Winnie

Off to see Kasabian in Newcastle on 10th November

I personally pretty much like any type or style of music. Anything from dirty techno to The Beatles or Kasabian to Pink Floyd, however, i utterly detest 99% of R&B, hip hop and rap. I'm not saying it's sh!t because i apprerciate that plenty of people enjoy it, my women for one unfortunately, but it just isn't for me. I can't understand what they are on about most of the time and when i do it's usually about the same thing (girl this, girl that) and a sample of some other song that was made 10 years before. (I know that can happen it other genres of music too). So for me, if Tinchy or whatever his name is was playing in my garden i'd close the curtains!!

Just had a chain snap half an hour ago whilst i was on the rear wheel about to drop off a wall and i pretty much just landed on my face. :$ I hope this isn't the start of a bad luck spree!!

There's loads of boozers scattered all over mate so you will never be short of somewhere to have a drink. You will probably have fun just going out and exploring the city. As said above though anywhere in/around the gate, City Vaults in the Bigg Market, a few along from the train station like Union Rooms, revolution to name a couple and there's always the Quayside but unfortunately that can be one of the more expensive areas. There's plenty more that i'm sure you'll come across at some point. Around The Gate is always good on match days, but i guess that's probably only if you like the footie?! However, even if you don't there's normally entertainment in Bar Beyond in form of naked girls dancing?!

Awesome effort, mate! Seriously though, scum, subhuman scum!

Sorry mate, i've got no advice or suggestions for you but good look with it and i hope it's everything you want it to be. It looks a nice idea and build so all the best with it.

I've never had a disc or a v brake on the rear of my trial bikea so i dont really have an opinion on this but i have a disc on the front which feels awesome and the discs on my Kona, albeit not a trial bike, are also top notch so i do like discs in general. I've never had any bother setting them up or maintaining them. On the rear of my trial bikes i've only ever had Mags which i have always been a fan of but on this frame this flex business is really quite annoying. Seeing as i cant seem to get an alternative booster to the Evo 2 to fit i think i will be replacing it with something else and i am really tempted by the Mono Trials if i'm honest.

So would you recommend a disc? I've been looking at the Hope Mono Trial, amongst other things?

Again, cheers lads, i'll take a look all suggestions.

Cheers lads! Any general recommendations for an ideal V brake?

I've looked on Tarty at the 2 bolt boosters and they all seem fit brake mount spacings of 95mm plus, the Trialtech Sport booster included. The mount spacing i'm measuring on the Evo 2 adapters is around 85mm so i'm assuming Revolver is right and that other boosters won't be compatiable; however, Duncan says he has got the Trialtech one on his setup? Are there some adjustments that need to be made for other boosters to fit or have i lost the ability to use a tape measure, which i wouldn't rule out with the week i've had?!

Nice one, i'll take a look. Any thoughts about using a disc?

Cheers lads, I've got the Magura booster on it that came with the Evo 2 kit which i don't know if it's the best or not? The brake is new so it shouldn't need a bleed or leak should it? There's a chance it's not perfectly square like so i'll have a look at that. Cheers It does appear though that the main culprit is the frame flexing out.

Alreet all, I've recently put on a HS33 with an Evo 2 mounting kit on the rear of my Base TA26 and it flexes like a b!tch and it is really quite annoying. So, i'm thinking of taking it off and replacing it with a disc. Now, i'm vaguely aware of discs cracking frames due to their power but i don't actually know of anyone that this has happened too and i'm not sure i can put up with the HS33 being like a sponge for the foreseeable future when my front disc is nice and sharp. So, would putting a disc on the back of TA26 be an ok think to do or will it rip the frame in two? The HS33 was a git to set up and i think i've done all i can with it but any advice on stuff to try to help stiffen it up is welcome too? Cheers in advance.

Sounds a horrible state of affairs to have to go through and sort out so my sympathy goes out to you, Ali. Hope you come out the other side with a good resolution and this jackass gets exactly what he deserves! Head in a vice gets my vote!

Well, just got a call of Magura who have said that there is no chance of it being covered under warrenty because Magura in Germany will say i have over tightened. Sorry Magura but it was not over tightened because the screw and lever were still loose when the bracket cracked. Anyway, probably not a great deal i can do about it. Thanks to Tarty for trying, much appreciated. Anyone got any ideas how i can do a bit of a repair job so the lever can be used?

a local bike shop to me is Arthur Caygill's: http://www.arthurcaygillcycles.co.uk/ They are up here in North Yorkshire but i'm pretty sure they deliver. They are doing 0% finance but only on orders £500 and over. I know that's over your original £400 but that is the only place that springs to my mind at the minute. Also, i'm not sure of the extent of their trials range but i know they are Onza dealers and have some of their bikes.

If Merlin or All Terrain have a bike you like and suits your budget i'd go for it. Although, Like others have said the more you pay for a bike the better it is and the more easy it is to learn on probably. However, as a beginner there is always a chance that you may give trials a go and in two months time come to the conclusion that trials isn't for you. On the contrary, you may buy a cheaper bike, love trials and wish you had invested more. It's a tricky situation i guess. I would suggest if you have a strict budget stick to it and buy whatever suits you. But if there is some flexibility in your budget and you have some patience to save up a little extra it would be worth it. I guess it boils down to how quickly you want to start riding and budget. Again though, buying second hand could get you a better bike for your money, albeit used which i wouldn't say is an issue for starting out. As for Tarty, i have not bought a fantastic amount of stuff from them but i ahve bought what i needed to build my trials bike up and each transaction has been easy and quick. Whenever i've spoke to them they know what they are talking about and give good advice. If i've had a problem they've done their utmost to help me sort it out. They are trials specific and just seem a pleasure to deal with and i get the same impression from others on this forum. I'm sure there are other good places to buy from but Tarty have to be up there with the best going from my experiences.

Again i'm just getting myself back involved with it all but £400 would be a decent amount to get started on, especially if you were lucky with a good second hand buy. Have a look in the for sale section on this forum or have a snoop on Ebay. As far as buying new goes Tarty Bikes are top notch and if you look at the Wiki on this site there are other shops too. As far as 0% on the drip goes i'm not sure of anywhere that offers that. There probably will be but you might be best looking at the more commercial type shops for something like that but i don't know if their selection or expertise would be as good as somewhere like Tarty. Buying a biking magazine such as MBUK and looking at the shop adverts for offering 0% finance might be an idea and then looking to see if they have any trials bikes. Other than that i'd suggest just searching shops online and look for offers.

I'm 26 and haven't ridden a trials bike since i was 17 (or any other bike for that matter) but just a couple of months ago i got the bug again for trials and mountain biking in general so i wouldn't worry about age mate. I know i'm not totally starting from scratch in a sense but it certainly feelings like i am with how the sport has progressed over the years but i'm catching up slowly and trying to get some ability back. But most importantly i'm having as much, if not more, fun as i used too on my bikes so i would say you are never too old. Get a bike and enjoy it! As for height, i'm only 5' 8" so i don't really have height issues other than being smaller than most blokes my age. But like the others say i would imagine a 26" stock would be most ideal.

I am a little out of touch at the minute after a fair amount of years out of biking all together. However, a maximum torque force of 4Nm on a screw seems quite low to me to get a decent clamp around the bars so i would agree with you. There might be a very good reason i don't know but at the minute it does seem a little soft/fragile.

Well i've sent it back to Tarty today and the guys from there seem good about it all so hopefully all will be ok. I'll let you know how it develops. Couldn't believe it just snapped like that like.

Yeah i guess i should send it back and hope for the best. I just didn't want to send it back if the general consensus was that there wasn't a hope in hell of getting it replaced and being without a back brake for two weeks or whatever for it to come back exactly as it was after spending more money on postage. Cheers lads

I rang Tarty this morning and they said to just send it back to them but their website states that over tightening the screw is not covered by the warrenty. I don't think i have over tightened because the lever was still free to rotate but it could seem like i have. I've just got a feeling i'm going to send the brake back and Magura will say that i've broke it and send it back to me weeks later in the same condition.

Now then everybody, I need some help and advice with my new HS33. I fitted it yesterday and went to fix the lever to the handle bar in the straight forward manner and as i tightened the screw the lever bracket clamping to the handle bar cracked and snapped. I bought the brake from Tarty and noted on their site it mentions that over tightening the screw will cause it to break so i was aware to take it easy. When i was tightening the screw the lever was still flopping about when it cracked so surely i can't of over tightened it?! So i'm now concerned that this won't be covered under the warrenty because they'll think i've recklessly tightened it even though the lever was still free to rotate. Has anyone else had this problem? If i can't get it replaced under the warrenty is there anything i can do to fix the lever without having to buy and fit a new lever? Cheers in advance