Nick Manning

Had a great ride today, was great to see the locals and not so locals out today. Hopefully this shall be the start of many more great rides this year.

I'm using a Schwalbe Big Betty 2.4 and have plenty of clearance. I'm running it on a Echo SL front rim.

I'm coming now, though I don't have a front brake, if anyone has a working front disc brake that they can lend me for the day, for a 203 rotor (as I don't have a torx tool) that would be great. If not, then I'll just be riding with a rear brake only. See you all tomorrow.

Reading the link with the discussion about freewheels vs free hubs, will give you a pretty good idea of the differences and benefits of a freewheel. If you were considering getting one at some point, you have a few things to consider first: What is your style of riding (bunny hops and fast paced or slow and technical) You don't really want a freewheel on your crank arm if your riding at speed and doing bunny hops as your chain is constantly moving when your rear wheel is spinning. Is it worth the cost? you have truvativ cranks, so all you need to do to improve your ride is replace th rear wheel with a trials rim and trials hub such as hope pro 2 or chris king.

Freewheels fit on to threaded cranks and threaded hubs, this allows you to either run a freewheel on your cranks or on your rear wheel on both 20" (mod) and 26" (stock) If you want a freewheel on the hub then your cranks will have a bashring and screw-on (threaded) sprocket (cog). if you want to run a freewheel on your cranks, then your cranks will have a bashring and freewheel and your hub will have a screw-on (threaded) sprocket (cog). generally the set up of a stock and mod can be identical part wise if using a freewheel. The one thing to take note of is the gear ratio, a mod will have around a 12tooth sprocket on the hub and a 18tooth freewheel on the crank arm. A stock will have the same 18tooth freewheel on the crank arm but will have a bigger sprocket on the hub, something like a 15tooth up to around a 17tooth. All freewheels you will notice come in a 18tooth only. You can run this on the rear hub, but you will need to work out what ratio you like so you can get the correct sprocket size for the crank arm. You also can use cranks that are not threaded if you use a freewheel on the rear hub or even use a free hub on the rear (such as Hope pro 2 or Chris King). Cranks that you'll find that suitable for trials but are not threaded are brands like Middleburn, Truvativ, and other brands.

If you use the search function and search the forum you will find that it's more than just 'some' people that it is bad. Pretty all of the people that have issues with trials-uk are still owed refunds or the right products. Avoid trials-uk at all costs. DO NOT use them no matter how much cheaper they may be advertising compared to other shops. YOU WILL regret it it. Tartybikes is one of the easiest shops to come across and use, but there are other places as have been previously mentioned. Once you are validated you will also have access to the Classifieds section of this forum. But do not try to buy or sell anything as a new member as this will most likely increase your wait of becoming a full time member.

I've got a fully working Louise, pretty much brand new, but the caliper is broken where the bolt goes through to bolt it to the fork, so it's of no use anyway. More than happy to try it with Phat Phluid, obviously can't be tested by riding, but could be tested out for dragging to see if it boils or anything. I also have some older Louise FR's ( 2 to be exact). These are not together, but I have both calipers, hose's and lever, just need to be fitted back together and bled, oh probably pads aswell. But Mike your welcome to have them to try out and see what you results you get.

Cheers for the invite Tic. Can't believe I missed this, so going to buy it on blu ray when it comes out. Looks immense.

Location changed to Croft trails Swindon.

Taken from the Phatworks site. * PHLUID: the all year round performance hydraulic rim-brake fluid. First developed early in 2008, we saw the need for a consistently high performing brake-fluid that gave a sharp, responsive feel at the lever. Phluid was designed to be used by riders to eliminate freezing in the winter, whilst putting a stop to corrosion of internal components all year round. Phluid comes in a slim, 300ml, recyclable aluminium bottle; perfect for carrying around on a ride or in your workshop. - Highly responsive lever feel; light and snappy - Water-based - Solid performance all the way to -10°C - Corrosion inhibiting, eliminating damage to internal components - Non-toxic When installing Phluid, ensure any brake oil is fully flushed through beforehand. This can be done with warm water providing the brake is full of Phluid afterwards. After two years of testing, brakes containing Phluid are still going strong with no signs of corrosion. **As tested by Mike & Danny in -10 degree Amsterdam temperatures (video soon!)**

I think the problem with opinions of frames being stiff or flexy is that everyone likes things differently. You could have 2 of the same frame spec'd differently and they would feel differently on stiffness, and then again different people would find them feeling stiffer than what other people do.

Mike, I rode Jack Meek's Koxx recently and personally didn't like the feel of how it ride. It is a lot stiffer than my Zoo Piranha. You could feel this while hopping the rear wheel, there was just no give anywhere, it didn't feel nice. But then Jack loves it, so I think a lot of how a frame feels to a rider depends on the individual. I think you want some flex in a frame as it'll have more flow and will like it'll do anything, where as a stiff frame just feels likes it's designed to go in a straight line and nothing more.

I shit myself just watching Mike do it, but that pic does look the dogs. I'm looking forward to see how this video comes out. This guy was creative with your first one Mike, should make for another interesting watch. No it wasn't on purpose this was Joel Bennett's cameo. As far as I'm aware, it was caught on camera, and I think it'll best to wait and see it, rather than me tell you. It is pretty sick mind. Love this still. Can't remember what happened here.

Cool, but if you don't make it, then I guess congratulations will be in order.

Hi guys, change of plan. For anyone interested, James Steele, Phil Pearce and a few others will now be riding the Croft mountain bike trails in Swindon. We are meeting there for 12. Here's my number for anyone wanting to get In contact - 07584305086

All hail the Messiah!

That was really good young Joseph. I was very impressed, hope you didn't hurt yourself in that dumper.

Very interesting, love how Chris has such a varied style. Using a fixie for most types of riding and riding well. The guy's got skills Shame about the lack of a helmet though.

Looks like a great video, I'm game if I'm in the area at the time.

I'll mention it to Mike, cheers Dan.

Hi AJ, you say you liked the ratio on your Monty. 20th fron/15th rear, to work out the ratio you do 20/15=1.333333333 1.3333333333 was the ratio on your Monty, what you need to consider is that your Inspired has bigger wheels, so that ratio will feel different to how it did on your Monty.

Really nice Dave. Loving it in that green. How long will it stay that colour though?

Should have searched the forum for reviews before buying from them. You would have found out, that its a mistake to make any purchases from trials-uk. Sorry about your loss though.

I second that. I've had many freewheels over the years. But the best ones I had were: White Industries Eno- Pros Sealed bearings - Cons Lock ring doesn't have enough threads and loosens regularly, tabs to remove freewheel are poor and damage easily. Tryall 108.9 - I can't say I ever had a problem with this freewheel, however I know loads of people did, they seemed to skip a lot. Echo SL- I'm running this currently and had no problems. I specifically like the splines for removing the freewheel, well thought out. Seems to be a popular freewheel at the moment with very few problems heard of.

Afternoon, Phat Phluid is finally here and available to buy from the Phatworks website for a very reasonable price of £10 + postage. Phat Phluid If you have questions feel free to contact Mike Singleton (Phatmike)