guineasmithpig

to be honest, i'd rather just bounce back up and try it agen!! anyways, can't imagine life without mobility, or even just ability! can't really answer this question, as i don't know if i could cope with whatever situation were given to me. not even gonna try writing anymore, too much for ma little brain to think about :) anyways, ride safe smithy

them shorts r flamin ace!!! neways, 0.5psi all the way!!! tunni style!!! nah, i run bout 25psi in the rear, dunno whats in the front, but tis quite squidgy. but grips awesome!!! smithy

inserting a helicoil will be a billion (approx) times stronger than normal M5 threads in aluminium frames. they are made of steel (stainless?) and have a very sharp and deep outside thread to anchor them into the material, and are far harder than alloys used in (the majority of) bike frames. can't really see anyway u could kill the threads ever agen? also, after doin this, try gettin hold of some stainless steel bolts if u ain't got em all ready. u'll b able to hang off the allen key n get em PROPER tight :D smithy

have used the search n found a v short topic on e&l insurance. £114 is cheaper than endsleigh (£195 for upto £1500 value, requiring approved locks (£80+) and datatagging (£50)) is this best offer anyone can get? tis a lot. also, anyone utilised the fact that (realisticly) your bike should be cover by home contents, even if ur away from home riding it? my m8s insurance company sed they don't expect bikes to be at home all the time, so, as long as it weren't nicked because he left it outside unlocked or somthin daft, it'd still be covered. only benefit of seperate insurance, is u can get 'accidental' damage cover. might come in handy. but does it bump up ur premium if u make a claim? smithy

saw MBR in the paper shop before goin on my rounds (aged 13). cyclin 'properly' looked like fun, so saved up for a 'proper' mountain bike. almost bought an apollo for bout £150 :) , but ended savin up a bit more n gettin a gary fisher wahoo (Y) . that went on for bout 18months, gradually gettin into dirt jumpin, whilst savin for another bike. and so it came, my custom build; easton elite frame, Z2 atoms, esp carbon fibre gears, magura hs33s, 521cds, the works. worth bout £1600, took me over a year of paper rounds to build. stuffed it off a drop in 6 weeks later and bent the frame and forks (Y) insurance paid up, got a cr stinger with z1s, ripped up the trails for a bit. got into street. broke the stinger, broke the replacement stinger evo. got a dmr sidekick on warranty (after some hassle. somthin about 'abusin bikes' :D" ?) and that were my first trials bike, a good 2.5years ago. worst decision o my life, takin up trials :P wish i'd done somthin cheaper, n less painful. like crashin bmw's into lamposts at very high speeds. yeah, that'd do it..... auto trader, here i come! smithy

oopsy! 30th of jan (Y) gud call sir!!

hi guys was a cool ride!! was just wonderin if anyone had got any pics of me (smithy, pink koxx)? if so, cud they be sent via msn or obtained in otherways? tryin to build up a bit of a collection. think there's possibly a fair few from the ride of other people that would be good enough to share with world!! john shrewsbury and sam wheeler, amongst many, were givin it some. and johnny, u got plans for all the footage? if so, what? smithy

being shit havin a pink bike (thats a lie) only usin the middle tread on ur tyres that cost £20-30 never ever ever ever havin a good back brake (which i usually blame for my first point :D ) smithy

them new mono trials is nice n powerful. ain't tried ma mates, but front wheel moves looked effortless :) i personally went for the avid though. simply because the performance is flawless, but also, don't have to worry about fluids, bleeding, leaks, etc. ideal for me at uni, because limited to tools, so can maintain ma brake with a 5mm allen key and a pair o sidecutters :P try to have a ride on a couple of each, see what u think. hydraulics do feel different. ma m8 thinks my avid is mushy, but i don't notice it because once ur used to the brake u don't even pull the lever hard, because u don't need to. he has a mono m4, which is totally on/off, but i think it feels kinda wooden. anyways, my vote goes to avids for more than just performance reasons. but try a few before shellin out the cash. smithy

i were gonna say pace carbon fibre hubs:p. u can probs get carbon fibre bmx rear hubs somewhere. be the racing ones, but nothin a custom axle wudn't cure (if it needed one:p) i'll be gettin ma old ESP 9.0SL carbon fibre shifter and mech on in a couple o weeks. ain't bin used for a good 2 years, n needs some work. but will post when done :P again, bars, top cap, forks, hubs, those hayes discs is sposed to be pretty good. do they do em to fit the 9inch DH rotors? that would be bitchin!!! then u got ur frame protectors too. smithy

might fancy it dudes. will u be hittin some different spots? the last ones were cool but got a bit borin after stayin there for 3 hours at a time :turned: will keep an eye on the thread and see how it goes smithy

i do apologise. never really read chit chat to be honest. post away people, but don't take the issue further :S smithy

cool article. another example is people i've ridden with for over 2 years back home (before comin to uni) who don't even know my first name!! haha. suprised me! they only know me as smithy :S tis good how u can just go up to someone on a trials bike and start chattin. if u did that to some randomer in the street, they'd think u were mad!!! anyways, only point i don't agree with is about giving chavs the time of day. maybe its personal experience, but they always just want to appear to be one up on u, even though they never seem to have anything useful to do. we see them roaming the streets all night, then they wander over and say the usual 'why ain't u got no seat' or 'why've u got a pink bike'. but never give u any respectful comments. i've had a lot say things like 'you wanna be out gettin pissed, not messin about on bikes'. (try doin both, tis f*ckin messy :)) leading me on to another point. why do we get pulled for 'criminal damage' and 'endangering the public' amongst other things, when the streets are full of smashed up phone boxes and bus stations, broken bottles and needles? the only explanation i can think of is that the police and local council think that we are the ones causing the major damage, not just a couple o pedal scrapes on a wall. ah well, i still think that if trials got too big and commercialised, it wouldn't be as fun. we tried campaigning for a trials park. but just think, unless it was an immensely awesome trials park, with infinite lines, how long would it take u to make every possible line and combination of moves? and then u'd be back on the streets riding benches and walls again. see what i mean? if it were more 'formal' it wouldn't be as much of a laugh, nor a challenge (riding stuff that ain't meant for riding on). ah well, i'm enjoying it as it is. even if my bike ain't workin spot on, even if people think pink bikes are gay, even if i'm ridin like ma nan, i can't imagin life without trials. i tried explainin to ma flat mates mum what trials was, and she just didn't get it. can u get anymore individual? is there anything as special? and thats where i think the special 'bond' between trials riders eminates from. we are the only ones who TRULY understand it. and even we can't quite put our finger on it :) minter smithy

says u with the big alien head :ermm: anyway, don't care bout chavs. and ain't u heard? ladies love big beefy pink koxx :mellow: smittens

nice one sameer!! was suprised how quick the vid appeared:p any chance u cud bundle up any clips of me, zip em up n send to me? my msn addy is in ma profile. tryin to get some decent clips together. tryin to knock a little viddy up yeah, some dude asked me if i'd bought a 'girls trials bike'. told him i stole it off ma sister. knob ed smithy

might be. never knew they were side specific? ah well:p thanx for the comments. nice that some individuality is appreciated :mellow: smithy

now, i know i've got a pink bike, but... if it were me, i'd paint the whole frame a nice glossy, bright yellow. mask off the area where the downtube sticker will be, and leave the ZOO! logo background clear, so it has a polished alu background? personally, i think if u wanna make ur bike different, do somthing DIFFERENT. changin the colour o the stickers is about as good as changin ur pedals, and gettin different colour ones. i'm thinkin o mint green, or the old BMW M3 mellow yellow for summer time. or maybe just pink agen..... >_< smithy

Spec: Frame: Mk1 Levelboss 1065 (painted pink >_<) Fork: Fatty R Bar n Stem: Azonic SW w/ Club Roost I-Beam 105mm x 10deg (old skool!!) + Pig headset Front brake: Avid mechanical disc (203mm rotor) with SD7 lever Rear brake: Magura hs33, koxx bloxx, custom monster booster (Y) Rear wheel: Ronnie on Hope XC (with handmade solid steel axle(148grams!!!)) Front wheel: old koxx rear rim (40mm?) on Hope XC Tyres: Maxxis Minion 2.5 rear, hutchinson octopus 2.35 front (boggo halfords tubes) Drivetrain: 'burns with 20t (titanium nitrodised B)) chainring, locked out tiagra mech, kool chain, goldtec s/s kit with 18t ti sprocket, V8 pedals the animal itself (sneakily stashed in ma student flat, against all regulations and contracts signed! WAHEY!!!) sans pedals my custom craft work pink n sparkly holes in rims. don't ask y, its just because... and finally, best way to achieve crazy-ass chain tension!! hopefully to be added in near future is repaired ESP 9.0SL shifter and rear mech (with frankenstien short cage!) and new rear brake pads (please tarty, i'm really gonna hurt maself soon!!!) have a good giggle at my gay bike, and sorry bout quality, just an ikkle web cam job. just wanted to share the pinkness!!! smithy

was just about to tell everyone about u hazzy!!! poor dude. twas only a few days after seein me fall bout 6ft straight onto my arm, and escaping with a little graze (video to come) and then steps off his bike, trips over, and bashes his elbow!! fractured in 2 places. as for me, broke 2 of ma toes, but they take days to mend, so not too bad. dislocated ma thumb in september, nad thats still givin me jip every now and then. and twisted ma ankle pretty good. hurt more because its the same one that i tore all the ligaments in bout 18months ago. knocked out twice, concoussed (sp?) once (wearing a helmet definetly saved my life) anyone find themselves worrying that one day, and injury could be a REALLY serious one? and yet it doesn't stop us from riding? after falling off the roof t'other day n landin on a wall, and escaping with just a bashed arm, i wonder what would have happened if i'd landed on ma back or somthin? ride safely guys smithy

errrr..... yeah. and? whilst we're on hope hubs... at the moment, i can hear each individual pawl engagin at different times in my xc, so have triple the engagement (requires new pawls and springs, but i can't afford at the moment (Y)). despite this, it has not slipped ONCE!! i know plenty of people who despise xc/mono's because they broke in a matter of months, however, mines lasted ages, and i have no intention of changin just yet. suggested the xc/mono ratchet as the larger teeth are (in theory) less prone to breaking, especially in the 'stamp stamp' world of trials smithy

yup, and an XC/mono ratchet (Y) (bigger teeth, won't smash as easily)