need to be replaced as soon as you hit a reasonable standard. Im sorted with a longer onza stem now. Sorry this is off topic(Y) Phil

Good stuff. Will do. Only been at it a couple of days. 40" is my target by summer Phil

Ah cool awesome stuff. I thought it was around 37" for some reason Phil

I've never really learnt to sidehop before properly and it has always been far behind my kickhops etc. So I put some time in the last couple of days and found I've gone straight up to 30" which I presume is just so because of other trials skills I have learnt that can be used for sidehops. Managed one 34/35" sidehop but that was abit lucky if i'm honest, couldn't make it again But anyway, what is the presumed 'average' and 'respectable' height for sidehopping? Cheers, Phil

Don't nick the blue ones Allthough the blue ones are solid as a rock! Ones with no gaps in the wood are mental but sometimes gaps bring abit of grip I think. So yeh, think you may have to borrow some pallets....for aling time. Allthough I went to somewhere that had loads and politely asked if I could have some and they said yes. Phil

Very good call. A man came up to us and started a rant. I spoke for everyone who was riding and acted calmly and politely. But still because im a 'youth' he disregarded everything I said. He started walking away and I said I think we should have a rational conversation about it. He put forward some weak arguement and just walked off when I was talking to him. So its preety clear to me that allthough I won't do this it has preety much the same effect telling people to 'f*ck right off' as being polite and respectful. Phil