Ali C

I find it crazy how the Government have been patting themselves on the back for having infection/death numbers that are "looking good". The UK has the worst infection and death percentages in the world. Remember when Italy looked bad and went into total lockdown? The UK (well, England) are WAY worse than Italy was when they were locking the country down but for some reason the UK Gov is now happy to reduce lockdown with way worse numbers...they're incompetent! That vote they had was almost criminal, making people travel to vote on a vote about travelling (those who have to travel obviously want to avoid doing so so will be harder for them to vote about not travelling). One of the Scottish MPs is in Skye and had to travel by public transport to London to vote saying he didn't want to have to travel...it's like a Monty Python sketch except not funny. Boris is so bumbling when he talks too, it takes him 10 mins to explain something that anyone else could do in 3...how he became a leader I have no idea! Get in the Sea Boris!

TBF I am noticing as I'm getting older I'm getting a little more scared than I used to be, I still push myself but there's stuff I'm avoiding which I'm sure the younger me would've tried

I think for me it's as much ability to ride but also the experience to know when and how to bail. Beginners will often go down with the ship because they don't have the experience to know when a move is going past the point of no return and end up eating shit. You can often tell who is an intermediate/advanced rider by seeing how and when they bail. Edit: There's always exceptions though, even the most experienced riders will crash hard if they're at their limit or trying something totally new...but I guess a beginner is trying something new most rides

after years of confusion with HMRC I've now got my online details sorted and found out I was eligible for the SEISS grant which is a nice surprise

You know what, I also agree with you to some extent, I love the flow and creativity riding street gives BUT I do think most young riders are concentrating more on footjam whips on 2ft high walls than actually exploring the trials aspect. however that’s not the bike that determines that, street trials bikes are still very capable trials bikes of the rider chooses to.

I actually agree with you to an extent! Pashley 26mhz were the bees knees when they came out but I rode one recently and things have definitely come a long way since

What were the bikes we used to compete on back in the day? They had 26" wheels and a seat (almost identical to my Hex), were they 26" BMXs with seats or trials bikes?

I didn’t realize Ross was also racing BMX then, my apologies

that was amazing! Alex's and Kriss's parts were edited so well and of course the riding was nuts! Kriss isn't scared!

I think the Crossmark Mk2 is the closest to a larsen...I'm running a pair now and I really like them

That's not what he said though. I can fully understand someone enjoying riding a comp style bike instead of an inspired, I absolutely don't have an issue with someone's preference of bike. The issue is having a preference and then looking down upon/mocking the other style (which he did). It reinforces a split between riding style when there absolutely doesn't need to be one, bikes are good, saddle or no saddle, brakes or no brakes 24" or 26".

You can have an opinion but that doesn’t make you immune for being called out for it.

I’d definitely organize something if it meant we got to see you ride again! in other good, my 30 year old MX5 had its MOT today and passed with zero advisories, two years in a row!

I thought this attitude had died out?

Thanks guys! I can't do a 24Tour, I'm on 26 now!

so so so so happy I started my vlogging 4 years ago! I had previously been 100% reliant on demos for income and after 4 years of making a video every week, sometimes wondering why I bother, I'm finally getting enough revenue from YouTube and Patreon to make a living! I would've been in such a bad financial position right now if I hadn't gone down this route as there's zero shows at the moment. Also since lock down I've gained 10K subscribers...to put that into perspective I gained 16k all of last year. I'm not in it for the numbers but I'm quite excited to get to 100k, I never thought I'd ever reach that. I'm thinking of doing something to celebrate, maybe a group ride or something.

Maguras are pretty great, the calipers are the strongest and most maintenance free I've used plus I love the magnetic pads which removes the need for those springs (which can bend and hit the rotor). The levers fall apart from trials use as we tend to put a lot of back/forth flex into the blade but they're not so bad on the mtb...until you crash. I've been running shimano levers on my magura calipers on my trials bike for a while now with no issues, could be an option for the MTB too perhaps? I think Hope brakes are fantastically well made and the ease of spares is a bonus. I do find them under powered compared with other brands though plus I've always found them to vibrate and give a real high pitched tone if the pads drag even a tiny bit. I also found them to be fairly high maintenance and I'd get sticky pistons quite often. Sram guides feel nice but are under powered. Sram Codes have great power and feel great, had them on my Santacruz for over a year and I've only had to change the pads. The downside is the lever pivot bolt keeps on vibrating lose no matter how much I tighten it.

If I were to go out and buy brakes with my own money right now, I'd go for some Hayes Dominion models (2 or 4 pot, your choice). From feeling them at Eurobike, they have the nicest lever feel I've ever felt...the lever took the lest amount of effort to move, it's insane. Power is meant to be good too and they seem to be getting great reviews

no I don't, they've not really been advertised much (I only found out about them a couple of months ago) so I'm not sure how many people are aware they exist

for sheer power...Trialtech are hard to beat

35mm I think, 38 is pretty good tbf

check out Light Bicycle, they do a decent 24" carbon rim https://www.lightbicycle.com/AM431-rim-profile-carbon-24-inch-mountain-rims.html

I need to go for a ride after watching that...fun!

You’re allowed to drive as long as the activities last longer than the driving

I just got kicked off the pumptrack by the police! They first said it wasn't social distancing which I (politely) explained that I was on my own and well away from anyone else...they then said it was recreational and not exercise. TBF I didn't argue, there were some younger guys in a group and I understand that to stamp it out they have to stop all use. I'd rather they said that though than suggest you can only keep fit as long as you don't enjoy it