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Jez

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    316
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About Jez

  • Birthday 10/06/1982

Contact Methods

  • MSN
    axeslash AT hotmail.com
  • Website URL
    http://endlesstorment.tk

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Trials (hah, really?), 'Eavy Metal, Guitar, Sound Engineering, Reading.
  • Location
    Birmingham

Previous Fields

  • Real Name
    Jez Clark
  • Bike Ridden
    Multiple
  • Quick Spec
    Saracen 2.Zero but with Avid SD7s + heatsink reds Base TA26 with Avid SD7s + heatsink reds + various onza bits

Jez's Achievements

Trials Dude

Trials Dude (3/9)

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  1. Jez

    New frame...

    I've got a Base TA26 at the mo, which has served me well for years but has just developed a crack in the seat tube, so it's days are numbered and it needs replacing. It's main use is getting me to and from work, so it's got a 30T ring and a 9sp cassette on it. I don't properly ride trials any more, just occasionally on the way to/from work; however, I hate 'normal' MTB geo...and also hate huge BB rises and long wheelbases. I like oldschool trials geo - I absolutely love how my TA26 feels. However, I'm a difficult customer because I want the following specs: 0 bb rise Short wheelbase (somewhere between 1010 and 1040mm?) V brake mounts (this is the killer problem) Able to take a 9sp cassette Able to take a 32T ring without it fouling on the chainstay There are a few options out there - e.g. Tarty have a Monty dirt frame in (although it has a 30mm bb drop...not sure how I feel about that), or some oldschool trials frames knocking about, but it's really difficult to find out what the geo on those old frames is. I wish I could find an Inspired Flow 26", but they only seem to come as the full bike. There's a Heavy Tools and a Saracen X-ess on ebay that I'm considering, but again, no geo details - does anyone know what they are? Or can anyone think of any other options I should look into? Thanks
  2. Degrease your rim and pads and make sure they're aligned properly (which is never easy with Vs). Wash off with water (no soap or shit), then ride around dragging the brake for about 5 mins. If they're still crap there's either something wrong with your rim or your tektro poor excuse for a brake (I had a pair, and replaced with SD7s as soon as I could), or you can't align brakes to save your life. In which case, get a mate who knows his Vs to do it. I've had reds on both my bikes (smooth rims all round) for ages now, and they've always been spot on unless it's pissing with rain, in which case, yeah they are crap. But in the dry and even slightly damp, they have bite and hold for days. I've not even got a booster on my stock (there's boss flex, but the brake's powerful enough that it's not an issue). Oh and here's a simple alignment test: sit on your bike stationary, feet on the floor. Pull the brake lever quickly. If you hear a 'clack' as the pads hit the rim, they're probably pretty well aligned. If you don't, likely you need to break out the allen key.
  3. Will probably be there now I have a non-cracked hub and a working rear brake.
  4. I'll probably be there as long as I can get some degreaser for my rims before then (had an unfortunate moment involving some oil and a pair of heatsinks). I'll probably be well late as usual. Also, New Street Gap for those that don't know: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=k&om=1 Pretty much smack in the middle of that where the two roads join. you can zoom in/out, change it to a map view etc to get yer bearings.
  5. Beeb weather forecast says sunny on saturday. Bonus. I'll probably be there...late, seeing as my lazy ass rarely gets out of bed before 12 on a saturday.
  6. Depends how oldschool you wanna go... I was around at the time when everyone bought Saracen X-Ile frames and pimped them up into trials bikes. Back when Pashley had just brought out the 26MHz. We all had bikes with 32T rings and DH bars that you could jump as well as trial (for the record I've built up a Base TA26 along those lines recently; pics on their way, stay tuned). Dayglo yellow maguras were the order of the day in the brakes department, and if your tyres weren't Tioga Factory DHs or IRC Kujos (or later El Gatos), you may as well have gone home. There were a lot of Zaskars and DS1s around that time as well. Montys and Megamos were like rocking horse shit in the UK; if you wanted a mod you had to either spend forever finding one, or special order the Hans Rey GT mod. We could all recite most of the commentary and interviews from Chainspotting word for word. Trials was a lot more closely related to mountain biking in general - we'd be out riding with guys on DH and freeride (which was a new concept back then) rigs regularly. Things were different back then - the whole tone of the trials community has changed massively, and the riding has come a LONG way...but it was still more fun back then for some reason. Bouncing around on massive bikes and sidehopping OFF stuff. </nostalgia>
  7. Mine are on smooth and are spot on for everything except wet riding. Had em on for...um...18 months or summat? Possibly longer, and judging from the amount of material left, they've probably still got another 18 left in em. And that's on both my work bike and my mod; the work bike gets ridden 10-12 miles every day + trials as well.
  8. OK the Kot forks arrived today. I got the curved ones in silver with V & disc mounts. So far they feel pretty good; certainly a million times lighter than the original Base forks (the bike actually feels like it wants to stay on the back wheel now, rather than fighting to keep it up...so to speak ) They DO make the bike feel a gnat's tit longer in some weirdass way, but not annoyingly; it feels like the cockpit length has changed a bit, even though technically it hasn't. I think they are a wee bit shorter than the old forks as well, and also the steering has gone REALLY quick and nippy. It used to feel like something that would be more at home in a bombhole, but now it feels more like a trials-specific machine (at last). So whichever way you look at it, it's a good upgrade from the old forks. Whether the Echo forks would be better, I can't say. Either way I'm happy. At the mo I'm running a stem that's something like 100 x 15 or 100 x 20 I think (can't remember) with a coupla spacers underneath it. One thing I will say is to be a bit careful putting the crown race on if you do get the Kot forks, mine didn't want to go on straight at first for some reason, despite it being a tapered affair. I had to put a lot more effort into getting one particular side down the steerer. EDIT: forgot to mention, mine's the £99 TA26 off Tarty, so I'm guessing that makes it a Mk III. In related news, the silver Kot forks are EXACTLY the same finish as the silver Base frame, so they match pretty well if you care about all that malarky.
  9. Jez

    Lm Fluid

    Citroen LM is what I used to use in my maggies many moons ago (before I got a REAL brake ). I was told it was identical to the "official" maggie stuff. I never had any problems, and yeah, WAAAAAAAY cheaper than what maggie will sell it to you for.
  10. Bollocks, wish I'd seen this a few days ago...just ordered some cheapy Kot forks off Tarty for my TA26. Should be here tomorrow, I'll let you know how they ride.
  11. I've done almost exactly what you've suggested with a TA26. It's got a 32T ring (probly gonna put something a wee bit smaller on soon), with the bash plate bodged out with the aid of a steel plate with 4 holes in it to be big enough. Gears on it, Avid V's front and back. I use it both to ride to work and for trials. It's the mutt's nuts. Or will be when I have some forks that don't weigh 50 tons on it. But bear in mind that I'm oldschool as fook (I'm from the "X-Ile you can both jump and ride trials on" era)
  12. Think about height as well as length. My Base was a piece of shit to do anything with til I got a higher front end on the go.
  13. Heatsink reds on sd7s/smooth rim here. f**king fantastic, just don't ride in the rain. Work best either a) when just slightly damp (when it's spitting) or when ragingly hot (i.e. an hour or so into a ride).
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