Ali C

anyone got Hibernation?

I think the 101 model would probably be of more interest to us, fewer engagement points but should be pretty reliable if the Torch is anything to go by and it has the bonus of being cheaper too! They don't show it as a single speed option but I'd like to think the cassette body would swap over or they'd at least be able to put something together if asked as they're still a small company.

it's more how muddy it looks that puts me off

I do need to go ride there sometime but I must admit I've not really seen anything there that gets my juices flowing...I'm sure it's better in person though.

If they could make a permanent trials zone at Cathkin that'd be smashing thanks (I highly doubt they will)

I've found my Torch hubs to be perfect! Probably on par reliability wise as my Hopes and a good chunk lighter! I did send I9 a proposal to ride their hubs, I would rather they kept the current engagement as an option but if these hubs prove to be anywhere near as reliable as my current ones then I'm ok with it...IF!

The things I'd do for a warehouse like that!

because I just chose a random name years ago with no intention of it being used (Butterboo was one of my cats), I have changed my channel name to AliClarkson but for some reason it still shows as the old name which is REALLY frustrating

noted!

ha! Video should be up tomorrow (with more details on my Patreon channel), it's been a lot harder to explain backhops than any other moves I've filed so far haha...I'm dreading having to explain trackstands in a future tutorial

FYI I just filmed a tutorial on backhops which will be on my youtube channel when it's edited (maybe next week)

it's been a while since I set up my insta account, I don't class myself as an athlete but I think the options are limited when choosing.

I use Facebook for my athlete page and that's it. I posted once on my personal page last year. Just yesterday I trimmed down my friend list on my personal page from 800 to around 150 (need to go and trim some more as I was on my phone and it didn't show them all) so that when I browse (which I still do) I'm not seeing a load of crap I'm not interested in...it's so much better!

I do wonder if in the future we'll look back at using athletes to promote sugary drinks in the same way we look back on celebrities endorsing cigarettes. It's a very tricky one...I think Redbull are good at putting their profits back into cool events that might inspire more young (or old) people to take up a healthy hobby, does it justify the risks of a high caffeine drink addiction? I'm not sure. I'm less impressed with other energy drink brands who seem to put less back, but they're also on the back foot and won't have as many people drinking their drinks...again a tricky one and I'm not sure how I feel about it, it can't be easy to turn down a sponsor like that if it came along! I also suspect sugar has cause a substantial more hospital cases than the lack of helmets being worn in sports!

Commencal Meta AM, gorgeous! The Radon Swoop bikes get a lot of praise too...check out the Dirt 100 for a few other options.

the only thing I can think of that makes the newer hex better for street and worse for comps is the slightly shorter wheelbase, but that's only because the chainstays got made shorter which means it's now way better on the rear wheel than the previous one! I will admit that comp guys might prefer the rim brakes on the older one but I definitely think the newer geo is much better for natural riding (one reason why I asked for it).

that's pretty normal, I think most people go though that stage, just carry on and you'll naturally find that you'll start to use the same foot for most moves, sounds like it'll end up being your left foot.

One built up with soft compound tyres and a slightly longer stem would be ideal I think

you just described an Inspired Hex

I've grown up and left any beef I had with Mike behind, now I have a respect for him trying and experimenting with things, even if the bars aren't my cup of tea I think more people should think outside the box when designing bike parts. Good luck with it all Mike

I think the pain could be from just the body not being used to the strain and being shocked by it...trials needs a lot of upper body strength and you sometimes don't notice how hard you work your arms as you're usually pretty distracted by the riding. It'd be like being a marathon runner and then going to the gym and strapping on a weight belt and doing pull-ups with 10kgs...your body will hate it. Best bet is to take things slowly and build up, let your body get used to the new stresses...unfortunately as we get older the more our bodies need gradual introductions to new stresses, when we're younger our bodies can cope quicker. Also take a look at your bike setup, it could be that your body doesn't like your bar position/angles...have a play with the tilt and even look at getting some flatter raked bars if need be.

anyone seen the proposed EU ruled article 13? Seems the EU are wanting to crack down with copyright laws on social media, making anything non original content harder to repost (including memes!). I doubt it'll come to anything but could be a spanner in the works for repost sites like Viral bike page and ridelife tv I have looked at Mikes Instagram and it's quite something! The stories are like I've never seen before....I'm a firm believer in you reap what you sow, my advice to Mike would be to not to rush the process of gaining followers, fewer followers but with a higher quality (more likely to invest in you) are better than loads of followers but are mostly bots or people who won't get invested. Tagging everybody is a good way to get noticed...but noticed in a bad way (tagging every redbull page or other big brands will probably put them off rather than get them interested). I suggest you listen to this Mike

I'd agree with the above with the added notes that sometimes in competitions you're forced to swap feet if a section is taped the "wrong" way...as a result I can do a few things either foot forwards which isn't that important when riding street but I will mention that it does help as a "get out of jail card" if you end up on a line wrong foot forwards or generally end up in a sketchy situation and being able to kick with your bad foot might rescue it. It's not something I'd concentrate a lot of time on, maybe just the occasional challenge to see how many pedal kicks you can do etc, although being able to trackstand either foot forwards is very handy!

3 cross has better rotational strength but radial is stronger side-to-side. Radial is also more stress on hubs as it's pulling against a smaller area, generally it's strong enough for trials stuff. Good luck

what pattern are you trying to build? If it's radial (no spoke crossings) then you can just have them all with the shoulders on the outside if they fit better that way. If you need to have a crossed spoke pattern you can give the spoke heads a tap with a mallet to try and seat them. If that doesn't work you can always just bend the spokes once they're fitted to get a straighter line from the hub to the wheel and build as normal...once you stress the wheel it should dent the alloy enough to then allow the spoke to penetrate more and have the head sit flush. Don't worry about damaging the hub too much, you'll be surprised how much they dent from the contact of the spokes anyway once bully tensioned. Also, the heat won't have any effect otherwise wheels would be going out of tru every time the weather changes