shovel

haha i've still got number 32 frame sitting in my shed

i'm sure Ben mentioned that Danny Mckaskill ripped them off

after finally getting to ride this lots in the last week i can say that it really is a great frame, woop!

so loaded that i couldn't afford a new one and had to buy your cast off? eh think not! haha, staff discount got majorly abused for most of the bits

yes, i am a tart

not really, i prefer having slightly lighter gearing, get more of a "kick" from it. still good for hooge gaps etc

recently cracked my Toxisn 1 frame at the bottom of the downtube where it joins the BB, it lasted me well and was a beast of a bike! Mr Travis kindly gave me an awesome deal on his old Czar frame though to get me going again and i've got to say it's a beast to ride, running the front end super low but it feels awesome, bigger gaps/sidehops and taps are getting there too and only rode it a week! only change from old bike is the lower front end/single speed instead of gears. i work at a bike shop part time so weighed it with our scales and comes in at 24.4 pounds, nice and light quick spec czar long frame echo urbans (magura mounts cut off) chris king headset chris king hubs chris king 19T alu singlespeed sprocket chris king alu cassette lockring rear magura with coust pads front 180mm mono trials echo 07' rims middleburns with 22t hardcote ring sram chain bonty race lite stem 100x7deg zoo bars limited out 105 mech with b tension spring removed high roller/cinder tyres and pics!

oh my god oh my god oh my god awesome stuff Samuel

i run snowy pads on a ground rim on the back, i find that after riding in the rain then the next time i ride my brake is savage! seems like the constant dragging in the wet cleans it all up

new headset...... the madison m:part ones are a bit basic, something like a fsa xl2 is a good entry level cartridge one and will be way smoother. although if you're feeling flush then you could always opt for a king maybe a lighter front tyre too, i changed a while back from a 2.25 to a 2.1 kevlar bead xc tyre and feels much better, lot less tyre squirm and a bit lighter too!

have a look in the yellow pages for a bearing distributor local to you, should be able to find one, you can generally pick up bearings for alot cheaper than bike shops/online retailers

if you get a star-nut installed by your local bike shop witht he correct tool so it is straight and at the correct depth they are incredibly reliable, MUCH better than the hope head doctors, head doctors seem to be very awkwark to install, fitted a few to customers bikes and it is near on impossible to install without snagging the rubber o-ring that holds the parts together..... if you think about it, FSA used to make the "conix" but now ALL their headsets are supplied with star-nuts! really can't see how you can break a star-nut, unless it has been installed wrong or you overtighten the preload on your headset really badly!

pump up your tyres a bit more, usually helps with me

my friend runs Tune hubs front and rear on his xc bike, just sent the rear wheel back as the freehub body has cracked in about 5 different places, second time it has done this they also use funky bearings on the rear hub which are specific to tune and cost a fair chunk to replace

cinder > all on the front exams all done now Ben so shall b up for riding loads now! that is once monsoon season passes

cinder seems very good so far, way better than the fire xc i had on before that's for sure!!!

no chance!! just a standard alloy king headset. the ti ones are about twice the price AND heavier than the alloy ones cheers! but i think the raw finish throws you off a bit, downtube has a couple of dents nd plenty of scratches, also the non drive side of the frame is fairly scratched up now from sidehops

Ben as long as you don't have the workshop drill in your hand, you won't beat me

bontrager race lite, weighs bugger all. 100mm 7deg rise

yea i shld be out a bit more soon, exams finish in a week and a half

weel i work as a bike mechanic part time so if i do break anything in the gears i can relace them on the cheap. also i have run gears for the last 6 years on my trials bikes with minimal fuss i do like the idea of singlespeed for lightness etc but i cycle quite far to ride places so gears are nice for that cheers for the comments though, glad you guys like it, i certainly do!

funny you should say that but all of the people i ride with run SS and most of them have constant problems

well a little update on my bike, replaced my leaky old Magura a little while ago for a fresh 07' one and put some new heatsink snowy's on at the same time. feels soo much newer and better than my old one also i was running my bike on semi slicks for too long as i had been putting off buying new tyres, so bought some new ones yesterday! here's the pics then got a bit carried away nothing else really i can buy for my bike, just need to wait for something else to break **touches wood** new brake new shoes

guns oot ! good vid towler, some big moves too. ooo very nice

it's a try all rim so has no eyelets BUT, if you are meaning the large weight saving holes in the rim? then no they felt smooth enough when i built the wheel for him. seriously though darren, i would blame it on the tyre. single ply Maxxis tyres aren't very good for puncture protection really, the double ply 2.5 tyres are alot better also get yourself a proper plastic tyre lever, using a screwdriver? silly boy, that can't help much