Ali C

it's a little bit lighter than my Hex but not much but like Mark mentions the forks are scary light, around 400g I think they said!

It’s totally fine, I’ve used it plenty of times

I'd definitely advise getting a bike that's closer to the type of bike you're used to! That means avoid getting a 20", reasons being: A 20" wheeled bike will feel WEIRD! It'll not feel like anything you've ridden before and will ONLY be good for trials, nothing else! This means it'll be harder to transfer the skills from bike to bike. I'd recommend picking up a 24 or 26" bike, it'll feel much more like an actual bike, you'll adapt to it quicker and the skills are easier to transfer over to the MTB, it'll also be usable in more situations like pump tracks, skateparks and general transportation. They are slightly more expensive than a 20" but check on ebay and you'll find something pop up sooner or later, although if you have the money then Tartybikes have a decent range of bikes too.

I should probably point out I was mostly replying to the comments rather than directly at this video (that first 180 though...). Gotta agree with Ben that those up to fronts are pretty slick, especially considering it's an overhanging table rather than a solid wall, scary stuff!

Let's put it this way, I don't ever want to watch a street trials video and say "that's a shame". Unfortunately it happens a lot, I don't think that because I want people to fail or anything, I only think that because I don't see the riders I'm watching using their full potential. I'm glad bitch cranks are starting to get a bad rep, the're a get-out clause for not putting int the time for doing a line without them. I've seen a few comments mentioning gaps and drop gaps needing a big crank to execute them and asking if they count as bitch cranks...No, they're not the same. If a technique REQUIRES a pedal stroke then that's completely different than putting a pedal stroke in to make up for lack of timing/body position/balance that otherwise can be done without a great big bitch crank. I understand that you can still gap without a pedal stroke but I really hope I don't have to explain why one looks better than the other. Having said all that, if you're putting out Insta clips and don't have the time to get rid of bitch cranks I won't blame you for uploading it anyway BUT perhaps waiting a little longer could be better. Braking in manuals sucks, I hardly do any manual lines where I have to brake and if/when I do, I die a little inside (especially if you can hear it!). I agree with Luke that jerky manuals have no place on film. Excess hops are almost in the same league. When I've filmed with Mark, I've usually give myself a hop limit for each line, if I go over that limit I have to restart the line again. Tedious but I think if you want your riding to look good you have to be strict at times. (vlogs are different, call me a hypocrite but try making a video every week with super strict rules and see how that works out). Can't deny these guys have skills though, if they polished up some of these points highlighted they'd be insane!

flippin gud!!

I'm amazed no one's experimented with bike geometry more...if you need a 2ft stem why not make the frame reach longer and with a steeper head angle to allow a shorter stem? It's not like comp riders ride much variation so even an 80 degree (or more) head angle wouldn't be a hindrance. It might ride like shit but until someone tries it who knows? I know longer stems are good to get the bars higher but that can be fixed with a taller headtube. It'd look odd as hell but might ride amazingly well for comps.

dentists are the worst...unless you get a a good one. I must admit I have real anxiety about my teeth and dentists, when I was younger I was super stubborn and short sighted and didn't brush them all that often, combined with plenty of honey (my dad kept bees) and lots of sweet fruits meant that my teeth have always been a bit shit. I always found dentists to be painful so I put off going for a few years. I eventually got a new nhs dentist and he was considerably better than any I had seen before...I never felt judged, he explained everything and it was (mostly) pain free, even with injections and a couple of tooth removals. Unfortunately he left and I've had two replacement dentists since and they've both been worse than the last...I'm now considering swapping dentists. Now I'm vlogging I'm really anxious about the colour of my teeth, I brush regularly but due to fillings, a fake tooth and general history they won't brighten without major work. I've deleted clips because I just hated how my teeth look. I went to visit a private dentist to get a quote to totally fix my teeth and make them white again, it's totally amazing the technology available that the NHS can't afford to use...from digital anaesthetic to superior fillings and crowns...each person in this place I went to specialises in just one thing rather than being a jack of all trades. Unfortunately it IS expensive, to completely fix my teeth would include a couple of crowns, an implant, two root canals (repairing old ones), gum re-sculpturing, a couple of fillings and a whitening programme...it would come to £8000 My anxiety is so much that I'm tempted to get on a payment plan and just have it done, at least I know my teeth are the best they can be going into the future.

such a smooth rider! Good to see TGS alive and kicking and not "shouty" just chilled, smooth and massive! Only criticism I have is I'd love to see more of a range of moves (there were no hooks or pedal gaps etc) but I'll take whatever I can get

Got a new accountant last year, expensive at £60 per month but he's already got me over £1000 off this years tax bill and I'm now owed a rebate from HMRC, that was with only half a years receipts too!

it only lasted a day though

tempted!

bear in mind that just because a rim says it's disc only doesn't mean that rim brakes won't fit. I used to happily run older Spank Spike rims with curved sidewalls with a rim brake, just takes one ride for the pads to wear to the shape of the rim and then you're all good

Cut it on my brake lever whilst doing the last line

smooth as silk, hardly any correction hops...a breath of fresh air with every other rider seemingly trying to cram as many tricks into a line as possible recently

Upside down tripod

cheeky!

Duncan was so good they used him twice in the thumbnail

from my experience, it's a lot harder to unlearn bad habits than to try to avoid them in the first place, like learning to manual 180 with a bitch crank...the technique and body position are so different that learning it with a bitch crank would make it very hard to then take it away and just hop it rather than just trying to hop it in the first place.

The crashes are more a general observation rather than something specific to this video. Not a big deal at all, it's just I've noticed on some moves you've definitely gone past the point of no return which a dab or bail would have resulted in not lying down The oppo stuff and bitch cranks I think was drilled into me from watching BMX (and having Mark breath down my neck haha) and now It's both a blessing and a curse! There's loads of lines that a bitch crank would make easier but I see it like body building, some people are adamant that it should be all natural even if it takes longer and the results might be smaller but some people are happy to take steroids if it means they get the desired results. To me how something is done is just as important as the final result. I think that point can be lost on a lot of riders (especially a lot of the 24" crowd) and the number of riders I see do oppo 360 bitch crank hops makes me cringe a little, I imagine they just see the end result being a 360 without too much care as to how it was done. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's a right and a wrong, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it! Your riding is incredible and I totally agree that sometimes a bitch is unavoidable so don't think I'm hating on you

I agree, the imagination for lines is incredible not to mention the control needed to pull them off! I will say that I find the holding on till the last moment thing seems quite odd, it's like you realise it's going wrong and instead of getting off the bike and walking away you just go down with the ship or purposefully make landings harsher...is that on purpose? Also like a broken record, opposite spinning with bitch cranks! Arrrgh!

to give another opinion, I've definitely bent pedal axles (sometimes you only notice when you go on a friends bike and it feels similar to bent cranks) but I've never snapped them.

more tyre choices then haha

Thanks guys, I've missed wagon wheels!

24” saved trials! They give a far easier route into the sport rather than slapping out all the cash for a funny looking bike that can’t be ridden anywhere. I’ve seen a big surge of new riders in the last few years and most of them get a streety style bike to try the sport out, comps have died down but I’d say that was due to the nature of social media making street riding in a city look more appealing than driving for hours to pay to ride on a hillside. Not to diss comps as they’re a great way to get a lot of skills that’ll help every rider but you’ve got to admit that to the masses they’re more confusing and time consuming than just messaging your mates on fb and riding your local town. I don’t think anything’s killed trials, it’s just evolved with the times. If you want to do comps they’re still around, want some in your area? Put the work in and organise them. Forums are getting dated these days too, I don’t use any forum other than here and mostly talk to/organise things with social media. The lack of posts here don’t represent the strength of trials as a sport.