Chris Borneo

Would have thought they'd have known there's already a Hoffman Bikes (even if it's spelt slightly differently) and gone with a different name. Bit poor if you ask me.

Yeah, I know what people are saying about the bearings having a short life span. Bearings are a bit overkill anyway if you ask me. If I had a set now, I'd probably replace the bearings with brass bushing. On the plus side though, they look hella rad and they're stiff as!

Sold my ultimate v on eBay for £27 in mint condition so it didn't break the bank for someone. They are so stiff, nothing else compares when it comes to vs. Like I say I regret selling mine now. Gonna have to make do with a magura for my new build.

Only time i've ever seen powder coat chip is when the frame hasn't been blasted. Blasting not only strips the old paint but also keys the surface and helps the powder coat stick. Wet spraying from a car body shop will not be durable enough for a trials bike. Had my road bike wet sprayed to get the colour I wanted but I'm well aware that if you even look at it funny, it's liable to chip.

Yes, Avid Ultimate are the lick! Wish I hadn't sold mine.

Can't reccomend anyone in your area but I've had a few frames done local to me with varying standards of finish and the quality has not always reflected the price I've paid. You won't get a show standard finish with powder coat but you should be able to get something pretty good and it is tough as hell. Stove enamel is no where near tough enough for a trials bike IMO. My top tips would be Make sure they know you are looking for a decent finish. I've had frames back with pitting and grit in the surface and they've just told me. "It's an industrial finish, that's what you get" It shouldn't be! Try and find a place that's done a few bike frames/forks so they have an idea of what they should and shouldn't be masking. Always best to run through with them what you want masked of anyway. See if you can pick up a couple of old style steel bottom bracket cups from your local bike shop. Doesn't matter if they've been used as long as the threads are good and the right type and size. Most frames are 26TPI (i think). Put these in to protect the threads and you can take them out when you get it back (you may have to cut the powder coat with a stanley knife to get them loose. Your local bike shop should be able to confirm the thread type and might even be able to reccomend a good powder coaters. Last thing, the colours on the charts they show you might not be exactly the same as the finished product so be prepared for a slight variation in colour. Think that's about it. Good luck Oh yeah, make sure shot/grit/sand blasting whatever is included.

Bearing pullers are a good option but if you've stripped the threads and been braying them with a hammer already, you might just want to cut them of and get a new set. Depends on your situation I guess.

Never used an eccentric hub for trials but I have ridden a single speed setup with horisontal dropouts and no chain tensioner. The problem I had was that when I landed on my bashring, I would kind of land on the chain at the same time and withot a sprung tentioner, it would pull the wheel out of place. You might not have this problem though.

Just a word of warning, I have a friend that had about three or four Rocket frames back in the day and ripped the disc mount off all of them. They were pretty burly too. Problem was the disc mount pulling away from the frame. Might be worth mounting it between the seat and chain stay. Don't know if there are any down sides to doing it this way mind.