neomember

Probably an awesome street/DJ bike... a bit on the heavy side for trials. You'll find the fork a bit too long. Best suspension fork i've found is '05 Marzocchi All Mountain 1. Which i can drop the travel to 30-40 mm on the fly. A tad heavy though... but rides okay for trials. I'm not a fan of SRAM except for their cassettes and chains. Best things i see on this bike is the brakes and the fork. Don't know about their frame. My two cents!!

Pick me!!!

There's simply no way a screwdriver will get this one out. I already have the perfect tool for the job. One of those like the 'Headset Rocket'. It's the same tool most LBS use. A rubber mallet is not enough as the steel hammer is not enough too. I can't really see a LBS doing the job. I can't imagine striking on the cup any harder and can't see what they can do for me. I've called a few. They're pretty confident they can do the job but using the same solution... thinking it's a routine job. I understand they can't spend too much time on a job like this one and it can be very upsetting for them. They know better than i am but i prefer doing it myself(as it's your bike, it's not the same) I need a special trick like the heat and cold solution. I think this one should work but it's complicated. If not, it will stay as it is. Having a CK on a Norco is not the end of the world after all. Thanks a bunch anyway... i really appreciate!

Recently, i bought a Norco 4by frame from somebody on the net. When i got the frame, i found out that a CK steelset headset, a Thomson seatpost and a Salsa seat clamp came with it. Just those three components alone worth the price i've paid for the frame. Thinking a CK steelset was wasted quality for this kind of frame(dual), i decided to swap it on my trial frame thinking it was more suitable for a rigid bike. Also it doesn't fit right, there's a large gap between the tube and the cups. A flat DH headset should be more appropriate. Now, i've tried it myself with the appropriate tools but was doing it for the first time and it didn't worked. Brought it to my LBS before doing something wrong, he has been able to remove the bottom one with severe brute force. It was a horror show... even denting the frame on the top tube... ball bearings all over the place. No more LBS for me... ever. The top cup needs to be removed now and don't know what to do. Those are long cups. Norco's aluminium head tube are renowned to be a tight fitting. I heard about using heat and cold. Hair dryer blowing hot air on head tube, using ice inside the cup. Didn't tried it yet but it's looking like a lot of timing involved at the same time. What do you think?? Can you suggest something?? Please don't tell me that this headset will die with this frame... i want this headset badly!! Any help appreciated... thanks!!

Same here, my tongue does most of the work. Should see me play video games. Can't do anything about it!!

I have RaceFace Evolve XC 27.2mm and really like it. It's dirt cheap and lightweight.

Been practicing just half an hour today and it felt much better... everything came naturally. I was obviously doing something wrong. I'm still doing the half stroke but start lifting at the end of the bad foot stroke. Made a whole difference. Still sketchy, i'm not even applying pressure for now and i have more control and can go much longer... just being lazy. Practicing on a curb for now. I'll try to get back to my usual 14-15" when i nailed the full motion perfectly. I'll keep the full stroke version for dessert as i have a lot to learned yet... for the next time i'll be stucked at 24-30"(hopefully). I've been busting my ass on this almost everyday for the last two months, whipping those handlebars like crazy... with no success! Thanks guys... you basically saved my season!!

Hi, I know pedal-up how-tos have been covered hundreds of time but my recent visit at Trashzen truly mixed me up. I'm using a full crank rotation for my pedal-ups but have always used the last stroke(choco foot) to lifted the front wheel and do all the job. Basically, i'm starting pulling the handlebar on top of the last pedal stroke. I'm doing it as if it was a rolling pedalkick. Now Trashzen seems to say that you start lifting the front with your bad foot first. Is it me that is completely wrong or there's two techniques? If so.. any pros and cons?? I'm doing no more than 14-15 inches, landing on two wheels most of the time when not pinching flats. Thanks!!

Actually.. you don't need to trackstand forever! It is not mandatory to backhop. Just get the position while rolling at a very slow pace until you get to a complete stop. If you feel that your balance is not right(while stopped), roll a bit some more til the next stop! A fraction of a second of perfect balance is needed to start the "wheelie". Repeat if needed... I have very poor balance! I suck at trackstand but i'm able to do 40+ backhops! Which is useless IMO! No doubt you can do it!!

Best trick i've found is to pre-position your body first while two wheels still on the ground in a trackstand. As a baseline, elbows and knees bent half way(90 degrees)... looking down. When you get your balance right(trackstand), do a small wheelie with a quarter crank rotation while keeping the body positionned as said earlier. Catch the bike with your rear brake when you feel you're close to your balance point or before flipping. Try to do a few hops using your feet. You'll get the concept right away after doing 3-5 hops. It is just a matter of fine tuning after that. Hope this is useful!!

I'd say shorter stem... like 40mm. It should throw some body weight on the back.

Nice frame. Street bikes are quite heavy IMHO and this one looks made from Cr-Mo. MTX are about 640g which is not bad. I like them alot. A longer stem definitely made a difference on mine(Planet-X Pitbull Pro). Especially with shorter top tube(street bike). Harder to pull at first but easier to keep it up. I'm using 100mm stem. But i mainly use my bike for trials riding now... For street riding my 40mm was better for manuals and bunnyhops. Makes the bike more flicky, but more unpredictable also... arse wise!!!. For trials riding, i found it less stable on the backwheel and way more strenuous on the arms for backhops and pedalkicks. Front wheel wants to drop immediately after gapping. With your rigid fork you might find yourself having a bb drop now. I know my frame was made especially for suspension fork. My toes drag on the asphalt sometimes since my rigid fork. I don't know if bb drops can make the front end harder to pull. Wanna use it for street or trials riding??

I'd say Leech and Lenosky cause i think they deserve to be mentioned! All riders have their own weaknesses, strengths... and styles! I'm more more of a streetish guy. Just my two cents! Maybe apples and oranges here... EDIT: Danny Macaskill for sure... in my case.

Nice post! Will copy/paste this somewhere... if you don't mind!

Been away for 3 days. I was expecting a war in here. Come on... Yeah, Europe is the force of trials riding(and Britain too!). Too bad trials riding is not as developed/popular in here. Probably cause there's more deers than human population per square miles. Deers do nice gaps though!! The video was about a race through obstacles. A duplicate course for each team. I guess it's a duel. Ryan Leech and Jeff Lenosky for North America and two other guys(whatever) from Britain. Leech and Lenosky went so crazy at it, litteraly rolling over modules and stuff. Something happen to Lenosky which i don't recall(like totally missing an obstacle) and Leech did a nice face plant if i remember. Both guys from Britain did the course at a more decent pace, using more "traditional" trials techniques. They did cleaner runs and won... fair and square(have to admit it :$ ). I guess Brits are no cheaters. Leech did recover well from his crash being fast and fluid as always, finished strong and almost won the race. Pretty close! I'm no threat in trials riding but can do some nice wheelies(did 100m on a calm day ) and coasters. What about an oversea teleconferenced video competition between the two. That or... Canadian deer vs British trials rider gapping competition. No? I think the deer would kick some British asses. EDIT: I like messing around with people... i love you Brits! Local Indians... i love you too!!

Maybe if we're teaming up together we can start a war against those Brits and claim this Trials Forum. What do they know about trials riding anyway... I remember seeing that trials exhibition video: Britain vs North America. Both of the Brits cheated... what a shame. Being a Brit, i wouldn't be able to sleep at all nor looking myself in the mirror. Aaaah... those are the Brits anyway!! Just two Canadians meeting togethers... EDIT: syntax

Someday, we should take both our Ski-Doos, molesting some local Indians along the way and meet at half point(let's say Saskatchewan) and ride together. So much fun can it be, lurching for miles in fields in every directions without encountering any obstacles... nose in the wind... like the wolves. Supply the booze, i'll supply the poutine. I mean real booze. Don't you have fake booze in BC? I'm Quebecer... you're different. Do we have to hate each other? Will definitely go BC someday though, i swear... the north shore/snowboard scene seems so cool! EDIT: Unless you're a local indian...

+1 Yeah, crank flips and bar spins! Kind of streetish, but nice!

Trials bike have longer frame and stem. A lot of body weight is thrown on the front just standing on the pedals, having your hands on the handlebar. You need to do a manual-like body motion to throw weight to the back wheel. It will feel like in slow motion(especially for bunnyhops). Takes longer for body weight to be transferred on longer geometry! You can preload by pushing on your handlebar at first! Spread the knees a little more for manuals!! Hope it helps!!

+1

Sabiot... you freakin' Canadian! Where are you from?

Not sure myself but for me lurching is a serie of pedalkicks to move you forward. EDIT: syntax

Don't have lots of tricks under my sleeve yet but what i like to do is alterning wheelies(seated), manuals and lurching. Like wheelie to lurch or wheelie to manual to lurch. Next step would be switching lurches for pedal ups.

I've heard that low BBs are better for manuals but high BBs are better for trials riding in general.

I used to have that exact same problem over a long period of time. Really annoying. I've been working hard to fix this. You made me realize i don't have it anymore. I've changed my stem for a longer one just a few weeks ago. Maybe it fixed it. Your geometry as changed. Your body position has probably changed to adapt. My guess is that... front end is lower during backhops now(straighter arms/legs to relieve stress) and a bit more pressure is applied to the rear pedal(than on the front) due to the bike angle being too low and the back leg being too straight. Causing it to ratchet back(just a theory). I'm no pro, probably nothing new here but... this is what i felt happening in my case. Your front end will feel "lighter" with a longer stem. You'll be able to backhop, arms/legs bent a little more with less stress in the arms. Body closer to the bike, you'll be able to keep the bike more upright and this is what(i think) fixes the "crank ratcheting" thing. I can even pedal up and pedalkick higher since then. Have more control over landing gaps too. A bit more effort to get the front up but easier to keep it up. Easy to observe during manuals. Just my own experience... Hope it helps!