cwtrials

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?

If you could find a 26" carbon disc fork that would work as 24 and 26 use the same fork geo. Hashtag and echo made one. (Not saying you'd want to use one, but it would work)

It seems like they're doing a decent amount of testing. There have been issues with the tests in the USA. First not working well, and also not being in great supply. But outside of major cities things aren't really too bad here. Here the problem isn't really low income families, or at least really low income, as they qualify for Medicaid. Even if you don't you should be able to get healthcare through the affordable healthcare act. The problem is for mid and high income self employed people who don't have health insurance provided by an employer and don't qualify for one of the government subsidized options. They can get screwed, (with or without covid-19). (This all being way more than I Normally talk about American politics) That being said, is be surprised if Congress didn't pass something to pay for the cost of treatment of covid-19 specifically.

Sitting at home in USA. Kids are home from school all day, which isn't horrible since they're pretty well behaved. But my wife's still recovering from surgery and doesn't have a tone of energy. Here in North Carolina we're at the social distance, no groups of more than 10. But I think we'll be in a "shelter in place" by the end of the week, so I've been trying to get out on the bike before I'm not allowed to. Some of the riding spots I go to are closed to the public. Sadly I've lost the majority of my income to this, and am scrambling to get things together to start teaching english to elementary kids online. Things still look way worse in the UK than here, comparison wise North Carolina is 1/6 the pop of UK, but just has around 400 cases with 0 deaths so far.

I always loved the look of that frame, especially the colors of the Bianchi version.

Hey all, how long do you think you can use / store rim brake pads before they get too hard from age? Just curious. I've got some pads in my bin from years ago and even the cousts I use have lasted me a few years. What do you think?

This or a DX32 seems a good route.

More than echo... Hadn't heard of them breaking, but maybe I'm not in the loop?

I think it's worth taking the time to do. I preferred side hopping to my bad side for over ten years before I really learned to sidehop to my rear foot side. Took some time before it felt natural, now it feels way better and I can sidehop a bit higher that way. As with many things, comparing oneself to someone as talented as Neil isn't really fair. He's not human.

It could be ok. But that's a lot of money to gamble on the made in China carbon bike parts game.

It's the same wall, just a different camera angle. Doesn't appear stretched at all. On a different note. Some of the spills in the out takes are pretty crazy. To hit the ground that hard so many times without a major injury is talent or madness. The "storyline" on this one does seems a bit lazier. The riding is ridiculous. I know it's not as polished as Ali or Danny, but who else is?!

If you wanted one, Brian from NWtrials has one left, disc, 26", straight 1-1/8". Part of his closing shop closeout.

But would you trust it? hashtagg would trust, but the 26" disc version is hard to find.

I've always used front disc on my pure, this is one of the main reasons why.

That was fun to watch. You look like you're having a blast!

That looks AMAZING! I loved my Manifesto!