Tony Harrison

Wayne, did you ever ride one of Ashton's Cannondales?

I've got one of Akrigg's old silver Pace frames somewhere - might even be the one you're talking about. Bit battered though... My favourite bikes are... Ashton's 2001 Cannondale in blue & white Ian Coopers Raleigh titanium with the flames on it Vincent's VRacing XTP

Bonus post - two signatures! Yeah, Bucky's 'drop' looks horrible. When someone showed me it and said he'd fallen down there I hardly believed it. Did anyone get it on video?

Custom Reynolds steel 24" or aluminium 24" almost guaranteed to crack at the headtube in less than a year... wasn't really a hard decision for him to make was it...?

Thanks.

f**king excellent.

It'll transform your riding. Everything will be easier!

Is Akrigg still riding that Zoo? That guy's a monster super beast...

Didn't Bucky fall down a big hole at Shipley once??

No idea about Feebal... they had a really good site but then it disappeared. Don't know if he (Hawyes) had sponsorship troubles... I heard rumours about why he left Giant but I don't really want to repeat them here or say who said them, but either way I suppose the guy's got other stuff to do. Shame again, cos that was looking shithot too! I think it's because of video footage that people do 'bum' a lot of the foreign riders. A lot of people don't realise just how good Akrigg is. And Edd Tongue I think doesn't even ride trials anymore (anyone know? Tim??). I still think Hans Rey is the best... (Y)

It's a shame because we rarely get a chance to see those boys properly going off. If Akrigg does a video it'll be the best bike video ever - few people have the all round skills and abilities of that guy.

As I just said (to Luke) I can't make it. I meant when was he going to show his face up here. It's off the topic I know...

How's Simon Bamber?

Not sure what you mean by 'mini'. Hope have a couple of brakes called 'Mini', I think because the calipers were smaller than their older brakes. The Mini's are... Hope Mini Hope Mono Mini - so called because the caliper is machined from one piece of ally Best trials disk brake by Hope is the Mono Trial. Mini in Hope's case is a brand name rather than a universal 'type' of disk brake.

In fact, so good is my brake, and so impressed with it am I, that I'm posting again! Get the Mono Trial. Make sure you set it up right. I found that facing the disk mount and using the correct thickness washers/spacers between the caliper and mount made it work really well.

Sometimes I don't wear it because it makes my head itch and is uncomfortable, but recently I've been wearing it most rides. In fact, the other day D-L-B forced me to wear it, and he (like some of the comments here) had a good point. It's a small price to pay to insure your head. You can't get a new brain, and damage to the skull takes a long time to heal and isn't fun. When I first started riding trials I went over the bars near the top of a big flight of slippery steps. Totally idiotic thing to do, riding down them, and I was knocked out with a helmet. It is important, and you'd regret it if something went wrong. Think about the things that can happen... 1) Hubs skips, over the bars 2) Chain staps, over the bars super-quick 3) Gears slip, over the bars 4) Back brake fails, off the back (head to rail wouldn't be fun...) 5) Snapped forks, forehead smashed I could go on... And Simon, I think it's good that people get pestered to wear helmets. A lot of the time it's for silly reasons like trying to look cool, or negative peer pressure from people who don't wear lids.

If you mean the Hope Mono Trial (make sure you get the right one) then they're excellent. I use the 180 version and I have no complaints.

I see where your coming from, but you're just more motivated than me!! Going out in the wet is fun because there's no pressure to do difficult things, and you can just muck about. Although it hurts twice as much when you fall off...

No kidding...

Never mind, it was a joke. Matt was talking about the first picture of Austin...

Last winter I mainly rode BMX indoors. I'm not going to force myself to ride trials in the cold in some effort to appear 'hardcore' or 'dedicated'. I ride for fun - freezing my tits off isn't fun. I'll probably ride both this winter. Last winter I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about trials full stop, probably thanks to a shit bike, shit job, shit-all money and bollocks all motivation.

No, the old T-Rex is heavy and dog. Get the T-raptor. If it's good enough for Baz Huskinsson and Chris Akrigg, then it's ideal for you to start off with.

I'll eventually need a multi-coloured King headset, not sure what colours yet though. Would anybody in the UK be able to supply it?

Look at the Saracen MAD 2005, Base and Onza T-Raptor. They're all far superior in terms of weight and geometry, and it'll be far easier to get to grips with proper trials moves. The Shooter will be rubbish on the backwheel and will only hinder your performance. When I started trials there was little else to choose from, but now you can get frames dirt cheap. If I was you I'd look on eBay where it's not uncommon to find T-Raptor frames (as ridden by Baz Huskinsson and Chris Akrigg) for £50-70 brand new! Onza do some very competitive builds as well if you're after a full bike. Check their website.

Try eBay. There's one on there that's in America but he does ship to the UK.