Swoofty

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

Yeah, that should come with an epilepsy warning! Sheesh.

Smooth and chill, very nice. +1 for that skid to tiretap!

Careful with a disc on the rear on those; hopefully 'modest' will suffice. Better off with V brakes in the rear. Should be a fun project. My Zebdi was stolen 12 years ago and I've so far resisted a few that have crossed my path since. Good luck!

Wow! That TMS frame looks fantastic! Good find.

There's been plenty of hype floating around about Hayes' new 4 piston brake. I finally found one for $120 and decided to try it out. I only got it yesterday so I'll be abusing it over the next week or so to see how it holds up. First trials related opinion is not good however because it weighs 318 grams compared to 273 grams for the Magura MT5 it's replacing; a staggering 45 grams! It also seems to have the same amount of pad knock natively as the MT5. Full review soon.

Isis axles have tabs on them that seat against the inside of the bearings. You can hammer on either side to drive out the first bearing. You can use the old axle to drive out the remaining bearing or use a socket large enough to press against the outer bearing race and a socket extension if needed. When you put in the new bearings, a bearing press is ideal, but not 100% necessary. You can use a piece of wood and a 3# mallet to drive the first bearing in the old fashioned way. Some tips on putting the new bearings in: freeze the new bearings at least overnight and use lots of grease on the frame and bearings. You'll need that large socket or a pipe to drive in the 2nd bearing because the axle will be in the way. Good luck!

It's a lot about personal preference as any one of those will get the job done. I've got Maguras on 4 bikes (MT5, MT4) so I stick with them for familiarity and commonality of parts and their customer service has been great over the years. I've only heard good things about the newer high end Shimanos too. Whichever ones you get, just become familiar with setting them up and caring for them and all will be well. As long as they work, it doesn't really matter what kind you have.

I've been on the Extralite hub for 4 months now and it has been flawless. So light and otherwise feels the same as the last wheel. The brake mount on it has been thoroughly tested because I'm learning gaps to front now. Gold star for Extralite!

+1 for thinner is better, but it's the tradeoff of cushion vs thinness. I rode lock ons for years until I tried foam grips on someones comp bike and I've used foam ever since. I loved Monty's thin foam grips, but sadly they have disappeared. I like the new thin Comas foams, but they're not as cushy as the Montys were. The Echo foam should be avoided (unless they have changed) as they feel like cement with no give whatsoever. I'm 45 and riding mostly street so I appreciate every bit of fatigue reduction I can get. I haven't tried the *new* lock ons; I bet they don't weigh 11 grams ;-)

Update/verdict on the Twin Rail: close, but no cigar. Initially I was going to try it on the rear, but when I got it pumped up I realized it's not a generous 2.2. The Schwalbe Table Tops that claim 2.25 are noticeably wider than the Twin Rail and 2.4 Holy Rollers are much wider still. So I ran it on the front for a while and it did surprisingly well in most cases. It's light, it rolls very well and for straight on maneuvers it hold well while braking. It's braking hold on 90 deg maneuvers was it's downfall as it will willingly slip sideways in these situations. Also on natural terrain it performed equally poorly. One other note, this kevlar bead/folding version was an absolute bear to put onto my carbon rims. I'm used to tires being hard to put on hookless rims, but this one took the cake on being the most difficult. It's probably a great BMX cruiser tire, but it's less than ideal for street trials.

Well scratch what I said earlier, the entire state of California has been ordered to stay inside now. All non essential businesses are to close. The list of essential businesses is pretty long though. They also said that taking a walk or a hike is encouraged. Today is one of our lowest tides of the year so my family will definitely be out in the tide pools. Gonna get mighty good at the Xbox now I guess. And yeah, grocery stores here are hiring on the spot here too. I'm sure delivery drivers are going through the roof right now too.

The film industry has shut down here in Los Angeles so the wife and I are out of work. We had planned on going to Germany for a month about this time so we're actually financial prepared a little. The stores were initially cleared out, but they've started to slowly come back this week. My kids are already home schooled so no change there, but most of their playground meet ups are getting cancelled. One of my friends husband returned from Italy last week with Covid, but he's already on the mend and his family have self quarantined. Normally it would be spring break all March and Venice/Santa Monica would be crawling. This year the crowds are definitely not here, but the beach is far from empty and Venice had a fair crowd yesterday nonetheless. It's been pretty good for my riding; get to ride every day for the foreseeable future. I think the US doesn't have much patients for this kind of disruption so I think things will start to go back to normal in a few weeks. Or I could be very very wrong....

Welcome! There's a few of us Yanks on here. OTN is dead and this is the best English language trials forum going so you're in the right place. I had an Echo 24 pure years ago, but i never dedicated enough time to it. Now I've got a 26" Ozonys pure and I'm finally lovin the pure side of life ;-)

That's a pretty sweet blue! Nicely done.

That was a nice change from the usual unboxing video. Hans still has his frame. Would be grand to see CA and HR like twinsies.

I'm 5'11" and i raced x country for 10 years on 26" bikes, but i went straight to 24" trials and the maneuverability of a 24 is unmistakeable. The choices of street 26 is still not very good, but the limited choices of 24" tyres and rims also isn't good. I do ride 26" street now because it makes power moves easier, but i'm always surprised how manueverable the 24 is when i go back. Besides Ali, it doesn't seem like tons of people are moving to 26 from 24 for street trials. Bottom line is neither wheel size will hold you back.

Yeah I recently switched to the MT7 style pads because they're so much easier to change, but i guess thats the tradeoff. I'll switch back to MT5s and tape the front. I really need to keep riding my pure and not get new bike lulled into my old streety ways....

I have the table tops currently, but the newer compound only comes in skinwall and that doesn't fit my colourway (1st world problems, right?!?) I must confess that i tried painting them and the results are just what you'd expect.

What if I soak it in vinegar for a while; will that soften them? They also come in a dual compound, but it's pretty bad looking.

I was a big fan of horizontal dropouts for a while, but now I very much prefer vertical or through axle. I like the shortest possible chainstay length and I never have to fiddle with chaintugs or realign my brakes every time I pull the wheel. No one around me has a Hex so I can't say how they compare.

Has anyone tried a 26" Halo twin rail for street trials? It seems to tick most all the boxes and I've just come across the new folding version for a really good price. Might have to try one just for a look see.

It's the 1020mm wheelbase. I measured it just to be sure. Today's ride was another good one. Finally dialed the brake lever angle, but I've got some nerve wracking pad knock front and rear, grrrrr.

New bike day! Well at least new frame day. Finally got my new Czar delivered and built. I'm still not crazy about black bikes, but i've decided to abuse this one first, then paint it. I tried really hard to run Sram BB30 cranks on this one, but it was turning into too big a pain to get the spacing right so I stuck some 24mm SLX on instead. So much nicer than ISIS! This one is definitely stiffer than the last; square tubes for the rear triangle and a new downtube design. Sadly it is slightly heavier than the old one, but the tensioner is nicer. First ride was great. I'll try to get a review posted once I've had some time on it.

Has anyone tried Galfer rotors for street trials? They're pretty big in the moto trials world so I thought I'd give them a try. Here in the US they are hard to come by for a decent price, but occasionally they go on sale. From their website, they have a trials specific rotor that I couldn't find anywhere so I went with one of their 203 Wave floating rotors. They look great, but they weigh exactly the same as a Magura Storm HC. I've had them on for 3 weeks now and I think they twist slightly less than the HCs and the braking is just as good. They also make disc pads for bicycles that I'd like to try, but again, rare in the US.