cwtrials

If you get flats all the time, horizontal is the worst. Also, heavier riders (i.e. me) tend to complain about wheels moving about with quite a few of the horizontal tensioning options. With horizontal dropouts, no matter what style of tensioner I was adjusting the rear wheel a few times an hour to keep it centered. That being said, before the crewkerz style tensioner, vertical dropout tensioning systems all had something working against them

I'm actually US based . So that works nicely

So, I know one of the new fancy pants cranksets would be super awesome, but I bought this trialtech sport lite splined crankset when they were first released, and it's been real good to me. My only complaint is the bashrings. I've broken one, and the other has bent back and forth a few times. Occassionally I've bent it too much to ride and need to go home and straighten it out. But lucky for me I've had a Trialtech Ti half bashring in my parts bin forever. (actually it was one of the whole double sided ti ones, but I chopped off one side). So with a dremel, a file, and wayyyy more time than it should've taken I notched in some splines so it would fit on the crankset. Looks pretty sharp too!

Bumping this thread. I've had three Marino's built in the past, and still have one. I'm looking to have a new frame made up. In the past it took about 3-7 months to get a frame from Marino and communication was dreadful. I've actually tried emailing, but am yet to get a response. Looking to have a steel pure trials frame made up. I'm a bit nervous to use a builder that hasn't made a trials frame before. Any new recommendations on builders? This is going to be a pretty drastic change in geo, so I'm not wanting to spend a ton of money on what could be a gamble.

I hated those freewheels. When I first got into trials I couldn't afford a chris king hub and front freewheel wasn't really accessible. I used to buy shimano deore hubs for like $12 each online, and break one every month or so. The axles tended to break. Learned to build wheels fast. The old freehubs has problems with the axles, but newer ones are pretty beefed up. That being said. I think a quality freehub like a Hope or I9 and also decent freewheels are going to be pretty dependable, so breaking one for most people is either going to be hypothetical or one of the those weird rare things. Freewheels are a bit more cost effective. I'm 230 lbs and ride like a sack of bricks and can't remember the last time I broke a freewheel or freehub.

ha, well that just makes sense!

A few weeks ago I was having a really good day and managed to consistently tap something a wall that was about the highest I've ever got up, a few inches above bar height, and even managed to get in a messy but legit hook. It felt awesome. Next ride was more normal and I couldn't tap much of anything. Honestly, I don't think I'm putting enough time on the bike these days to really learn new things.

The combination of unbelievable riding and crazy scenery is surreal.

That's a really good looking bike!

I messaged Aurelien and asked, he said his highest tap was on Koxx a super long time ago about 155cm edit: But no video, so didn't happen?

That's just ridiculous. This thread is pretty much the best.

Hey guys, I'm not normally too into doing drills or special training techniques. Normally I just ride. But I'm really wanting to improve my front wheel use and I know I'm going to need to spend some time working on it specifically. I know taps and up to fronts are different, but I feel generally getting the front wheel to hit exactly where you want on the wall is kind of similar. However I may be completely mistaken, so feel free to correct me. On taps, I can on good days do them consistently, but never on anything higher than a normal up to rear. Typically however, I tend to pull up too much and avoid the wall entirely or just barely touch it. Similarly on ups to front I tend to way over shoot, instead of hitting it like I should. Anyone have any drills / techniques / or ways of rethinking things that helped them? For sake of conversation, it doesn't need to be specifically for my skill level, since I'm sure other people need to work on this too. -Cheers

I was never really a fan of Onza, but they did a good job of producing gateway bikes at a decent price range.

at 11 seconds. Drew Fortner's curb frontflip. He used the curb slamming into the back tire to initiate the rotation. Besides being a cool dude, I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone else doing this in trials or bmx.

Yeah. If Marino's turn around time was actually what they said it was I would've ordered a new frame earlier this year. From what I hear Scorpio is pretty easy to deal with and more affordable than I thought it would be.

Obviously this whole thread could be nothing but TRA and we would all be happy, but this is by far one of my most favorite videos ever.

This. I'd ride it for a few days while you wait to get another chain in. But not long term. I got a few bikes in the past that came with them and didn't bother to swap them out, they only lasted a few months and I'm just thankful I didn't get hurt when they broke.

How long do you ride when you practice? Marathon sessions can leave even experienced riders hurting for a few days. Sometimes I find if I practice the same move repetitively, like just sidehops for an hour, besides being incredibly boring it puts the same stress on my body over and over again. Different moves put stress on different areas, so if you really mix things up, it spreads it around your joints. Strength exercise will make a big difference. Keep it up for sure. You'll find it's so much easier to hold the bike in a controlled position with less wobble and balance hops once you've got good proportional strength.

So, going back through my Pinkbike for sale album, instagram, and FB I managed to pull together pictures of quite a few of the bikes I've had since I started riding trials around 2000. Thought it would be fun to share. I've had some pretty neat things, as well as a bunch of pretty standard bikes. Around 2000 I got my first job and bought my first bike, a Monty X-Alp. It came with v-brakes and eventually I saved up money for HS-33's. I still have a video on FB somewhere of riding it like I was cool. My parents used their credit card to buy it online, and it was the first thing our family ever bought on the internet. About 12 years after selling it, the kid I sold it to tracked me down and asked if I wanted it back for a little nostalgia. After that came my Brisa B26. I learned more on that bike in a year than I probably did in the 17-18 years since. Again, with this bike, I managed to track it down for a bit of nostalgia, where I promptly realized what a freaking tank it was. Last I checked it was still getting some ride time from some guy up north. Then I got the mandatory Planet-X Zebdi in about 2003. I bought the last one Webcyclery had in stock in the USA. I rode this bike for 7-years straight. Mostly without desire for anything else. Those were the years where I didn't go on any of the online forums and just did what I wanted. And again, with this bike. I managed to track it down about 4 years after selling it, built it up for a nostalgia ride. I don't have a good pic of it complete, but it was fun. After not riding for a few years during college, I got back into riding to get out of the house during the recession. Found some local riders and Aki from Trials pads gave me my first seatless frame. It was a Zhi, some sort of seatless clone. Also the first bike I started doing little local shows on. Briefly rode a KOT in this era Then came the Rockman Slate II I bought from Aki at Trialspads. This was a big step compared to the Zhi and the Kot and a proper mid school bike IMO. (Also set up the bars a bit more properly). One of the most enjoyable bikes I've ever owned, absolutely loved this thing. Here's when I started going through bikes like crazy. After the Planet-X for years and a few bikes quick, I was trying to figure out what worked for me. Short answer, there are no magic bullets in trials. Echo Lite Mod, the bike that taught me Mod's suck and I freaking hate riding them. My first street trials bike. A Diamondback Ashton Effect. It was actually a pretty cool bike, but showed me pretty quick you can't just get a street trials bike and be the next Danny / Ali. (Every street trials bike I've ever owned, I've owned for less than two weeks) Here's the Zhi / Bionic POS long knockoff of a Koxx. It wasn't a great bike, but when I first opened Cwtrials-Shop my first order was with Zhi, (which was a huge mistake, they suck) You may however notice the same BB7 on the front as some of the older bikes. I bought that brake in 2006 and have been using it on almost every bike since, same cable and housing. The Echo MKII Trials. Such classic Geo. I loved this bike, but at this time in trials there was a big push for superlight parts, but the tech wasn't changing, so things just broke all the time. I think the new bikes are just as light, but super strong (and 3x as $$$) Some streety bikes... the Hex with suspension was super fun, but none of these lasted very long. This because was actually pretty boss, I liked it. Next came a couple special ones. On pinkbike I bought one of Ryan Leech's old Norco Manifesto's. The guy I bought it from had changed a few parts for the worse since Ryan owned it, but it had a sticker on the fork from Marz R&D which was pretty cool. Probably the single most fun bike I ever owned. Really frustrating for anything pogo stick like, but super on the really technical rocks near where I lived up north for awhile, there were a few lines I was only ever able to do on this. I also bought two Frank the Welder WTF frames. They were made for Lance Trappe and one of them about a million Cirque de Solei shows and had some sort of world record on it. This is one of three bikes I regret getting rid of. Here's the bike that reminded me to stick with front disc forever Some Ozonyns 24" action. And Ozonys 26" action. When I owned the bike shop I went through frames like candy. If it wasn't for the snail cams, this breath would've really stuck around. I loved the geo. The black echo Mark 5? (it was the one with a really steep head angle) The all black on this was pretty sharp. And another gu. Around the time of the gu I played around with street one last time with an Element 26" with hopes. Again short lived. After awhile I got so sick of horizontal dropouts I bought this crewkerz, just for the tensioner. The geo was not for me and was what pushed me to go custom with Marino. Here's my Marino 24". Same geo as Ross's Vader, but I have vertical dropouts and a tensioner. This bike was crazy fun, and I actually just tried to buy it back from the guy I sold it to, lol. No luck. Easily more well rounded than any other bike I've ever owned. The Marino 26's, which I'm still riding. Short, steep, and high, with a 680 reach. Kinda crazy, but it works perfect. Oh and briefly had this Zoo last year. I got a desire to go old school, since my riding still is. It wasn't a bad fit, but I kept the Marino instead There was also a Crewkerz freed I had somewhere when I became a dealer for awhile, I actually quite enjoyed the geo on that bike. Had an Echo 24" for a bit and a probably missed a few other bikes somewhere. And please, I hope my wife doesn't see this thread!

I don't even want to know how much that costs But that's a seriously amazing bike!

Ha, that actually looks like an interesting bike. But yeah, not quite what I'm looking for.

In my recollection the only vertical dropout 24" pure bike I've seen was the one I had done by Marino a few years ago. lol, I tried to buy it back from the guy I sold it to, but he likes it. Lately I've been wanting to give 24" pure a try again, but frames are hard enough to come by and I really hate horizontal dropouts. Where there any frames made that fit the bill? (not that I'd be able to find one used, but it's worth a try).

Andy, are you in NC now? I thought you were in Calli? I've been in Durham for a few years now.

So in light of Covid-19 shutting down my business, I'm curious. What are TF people doing for side income or non-traditional work? Immediately after covid-19 shut down my income stream I was delivering with a food delivery app, and on peak hours making decent pay. But that was during stay at home orders and restaurants being take out only. For years now I've been doing small scale carpentry, painting, and apartment maintenance on the side. And most recently I've started trading stocks and FOREX, with some success. What about you guys?