Tristan

1000N is quite low for the 'tight' side of a wheel - you will still have the risk of spokes becoming slack at this tension. Using a normal trials hub with symetrical flanges both sides of the wheel should be tensioned to around 120N or 120Kgf (not quite the same but close) The theoretical max of the spokes doesn't come into effect - the rim is the limiting factor here. All stainless steels are around 201GPa tensile strength but this means nothing. If you keep applying spoke tension the rim it will eventually buckle. The spoke has no role in the max tension, nor does the spoke nipple as a correctly lubed nipple (no giggling please) will have no problems transmitting this tension to the rim. A normal light-weight mtb rim like a Mavic 719 will start buckling at 140 to 150Kgf, some deep section road rims will take more tension than this. Most trials rims are not especially stiff due to their shallow, box-section design and will start buckling at a reasonably low tension. This will be quite evident when building the rim because adding an extra 1/4 turn of tension will cause it to go quite badly out of true. Backing the nipples off 1/4 turn will usually return the wheel to true. Building wheels with the rim close to it's buckling tension is not usually considered a good thing. A decent side load will increase the spoke tension on one side of the rim pushing it over the buckling point and will cause more of an effect than the side load by itself. Aiming for 120Kgf is a good idea. Use the Park TM-1 to calculate what number this relates to on it's scale based on the diameter of the thin section of the spoke...the included steel gauge tester will help you find this out. Apply a good quality lube or antiseize to the spoke threads and apply a small amount of grease or oil to the shoulder of each nipple to allow nice easy (and quiet!) turning up to your desired tension. If you can end up with a wheel which is reasonably true (lets say +/- 0.5mm in both directions) and with spoke tensions within 10% of each other you should end up with a very strong, durable wheel. Cheers, Tristan

Looks awesome! The old Thomson Elite stem is a great fit without pinchbolts. Get some bar plugs before you take a core-sample though What gearing are you running? And what rear tyre is that?

See attached picture.... You can see the bearing seat is all one piece and there is an o-ring grove at the mid-point. As far as I know King headsets are the only ones like this. On the knock-off headsets the logo and the bearing seat are two separate parts. Cheers

Since I'm not authorized I can't post in the other forum, and I can't PM you. The easiest way to tell the fake headset from the real is the upper cups bearing seat. The real one is a one-piece job with an o-ring inside it, the fakes use a split bearing seat and are covered by a conical cap (two separate pieces) I have a couple of Kings in front of me; if you need clarification I'll take a picture. Tristan

German company Trickstuff make a hydraulic gyro: http://www.trickstuff.de/index.php?p=d51en1 Or just run your lines long enough that you can rotate the bars 360 degrees but you need to rotate them back afterwards.

The riding in Wellington is quite good, although not as good as what you see in the videos on this site! You can use that email address to contact D'Arcy Generally you want the handlebars to be as wide as possible while still being comfortable. The longer the stem the more 'trialsy' the bike will feel but it makes manuals harder. Its very much a personal preference as to what length stem you run.

Kia Ora Joe...There are a few riders up your end of the country. D'Arcy runs http://www.biketrial.co.nz/ and lives in Hamilton, you should get in touch with him if you're looking for a trials bike. The wiki on this site has some good instructions on how to setup an Avid mechanical brake...setting your Hayes up will be very similar.

Hi guys....I've been a reader for some time but thought I would introduce myself and see if I can get authenticated I'm 28 year old, originally Canadian but now living in Wellington, New Zealand. I've ridden trials on and off for 10 years or so but you wouldn't know it from my riding :$ I run a wheelbuilding business mainly building mid- to high-end road wheels and I think I can contribute to the forum on some of the recent wheel questions. New Zealand has a pretty small trials scene but it seems to be growing and all of the guys are good blokes. Here is my street / trials setup for those interested...it's nothing high-end but the longish wheelbase suits my height and it rides really well. Current weight with the seatpost and seat is on the porky side but it gets down to 10.0kg with a uni seat and a V-brake. Cheers, Tristan Wheelbase: 1070 Chainstay: 380 BB rise: +10mm Fork length: 430 axle-crown Weight: 10.9kg Frame: Speedrace Satan Fork: Steel, 430mm Headset: Cane Creek Stem: Truvativ XR Bar: Truvativ Team Seatpost: Thomson Elite, shortened Seat collar: Salsa Seat: Selle Italia XO Brake levers: Avid Speeddial, return springs and reach adjustments removed, alloy clamp bolts Brakes: Avid BB-7, alloy-backed resin pads, 160mm rotors Grips: Odyssey Dually Cranks: Shimano LX Hollowtech II, Shimano 22t chainring, Truvativ bashguard, steel bolts Pedals: Specialized Rear derailleur: Shimano DuraAce 7400 Chain: Shimano XT HG93 9speed Hubs: DT Swiss Hugi 98 Cog: Surly 18t Spokes: DT Swiss Competition w/ brass nipples Rims: Alex Adventurer Rimtape: Ritchey Snapon Tubes: ones that hold air Tyres: Maxxis ADvantage / CrossMark eXCeption