psycholist

I used to run an ENO and it was flawless (I had threads strip on one crank, but it was due to badly modifying the bashguard, leaving the freewheel off line with the crank threads. One thing that probably should be corrected here is that the pitch of the threads on ENO freewheels is correct, the diameter is slightly larger at 1.375" rather than 1.37", or a 0.36% difference, so probably within the manufacturing tolerances of the threads on some freewheels. After 2.5 year's use the ENO is still running flawlessly. My current bike, bought at the start of the year has an Echo freehweel. I found the Echo freewheel was very tight on the threads of the cranks, making it difficult to screw on even with copper grease (Presumably because it has a 1.37" thread diameter), but that's where any complaint about the freewheel construction starts and ends. The Echo has performed flawlessly since I bought it, no skips, no funny noises, total peace of mind. The extra pickup compared to the ENO is noticeable too, but once you're past 60 or 70 clicks you're splitting hairs really. More useful for the folks who have had freewheels fall apart on them is that the lockring on the Echo sits against the bashguard on the crank, so it can't come off. Only thing I'd consider changing is to make the freewheel quieter - it's so loud it makes it difficult to talk to someone you're cycling with if you're both rolling down a hill.

Check the pushrod from the TPA dial for chipped threads - these will chew the threads on new TPA knobs. The Magura standard TPA knob has metal threads inside it, so it's not as weak as it looks. I posted a good while back with details of how to make a replacement for this part - basically just get threaded bar and file flats on it (See: http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=146246&st=0&p=2050704&hl=Magura&fromsearch=1&#entry2050704). Threaded bar is softer than the OEM Magura part, which makes it less prone to cracking. You can also make the replacement part about 1 mm thicker across the flats and it will still fit the lever, so there will be more thread contact area to carry the load.

Height: (cm) 179 cm Weight: (kg) 90 kg Style: (Street/Natural/TGS - which style is your bike most comfortable to ride in - NOT what do you prefer, or are best at.) Old school hopping around on street and natural. Your Bike... Type: (mod/stock/24) Stock 26" Weight: (kg - if known) 11.1 kg Frame: (name will do, but if you know the geo - that'd be great. ((WB, BB, CS, HA, headtube length and especially reach (BB to top of headtube): GU LE, 1090 wheelbase, 383mm CS, +35 BB, Head Angle: 72 degrees, Centre of BB shell to top centre of head tube: 680 mm, 120 mm head tube length (These are the Tartybikes figures I haven't measured myself). Forks: (again - length and rake if known, please): Onza Tuf Guy (I think 405 mm long, offset about 45 mm) - Don't have definite figures, but I replaced an Echo urban with one of these on my last bike and it felt exactly the same, but I think the Tuf Guy is officially slightly longer than the Echo. Headset: (internal or standard): Standard 1 1/8" Hope Stackers: (total mm): About 1 cm. Stem: (rise and length): Tarty forged - 120 x 25 degrees rise I think Bars: (rise, width, upsweep and backsweep): Trialtech risers - 740 mm wide 88 mm rise. Cranks: (length and offset): 175 mm Trialtech, offset 35 mm (Anything less catches the frame on a 128 mm BB. BB: (width) 128mm Try-All ISIS Finally... Comments: (does your bike feel a little too long, too short etc... What would you want different about it or is it absolutely perfect for you? The bike feels about right on the length for hopping and rolling around. Slightly short while on the back wheel, but not enough that it affects what I can do (I seem to be able to hop forwards further than I could on my last bike which was slightly less cramped on the back wheel). Much easier to get towards the front wheel balance point for pivots and to wheelswap to the back compared to the Echo Control I used to have. Can't pigeon onto things as easily as the Echo Control thanks to the higher bars and what feels like a shorter wheelbase limiting the height of obstacle I can sit the front wheel on. Easier to spin than the Echo, but definitely not a first and foremost spinny street machine.

LHM is mineral oil, so the same stuff as goes in Maguras and Shimano brakes. Each manufacturer claims their specific mineral oil is best, but there's not a lot between them from what I've seen, they mostly seem to start with the same oil and dye it different colours. DOT fluid is used in most other brakes, which is why the Climb8 ones are likely to be DOT, but I can't find a thing about them on the internet, so sniffing the fluid is the easiest way to check what's in there already. Alternatively you could try spreading the fluid on a painted surface - if the paint strips you've got DOT...

CNC backings got rid of almost all that play on my Maguras. There has to be some to allow the pads to move in the first place. The nipple bit on the tip of the piston should not take any side loading in use. All the side loads should be taken by the guide pins that stick out around the cylinder.

I'm pretty sure these take DOT fluid. Seeing what the oil smells like is the easiest way to tell the difference between them. If you have DOT or mineral oil handy (Or know what they smell like), see which one the fluid in the brake smells like. Bleeding will be the same as any other open system brake. Remove pads and put something solid between the pistons. Then bleed from the lowest point in the system to the highest point. If you don't have a bleed syringe, pour fluid into the lever reservoir, hold the caliper higher than the lever and use the lever to pump fluid through. Always close the bleed port before releasing the lever though (Otherwise gravity will make the oil run out through the lowest exit from the system).

Check for swarf in the threads from where the BB shell is pierced for the chainstays to weld on. I've seen this on other brand new steel frames (Mostly because they tap the threads before welding the BB in and painting), so it's not just Marino that can have this problem. Get a local shop to chase the threads and make sure the BB you have is the correct width for the BB shell.

If the current BB is the right length you don't need to remove it from the frame to get all the measurements you need from it. Taking the cranks off will allow you to measure the BB axle length (If it's an ISIS and you don't have the cranks off, measure the axle length you can see and add 32mm (ISIS splines are usually 16mm long if my memory serves me correctly) to get the total axle length. The BB shell length is the length of the tube the BB is screwed into in the frame and will be 68 or 73mm on most bikes. If you're happy with the chainline and crank clearance on your current setup buy the same size BB again...

Pretty much what people have said already - just like to hop upwards you have to push into the ground, for a spin you have to twist the opposite way to the direction you want to turn to preload for the spring in the direction you want. Still working on getting the front wheel to land where the back wheel was and the back where the front was though, I always tend to spin slightly more around the back wheel than the centre of the bike, so I land almost a foot behind where I took off from.

The guy travelling with me from Ireland is the one who bought the Caelifera frame you sold a good few months ago, so your signature will be there anyway ...

It's nearly finishing time at work, it's Friday, the weather's reasonable so I plan to deploy the trials bike very soon indeed ...

Does anyone know how many people are preregistered at this stage? Has it hit the hundreds yet? I should be there around 12 on the Friday ... Can't wait ...

I'm under the 5 hours trials at the moment, but most of the time I spend out at the moment is riding solo, so I can get the same amount of actual riding done in an hour as I manage in 2 or 3 hours with a group (Based on how sore my hands are afterwards anyway). For the last couple of months I've been digging trails for at least 5 or 6 hours on Saturdays for an XC race we're holding soon, and I'd usually spend a chunk of that riding trials, so I'd probably get over the 5 hours a week provided the weather wasn't completely foul. I also spend at least 4 hours riding XC, an hour and a quarter a week commuting by bike, at least 1 hour swimming and about 2 hours a week doing circuit training. I think for trials it's very hard to get the fitness you need just by riding trials - it makes sense to do a bit of everything. It also means if you pick up an injury you've got a better chance of finding something you can still do to stay some way active while it heals. But then given I turned 31 this year, I may have started to get sensible in my old age ...

What have you tried so far? The main rule is use the longest lever you can to turn the sprocket - also make absolutely sure you're loosening it in the right direction (It's a standard right-hand thread) ...

If the old rim is straight and hasn't any cracks or braking surfaces worn concave then there's no problem using the old rim.

Radial spokes point straight from the centre of the hub. The shortest distance from the spoke hole to the edge of the flange is in the radial direction. This means the spoke holes have the least material to resist the spokes pulling through when the spokes are radial. There's an increased chance of the hub failing through spokes ripping out through the flanges in this case (It's still very rare AFAIK). If a hub manufacturer says it's OK to lace their hub radially then it shouldn't ever be a problem, if not you may get no warranty support if it fails (And it'll be very obvious to anyone in the warranty department looking at the hub that it was laced radially thanks to the marks left by the spokes on the hub). Radial spokes on disk wheels or both sides of rear wheels are to be completely avoided as the stresses caused by radial spokes trying to transfer torque get very large indeed... As for the freewheel - those shims were put in to adjust the bearings in the factory. Removing the shims until the play is just short of removed is the correct way to adjust the freewheel bearings. If there's a big difference it may indicate something else gone wrong in the freewheel - have a good look for evidence of bearings being damaged, missing bearings of deformed parts in the freewheel just in case.

All the piston seals in Hope brakes are designed to be lubricated with DOT fluid - given the brake is filled with the stuff it'd be a bit daft to spec materials corroded by it for seals (Though that didn't stop Formula doing it a few years ago)... Keep it off your paintwork though...

Polish the surface back more - the reason for it cracking was down to there being a sharp edge in the path of the stress carried by the lever, causing the stress right at the corner to be a lot higher than the stress in the rest of the lever, creating a point from which a crack can grow. You've now added a whole pile of sharp edges to the same location, so you've probably not solved the problem. Best thing to do is file it as smooth as you can and then go over it with progressively finer grades of sandpaper. If you do this carefully you'll get near mirror surfaces and smooth surfaces don't have anywhere for cracks to grow from.

If you land on them disks will bend, but it has surprised me a lot how rarely I even come close to catching them - I've hit the frame dropouts but never the disk (But I've only run a rear disk since January)...

I agree that brake mounts on the back of the fork are better for out and out braking performance. The problem arises because most of a fork's time is spent with the rider's weight putting tension in the material at the back of the fork legs. I can neither hook or tap and my fork failed anyway (Snapped completely through both legs) landing off a drop about 6" high. Fatigue cracks need tensile loads to start, so the less you interfere with the grain structure in the metal and the shape of the back of the legs the longer the fork will last. I've had other forks fail through either bending forwards or through cracks forming at the back of the fork legs even without brake mounts being welded there, but they were steel forks, they gave plenty of warning and I'd been using them for over 2 years in all cases...

Remember that the music you choose will determine a lot of the perceived attitude that's expected from the video. If you want to see a great match of music with style the Toxicity video from Trialskings back in the day is a great example. Most people seem to just pick whiny skater rock, leading me to watch many videos with the volume muted. A song that changes tempo/style as it goes can allow you to mix smooth rolling stuff with harsher bigger one off moves or a crash section. If you really want to mess with people's heads try classical music - Winter from Vivaldi's 4 seasons could be made work quite well with a trials video (Depending on the style) I reckon. Less copyright problems with using music from decomposing composers too...

To check frame straightness get a piece of string and run it from the drive side dropout across the front of the headtube to the non drive side dropout. Measure the distance from the string to the seat tube on both sides and if there's a significant difference the frame is not straight. If it's just a wheel rubbing though, chances are you just need to dish the wheel back to the centre. Start at the valve hole and tighten each spoke pointed towards the flange you want to move the wheel towards a half turn until you get to the valve hole again. This will move the rim uniformly towards the hub side you've tightened the spokes to. If the frame is slightly bent, but there's no sign of cracking and you can't feel it pulling sideways on you while riding it, then dishing the wheel will sort this problem too.

I wouldn't weld the brake mounts to the back of the fork legs though. For normal use the back of the fork legs is in tension, so the chance of causing a fatigue crack from where the brake mounts are welded is quite high. I had a set of Echo urbans with the brake mounts on the back snap after about 9 months - many people snapped them a lot faster - and these were supposed to be designed from the factory for trials loads.It's safer to put them on the front of the fork.

If you don't like being deafened every time you're freewheeling down a hill a front disk is the best option of these two. The 203 mm Louise on my stock bike is fantastic, but if I was a gap to front type I'd be looking at the Hope trials disk instead...

It's showing up as £10 + £5 postage for me from Ireland... Two tickets bought and ferry booked today, me and Tha Goat and possibly one more from Ireland will be making an appearance (So heading for half the trials riders in Ireland will be there)... I'll be the shit rider on the dual disk blue GU ...