Rich Pearson

Literally half way out the door now. See y'all there. Rich

Fancy bringing along that 16t cog and bash for the old swappage? Oh, and a slightly more accuate forcast: Cloudy, possibly rain......... Rich

Well I've gone and changed it now so sod it, when things start going wildly wrong I'll know who to blame. Rich

Anyone know the song from NewYearAreaRides2? Its the one with Janson, Backgren, Brundin and Levin riding area 51. something to do with the next century.... Cheers Rich

Double discs don't make me any less of a pussy when it comes to cold and wet! Yeah sod it, me and Alex are there. Will talk to Whiteass as well....... BBC Weather Report: Bristol Rich

I thought something wasn't right. Rich

We had some problems with the last frame getting the wheel in and out because the rotor was so flush with the caliper, so Clive got Hope to take a 185mm C2 rotor and machine it down to 180mm, which Clive then sawtoothed, so the wheel can be much more easily removed. Erm....... Shimano 105 7sp HG70 (11-19) I think its that one......... Awesome cassette whatever it is, as unlike most other cassettes which are pinned together and can only be taken apart with a hacksaw and a file, this one is held together with three tiny hexagonal bolts which can be loosened and then removed with something like a 2mm socket head. Makes getting the ratios in the right order soooooooo much easier. Plus it looks the shit..... Right, the hub. Got it this morning (**notices its now saturday** friday morning) and spent most of the day pissing around putting the whole bike together as I've had new rims, had to sort out gears, new Avid caliper for the rear, and loads of other stuff to put together. I also sprayed the sidewalls of the Ronnie and Reggie black as they just looked nasty against the rest of the bike, BUT ANYWAY, the point is I didn't actually get out until well past 8 in the evening, so don't expect the best review ever. I tried to have a go at everything tonight (last night, whatever....) : taps, gaps, sidehops, static stuff, rolling stuff, and I just couldn't make the damn thing skip. Every other hub I've had, including a Chris King, has a had a bedding in period on the first few rides where its just skipped and skipped until everythings settled down. The Pro 2 just did not skip. The hub runs on four sets of pawls which is devided into two pairs. Whilst one pair is engaging, the other pair is effectively resting, and then takes up the slack as the other pair disengages. This is how the 24 pawl design (bigger pawls make for stronger hubs, but not as many can be fitted in so this usually means less engagements) is multiplied into 48 (hence the name: Pro 2; twice the engagements). It took me a while to figure out how the two pairs managed to engage at different times until I put the hub to my ear and span it very slowly. Any one who has a Pro 2 and has not noticed this, try it now. You get one loud click - thats effectively the master pawls engaging - and the next is slightly quieter, which is the small pair engaging. So when you spin it instead of just going click click click click click click click click , the Pro 2 goes click CLICK click CLICK click CLICK click CLICK. Havn't taken it apart yet to see it all working but from how Clive (Leeson) explained it thats how it works. My Pro 2 (I'm not sure about every other hub) is held in with funbolts from Hope. NOTE: The bolts issued with the current hubs are being replaced with better fitting bolts. From what I understood from Clive, the bolts are slightly smaller than the threads in the hub that the sit into. This isn't a problem as such because the difference in size is negligable and unnoticeable unless you go being really pedantic and go looking for it, but Hope apparantly are still going to send out replacement bolts for all hubs already purchased. APPARANTLY. Don't jump down my throat the second a Hope spokesman contradicts me as its just what I've been told, and the bolts issued on my Pro 2 certainly have the slight size difference. The hub also has one other nice design point, in that it builds into a totally dishless wheel. I've got mine built onto a Ronnie (from Tartybikes, cheers Dave) built up by Clive with DT spokes, and it's wierd, but I can actually feel the difference in how it rolls and feels. All in all, so far the hub is behaving like every other hub apart from the bedding in period thing, which is non-existent with the Pro 2. In reality no one is going to have a concise and accurate opinion on the hub for about another 8 months or so when any potential problems will most likely rear their head if there are any. I don't believe the Pro 2 is indistructable but I certainly think its something very special, but time will only tell how right or wrong I am. FINAL VERDICT: If you've bought one, good choice. If you havn't, what the hells wrong with you, go buy one. Essay over, sleep now. Rich

Clive does have a patent on the design of the 360 dropout, but as far as I understand legal action can only be brought if Todge sells the frame to anyone. It would basically be making a profit off Clive and Kris's work designing and testing the 360 dropout. Might be an idea to give Clive buzz just to be sure on that one as I'm really not too sure. Frame looks the nuts man, reminds me of John (S's) original 24" with the choco brown colout scheme. Any custom stickers planned? Nice one. Rich

I think they mean the ones at the end of the trialsmedia website opening video. Where porter tried to bunnyhop the electricity box and every traffic light on the massive roundabout next to it went out...... Might be there, will check weather and ask around the other Taunton lads. Rich

Will report later........ Rich

Would love to be able to make it Rob, however like everyone else my half term finishes monday 20th. Which means that Jack and Alex who both go to the same college as me will also be back in school and Whiteboy'll be at work. Barnstaple, always gotta be different...... Rich

Mine should (fingers crossed) be here tomorrow from Leeson. Will let people know how its going. Rich

Downloading now, looking forward to it. Pink helmet? Rich EDIT: Awesome vid mate. How does the CockStealer ride in comparison to the Vinco? (apologies for demeaning nickname, someone said it the other day and it got stuck in my head.....)

Legend......

02380643503....... Should be Terrys. Or at least its the number on the entry form I'm just filling out..... See y'all there. Oh yeah, wheres the best place to park and how much is it? Rich

There is a difference between you not liking it and it not being good. Glasseye GET3, easily Rowly's best. Rich

If I feel like riding I'll go ride, generally regardless of the weather. If you've ever done a hampshire comp in the rain you'll appreciate lots of wet weather practice.... Rich

Theres cool. Then theres Steve McQueen. Then theres that crash. Rich

Awesome pics mate, we'll have to get together next time were all down in Plymouth. Rich

I know that this isn't what you really want to hear seeing as you're going tomorrow, but a bunch of us should be heading over there sometime later in the week, like thursday or friday. Rich

Valentines is coming up? I thought it wasn't until August or something. Rich

Just to satisfy my personal sense of irony, lets have a vote: Post YES if a ) you think Tony Blairs doing a good job and would honestly vote for him next time round and b ) if you can name all 39 English counties without looking them up (I think its 39 but may be wrong on that point.) How different do you really think we are from Americans? If we're so much better and intelligent that them, how come their government effectively has had our Parliament in the palm of their hand for the last 3 years? Would you rather have Tony Blair or George Bush? I'm genuinely interested in peoples responses to these questions as there is no sarcasm intended at all. I've been to the U.S before and a lot of them may be fat, a lot of them may have not given a damn about the atmosphere or the sea level, but I'll tell you, they were a f**ksight more sociable then 90% of British people I've met. Until about a year ago I didn't know the difference between the U.S.A, America, and North America. Just to clarify as most people seem to have taken several comments in this thread the wrong way, but not one of the questions I've just asked or comments I've made is sarcastic in any way. Rich

I've got some quite wierd ones Rob P and Whiteboy have taken of me recently, I'll add you to MSN and send 'em over if you like. Rich