Jitters

Yep, like Ravemonkey said. Check both pedlas too to make sure they are snug in their threads. Creaks can be funny. They may sound like they are coming from a particular place and it may be something from a completely different component. If wrenching on the cranks doesn't fix the situation, look into the bottom bracket. Check that it is well snug. Better yet, if the creaking continues, remove the BB and reinstall, make sure the threads are very clean, don't cross thread 'em and use lots of assembly grease before retightening. Good luck!

Hey some nice posts, thank you! I'll keep working at it, naturally. I'll experiment with the balance point a bit as suggested. It's possible that getting a short recording from the side may be helpful with a video cam too, just to see how far back I am. My pedal kicks while doing this are really sloppy, but I'll keeping working on all that. As far s the videos go, i try to catch some on youtube or vimeo when I can. Thanks again!

So what is this right way wrong way stuff? So what I have gathered from reading this thread - if my right foot is forward and I approach a wall or something on my right side - to hop to the right of course, that would be the wrong way? That's the way I've been practicing, so I'd like some clarification so I don't practice bad habits. Thanks!

Hi gang, Allow me to show off my total noob skills and just say that I am happily getting more proficient with this backhop stuff. I can go side to side and backwards and best of all forwards now and sometimes even up curbs and tiny little gaps. i know that sucks, but it's a start and I'm pleased to no end. BUT What it seems like to me, and this is probably an experience thing, is that I lack a tempo for the hops. almost like I am using brute force rather than getting into a groove and, so to speak. Anyone have some tips on finding a rythm or working towards the proper finesse so that it isn't as clunky or doesn't tire me out so? What works for you guys? Thank you and appreciated, as always.

Oh forgot about that. Zhi Zm2, I think it's an 06. I won't get around to adding the theme to that until I break something on it and have to sit around and wait for replacement parts. They take a while to get here. I'll get a snap of it and photoshop the basic idea on there. Jeez, kinda pricey to get the stickers made, but went ahead and did it anyway. Should have them Friday

Forget Robo. I'm voting for the Scientist cause he's got mad photoshoppin' skills. That's important to me. Saw some of your posters somewhere on here where I can't post and they're sweet! +1 for you!

Haha, no worries! You're right, but for us yanks we usually don't have our bikes set up 'motocycle style,' although I wish we would. My road bike is set up that way becuase it just makes more sense. The best part about that is it drives the bike shop guys over here insane! Great fun! As far as the stem and whatnot, it's just a cartoon. I can do whatever I want - even make her hold a beer while riding naked. Thanks for the laugh and noticing the details.

Hello again, Updated the avatar as suggested ) Thanks for the compliments. Hope to get by the sticker people tomorrow before work. Will post pics of the finished helmet in a few days. Cheers!

Yeah the girl should be roughly 4" tall. The girl and the lettering will be two separate pieces so I should be able to apply it without fear of any wrinkles, even on lightly curved section towards the rear of the helmet. Should work, in theory anyway.

Can't give you any advice on the maggie, but as far as the helicoil mess, you may have more options to correct it. If you can remove the helicoil, you can clean out the tapped hole a bit more with a drill and then fill it with a quality 2-part metal epoxy. The trick is to pack the epoy in there really good, so there are no air pockets. Let it harden for 2 or 3 days, sand off the excess and retap the hole and install a new helicoil. May not hold for 25 years, but it's amazing stuff and is cheap alternative. Just a thought. The brand I use is JB Weld. Having a professional aluminum welder refill it would be tops, but that would be expensive and it would ruin the paint. Hope that helps!

Hope this doesn't get me in trouble with anyone... Drew up some art for a vinyl decal for my helmet. Gonna take it to a sticker maker tomorrow and have a few made up and just thought I'd share. I will post the art now and take pics of the helmet when I get the sticker applied. The theme is WW2 style bomber nose art, as you may guess from the image. The helmet already has the olive color and stripe applied, so it should make a nice package when complete. Eventually I'd like to paint the mod to go with the whole theme. Go for style points to make up for my noobie riding ability! Hope you like. )

you gotta remember you're dealing with (generally) steel bolts into soft aluminum threads. You already know that though... No need to wrench 48,000 pounds of toruqe into it. Snug - plus an 1/8th of a turn works dandy. If you were trying to remove the bolts and it broke, it may be due to the steel setting in real nice. A simple parctice I use all for everything except stuff near brake parts is to apply a tiny dab of anti-seize to all bolts, even when the bike is brand new. I'll take a few moments to remove things like that and give it a dab. It's cheap and you can get it at any auto parts store. They won't back out and they can be removed later withut hassle - or more importanly - breakage. If you can't find anti-seize, a tiny bit of grease will do the trick, but it's not as good -especially on parts that heat up real nice, like inside engines. On a side note, ALWAYS make sure to use antiseize when using stainless bolts that will set into mild steel parts. Good luck with your new bike. ::edit for poor spelling::

Hello, Here are some official snaps from this morning's adventure. I realize how natural stuff makes me feel like I am starting all over, so I hope no one ever wanders along while I'm out there learning. It was a top-notch day weather wise for sure, so even if I totally suck at riding on this stuff, my time is not being wasted and I look forward to going out here as often as I can. Enjoy the photos!

that's a smart little setup you have there Harmer. Nice riding too! Thanks for sharing.

Something to consider before you go rubbing a candle all over everything - based on a generic suggestion - is that there are as many different kinds and qualities of waxes as there are brake pads. Some may work better than others, but only under the right conditions. There are tacky waxes that could work, but I'd personally go with a grind, as it's just a better all around solution that you don't have to reapply everytime you want to go riding. Just my opinion though. You can try some snot if the candle doesn't do it for you

Sounds a bit heavy for all of that stuff, not too far off base - but a little heavy. Maybe try a different scale - or better yet a calibrated scale - before you start worrying over the weights you posted. The rear tire and tubes you pick can get pretty heavy. My 20" tire, tube and hub probably weigh pretty close to that, but they're relatively bulletproof. As you replace parts - say like your headset - do the research and get the lightest stuff you can afford or care to put on there.

Yeah, you can't really see it in the top pic, but the rocky sections follow the little river for about half a mile on both sides. I crawled around there for a few hours just exploring. there is an old burned out textile mill that has some great architecture for riding on, but it is temporarily fenced off. It's a short 6km trip to get there by road, but really is quite a find! Too bad it's raining like mad today. Oh well. I'll roll out there as soon as it dries up a bit. And it would be a great spot for post ride BBQ and a frosty beer or two!

Ha, I bet it would! It is really nice down there with the waterfall and all. That old bridge is blocked off to traffic so it's nice and quiet - except for the sounds of rim brakes in the future, hehe) There is a little covered picnic table nearby too, which is nice for hanging out. I'll grab some nicer pics when I make my way out there.

Hello Was wandering around the outskirts of my town the other day and finally came across a nice place to play around on the mod. Not much in the way of urban stuff in my small town, as it's out in the country (South Carolina, USA) so I'm pretty excited about graduating from my fun boxes and home made stuff in the driveway. Pardon the not great pics - I found them online. I'll bring my camera as soon as I get the bike out there - hopefully tomorrow a.m.

Hi, I posted a small pic of a similar item I made on a rainy day not too long ago. This pic is the platform before it was cleaned up a bit, but it's quite stable and has provided me many hours of fun already. The nice thing about this idea is as palettes are broken, i can just swap em out, or I can stack em up to make it higher. All the wood is from scraps, so i only paid for wood screws. Probably took me 2 hours to construct. Just thought I'd share. Good to see others making stuff like this too.

There are none around me either, so I've resorted to making my own little course with palettes, tires and home built things made outta scraps I got from neighbors and from leftovers at construction areas - and in the meantime - I've been scoping out areas where I can practice without the cops giving me the treatment. Anyway, a bit back to the topic that went sort of off topic... If there's a nice park around, I'd agree with J Trials 31 and say man up and pay the money to get in and keep them around so you can enjoy them and keep them around for a long time. )

Mind you, I'm no engineer, but wouldn't removing surface area for the brake pads to make contact provide less braking power overall? Granted, the holes are rather small, so I guess not. Maybe it keeps the rims cooler like a good cross drilled rotor? I dunno. If it works... Can you please space them more evenly on the next rim? I think that would look much nicer! Now if they made your rims whistle while you rode about, I'd be all over that! whhhiirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

Nice! They are old school good stuff. I'm enjoying Dimmu Borgir for the moment.

So far, my worst fear regarding trials is forever being stuck flailing about like a total spaz and never progressing. As soon as I get to a point where I'm busting a fork or chains or running my face into the edge of a brick wall, I'll reassess and update this post based on the pain/fear/broken things received from said grievous injury.

Good point - and yeah 24 isn't old at all. I think with even the difference between 14/15 and 24 you still have to a bit more mindful of that kinda stuff. Everyone already knows that. Just sayin.