psycholist

The 72 Kingz one will work, but since presumably you've got horizontal dropouts, you might as well use them and snail cams/chain tugs (Worse option) to keep the bike simple...

That's not Dougie Lampkin - he doesn't look grim enough ...

I'd try to do as much stretching as possible to get flexibility back. Like most things though it'll take time before you see big improvements, but you should end up with less and less pain and start to feel smoother on the bike. I ruptured a disk in my back more than 10 years ago, did a lot of stretching and swimming to get it back to normal and haven't even had a twinge out if it for years.

The second thread is for a lockring originally designed for people running fixed gear bikes so the sprocket wouldn't unscrew when they slowed the bike using the pedals. I'd be surprised if it was up to disk use for XC bikes not to mind trials use though.

Measure length from the centre of the steerer tube to the centre of the handlebar clamp.

DOT fluid ruins Magura seals - you need mineral oil. If you can get Magura Royal Blood that's the recommended fluid, but I've had no problems over the past decade running Citroen suspension fluid (LHM) in my brakes. I reckon it's a bit more viscous than Royal Blood, but that isn't noticeable on a disk brake. Don't try a water/emulsion bleed as this only works for Magura rim brakes where there's loads of insulation between the pads and the oil. It'll boil too easily in a disk brake.

An oven won't get anywhere near the temperature you need to take steel to before it'll (possibly - I have my doubts on this, some grade of titanium show the shape memory effect, but steel doesn't really do this, it won't even soften at the 250 degC most ovens go to) straighten. The best way to straighten disks is to get an adjustable wrench and bend them straight - the important thing is it make very small adjustments and check the effect of each adjustment before making the next one (Not unlike truing a wheel). To bleed the brake the instructions are around if you search the forum. General rules are bleed from bottom to top and when replacing the reservoir cover, roll the diaphragm onto the reservoir to make sure you don't trap any air. Bleeding with a syringe is most effective, but if you don't have one you can use the lever to pump oil from the lever to the caliper while holding the caliper higher than the lever to drive air out the caliper bleed port.

I find the 6.0 Nikes have no grip walking in the wet and slide straight off my V8's as soon as they get damp too. I use ordinary Asics runners. Skate shoes/Nike 6.0's are meant to be a lot better on caged pedals though.

I cleaned the inside of the backing with fine sandpaper, washed it with isopropyl alcohol, letting it evaporate dry, then put a drop of superglue in the bottom of the backing, stuck in the new pad and clamped it overnight in a vice.

Boiling them in water is supposed to do the trick too. For metal backings I just pull the pad material out with a pliers or little bit of leverage from a screwdriver if they're really stuck...

I recommend going outside - the graphics are awesome and don't get me started on the physics engine and force feedback!!

If its an ISIS I'd go with an Echo (Or Superstar they're the same thing as far as I can tell) or if bearing durability is an issue the SKF ones - just make sure you get the right tool to fit the SKF's. I've been running an Echo BB for over 1.5 years with no problems .

I've got about 25 psi in the front tyre (2.1" Maxxis Advantage on Echo rim, standard 26" tube) and 22 psi in the back wheel (Conti Rubber Queen 2.4" on another Echo rim with DH tube - the tyre is so big it rubs the inside of my Echo Control frame slightly - never happened with the 2.5" Minion I had before). The back tyre squirms like a basturd on the back wheel on side slopes, but its so bouncy I can hop the bike up steps forwards on the back wheel like a pogo stick without pedal kicks. I weigh somewhere around 90kg but don't do anything really big. No pinch flats on this setup either, riding a mix of street and natural (Mostly street though)...

Since I changed to a new bike with front freewheel I've had 3 cranks go this way (No issues for years with Middleburns before that). I've changed my pedals as well as the crank this time as I reckon the threads on the pedal may have been undersized, allowing it to move too much in the crank causing an earlier failure and all is good so far (A couple of months on). Usually I only get crank failures at the pedal thread on high mileage cranks (I've had a few cranks burst around the pedal hole and more fail where the pedal threads come out of the crank, but these are almost all after years and thousands of miles of use rather than every 6 months with the trials cranks). The reason this happens is down to the bending the pedal axle carries causing small movements between the pedal and crank threads as you pedal. In trials this is exacerbated by the very high loads from landings and causes the threads in the crank to disintegrate over time until you actually can feel the movement. These same small movements are the reason the left pedal has a left hand thread, if it used a normal thread it would work loose all the time - as you pedal normally the pedals will tighten themselves (Part of the reason the end of a crank can burst rather than giving a thread failure in high mileage cranks). Google for 'Jobst Brandt' and 'pedal threads' or 'thread precession' and you'll find loads more information on what's going on. Greasing the life out of the pedal threads before assembling them will slow this failure, but not stop it.

If the noise is gone then the contamination is probably gone too. Now you'll need to break the disk in again - get it hot and spray water on it. For even quicker improvement use muddy water...

Pump the tyre until the tube is just past pressing on the whole tyre, then work around the rim on both sides setting the tyre to exactly the same height all around the rim on both sides (Most tyres will have a line moulded near the tyre bead that you can use to judge this). Keep an eye on the tyre for more settling as you pump it. If it still pops off then the tyre bead may well be damaged and you'll need a new tyre.

The good news is that you'll probably be better than you last were after doing nothing on the bike for a month unless you were injured and aren't fully recovered. When you're exercising pushing yourself as in trials, your muscles will get damaged by the loads put through them. This damage doesn't have a chance to repair if you don't rest every so often. This is why pretty much every training programme has rest days and why if you're off your bike for a while you generally ride better when you get back to it (Obviously if you're talking months or years out you'll lose fitness, but a week or two isn't an issue).

18:15 is spot on for 26" bikes, but for a 24 18:14 gives almost the same ratio thanks to the 8% ish change in wheel diameter.

Take the tyre pressure down on the front tyre and you get most of the benefits of suspension with no downsides (Unless they're so soft the tyres roll off the rims cornering or pinch flat). Part of the reason you're suffering is because it takes time to build the strength to stay stable on the bike without having your arms locked nearly straight, so things are guaranteed to feel harsh. Keep at it though - there's nothing like flat landing a set of steps, hearing horrible noises from the wheels on the landing and not even feeling it through your arms ...

If you don't copper grease them...

Some coloured bolts here: http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=28 They're titanium too, so much better for load bearing use than aluminium bolts while still lighter than steel.

Provided you completely fill the lever with whatever fluid you want to use and are very careful in reassembling the brake (Make sure you don't shake the brake line so it remains filled and that the brake line displaces fluid as you push it into the fitting at the lever it is possible), but probably quicker and definitely more reliable to just assemble and rebleed. To further increase the chance of it working pull the brake before changing the lever and stick a match behind one of the brake pads. This stops one of the pistons fully retracting holding more fluid in the brake line. Then submerge the brake line in a pool of fluid in the fitting in the brake lever and take the match stick out so any air bubble in the brake line will get pushed out by the fluid released by the slave piston returning to its stop. Once the air bubble has been removed push the brake line the full way into the fitting and tighten. A similar technique is used on disk brakes to shorten the hoses/change lever, but they have no return spring in the slave pistons, so they don't need to be held out of position.

I'm another 30 year old on here... I bought my first car this year, but it'll never replace my 5 bikes ... I landed my biggest sidehop ever onto a ledge last night (And before anyone asks it's not that big - somewhere in the region of 28")... Should really measure it before they put water back in that fountain... Its nice to still be improving ...

What sort of angle grinder is it - using a sanding disk on a power drill I was able to get a grind that sounds a lot like you describe. An angle grinder is way more effective... It sounds like you're either not pushing the disk hard enough into the rim or the angle grinder isn't spinning fast enough.

I've got a 2.4" Rubber Queen on the back of my Echo Control and it's easily the bounciest tyre I've ever used. I used to run a dual ply 2.5" minion and this tyre is both fatter (The tyre rubs my frame when I'm putting a lot of power down - the Maxxis never rubbed) and lighter ... They grip as well as the Minions too. Not desperately cheap though...