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).

I have a Dartmoor Reel Pro 102 V2 hub on my MTB, which is supposed to be a rebranded Tairin, some say. The mechanism looks identical to the one in Spank Hex so probably they're all mostly the same stuff with different shells or other modifications. Actually I wanted to go with Spank as it looks more like a quality product but they were out of stock, basically Dartmoor seemed to be the only high engagement hub option available inside EU at that time for boost axle. This hub seems to be only 72poe in single speed flavour though.. As far as I know Dartmoor is mostly focused on cheaper end components, so my expectations were not that high initially. It was incredibly silent, I almost couldn't hear my bike on descends which felt really weird. Now it has developed a pretty loud Hope ish buzz, but no mechanical issues or excessive dragging so far. I remember that on the first few rides it lightly skipped probably twice, but might be due to some heavy grease in there.. In theory those 3 small teeth in one pawl should divide the stress, but I also suspect them to start wearing down/skipping sooner than traditional pawl with deeper ratchet teeth.

Merrell Catalyst suede: Just a great feeling shoe, super comfortable, maybe a bit on the flexy side but not much. I'd really like to have these for riding, but the sole is definitely not ideal. It's quite high profile (obviously for walking and hiking) and the rubber isn't that sticky at all. Returned them because the size was a tad too small, but also because I'd really like to have one shoe for everything and this is not going to be it. Scarpa Gecko: Not so great fit as the Merrell (to my wide-ish square feet), feels quite stiff (good for climbing obviously) and has a lot of spare room in the toe box (a bit awkward feeling). Felt a bit too clumsy overall to be honest, but it was probably 1 size too large for me. The rear end of the shoe is particularly high and clumsy, for better damping and support when walking on trails. Not sure if that affects the feel on pedals though on the long run. However at the front it felt pretty nice and lower profile, not as sensitive as Five Ten Sleuth but at least noticeably lower profile than Merrell. The sole was pretty good too, it's flat and has a reasonable simple pattern for pedals. Also the special rubber compound is quite sticky in these, might very well work for riding when getting used to. Returned due to large size (and not really that good fitting shoe design for 150€ in my opinion). Still, the Five Ten Sleuth DLX has been the best feeling shoe on the pedals so far, simply because the sole is such a low profile and has predictable pattern design. But I noticed that my pair is getting a bit slippery now after 1 year, like the compound is not that sticky anymore? Have to keep searching, and now came across one really good looking shoe, La Sportiva TX2 (leather or knit). Those seem like they have almost perfect sole for riding and dabbing on awkward rock surfaces. It's made of Vibram megagrip and has the typical ball pattern, a bit more aggressive than Five Ten. They look like very low profile as well, maybe a bit too flexy though? Finding those is really hard currently, but managed to find a pair (maybe a size too large) to try soon. If that's more like "the shoe" then I'm going to stick to it, and find my size no matter what the price is going to be. This stuff is almost getting harder than learning sidehops..

There are the Trailcross series shoes that I've seen Kenny Belaey using (probably due to sponsorship). I ordered a pair to try but they seemed way too lightweight and vulnerable for trials in my opinion. Like a thin plastic structure but lacks proper padding, very uncomfortable.. The mesh material didn't seem to support or protect at all so your toes will be absolutely mashed if you hit them, plus they would suck all the water in few seconds. They have a stealth rubber sole but it was a bit thick at the heel and sloped too, as they're probably meant to be more like a mix of trail running and mtb shoe. I ordered a pair of Merrell Catalyst suede approach shoes as I got a pair for 65€ only, just for hiking and stuff. Will report how they feel on pedals, but I don't expect much as the rubber is what it is. Seen few riders using them in trials though.. Edit: Ordered the Scarpa Geckos too, been very curious about these shoes for a long time.. Those were a bit more expensive but looks like they could suit better for this type of stuff, let's see!

Couldn't find any recent discussion about the current shoe alternatives, natural/comp riding in mind. Grips, are they actually good or better over Five Tens, Adidas Terrex or maybe other "non-trials" specific shoe? How do they last? Because currently 150€ for a pair of very cheap and plasticky looking shoes (in my opinion) is a bit risky decision. Also those are sometimes a bit hard to find and I have no idea what's their actual sizing/shape. I've been running Five Tens all the time, but the latest model Sleuth DLX is too narrow at the toe box, which means walking down a hill is painful. Tried one size up and felt like having baguettes in my feet so that was not an option for trials riding. Purely for riding the slightly small size is ok though, but I feel like the dedicated trials shoes would be maybe more flexy and have better feel on the pedals? Am I wrong? Five Tens feel still a bit stiff and maybe even slippery when they wear out. Also feeling that something less streety could work better when things go sketchy on steep rock surfaces etc. I've tried the Terrex Swift too at the same time with Sleuth DLX, seems like at least many of the Spanish guys like to run them. The Terrex felt ok (didn't ride on them) but maybe a bit high and clumsy at the sole when standing on pedals, also being on the narrow side again (typical Adidas for me). The sole has a bit awkward pattern for pedals, the Traxxion rubber material didn't feel ideal either. Also I felt like they have too much unnecessary space at the tip of the toe box, making the shoe feel long and clumsy again. People with long and narrow toes might like that, but for me it leaves a huge empty space. The shoe was generally very stiff/plasticky and felt kind of harsh to walk on, not sure if that would change much over time. Five Tens being completely flat and very low profile, they had the best feeling on pedals, so I bought them (again). I've seen some riders using Merrell or other approach shoes that seem a bit wider generally, but how do they suit riding? I'd probably need those anyway for hiking so might very well order a pair and give them a try for trials as well.

This happened to me with the Zees (stock pads), to the level that both of the brand new brakes were almost every time just completely useless and I decided to get rid of them to buy Maguras. Not locking up at all, added with some really intense howling. This was after the bed in of course, and the weather was nice and dry all the time. 20mins of hard braking made them work like they should, but everything was gone again when the bike rested a couple of days inside my apartment. I checked the pistons few times and they didn't seem dirty or anything that could indicate leaking. Something weird was going on with the pads, or there was a minor leak that was invisible. That added to the inconsistent bite point issue (also well documented on other forums) and horrible pad knock made me to forget Shimanos forever. Still can't understand how so many people like them so much with all the annoying flaws, bit of a mystery. I'm not completely happy with Maguras either, but at least they have worked consistently for 5 years with correct bleeding.

This is where I come from, they cut my ankle like cheese at least once in a year.... Typically the same wound just didn't have time to heal until it happened again and again. Had to put some foam inside my sock to protect the bony part.

Yeah I've tried too and it's just so much extra work. Removing is usually a pain, painting will not last in most parts, and re anodizing hasn't been a realistic option so far. Luckily my bikes have been silver or black so far, and with the purple Czar I just gave up the idea of good looks together with the red echo parts Looks like the only red thing with the Crewkerz is going to be easily fixed.

Does the new generation mean 2018 and up? Because the 2018 crankset was the only one available and I already ordered it, but now I'm afraid that there would have been a new set coming with the new frames soon.. But as long as it's technically the same I'm not going to return the 2018 set due to a red bashring that can be easily sanded. I don't hate the red color itself, only the fact that I'm always tied to those red accents and need to match my custom paint color ideas to that. Also because I've seen that colored anodizing thing too much in the motocross world already before moving to trials lol. It was super cool when it became a thing and everyone wanted to pay huge cash for candy colored billet parts, but now it's kind of getting old when stylish is more like clean and simplistic rather than blingy.

Yes they already had the frames, but apparently it takes quite a bit of time to put them on the site. Still not there, and the only way to see any sort of linkage between the shop and the brand is through a few social media posts, with a bunch of guys asking for geo numbers and other basics in the comments because of poor advertising. Seems like those bikes aren't that big deal for Trial-bikes really, let's see how many rider will actually have one in Europe if it continues like this. Kind of like Maestro, seems impossible to find nowadays. If I was a trials shop, I'd hurry up during the most crucial time of the season when guys like me are still switching their bikes before the summer is over. But I'm not a trials shop, luckily.

Just saying, out of the bigger brands, Santa Cruz being particularly interesting because all of their bikes are generally mocked by being a bit on the heavy side, even the higher end CC carbon models. But they are purposely putting reliability over weight weening as the brand imago is always going to be more or less a trasher's all-terrain machine style of thing. I've owned two different generations of alloy 5010s and now a CC carbon Tallboy, and can confirm that they are like overbuilt tanks, especially the 2019 alloy 5010. Super stiff bike and a bit harsh to ride too, but bombproof and feels like absolute quality. That said, one guy on instagram broke the rear end of his alloy 5010 by doing fairly beginner trials stuff (I think). Got replaced under warranty of course, but it really happens. As a trials sidenote, it's kind of funny by the way, how a Crewkerz is considered as boring bike even though that thing has probably the most exotic frame tubing/welding/design ever and all these carbon bikes are basically just typical carbon and nothing too special under the hood.