Ben Davies

ok, so i used to ride trials almost every day from the age of about 15 - 19, im now almost 26! back in the day i used to have a high spec pashley 26mhz and it was the nuts, i felt invisible on it and really confident.....about a year ago i started riding again and my natural instincts told me to get another pashley.....i set it up very similar to how i had it before with regards to bar and stem sizes, it looked pretty much the same, now, i know that i was a bit rusty when i got back on a bike, and didnt expect to be hopping up big walls and doing gaps and 9 foot drops like before but i was really crap, and i mean, it was like i had never ridden a trials bike! how frustrating? so anyway, i took it on the chin and made the most of it, eventually ive managed to get some of my confidence back but i am never as good as i used to be?.........(the pashley is a short wheelbase frame).. after watching various trials dvd's and vids on youtube and watching these guys ripping up the most technical stuff on what looks like long frames with no seats i decided to sell the pashley and get with the times and buy an echo pure (long) .....i just can't get my head round it, it wont bunny hop, (ive tried varoius stems) its great on the back wheel and side hops but thats about it! so am i suited to a shorter frame???? (maybe a more modern frame like a pure short?) ive recently bought a 2nd hand 2nd trials bike to run singe speed with v brakes its a giant team trials 04, (the wheelbase is something like 1060) ive stripped my echo down and put all the good parts on it and it bunny hops very easily, not too bad on the back wheel, and generally feels better that the echo?! surely this cant be the case?? the echo is a top notch frame! ....but maybe its too long for me!? im about 5ft 10.....like to do streety moves and big drops/gaps, i also like to sidehop up stuff and be able to get up large obstacles with ease....so what is the frame for me???????? please help, this is getting expensive!

as for wheels if you have money to spend i would go for echo rims on hope hubs, that would probably set you back around £200-£250ish, depending where you get them from, or if your on a budget go for dmr revolver hubs, they are dirt cheap and have sealed bearings, mavic 721 rims arent bad either, you could probably get revolvers on 721s from www.chainreactioncycles.com for £100 or so......hope that helps

that black beauty is bad ass!! how high is that seat collar!? you couldnt even put the seat down low even if you wanted too! lol )

my stem is pretty much the same size as that mate, very similar set up too, except im running cannondale fattys on the front and black rims.....are the long frames known to be not good for bunny hopping then? ive just picked up a 2nd hand giant team trials as a little project street bike and ive just been messing around on it outside my house, the first time i went to manual i fell off the back! its amazing how different it feels! its extremely light......

left foot forward all the time, side hop to the left, spin to the left........but im right handed.....

hello chaps, ive recently bought an echo pure long, and it was recommended to get a high rise stem as the bottom bracket is pretty high, ...so, i have a try all one on there at the moment and it is 130 mm long with about 20 degree rise, looks the dogs, brilliant for side hops up stuff and technical stuff, but dreadful for bunny hopping, manualing, i find it almost impossible...ive also tried an 80 mm kore elite, the bunny hopping is easier, but it feels like im hanging over the front end as it has very little rise and it feels really short!!? so, .....does anyone else have this problem?

there is nothing wrong with your pedal ups mate, thats how i do it, and you can probably do it higher than me!!! watch dirty tricks and cunning stunts by martyn ashton/martin hawyes, its a pre 2000 video but they go through all the moves, hope that helps mate

ive just bought an 07 echo pure long with a try all stem 130mm, looks the nuts but the front end won't come up very easy (manuals etc) ...its ace from a standstill though and back hops...

maxxis all the way, reasonably cheap, excellent grip, good for resisting snake bites!!

a 1997 19 inch kona lavadome with project 2s, magura racelines, lx group set with filed down middle chainring as a bash guard, dcd chain tensioner, x-lite g-force bars, flite saddle, at the time it was the nuts! i had the best 'trials' bike out of our gang.....i was like 15 ...and that was 10 years ago! it snapped on the dropout after a wheely style drop off off a 4 foot skip and i was gutted!http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/style_images/temp/folder_post_icons/icon7.gif

hey, let me know how the base rides, ive just started to get back into trials after 6 years, and i had a pashley back in the day, and what a nice bike that was! im currently on an echo pure long but i miss my seat!