Ali C

not bad at all! For 11 months riding you are hell of a lot better than I was! As you said you do look a little stiff, try and relax and the riding should improve. Also, I wouldn't really recommend going for the easy option and get a mod. Since when do any athletes go for the easy option when training or practicing? If you stick on the stock, I think it will teach you more about riding trials in the next year, than 2 years would on a mod (how weight effects the bike, having to put more power in, muscle building etc).

as Adam said, eyelets dont really do a whole lot. People say you can get the spokes tighter, but that's not really true. I have never had a spoke pull through or crack the rim either in all my years of riding.

no need for eyelets on any rim

the eyelets are at such and angle, when the spokes leave the nipple they have quite a sharp bend in them meaning they will snap easier. Well that's for the rear ones anyway.

are crap

considering the TR is almost the same rim as the Urban (2g lighter I think) you have done pretty well to dent it.

yeah you could swap the spring. I havn't looked for a new one that fits, but I have tried cutting it down and stretching it, but it never worked that well.

Get some TNN LGV pads, great compound and great backings.

I have tried nearly everything in the book as I struggle really badly with arm pump. People say use Powerball, wrist curls and there is a good one about tieing a weight on the end of string, then the string to a pole and winding the weight up only using the wrists (my personal fave<) but I never found any to make much difference. I have tried Paracetamol, but I didn't notice any difference. I tried compressive garments, but again no avail. The one single biggest thing that helped me (well, practically eliminated it) was a vee brake. I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear, but if it is that much of a problem, then that is the BEST solution. As mentioned, riding style makes a huge difference, probably the 2nd biggest in my eyes. Stay off the brakes, only use them if needed. Do you really need to backhop that rock or can it be rolled? Use underlations in the floor or rocks to get your front wheel in and use them to keep you still while trackstanding while not using brakes. It all makes a huge difference and makes you a smoother better to watch rider. If you really want to stick with a rear maggie, then a water bleed is the first port of call, that makes a massive difference, I can't ride a oil bled brake without getting arm pump within mins. A longer blade will help too. Another thing I found helped was to wrap an elastic band around the lever blade and handlebar, this counteracted the strong return spring in the body and made the brake easier to pull....try it, it really works! As has been said again, have your levers so they pull closer to the bar Try different thickness grips too. Oh, and GRIND THAT RIM! As for your front brake, all I can suggest is a larger rotor so you don't have to pull it so hard, maybe the elastic band trick and as I said, lay off the brakes where possible.

ok, my thoughts are.... Avid Ultimates, well, yes they are nice, I like the way they have no wobble, it makes the brake nice and quiet but I found they slightly reduced the bite. There is a big but though, the bearings are fine for handling loads the way they were designed, but not so great once you start to put fore/aft loads, the bearings get damaged and go notchy. this happened to every pair of my Ultimates within weeks. This meant I couldn't get the pads to hit at the same time and made the feel of the brake not as good. they are also quite fat which makes setting up the brake trickier. Shimano XTRs just get so wobbly you may as well have a Magura. Avid SD7s are pretty cool, but as you say you have had problems you may not want to use them again, also like the Ulitmates they are quite fat too. My fave arms were Shimano LX (non linkage). They are dead simple, have steel hardwear and are very slim which gives more room for the pads. I can't fault them.

what pads have you got? some decent pads, cable and booster (maybe lever too) and a grind would work as well as a Magura and be cheaper.

you know Try-all and trialtech rims are pretty much the same? at least the older double wall versions anyway.

will there be an Iphone App so we can keep track of the news just like X Factor?

what was the topic again? Something about people age? Edit, or was it about Lobsterdogs?

I believe it is the manner of making trials riding look really gay?

They will be in in due course.

yeah, not much choice of 30mm bb frames out, the perfect bb height for trials bikes!

you're welcome

get them to give it a tiger paint job!!!

I don't mind him doing bmx moves, I love bmx and trials so a combination of the two is great, but he only ever does the same stuff about 1ft off the floor that relies on an easy gear to jump into them rather than bunnyhopping.

nice Slate II narr, it looks pretty cool if a little samey. I do like simple frames with straight tubes to that ticks my boxes, not a huge fan of the cnc area by the bb, it makes it look a little messy. I presume it differs from the Slate in the geo and tube profiles?

I agree teasers have their place, but they are used farr too much. anyway, this vid looks pretty rad, the main thing that is standing out to me is a tailwhip on a barge like that, impressive. I agree teasers have their place, but they are used farr too much. anyway, this vid looks pretty rad, the main thing that is standing out to me is a tailwhip on a barge like that, impressive.

13, will be my 14th year riding trials this winter, it amuses me that I have been riding longer than some new riders (Kieran?) have been alive!

without sounding rude, how long have you been riding?

I must admit, I have never used Heatsink Yellow pads, they do sound good (despite most people who swear by them being relatively new riders )