Swoofty

It's a 180 rotor and I mentioned the pad contact thing to him, but he doesn't want to file the adapter. I guess that could have played a part, maybe.

I often ride with a very talented 14 year old who always manages to break things in interesting ways. His latest feat was breaking a support from inside a disc rotor. I've tried to limit his exposure to bad habits from the start, but this one came from a locked rear brake on landing a sizeable 180 drop. It sounded just like a spoke breaking so we searched for a missing spoke and only checked the rotor much later in the ride. That was a new one for me. It was definitely time for a new rotor anyway.

Not at all. Just be more specific, please; that's all.

All good. Been a great time for riding and working on the car ;-) I don't go to Venice much right now. No protesters on SaMo Beach. Tongva's a different story. I bet UCLA is great right now.

The Spyre and the Spyke are different animals. I had the Spyke front and rear on my Alias with 160 rotors and it was a beast. But like you said, good cable and housing counts for a lot with mech brakes too.

I've been running MT5s for nearly 10 years now with almost zero problems and no broken levers yet. For all the pluses and minuses, the MT5 is very hard to beat. I recently tried Hayes' new Dominion A4 and while the lever does feel wonderful, I had numerous problems with the 2 sets that I ordered. Both are currently back with Hayes for warranty work. Not impressed. A few days ago I converted to a 'Shigura' setup with Shimano XT master and MT5 caliper and the first 2 rides have been great. The Shimano lever is very nice, but it doesn't have the fast return rate of the MT5 lever and I think the MT5 has more power overall. At the end of the day, for off the shelf ease, I still call the MT5 best. For the front on my new 26" I'm using an MT4 per Ali from his newer build and it has been perfect as well. Same master/lever as an MT5, but 2 piston and lighter. The best mechanical disc for trials is the TRP Spyke, hands down. It's a double acting piston design and is built to very high standards. BB7/BB5s are just outdated but still get the job done just fine. Rever also makes a double acting mech disc, but I've had mixed results with them as they have a bit too much play. Overall I don't like the mechanical discs because ultimately it is your finger strength that determines the brake strength and they don't have the on/off speed of hydraulics. HOWEVER - for front brake use, they are usually just fine and oh so much easier to run it through the steerer.

Has anyone tried the new ebike chains for trials yet besides James Barton? You're more than welcome to chime in too, James.

I don't want to be the A-hole in the room here, but honestly, do yourself a favor and buy a modern Hex or Czar 26" frame if your intention really is trials. I got that retro bug a while back and converted an "OG" frame for trials use and honestly it was a dog. Sure some are better than others, but you only need to look at 'Road bike party' to know that a proper rider CAN do it on any bike, but that sends the wrong message to 'Joe Beginner' about these old school frames. Remember the old adage about never buying a used trials bike? That goes double for an old MTB frame resurrected to use as a trials bike. If you happen to be a trials master then yes, it is fun to build up a retro frame for fun, but it sends the wrong message to people just starting out. Even a cheap proper trials frame will far surpass an old MTB frame shoe-horned into trials service. Just sayin....

I guess maybe it's finally time to invest in a chain stretch gauge. Illuminating if nothing else.

That article doesn't test a single chain that anyone uses for trials and in the last paragraph before the results, he states that the one thing trials riders would care about wasn't tested in any way: " And lastly, tensile and rivet strength is a factor that’s important but is currently unknown. Kerin is in the process of working on this very area, so stay tuned. In the meantime know that all chains tested fall under regulated strength standards and are considered quality items from reputable companies." KMCs 610HX is a very respectable chain and they make 100s of different models of their own and for other companies. Your blanket statement isn't very helpful. I'd be interested to try out some of the new ebike specific chains.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that I must change my chain once a year as insurance against catastrophic failure at only the worst possible times. I use KMC 610HX chains on my pure and street bikes and I've never broken one. I've broken quick links and half links and each of those incidences set me back mostly due to injuries incurred from those breaks. It took months to get back on one spot where I broke a chain just from the fear memory that the spot invoked. Yesterday I broke my first KMC 610HX and miraculously it was during the setup hop before the BIG hop. I was about 4 feet up on a skinny ledge with a gnarly cactus-like plant on one side. Luckily I was able to just put a foot down and jump off the wall. I proceeded to thank numerous deities for my good fortune and then began the long walk home on my new 26" scooter with no seat. In all honesty, this particular chain was coming up on it's anniversary so maybe I should adopt a 10 month chain policy. How often do you guys change chains or is it always kind of a crap shoot? I haven't lost faith in KMC, but it can be a life changing failure.

I've bought a frame and fork in one order, pedals and a handlebar in another order and cranks and a chain tensioner in another order and they've all been fine. I've emailed him a few times as well and he always gets back promptly. The shipping is still a wildcard. I don't order anything I need quickly from him. This is just my experience so maybe I'm just lucky. I prefer ordering from Tarty when I can and the price is right. Tarty's shipping is the best, hands down.

Wow! A mini quill seat. Now that's a find! Kinda negates any weight savings though...

I've had good luck with jumpbikes.cn too. His US warehouse is here in Los Angeles, but if it's coming from China, the shipping times can be all over the map.

You will 100% be able to trackstand, wheelie and rear wheel hop on a Kona Shred. It'll also be a great dirt jump bike.

Search for 'knee gasket' and 'elbow gasket'. lots of companies make them and they are very low profile and relatively comfortable and will save you from most trials mishaps without looking like a storm trooper.

Since this is meant to be a trials-like bike, you can stack up 3 or 4 washers on either side of the seatpost (inside the integrated seatpost clamp tunnel) with an appropriate bolt through the washers and tighten the whole works with a nut on the other side. It'll be enough for trials, but it wouldn't hold landing on the seat after a fair jump. A slightly more elegant setup would be to find some plastic rod the same diameter as the integrated seatpost clamp hole and make your own split pinch bolt setup. Good luck!

Take a bit of derailleur cable and knot one end. Put the knotted end where the cable housing would enter and run the cable to the usual fixing bolt. Now you can use the barrel adjuster to pick the gear you want. No disassembly required. Works on any derailleur with a barrel adjuster.

I have yet to do a Shingura brake, but the MT5 is a heck of a brake. I've never broken an MT5, but I have broken 2 or 3 adapters. And yes, MT7 and MT5 calipers are the same. Bike24 or Starbike usually have the best prices unless you have a friend at a boutique bike builder who can get them wholesale.

Pour water over the brake pads (still in the calipers) to get them nice and wet. They will swell ever so slightly. Do some high speed hard braking until they are dry/stop squealing and then you're done. When you do your high speed braking, don't come to a complete stop; release the brake before you stop. This will 'resurface' the brake pads so to speak. Not a cure all by any means, but usually takes care of pad glaze and it's easy enough to do.

35mm does sound perfect. Light's spec sheet gives the 38mm hoops a weight of 430 grams for the AM version (the order page gives 400g for the AM). The Spanks are 426g so if the spec sheet is right, that fails the price per gram test pretty badly. If it's closer to 26g savings per hoop that makes 52g for the set and 2x the price. Not really tempted; I really like my Spanks ;-) Do you know anyone with Lights 24" rims?

Ah! Another brake obsessed soul! Welcome brother! I too am similarly afflicted. +1 for the trialtechs for sure. If they're in stock, get them. They are more prone to glaze if the bike sits for a while (blasphemy!) or if you use them on long downhills, but the water trick will bring them back very quickly. They are pretty long lasting as well. Like Ben said, the standard Magura MT5 pads are also really good. They last a while and hold up fine in trials use. I recently tried Galfer's MT7 pads and they were great, but only come in MT7 version so extra pad knock sadly. I gave them to a friend who does 50 meter stoppies so he's always looking for front pads! I also tried Kool Stop red pads for the MT5 and they were not quite ready for trials use and they wore quickly too. I've heard people rave about EBC pads (I have them on my GTI!), but the MT5 version only comes in their basic compound and for me in the US, they are hard to come by. 203mm rotors help too. Good luck! NOTE: for magura brand pads you'll want the PERFORMANCE version, not the comfort or race versions. Also, I've just seen that BBB make MT5 pads that use the MT7 retaining screw. I ordered a pair to try, $22.

Yeah the choice is between 38mm wide or 30mm wide. I guess I'm too picky. How wide are Danny's carbon hoops?

What the 24" world really needs is decent 24" carbon rims. Why is that so hard?

After many requests, I've finally made a how-to on converting an Echo/Czar spanish isis bottom bracket to other BB standards. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/kTP9e4eMynI