chudders22

At the risk of sounding like an idiot...how did you get the finish to look so good? Only really just getting back into trials and might look at doing it to mine, get rid of the old school fluro yellow!

Hey mate If you need a hand with a payment system i should be able to help you out, doing a computing degree, so if I can't do it i'm sure i can get the info off someone else. PM me if you do want any help.

The change in fork should not make too much of a negative difference with manualling, personally i find it easier on a rigid, as the front of the bike should be lighter now, so almost easier. The difference is to do with the shape of the frames, I find it quite difficult to manual some trials bikes, especially as the frame I had was very easy with it, and have been riding a jump/freeride bike for the past 7 or so months. It will take some time to get used to but keep at it. Don't be afraid of going over the back, it is inevitable really, and you can nearly always get out of it without too much hassle. Starting on grass is a good idea too. That sorta answers the first 2 questions, because they are the same thing to me, unless i am mistaken. Callouses are just a side affect of grips, not much you can do, but the more you ride the skin will harden up and it wont be so bad after a while! Hope that helps!

The Hollowetech BBs are used on cranks like the raceface diabolous, the FSA MegaExo?, shimano saint, and i think the newer LX, XT and XTRs. The axle is integrated with one of the crank arms normally, so that is why there is no axle on it, as they normally come with the cranks. Pic Hope that helps! Oh and make sure they are the right size for your BB shell!

Weight has never been an issue to me, but saying that i run a mix, my rear hose is braided, although the crossover isn't. I like the confidence/security that the braided hoses give. The strength factor is important, braided hoses don't kink like the standard tubing, and don't tear/split, which is useful for me, the amount of times i have ditched the bike and the rear hose has been fine, but the front hose has suffered once or twice. But they are expensive, and on my current run of tubing, the front has lasted for about 18 months so far, and only fitted the rear hose about 12 months ago. So at the moment the difference really hasn't shown....but will have to wait and see! So for me its braided if you are rough on your bike if not, standard does the job!!

Its a tough choice picking a bike in that price range, because there are some really great bikes. The only real way to know which bike is going to be best is if he can get a ride on them, but i know that's not always the easiest thing to organise. But in my opinion the Kona is a great base, is has a solid frame, and most of the components are pretty tough, although some lack some of the strength, because of the budget (i.e. rear mech). Having never ridden the Scott i cannot comment on it as such, but i know that they are highly recommended. Personally i ride a 24Seven, and i love it to pieces, admittedly mine cost quite a bit more than your budget, but the frame is brilliant. If you are open to the idea of "building" a bike, whether by yourself or a local bike shop. Then i would recommend it. 24Sevens ebay shop has a great frame and crank deal, Link. If you went with a rigid setup you could quite happily build a bike within that budget, but a suspension fork would push it above. The advantage of this is that you tend to build a bike that last longer in the long run, but it does mean paying a premium. So to round it up, try and get a go on the bikes, as it is all personal preference really. If for the mean time you don't think the levels of abuse will be too high than a standard shop build will be perfect. But if you do remain open to the idea of building a bike, then shop around because you can often get some great deals on last years models, same as the bikes. Like this norco Link

The forks are definitely marzochhi, but i have a feeling that they are custom made for him. They probably feature a lower travel than most standard forks, and the internals are probably customized to help them respond better in trials. If you want to go for a sus fork my advice would be go for a short travel fork, and run it with a hard spring/high air pressure. This wil make trials easier, as less of your energy will be lost in the fork, but will allow the forks to give you that bit of help if needed.

I have got to say that i am always a rim brake fan for trials. Personally I would be going through rotors like water, smashing up almost daily, but then again they do offer the advantage on performance in all conditions. But having said that i prefer the 'feel' of a magura. Personally, I would get a disc hub, try a cheaper cable disc, if you don't get on with it then you can swap back to rim, but if it is your cup of tea, then you can upgrade disc whenever you want.