spode@thinkbikes

I think this concept is a similar to swimming with your clothes on. Once you take them off, you can go a lot faster. It's basically resistance training. It works for road riders, but I don't think it would work for trials. So much of trials is about movement of weight. You'd end up developing a different technique because of the weight proportions. AFA the whole training thing. I have days when I go out to practice a specific trick. I'd probably call that practice rather than training. But I also have days where I just stick to stuff I know. There is defintely a difference between those two days, even though they are of course both riding trials. What do I know? As I always say, a spode's a spode.

If I have to remove them, I spit on a screwdriver, pop it in and twist it around. I then take a hair dryer and dry the grips and bars, but also heat up the grips. Then I just put them on dry. It takes FOREVER. You just keep pulling and twisting. But it's completley worth the effort. I've tried a lot of different techniques and this works the best - they 100% stay on.

A think a variety of objects to ride on is the key. However, as riding in Tonbridge is fairly limited, there is one object I love to ride on. We have a crazy golf course here. And there is a section that is shaped a little like a W. Imagine two of them parrallel to each other, so you have about a bike distance between the two. Actually, I'll just draw a diagram. The wall is around a foot wide and just over a foot off the ground. I can spend ages there, doing 180 gaps, combinations of spins to gaps. I can just think of loads of different lines to do. Hard to explain! There are a few similar sections there.

Well, last time I did this. I baked them, then boiled them and then gave them a zap with a blowtorch. I have no idea which one works! But I didn't want to go putting it all back in the frame and then finding it out didn't work. And all 3 methods have merits, so I figured it wouldn't harm!

If you had 6 different colours pencils, but one of them had a curse, what would you do and why?

Cheers Dude!

Mine was a Univega Alpina 530. It was basically an XC bike. I won't go in to details, but most of the bike was changed significantly! I suppose it doesn't count as a proper "trials" bike, but trials was it's only use. So it's a trials book in my eyes!

Excellent, that's what I thought.

The weather isn't too bad. I think it's good practice on slightly moist ground, learning to cope with it. Just have to stick to smaller things. Personally, I'm still on crutches, so I'm not all THAT bothered :)

I'm just organising a new disc for my KOT MS2. The rear is pre-set at +20mm. I have bought a 180mm disc for it. My question is, do I need a different caliper or is the angle the same? I'm a little confused on how it works. I'm planning on sticking either mono mini or a mini on the back. IIRC they use 160mm discs. So will it work with the 180 I've bought?

I don't know mate. I only ride with a select few people to be honest (mainly because I don't know that many riders!). But I think I've met up with some of the guys in Hastings before. The riding is not too bad there. It all depends on what you're looking for!

Thanks for the response guys! I really wasn't expecting such good feedback!

Cheers! Yeah, some of it was in hastings.

I'm so on the same page as you! I don't even KNOW how high I can side hop and to quite frank, I don't care. I'm more interested in the application of the side hop skill :) I'm glad you liked the video. I have to say, I was really starting to lose faith in riding until you said that!

I've got the 1065 version of the frame and my wheelbase is 1070. That's around 60mm longer than when I had my zero. I love the zero for spinny things etc. That's what I prefer to do, I'm a demo rider more than a trials rider. I find a lot of videos I see very boring, riders just spending their life on the backwheel. And I'm not in to big drops and gap drops either (to be honest, I'm scared of hurting myself, I already have a history of back problems..). It's not my style. However, I do find the zero REALLY hard work on the backwheel. It's a real effort to keep it up. So I was hoping the KOT would help with that. If it doesn't work out, I'll sell it :) But I really like the disc mount mechanism on the KOT. Although my M4 doesn't fit (grrr). Actually, I found this the other day. It's rather old (2002?) but if you're bored :lol: http://www.spodesabode.com/misc/spodemtb.avi I've been riding Zero's since 2000, so it's gonna be strange to get rid of it.

That's a Mission Reefer would you believe! And that's Dave (not a member). Yeah, he's pretty good at those :) I've seen him do those forever. Is there a record for the longest nose roll? (I call them roll backs mind you) If not, I reckon he could set it. What do you mean by it's gonna **** me up. As in I won't be able to ride as well? The BB rise is imense in comparison to that orange. It feels like I'm wearing high heels riding a bike! Just gotta sort a back brake out.

Hi Guys, I thought I may as well post a link to a video we've just finished. It was recorded this summer. It's not great as we were both a bit out of practice before we started filming, but I'm got some videos on my computer of some of you guys as beginners and I still like watching them occasionly for inspiration before I go riding. So by all means take a look! I don't think it puts us in particuarly good light as we've both moved on a lot since filming. My KOT MS2 just arrived, so I'm looking forward to seeing how that affects things. Will make a big change compared to an Orange Zero! http://www.thinkbikes.com/media/thinkbikespromo.avi It's 50MB and encoded in in DivX. The first track is "Fuel" by Reculver/House of Flies. They are friends of mine who are about to release a single - so go out and buy it!! www.reculver1.com I wouldn't visit the website yet, as I have yet to develop anything. :)

I reckon 17 has been my favourite age so far. I'm 22 soonish. I hate getting older. It's a reminder of how time is trickling away and you still haven't finished your to-do list!

Nice. Impressive side hop on to it.

Hi, Does anyone know what size Bottom Bracket I'm going to need for this frame? I want to get it ordered so it's here when my frame arrives :P Something tells me the UN52 in my Orange Zero isn't quite going to fit..

When it comes to the Athlon 64 architecture, the cache makes less difference than you would imagine. Especially in games.

Gotcha. I think it's pretty useful to practice both ways. Sometimes you could be in a position where you NEED to side hop on the opposite direction. It's a weak area for me that's for sure. It's the sort of thing where your indoor area is gonna come in real handy. I've got to look in to finding something like that myself!

What do you mean by "the wrong way"?

I think I see what you are suggesting and that's the way I'm doing it too. I hit a full crank rotation as my front wheel touches it.

Well, you learn something new everyday. When I was out riding yesterday, I nearly fell off as there was ICE on some of the walls! So I checked each surface carefully. Personally, I rode in a T-Shirt. It's freezing when you first get out, but once you start riding properly (and not just standing round watching like soooo many riders I see) you really heat up.