spode@thinkbikes

I'm right handed, with my left foot forward. I am stronger side-hopping to the right as far as height, but more comfortable sidehopping to my left. But then again, I can't get much above handle bar height I don't find it much harder going from two wheels than from back wheel on a low BB bike. But with a BB-rise, it's easier on the back wheel.

Hello All, Bit late notice, but hey, the ride is going ahead even if we don't get any more takers 6:30 at St Pauls. If anyone needs my number, PM me. Spode

I love Braunschweig. Does anyone know if they have a website? Or an e-mail address? I really wanna take a flight out there and go for a ride with them!

LOL. I'm up for that Chai. You wanna go riding this week? Maybe tomorrow?

-retracted-

I used amsn too. It's on Linux and Windows, so I know where I stand when I swtich from OS to OS. It also has decent polygamy support, as I have multiple accounts open at the same time.

Nice, they make the ones I put up look like poo That flash really lit the foreground nicely.

WooHoo! I came last!

I think that looks really nice. But why do you need two? Get a rear disc on it

Awesome, will he be joining us on a ride? Probably the rocks in Chatham on saturday by the way (off-topic!) if you fancied something different.

LOL. Wish I'd seen this thread first. http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....view=getnewpost

Come off it Chai! You can't be THAT sensitive to change. It dropped by 10mm at most. You can go from your Aorta to the Ashton without problem... I can just on the Monty, My KOT, Rob's KOT or your Aorta and within an hour I'm used to it and there are a lot more changes involved.... Still, it does make you appreciate watching a decent natural rider!

Tall_Rob, Darren and I decided to make our way down to Thriftwood to try our hand at some natural trials. Despite the warning of impending snow, the weather was actually quite mild, with an occasional chilly wind. The wood was dry and the mud was less mud and more soil. Perfect condition for riding. Some familiar names made it to the scene, including James Porter, Andrei Burton, Andrew Chai, James Sherrdan and Tom Rankin to name but a few. This made watching the Elite sections just that little bit more interesting. This was my first competition in nearly five years (I've only done two in my lifetime) and I've ridden natural trials itself not that many more times. So this was a fairly new experience to me, and something I was looking forward to trying. Equally, Tall_Rob was new to the competition scene, and has only been riding for 18 months. Rob opted for the intermediate blue route, while I opted for the expert red route. From previous experience I found the blue route too easy, but something Dave Lowe (thinkbikes.com) had commented on is how much of a difference there was jumping from blue to red. This is something I learnt first hand. After spraining my ankle quite badly warming up in the car park (yes, I know, what a *ucktard) things didn't start well! My score card was mainly fives, with a spattaring of 1's, 2's and 3's. Despite statistically doing quite poorly, I was quite pleased with my performance, as I was generally working my way through without problems. One thing I definetely noticed was poor fitness level. Where as street riding is mainly short bursts of energy (mainly anaerobic), completing a two minute long section requires a lot of aerobic ability - something I should consider working on. Tall_Rob fared considerably better than myself, flying through the routes with relative ease, with much precision and minimal effort. For his first competition he did exceptionally well. Both our dual disc setups helped considerably and a brand new set of tyres (thanks to tartybikes.co.uk for rushing them out to me!). All in all, it was a good day and a good experience for both Rob and I. Watching the Elite riders at work was masterful. Natural trials is a lot harder than street, and I'd recommend anyone give it a go, as it makes perfectly angled concrete blocks seem like nothing. Darren himself wasn't actually competing, but instead acting as our Chauffer and photographer. So you have him to thank for the following photographs. I'd also like to thank Joe Maher for lending us some Compact Flash cards, as being a klutz I managed to leave mine in the card reader at home! http://www.thinkbikes.com/gallery/?dir=.%2...ftwood180307%2F Although I was hoping to have the new gallery system up and ready, it's not. So I've added a Previous/Next picture feature to the current code! Example shots:

I hear you on the pre-focus. I'm still finding it hard to change the settings. On the 10D (I think it was) we had at work, it was easy to adjust the settings, but on the 300D, I'm finding the selections limited - even though in auto mode it comes up with some settings that don't seem to be available in manual....

I fell a LOT of places. Damn Maggies. Let's hope I do a little better tomorrow!

I have some older pictures somewhere. But this is me quite a few years ago doing my first ever competition. Needless to say I did badly. That was the first ever mission trials frame, koolstops on smooth rims, FSA cranks. Those forks are by a company called Bulldog, they are steel and weigh a TONNE. But I was one of the first people I knew to get straight blade forks

The standard Pro 2 doesn't have a warranty for Trials either (they can tell...). I think it's only 24 engagements instead of the 48. It's basically a slightly newer version of the Hope XC. Apparantly this was a dodgy batch of hubs. Something to do with grain in the aluminium IIRC. According to Hope, 3% of the Pro II's were warrantied. I don't know if that stat includes the non-trials hubs mind you. I'd sooner hear an actual number

It does seem to work exceptionally well. The first one snapped. But then Martin's 74 Kingz snapped. I'd say it's better constructed and costs a hell of a lot less!

Nice Sam. A lot less of a pogo-stick approach this time Let me know if you need the full quality video hosted.

HA. Yes. I took a leaf out of Matt's book. Everyone wants to be ginger in their heart of hearts.

How did I not see you there mark? Why didn't you run over and give me a hug/advice on using the camera?

He's got some riser bars on there. It's the oddest feeling Zoo I've ever ridden - but it does feel nice

I think you just blew things out of proportion a bit and we don't really want to turn this in to a helmet debate. However, as Matt is certainly someone that newcomers will try and immitate, I beleive wearing a helmet sets a good example.

But you always look.... Never mind.

Mebbe Not sure I want to annoy KOT too much showing off a broken frame.. No, he didn't. He's a good boy!