Jere_h

It's all about experience and riding both bikes frequently. Eventually you'll get a muscle memory to both geometries and learn to remember their differences right away, until it's not a problem anymore. I ride full sus 29er and a 26 trials bike, which is a massive difference. But they're like different modes in my brain, programmed to switch on and off depending on which bike I ride. Yes I think you can improve your riding on both bikes together. It's pretty evident that many former comp riders can ride street trials often technically much better than pure street riders. There can be drawbacks too, usually trials riders tend to look very static on an MTB for example. But I think it's mostly about deeply understanding every bike and its purpose. I personally feel like riding different bikes has made me a better rider overall.

No I absolutely hated the HS33 and had to finally do something to get permanently rid of it. Kind of forgot to post here but here we go: I made another pair for the front last summer and now the bike is complete. The result is super stiff and works well. This time put a lot more effort to shape the blocks with a better set of new files. Still very unfinished in my opinion but honestly I don't care that much, they're kind of hiding there behind the brakes anyway. These are now much lighter/smaller too and close to what I originally planned with this material. The WAW fork is definitely a difficult one, there is a lump of carbon in a place where I couldn't make the adapter any slimmer, close to where the brake boss is attached (would have to shorten the thread even more which is not a good idea). I had to use my old HS33 clamps as an adapter for the adapters, just filed them down a bit to keep the thing as low profile as possible (I could still get a few mm off of them but was too eager to get riding at the moment). I was a bit worried but the result is not bad at all, the brakes are not protruding too much from the forks. With some careful CAD design, CNC machining and a pair of deeper sitting V-brake arms than Shimano, it would be possible to make the whole thing a lot sleeker though. But this is enough for me. I made the pads using cheap Shimano v-brake backings shortened. These are a bit spongy though, could work better with a set of TNN v-brake pads for sure. But it's good enough and so far I like it. Time to throw the Maguras out of window.

Yeah although the logic to that long wheelbase and short stems in MTB is geared towards gravity riding/downhill sections which doesn't apply to trials at all. So to get fast in trials we'd proably have to look towards XC bikes which already has kind of happened. I think this new slightly shorter wheelbase of the -24 Jealousy favours very well that modern quick and flowy riding style. Also riders getting stronger and stronger, most of them seems to hit gym as much as riding their bike, so maybe they don't need that added leverage of a long bike anymore. Just thoughts/guesses anyway, it's always a compromise and depends on rider body etc. Personally I've tried long and short trials bikes too and noticed the same thing, if the setup gets too short it will be exhausting or not so precise to keep on the backwheel which affects pretty much all the other moves then. MTB geometry is actually one pretty interesting topic right now. As we know those bikes have been consistently getting longer and slacker to a ridiculous level, but now it seems like they're making sort of an U turn finally. The reach getting shorter, stack higher and chainstays longer (the last one is making me a bit uncomfortable though but I get the idea of better cornering). Commencal actually shortened the reach of the new Meta v5 as much as 20mm compared to previous gen, so the bike rides higher and more relaxed. But yeah we're talking about MTB industry so it might be 50% of what really is necessary to develop a better bike, and 50% of marketing and getting people to constantly update their rig. Bikes are so good already, it's getting impossible to make them any better without sacrificing things.

So my body wasn't wrong with the sensation of how annoying those +1090mm bikes feel to ride.. Love the direction where this is going if shorter is the new trend really. Now we just need to see less hooks and more riding in the UCI please. Just bought the 2023 Jealousy in size M, even though my height suggested for the L. I think it says 1085mm in the chainstay but measured around 1080mm which is the same as 2024 size L. But knowing Crewkerz, the real measurements are probably going to be way off a good few millimetres in every frame. What size is that and how long is it actually? Not sure what they updated looks wise though, since the 2023 already had black components and the same graphics as this one.

Yeah and that too. Using a booster would help but that's again another DIY issue for many. I already bought some thick carbon for that purpose but somehow it still hasn't transformed to a booster by itself.

If going DIY, it's good to remember that the most critical part is going to be around the rear mount screw, which needs way more material than it looks. The forces are trying to rotate the boss and bend the adapter. Monty and many others failed it there, making it very thin and fragile right in the most critical point. It will always fail at the weakest link of the chain, so it doesn't help if you put tons of material around the V-brake boss and completely weight weeny the spot where it joins the frame. It's the overall volume and quality of the material together with the bolts tightened up that matters. So around the M8 or M10 V-brake boss it doesn't need to be that thick actually, but the rear mount screw is just M5 so it needs a lot more material around there to be equally as strong. The front screw is further away so there will be significant leverage that takes stress away, so we don't need that much material there. Also it's good to avoid any sharp corners as always, round shapes are stronger. My adapters are definitely very overbuilt (considering the quality of the material), but that's mostly because they are work in progress.

Here's some DIY: I actually drilled and tapped the lower hs33 mounts of my Echo mk5 and later the mk6+ frames (and forks) to accept M8 stainless V-brake studs (ordered from brake-stuff.de) and that was the best idea ever. After the initial tests I was completely sold to V-brakes, just better and easier than hs33 in so many ways. Echos are nice and easy frames for that modification, especially the mk6+ due to its beefier construction. The studs were a bit too tall for the mounts so I ended up making an "adapter" that acts as a spring preload plate but also (in theory) taking some stress away from the rear mount. Last summer I switched to a Crewkerz Jealousy frame and things got a lot more difficult. The frame is a real pain in the ass to setup V-brakes. The CNC machined construction of the lower mount seemed a bit too thin for a M8 stud (the CNC piece is most likely hollow so I couldn't just take a drill and hope that there is going to be enough material). Also the placement of the mounts didn't quite match the rim for V-brake use as they were placed way too high on the seatstays. So I had no choice but to make my own adapters (Monty, Neon etc. I didn't even consider because they are just too flimsy and I highly value my spine). Actually the hardest part of the whole project for me was to find a consumer friendly workshop that is willing to sell me a small chunk of 7075-T6 aluminum for a reasonable price. I didn't want to make any compromises with reliability so these adapters are probably tougher than the frame itself. Now working with 7075 is definitely not too easy, so it took a fair bit of dedication to make this happen with shitty tools and lack of proper workspace. At least we got a column drill, would have been a nightmare without one. At that point winter was coming soon, so I ended up just roughly shaping the blocks to somewhat tolerable looking just to get back to riding as soon as possible. I had plans to actually finish them to look pretty and "professional", but knowing myself it will probably never happen. Works well, looks ok, weights a ton, but at least I got a V-brake on my Crewkerz! At the front I'm still using the old hs33, just because I'm lazy to "finish" another pair of adapters, but also because the mount design there is going to be a bit more challenging. For the V-brakes I've been successfully using plain cheap Deores for 3 years now with TNN pads and backings. They're pretty good although there is some slight play between the stud, but it's barely noticeable when riding and absolutely nothing compared to that of Maguras. Avids or Lykketrials would be nice but impossible to find. This setup has been a proper set and forget, just works fine and feels consistent everytime.

I just did a radial build on my Crewkerz Waw 32h hub. The hub design looks a bit beefier though compared to many lightweight trials hubs out there. Also it should be made of 7075 aluminum, will see. I used to have a stock Echo front wheel and it started eating the disc side spokes at some point. I reckon that was partly due to the other side being radial and the disc side 3x. The radial side is twisting easily, letting most of the rotational stress to the 3x side, at least this is how I would imagine it happening. Laced the same hub 3x on both sides, and never had an issue again (the original was pre-built though, and the spokes that snapped probably weren't Sapim either).

Mine is the Trialtech Carthy, anodizing removed. Tires have been fitting pretty tight at least.

Thanks for mentioning, didn't even realize to check this out on my frame because I'm fully committed to using V-brake setup with my custom adapters. But decided to take a look and guess what.. (The gap between the bolts is 46mm) Here the clamps are pushed all the way back towards the weld. Looks like the brake pads would touch the tire even with max setting, with these particular clamps at least. Honestly the whole thing looks pretty unacceptable to me, but it is what it is and pretty sure that every 2022 frame has this flaw, more or less. Have to say I'm glad that I will never ever use Maguras anyway! Any chance Onzatpro09 if you could measure the wheelbase of your 2022 medium? I decided to send my large frame back and get the medium, because if the WB is consistently approx. 10mm off through the whole lineup of sizes, the M should be exactly what I prefer around 1080-1085mm. However, I'm starting to suspect that they might just have some really loose tolerances and labeling the frames based on what size option fits closest to the final measurements of each frame. This is why they are the only trials brand with multiple sizes to offer

For a reference, I remember a guy nicknamed Lemon (coincidentally) telling me something like his copy was 1100mm with 395mm or something chainstays, and annoying to ride to the point he decided to sell it. This is why I was a bit worried, although his bike was one of those really old ones I think. Just can't get my mind wrapped around how such 10mm+ errors can be achieved on the production line without messing things up, and does it happen in the factory end or not. I always felt like these bikes look very long, was not mistaken then. I thought it would be just the frame design.

So my L size Jealousy frame just arrived. There is 1085 printed on the chainstay but the actual WB measures roughly 1095 with the WAW forks..... It looks super long too, not just the numbers. This is exactly what I didn't want, because 1085 was already on the long side for my preferences. Ultimately went for the L size instead of M as I thought that the smaller one would probably feel too short on reach (according to the given numbers). Seriously, how is such an error even possible, makes me wonder. Even Tartybikes says 1088 on their site, which I thought would be somewhat correct assuming they actually measure the frames? So is it likely that my frame is just a "lemon"? Edit: Got a response from the shop where I bought the frame (not Tarty), and according to them the WB depends on the fork used (yeah everyone knows that), hence it's 1095mm with the WAW forks they say. At least to me it seems pretty obvious that as long as there are some precise geo numbers listed, they should match the parts specced with the complete bike or it doesn't make much sense. Apparently Crewkerz is using their own weird offset values to get that 1085mm out, something that doesn't even exist as all of their forks are 405mm long with 35mm offset. Getting truly interesting, as the shop doesn't seem to understand the fact that there are misleading information on their site.

I was almost reconsidering the Trailcross LT as they are only 70€ everywhere now. But can't get over the fact that they are super narrow at the tip so it will never fit my square feet perfectly. Also still not really the ideal riding shoe in my opinion, due to their thin mesh constructed upper and tough plasticky feel. This made me feel a bit insecure, in the same way as riding on lightweight running shoes. I personally like that the shoe has some supportive material on top as well so it's going to hold well in every angle on the pedals, when landing sideways etc. Plus it's getting cold and wet here soon, doesn't work for that. I hope Adidas would make something that sits between this and the Sleuth or Freeride models. I just gave up and ordered the Grip shoes for whopping 170€ shipping included.. They just technically seem like the best for the job and hopefully no need to look further. Supportive ankle with plenty of height and cushion, flat low profile sole with a good predictable pattern. Possibility to tighten the toe area to fit different shapes of feet seems like a really valuable design feature, will see how the overall fit is going to be though. So many riders using them regardless of the price so can't be without a reason, I'm really curious to be honest. I've now tried a plenty of approach shoes (not ridden though) and most of them have the same issue: The soles are quite high and clumsy and feel like walking on high heels after the Five Ten Sleuth (or my previous Macaskill). Doesn't exactly feel like an upgrade. Another issue might be, that even though there are few very good (and a bit lower profile) feeling shoes out there like La Sportiva Tx2, the Vibram rubber part in these is super thin between the knobs and I reckon there will be deep holes very quickly. These soles are replaceable, but pedals usually digging so deep through the midsole that I don't know..

Definitely a fun bike! It completely changed my mind about 29ers. The biggest issue for me has been carrying speed on flat natural sections with roots and chatter (like 90% of the trails here). This bike is significantly easier to get over the boring parts than anything that I've ridden before, including a 27,5+ hardtail. But down the hill you have to be active or it will rattle the water bottle out. Part of the fun too I think.

Last year's bargain build now updated with second hand 2021 Fox 34 factory Grip2 forks at 140mm, over the previous RS Pike that never seemed to work well (sticky bushings on every RS fork I've ever had, got enough). - Heavily discounted Tallboy 4 CC 2021 frameset with Fox factory dps shock. - Raceface ARC30 rims because the shop sent me these instead of the cheaper AR that I paid for... - Dartmoor Reel V2 hubs, 102poe, seems to work fine so far. Pretty much everything else was out of stock at that time. - Then some other boring parts from the previous build such as my 5 year old Magura Trail Sports still kicking like new. - Renthal bars for life, because of my moto background and most importantly their mild backsweep works better for a trials rider. Some would think that my drivetrain choice is pretty interesting on this level of bike. Yes it's the cheapest little Sram cassette there, with 10 speed shimano Zee groupset that has seen over 5 years of riding and still going strong. People raving about Sram Eagles and other "must have" bling, but honestly I don't value drivetrain luxury that much (I don't race though). I rather use my calves to get up the hills anyway (seat down of course) and 10spd has proven to be enough for everything so far. It could be faster and more reliable to shift, but other than that I don't really see a reason to update. Lighter gear means more pedal strikes and difficult timing on techy stuff, and loss of momentum. Weight roughly 13,5kg (I'm not a weight weenie though).