PMK

Yes, they are easy to bleed for the most part, but if there is any air in the caliper, all bets are off. My warranty set had air in them. PK

Have had the Guide RS on the Inspired for a few weeks now. Initially, the first set had one brake with more lever travel than the other. Obtained another brake assembly under warranty. This one also had more lever travel than, similar to the first but not quite as bad. Last night I had time to mess with it again. What I found disappointing is that using all the proper Avid tools for bleeding, and following the Avid procedure, this still left air in the system. To bleed these brakes to fully remove the air can test your patience. It seems that since the bleeding does not flow fluid through the caliper, it is easy to trap air inside the caliper. The Avid, bleeds at the caliper hose. Others do also like the Saints, but for whatever reason, these held air trapped. I want to say that since the fluid does not pass through the caliper, the fluid is dead ended and holds air pockets. Even when new, as supplied from Avid, the levers traveled different amounts. This now indicates that in production they have some problems removing the air. In the end, I now have both levers with the same travel and the brake works well. I don't expect a lot of heat in these to degrade the fluid. If on a MTB where it is a good idea to bleed the brakes frequently to remove old fluid that has been overheated or absorbed moisture this will be pretty much impossible without disassembling the calipers. Brakes work well, but the maintenance is not easy. For others bleeding these, without doubt, degas your fluid in a glass jar under high vacuum. Use the degassed fluid in the syringes. If you are brave, work the caliper piston outward and then force them back in. This is the one way to move fluid in the caliper and it is a PIA to accomplish. FWIW, none of this is in the Avid bleed instructions. PK

FWIW, the rear looking camera does offer a different than most perspective. The video you got is cool, but tough to really see the full action of some moves. A few years ago, we set up the camera aft facing on the Ventana mountain tandem. I was not sure what it would be like or capture. When we viewed the recording, it was kind of cool to see the bike sliding a bit through corners, The shock and suspension linkage working it's butt off. Some roost coming off the tire and so forth. Overall though, I found the rear looking setup best for capturing video of riders behind you. It does get boring after a bit. I have done a couple of videos capturing simultaneous forward and aft footage. Those can be cool, again in more of a group ride setting. I should have done these as a split screen, but two different model cameras made it not work. Honestly though, it seems the best videos are a mix of footage captured away from the bike, some helmet cam video, some frame video, and a bit of effort to give a good edit. This takes time and can be a pain if you are not into that kind of stuff. PK

Sounds like progress. The MT7's and 5 sure look the part caliper wise. Not from Europe, but often wondered why Brembo is not into the bicycle arena, at least not here in the US. Even the Japanese Nissin is not on bicycles. Maybe they are just sold under a different name. PK

Had a photo posted on FB showing the riders in Magura lab coats working on and shipping out brakes. Guessing they will be on the Magura MT7 series. Any comments or thoughts on the brakes, other than sponsorship why the change. PK

Took the time today to troubleshoot the longer lever travel on the rear brake. Took a silver permanent marker and applied a dot to the suspect master cylinder and rear caliper to ensure each was traceable. 1) Swapped master cylinders left to right, right to left. Problem continued to remain with the rear brake, same as before. 2) Moved rear caliper to front and front to rear. Problem moved to front, so it appears the caliper has some sort of issue. Not sure what since they are pretty basic, but something is making the lever stroke longer. Called the shop and spoke with my friend that owns the shop. We talked about the brake and a replacement should come as warranty. In his words, as far as brakes, Shimano has it sorted out and in his opinion perform the best for mtb riding. I mentioned the Saint 820 series and if they were not on back order I would have ordered them and used these Guide RS on one of my other mtb machines. PK

Doing it again, I would agree. Also, they advertise the RS as having a ball bearing lever pivot. It does not. So the cost difference from R to RS is a waste. I did speak with my friend that owns the shop I bought the brakes from. Plan to warranty most likely the rear master cylinder assembly. Want to swap MC from left to right and right to left in order to verify it is the MC. No time tonight, maybe by the weekend. Still rideable but attention grabbing with the long through before brake engagement. Since I do have the DB5 MC assemblies, I may test them too since they do not have any mechanical multipliers in the lever movement. Basically old school moto style. The will work based on the same piston size as the R and RS. PK

I swapped out the DB5 brakes to RS Guides. I have run both with sintered pads and the Guides are stronger. New and with the SRAM bleed, the rear brake lever has more travel than the front. Tonight I installed the shortened hoses from the DB5s, bled both brakes with degassed Motul 600 fluid using the SRAM bleed tools. Both levers are solid with no air. Still the lever travels, or engagement points from front vs rear are noticeably different. Also a bit of a let down since the RS brakes are advertised to have bearing at the lever pivots. They do not, only the RSC has the bearings. The RSC also has the engagement adjustment. Undecided what the plan is next. Probably see about a warranty master cylinder to even up the lever travels. Brakes work well, but the lever travel is a bit bothersome. PK

FWIW, I gave a call to a good friend that is an MTB dealer for many years in Alaska where these are made. They have been building fatbikes long before they became what they are today. He mentioned that he has tested many of the fatbikes including these and from is comments the fatbike of choice for best handling and fun is the Ventana. They apparently have all the good traits of a skinny tire mtb in regards to handling, but with the big tires they float over the soft terrain. Not sure on the weight, no doubt the build will be a huge factor. PK http://www.ventanausa.com/bikes/el-gordo/

This is the one short video from Pat Smage that just keeps me motivated to ride this trials bicycle I have. They have posted others videos, but many are moto trials. PK

Always enjoy watching Pat Smage videos. Yes he is very good, moto trials also. PK

I am certainly no economics major or financial person, however, can someone explain to me, how if it costs x amount of Euros to build a bike, very few parts if any come from the US, how can the bike be costing Monty more to build, to justify a price increase? I'm guessing Disney World does not raise its price based on currency conversion. Simply a day in the theme park is costing x dollars, and you pay your entry based on that. If a Euro is strong you get a better value, if the Euro is weak, your value is not so good. PK

The street trials bike works fine for all the riding I do currently. A friend has an Echo MKII stock. We were talking about building some features at his house and some at mine. Not the type of stuff you normally see a street bike on. Both of us just want to have fun with this, be safe and do nothing crazy. No doubt it will also help with mtb skills too. Myself I have 25 years on the mtb, plus a bunch of years racing mx. My friend probably has close to the same number of years on the mtb. The Echo I asked about is pretty steep on the asking price. If the bike is a decent build, and you guys with experience know this stuff, give me an idea on what you figure it is worth. Whatever I get, new or used, I'll never ride it to the full potential or limits. While I don't plan to get hurt, that is always a risk, and as for the bike, no plans to trash it, but it does happen. PK

From the list you posted, the street trials is out since I don't need one, the mods are not what I am really wanting, one bike is local sale only in Canada, the two left are the Norco or Handbuilt bike. Was more after a more typical current style stock trials bike, so the Norco may not be a great choice and the idea of the homebuilt frame did not excite me. Sorry for being boring about it, just not what I am looking for. Thanks though. Probably easier to just buy a new bike and be done with it. PK

I have a look at PB Buy/Sell every few days. I posted about the Echo primarily to gain opinions from those that may have experience with that year / model. As for his asking price...The other cool thing was the bike is 20 minutes away. The older Crescent seems pretty cool and I know nothing more about it. PK

Any thoughts on this? Quoted from the add. So everyone with an old bike posts up "feeler" and crap like that. I'm doing the same but different. I love this bike but don't ride it like I should. So I'm not "looking" for the right price, here it is $600 plus shipping. That's a little less than I have into it and I can't let it go for less than that, pride is to strong. I'd like to free up the coin for other projects and that's all there is to it. This thread can sit open and the bike will remain in great shape. Bike is solid. Crescent frame in great condition (got it from Perkins who's a total thrasher, or not, and he got it from a girl so yeah, not abused). Quicksilver brakes, King rear hub with funbolts, XTR short cage der that's mint, El Gatos that still have the fuzzies on them, Thompson stem, Roox bar, FSA Power Pros plus a Threshold bash, rims are lightly ground and Maggie Red pads. I know the price is close to what you can get a new echo with shit brakes for, but this isn't that bike in any way.

The backwards fork is not a concern. I did FaceBook message a person (not the seller) I thought may know the bike and ridden with the guy. It is in my opinion a bit steep on price. Not ready to pull the trigger yet until I see it and speak with the seller face to face. May not even go further since I do enjoy the Inspired quite a bit currently. PK

I just started at 53, totally crap in the skills department, but learning and having fun. I too went with a street trials Inspired. Used would have been good, but here the difference in cost after shipping and finding a bike was tough. So I bought a new machine. No regrets yet. Now looking at maybe a 26 stock machine since I learned of a local rider similar in age and skills with an Echo. PK

Now interested in a stock trials bike. Already have the street trials. This came up locally for sale. Any opinions on the build, the asking price, overall good or bad machine? Pretty certain the fork is installed backwards, but maybe just the photo. My experience level is totally beginner. Reading a lot of information, I often see mention that a lower BB may be better. Not opposed to something else, maybe newer generation if funds and fit allow. Overall, the asking price of this used bike is comparable to a new Echo or Zoo here in the US. PK A copy and paste from the sales info by the seller, same with the photos. Echo Pure Trials Bike - $1100 This is an Echo Pure Stock Trials bike with all the best parts any rider could want! The bike has been used a few times but to be honest, I suck at trials. I purchased this in the Fall of 2008 and have not had a whole lot of time to get back into it. The frame is Echo's large size which will work for riders 5' 6" and above. If it weren't for some very minor scuffs from poorly calculated maneuvers this could be considered in new condition. The build goes as follows: Frame: Echo Pure (large) polished Fork: Zoo Pit Bull (non disc) black Stem: Thomson X4 100 x 10 degree black Headset: Chris King black Head Lock: Azonic Cranks: Echo Urban with Echo Bash Guard black Bottom Bracket: Truvativ Holzafeler ISIS Freewheel: White Industries Trials Bar: Echo Low rise Trials bar black Grips: ODI Ruffian flair Brakes: Echo Trials hydro Rim brakes with Plasmatic pads and Echo brake booster (rear) Pedals: Crank Bros 50/50 XX black/silver Bar Plugs: ODI Aluminum Hubs: Echo disc front and Echo Fixed/ disc rear hub both are black Spokes: DT Swiss Competition Black with brass nipples Rims: Echo Trials front and rear specific black Rim Strips: Moe Rubber-lite black Chain: KMC Stainless Tires: Michelin XCR Dry 2 .0 (front) XCR Mountain Extreme 2.2 (rear) Total weight with pedals: 25.48 lbs This bike is perfect for the beginner or for the aspiring pro trials rider. Building this bike up from scratch would cost you over $2400! This is your chance to get is at a fraction of that price. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

If it is painted, most chemical paint strippers will be acceptable. However read the label to ensure it is safe on the frames material, be it aluminum or steel. Some chemical strippers can damage aluminum while being fine on steel. If the steel is high strength, well above typical chromoly, various chemicals can enter the metal and cause embrittlement and with use cracking. If you do use a mechanical means, such as a wire wheel, wire brush, Scotchbrite, or abrasive paper or wools, be very careful since these can cut into the metal of the frame also. Aluminum being more easily destroyed than steel. Not sure of the desired end result, be it brushed, polished or resprayed, but most chemical strippers will have a usually last step finish of soap and water with Scotchbrite to remove chemical stripper residue and provide a uniform finish. If you are removing anodize, often times oven cleaner is used. As was mentioned, any of the anodize strip chemicals left on too long will eat away the metal. Even some soaps, often the purple colored spray soap for aggressive cleaning can stain or remove anodize. If you have an anodized frame and want to paint it, the anodize is an excellent base to build onto after cleaning. PK

Plan to build similar features to have in the yard. Initially I won't add the log hopping stuff. Also, asked a friend about large diameter wire spools. He beleives that it may be possible to get some in the 4 foot diameter size. PK

Thanks for the trackstand tips. All very useful. Without doubt that was the first item I focused on, and have seen the improvements. I am more comfortable each ride and will practice trackstands constantly. I may not have the duration yet, but break it up by using slight uphill, flat ground, and just recently on declines with the front wheel low as in riding down a ramp. Prior to me purchasing the Ryan Leech Art of Trials video, I was practicing trackstands with favored foot forward. A local friend, and possibly the only other local that rides trials, which like myself is to just be a better rider in all types of cycling suggested to force practice on the strong foot with the wheel left and right, plus also the weaker foot with the wheel left and right. So based on the Ryan Leech video and friends advice I do spend time in all four settings. Please consider too I am not in anyway expecting magic overnight. I ride as much as possible, often for between 30 and 60 minutes under the street lights at least 3 nights per week. Each ride I work on basics but will also try and introduce an new challenge. PK

Thanks for the link. I do have the Ryan Leech video which the link is from. Very good tips for me any way, just wondering if there is the one key to make it easier. Obviously practice, but the ability to do this insticntively is what I need to sort out. Pretty sure I am over correcting, behind the curve in reactions, and need to look further ahead. When it begins to go sour, I am able to trackstand for a short time, maybe 10 seconds, but have not sorted out how to save riding along a skinny by moving again. Practice, practice, practice. The challenge is great and trials may be one of cyclings best kept secrets. PK

Yes, that does work. Not quite my intended method. PK

So far, each rde has been fun. I try and mix it up, but always work on basics to keep improving, regardless of how slight the improvement may be. I started the topic and mentioned trials being difficult. I continue to try new features, many times after watching a video or similar visual presentation. I need some tips on something that is kicking my butt. When riding along a board or any similar edge, I have no difficulty to get both wheels on the feature. Problem is, I find I tend to look down at the front tire and go off the side. Also, I find as I pedal along the feature, I may be moving the bars and zig zag until I either lose confidence and hop off the feature or simply screw up and ride off the feature. I am not even talking super narrow or fallen trees, say 6 inch width. Simple flat surface, elevated from a few to say 12 inches. Any tips appreciated. Expecting a few will be wise ass variety too, that's ok if they are helpful. Want to add, the terrain is more street based or man made stuff rather than natural terrain. Bike I'm on is a 24 street trials Inspired Fourplay. PK