F-Stop Junkie

Oldest members? You've got a way to go before you become an elderly member and get access to the pipe & slippers forum with me, Steve Heatsink and Peacock Senior. Again, it's comments like that which cause topics like this to be discussed...

Back to the Future set Original Superman boxset (Virgin for £20 I think) Dr Strangelove Some Like It Hot Return of the Pink Pather (Peter Sellers version!) Team America South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut Duck Soup An Evening with Kevin Smith (A must see if you like the other Kevin Smith films, in which case...) Clerks X Mallrats Chasing Amy Dogma Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back Life of Brian Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail Pi Lost in Translation 40 Year Old Virgin Anchorman

Radical Highs

HipHop/Trials has always been a double page spread.

I agree, but you need people writing reports, taking photos and you need space to print it. All three things are at a premium. Given the limitless size of the Internet, how come people don't post reports on here along with the results?

Get over it...

I'm putting my print prices up!

What do you reckon to the Hone cranks compared to your Middleburns?

Ash, a number of people I've shown trials videos to, or shown them riding in person, would never dream of taking up trials because it looks too difficult or dangerous. The most likely people to take up trials are people who are already cyclists, and a lot of them buy MBUK - current circulation figures are around 45,000 readers a month IIRC. For them to see trials in MBUK, or Ryan Leech in ROAM, is going to be a likely starting point. Of course we'd like to see more trials in MBUK, in fact, the more trials we can get in the mainstream cycling press the better! If you look at the motorcycle world, trials is a part of the sport, with major support, huge world class events, and so on. Biketrials is a much more marginal, insular sport in comparison. Though we have a small number of big shows, like the Cycle Show this weekend, a lot of what we do is hidden away. Trials is struggling compared to a few years ago, but then it got too big, too quickly. In a way, trials is fighting against itself and we're not presenting a united front to the world. A lot of bike shops won't touch trials kit because they're not educated about it. Same with a lot of magazines. They confuse trick or stunt riding with trials. Quoting forum member numbers isn't a true representation of the size of the the trials scene in the UK. Some accounts will be duplicates, some for people who no longer ride, some for people who no longer post or ride, some for people who registered then forgot, etc... To be honest, I get 'stunned' by watching a Jackass clip, or a sword swallower, but I'm not about to go trying it myself! Trials could almost be considered a freakshow, with freaky bikes and riders with freaky abilities, who are about as relevant to cycling as an anvil is to stamp collecting.

TrashZen has hit the nail squarely on the head. Is there enough content? I've had discussions with publishers about a specific trials magazine, and potentially it is feasible, but it depends on rider support to buy the magazine and advertisers to support it. It also relies on good quality content provided by a writer or writers. The simple truth is that some things don't work well on the web. Long articles, especially multi-page ones, and photography loses impact. These are the hooks that would draw people towards a magazine. It doesn't matter if the stories arn't cutting edge latest if you're more thorough and complete than you would be on-line. Also stories are broken in MBUK before they reach TF, and it'd be possible to continue this. Is a dedicated magazine possible? Just about. Is it likely? Sadly not.

If memory serves, the first feature with the Martins in (with the misspelling Martin Ashton) was march 94. I think there were a further 5 or so that year while they picked up differing sponsors - including Megamo during that period? - such as Coors and Magura. It then exploded when Hawziee went with Scott and Martyn got Volvo Cannondale, and other people like Akrigg, Ian Cooper and the Tongue brothers filled the pages of the mag. Prior to that it was Hans Rey doing tricks, or Jez Avery doing another Switzerland Squeaker - or in one feature, doing a one handed wheelie while using his front wheel as a tray with a teapot and cups on it. Funny what the brain remembers.

As some one who used to review products for MBUK way back when, believe me that the reviews are independant and based on the experiences of the reviewer. This is what separates magazines like MBUK from other magazines - mostly based outside the UK - which will only put reviews in for products made by people who advertise. No adverts, no review. Ride is a different kind of magazine. If you like that, then you'll like Modest Bike if you can find it. MBUK has it's style, Ride has theirs. I wouldn't say the quality of the photography was any worse in MBUK, it's just different usage.

I can remember a time before forums and the only trials riders in MBUK were Hans Rey, Jez Avery and Paul Turner. This was a time when watching the bits of trials in Dirt was a revelation! I remember standing by the trials demo area at Bike 96 just amazed that Martyn and Martin could stand on top of a log and know where to place a pallet so they'd land on it, no practising, no adjustments, they just knew. Then trials got big. Really big. People would turn up at events to get rider autographs, comps were massively over subscribed, and trials was about 25% of MBUK's content. People would queue for hours to watch the trials shows at The Bike Show, and then MBUK decided to bring the focus back more onto other styles of riding and look at what's happened. MBUK didn't start covering trials when it got big, Martyn and Martin made trials interesting to the general public, and then MBUK's coverage made it big. A lot is made of 'we don't need forums, we have news before anyone else' but that misses out two important points: 1. TF is made up of 82% speculation and opinion 2. The Internet can not support long articles, especially if there's no money to pay the people who write them. As a result, I believe trials riders are missing out on a lot. Where are the competition reports? Interviews with riders and manufacturers? People like Adam and Dave at Tarty are good at providing info, but it's about the products they supply and have an interest in selling, same with any manufacturer or retailer. Even people posting reviews of kit on TF sometimes have a bias simply because they've paid good money for something and believe it's good without having a lot of experience with other products, or out of excitement of having new bits. MBUK isn't something that should be feared or denigrated, but embraced. We need to portray our sport in the best way possible, and come up with new ideas about how to display it. The past, great trials articles have been things like the Martins riding over Granny Behr's house, MAD riding on Land Rovers at Gaydon (I think) and others like that with capture people's imagination. It's not about a 40" sidehop or 60" tap, but giving trials a use. That's what will help trials grow, and be further accepted into the cycling conciousness further.

No, the body reacts to starchy foods with very strong flavouring or high salt levels. Once it gets a taste, it wants more. It's why plain crisps - with nothing, not even salt on - don't have the same effect as barbeque flavour ones.

Nicked from the Singletrackworld forum

After speaking with Chris Poyser, it seems it's all indoor this year. This still the case Danny?

Euro BBs? As in the BMX term? They're usually pretty easy to fit. The more expensive the frame, usually the better finished they are, so things like BBs go in better. The tip about putting in the non-drive side cup in is good. For any thread though is to put the two items together, then turn the bolt/cup/whatever the wrong way slowly and listen for a 'click'. Once you hear that, you know the threads have meshed and you can start turning it the right way. For BBs, it's not unusual to have a thread or two be a bit tight. What it takes some times is to work the BB in a quarter turn at a time. A quarter turn in, back a quarter, in a half turn, back a quarter, in a half and so on... You have to be certain it's not cross threaded though before you do this! If it locks solid and will not move, then stop! If you think it might be cross-threaded, then best thing is to put the BB in as far as you can without forcring it, then stand back and look along the frame either behind the rear wheel or in front of the front wheel, then above the bike looking down on the BB shell. Where ever you look, the axle should be in the dead centre of the BB shell. If it's not, and it should be pretty obvious if it is, then it's cross threaded.

You could try a torx bit wedged into the rounded bolt... It's a bodge, might work though.

Pete Wright is bloody Yoda! Now it makes sense, he's actually a misunderstood genius! Helium filled these tubes are. Rewelded is my Crescent, etc...

Really? My friends and I have been running SCSI at home for over ten years...

There's a need for some pixels, otherwise digital photography would be quite difficult

Most normal cameras will blow up to billboard size. You have to keep in mind resolution. The eye can't see more than 300dpi, so that's what most photographs are printed at, a monitor is 72dpi, a bill board designed to be viewed from 50ft away may be 20dpi, or 10dpi... Something of this resolution would be able to have a print billboard size that you could easily view from 2ft away... Very limited market...

Who has told someone how much their bike cost, and someone has spouted "You could buy a car for that!"

It's a move away from delicate hard disks for iPods and so on, improve battery life, reduce defective units, etc... Given the current capacities, you'd have to be a speed freak to move away from a magnetic disk for your laptop.

Absolutley right Orgun Donor. 5+1 is extreme paranoia, verging on uselessness. Samsung have announced flash drives, but I doubt very much they'd develop SCSI versions, as they're intended for the notebook/portable market. Details here