Jez

Sounds like my mate's old bike. Those were the days...

Square. Cheap and easy, if treated right will last forever. Can mash up your cranks if misused or if said cranks are shit. Even then, they're bodgeable, but you can forget bodging an isis.

At the end of the day, lads, it's not trials. It's not BMX. It's not MTB. It's somewhere in the middle. Whether you like it or not is pretty irrelevant - we all have our preferences. What we're looking at here is the skills these boys have, and considering that very few of us can actually ride like that, we're not really in any place to criticise. Personally I don't like the style much - I'm not a BMX fan, and the riding there looks like 90% BMX and 10% trials. That 10% is probably the reason they're on MTBs as opposed to BMXs. But I do have immense respect for what those guys pulled off - they can fooking RIDE.

I ride smooth rims w/heatsink reds (V's though, not maggy's, so yours might not be as good ). Fooking great in t' dry, but forget it in the wet. Simple as. If you only ride in t' dry, a coupla pairs of heatsink reds + a bottle of muc-off is a sound investment that will last you far longer than lots of new rims, an angle grinder, and lots of new pads will. I've had my first set of reds on since January I think, and they're not showing any signs of wear yet. It still looks like there's the same amount of pad left as there was when they were new. Muc-off does wonders for smooth rims as well. Smooth rims pick up dust and crap and start to feel poo after a while, but a quick blast with Muc Off brings them back to neighbourhood-waking levels of power. If you want quiet brakes, this probably isn't a good option However, reds on a light/dead grind are pretty good for modulation without losing power, and aren't as face-removingly loud. So probably let your front rim see the grinder from across the room (or even just sand it a bit), but leave the rear smooth. I know that sounds arse about face, but trust me on this one Just my 10p. EDIT: Oh and forget the tar. Waste of time, effort, and rim. Muc-off instead (no I'm not endorsed/sponsored/whatever by them, but it is bloody good stuff)

Higher sidewalls = more air in the tyre. It's what made Tioga Factory DH's a popular choice over IRC years back. You could be the world's harshest rider and get away with it, rather than crisping your rim with those shoddy old El Gatos with their tiny sidewalls (I have a chip on my shoulder about my wasted £65 for those).

Lads, lads, lads, lads, lads... You never heard of doing things slowly and building up? If you're hard, then yeah by all means go with the suggestions above. If you want the painless way, just ride less. Over time they'll harden then you can ride more and more without any problems. Or equally just ride your bike more but just less so for trials - e.g. just riding to work every day and hopping up kerbs on the way in is enough to get some sort of hardened skin going. Gradually increase the amount of trials you do and Robert will be closely related to your mom. Of course if the idea of toning down you riding is too much for you, you may just have to become a real man Grin and bear it... (I found different grips (ODI Ruffians )helped when I was riding without gloves, and smaller gloves are better if you are riding WITH gloves, because they fold less and there's less slippage and friction inside the glove)

I've had both - the 72 died pretty quickly but the 52 lasted forever and a day ('til it was nicked. No, it was still in the bike.) Plus I don't particularly like steel stuff going into an alu frame - it's asking for corrosion, especially in BB territory. Just bought a new 53 (successor of the 52), expecting it last til I flog or completely destroy the bike. Go UN53 - cheap as chips and pretty indestructible - I've never heard of anyone breaking one.

There's nothing you can't do with a roll of gaffa, some ingenuity, and the will to make it work. I've seen people wash dishes with gaffa tape.

Do they sell them separate or what? Best way of getting hold of one? I'm buggered if I'm riding 5 miles to work every day without a saddle

Just out of interest, I'm thinking about getting a Zoot and the only thing putting me off is the lack of a proper man's seatpost... So how did you do it? Is it a proper welded jobbie or 'developed' in some other (easier) way? Was it a pain in the ass to do? From here it looks like you've welded up a plate with a bit of tube in the middle and bolted that on. Am I right? Cheers man. - Jez

I'm in a metal band. I have to have a metal drink. (you ain't seen my flat)

'twas a band rehearsal

Guitar for 18 years ish, I like to think I'm pretty good at what I do...and crap at everything else Thrash/death metal is my thing. Gear is thus: Jackson Performer PS2 Jackson EX something or other, forget off top o' my head Jackson Warrior XT (the only unhijacked-by-nu-metal-bands spiky guitar left) remains of an Ibanez RG270DX (cannibalised) Marshall 100V Valvestate head (one of the first ones, before they started sounding shit. I don't use it much because the power stage is on it's way out has a bad habit of giving off a mofo'ing DC hum when it's turned on.) Rack rig consisting of: - Korg DTRsummatorother[1000?] tuner - Marshall 9001 preamp (x2 - it's a dual rig for both guitarists) - cheapass Phonic graphic EQ - Behringer DEQ 2496 EQ/compressor/gate/does the washing up - Behringer DSP2024 effects - Soundtech 1U power amp - Behringer FCB1010 pedalboard - Marshall 1960A cab The rig sounds spot on for metal. I urge all metalheads to get a decent EQ, a 9001, and a SOLID STATE power amp, and find out for themselves how overpriced every valve head on the market is. £3000 for a shit muddy sound? Sod that, I'll spend £500 and kick your ass thankyouverymuch. Pic is crap and old - rack has changed since then, but it's the best I can do until my ass gets back into the studio with a camera. Notice most of my rig is cheap PA gear. Learn from this peeps. I also claim to play drums once in a while and own an old Pearl Export kit with some shoddy unbranded bits of yellow circular metal to go with it. Our drummer tends to use his own Sabian stuff for some unfathomable reason...he's got a set of Iron Cobra pedals and a right old selection of Sabian cymbals. Oh and the world's loudest ride - a Mega Bell. For anyone who gives a toss, the band's website is http://endlesstorment.tk - it's well out of date, but hey, doesn't make us any crapper There's also a link to my studio's site from there. Gimme a shout if you're metal and you want to record. For anyone who cares about studio gear, there's a list on my site.

Thought you'd say that you Welshie Fitting 24 sheep into your room will probably be your next project... Anyone here ridden the 24UK? Does it feel ANYTHING like a 24" Monty would (I've come to the uninformed-but-practical conclusion that I like Monty geometry) if it existed? Or are we talking more UCI or BMX feel here?

Speaking as someone who can't get owt further than 12" away in focus, and having worn glasses since I was about 5, I think I have a bit of experience here Like someone above said, bend the arse end of the arms around a bit. If you can pull your glasses forwards on your head and they slide without tugging at your ears a bit, summat ain't right. I used to have the same problem til I did that. Since then I've been more worried about keeping me cap on my head during front->back wheel moves. It's rare that I lose my glasses. I think I've lost em twice during fast spinning moves over the whole time I've been riding. Which ain't much, to be fair. You don't (or shouldn't, unless you have an abnormal head shape ) need all that wraparound/rubber bollocks. Just bend the arms, make sure they're gripping your head, and you're laughing. Most opticians tend to fit your glasses so that they're about halfway down your nose - sod that, you want 'em further up so they don't flap about. Your vision will distort a gnat's bollock, but you'll quickly get used to it. 'Course I have long hair, so that may help a bit. Actually, scratch that, I didn't 5 years ago and they never fell off then

I have an unground Ronnie that's about as stable as Dubya. If width isn't an issue, I've put Rhyno Lites through hell and back, and they've only ever had a brief introduction to my spoke key. Small braking surface though, and dunno what they'll be like after they've had a sidewall/cutting disc interface. Need to be well laced as well.

Vee adaptors looks like sprayed up heatsink ones. Sure I can still see a bit of laser etching of the H logo on 'em...

OK, i'm a complete n00b when it comes to 24" stuff, and I'm toying with the idea of getting one. Is there anything other than the rims, forks, & frame itself that are like 'non standard' parts? What's the thing gonna feel like (I'd expect it to feel somewhere between a stock and a mod, but I'm ASSuming there)? Anything silly going on in terms of stem reach/angle? Risers or flat bars reccomended? I'm probably gonna build the thing up myself (never really trusted complete builds, I like to know exactly what's on my bike), so I'd like to get it at least close first time around rather than shelling out a fortune replacing bits that just ain't 'right' later on down the line. Anyone got any reccomendations for a moddy-feeling frame with a seatpost? cheers.

I wouldn't go out on a ride with that much cash in my pocket. What if I get mugged? Worse still, someone could ask me to buy them a Chomp bar.

And it's spelled "BUMRINGHAM" actually...

Dunno about parking really, but there is a multi storey opposite the academy Yes Vic Square is the one with loads of steps and a fountain (although chamberlain square has that too, but it's next door to Vic anyway). Vic is the one at the top o' the high street. Big old buildings with loads of columns in front of 'em. I may well be up for this seeing as it's a Sunday. Depends how lazy I feel I won't be out in the morning...

If I'm there it'll be afternoon now. 4ish onwards. Someone ring me on 07946 039 369 if you're bored around that time.

Let's see if my lazy ass manages to get out of bed early enough this time shall we? I think I've missed summat like the last 3 or 4 brum rides due to just not getting up early enough. It doesn't bode well... If someone makes it a Sunday I'll defo be there

Right It's the NON-drive side spokes that were too long and quite loose, and you could see the thread. The drive side ones were the tight ones that were about the right length (no thread visible). I haven't actually done ANYTHING spinny on that bike yet, and definitely not on that wheel. Like I said before, I haven't really had chance to do any proper riding on that bike yet bar kerbs and small stuff on the way to work. Dunno how old the hub is, was second hand off ebay. Is it possible it could be a result of me somehow messing up the lacing?

D'oh. My thoughts exactly. I'm pushed to believe it's a bad batch, and considering that I've barely ridden trials on that particular bike (it's actually only really getting use as my work bike at the mo because I ride my mod for trials in general) I seriously doubt that it's my riding. I had a Ronnie on STX that was laced completely wrong, and that never destroyed any spoke like this. These were thick spokes as well. They looked thicker than normal anyway. And I see your point about stripping the thread of the spoke being a more likely result of overstressing one side of the wheel. The only thing that I can think of is that the tension stretched the spokes at the hub end a bit, thus weakening them there. Other than that I have no feckin' idea. Anyone else have a clue?