Ride Till You Break It?

[JoNnY__Mc]

hello, i have been riding trials for around 2 months now and its the best thing that i have ever done. its something that i can do any time i want, and i am always in the mood for it. the only problem is i don't no when to call it a day, i always seem to break my bike when everything is going well, and then i have to take the long journey back to my house where i have to start saving up again to fix the friggin thing.

i know that your probably just going to take the p!ss out of this topic just like some of you do to the others... but i was just thinking it would be it would be good to find out if the same thing ever happens to you guys. do you find that just when your warmed up and really in the mood for it, when you feel like anything is possible, when no rock is to big, no gap is too far, no drop is too high (Y)"... (am sure you get the point...) just at that point, your bike breaks... am talking flat tires, bent gear hangers, snapped frame, bent/snapped forks?

am i the only one? it really sucks doesn't it :huh:

[Urpedigreechumdog]

I know what you mean, i had that problem a while ago, but i over came it by buying good quality parts for my bike. No joke, even down to thick £10 tubes etc.

[James_Porter]

ye i used to get that all the time, not so bad now though.

i find i go through stages where you get loads of little things going, like threads or something similar. which gets annoying and just puts you off the riding mood, which in turn puts me in a bad mood, which makes me a selfish willy to everyone else :"> . sorry to anyone who has expirenced that :"> haha.

[Endohopper]

You're right , Jonny MC , the Gods of trials rarely smile upon us . It seems to come in phases , where a few months will pass without mechanical failure , and the riding seeming to go well . As suggested above , good componentry is half the battle , and some regular maintenance and fettling never goes amiss . It does suck lots though , when it seems your bike is cursed .

[Tomm]

I've spent the last two years with no real breakages. I think once you're passed the "total beginner" stage, you don't break mech hangers so much. And when you get a nice bike, with quality parts, they don't die as quickly as cheap parts. The only thing I've broken are cheap frames/forks/components. Just get decent stuff and it'll see you right for many a year :huh:

[guineasmithpig]

i know the feelin mate. had a really good year last year. my ridin came on leaps n bounds. in september, the week before goin uni, i snapped ma bars and dislocated my thumb. took me a couple o weeks to sort out ma bars and even longer for ma thumb to feel right again! then struggled to get back into it over winter, what with rubbish weather and havin to 'learn' to ride again in crap conditions. then snapped ma forks just as the weather was comin nice again! so had to wait several weeks tryin to sort out receipts and bank statements so i could claim a warranty pair. then, the day they arrived at the shop, i went out ridin with the spare set i borrowed off ma mate, and snapped ma bb n fractured my ankle!!!

now, 5 weeks on, i'm on the road to recovery, and hope to be trialsin when i go back home in a couple o weeks. gonna pick up ma new forks (finally) this week, and get a new rear hub before ridin through summer, just to try avoid any nasty suprises:p

look out for the stoke trials massive rippin it up this summer! hopefully a vid or two, showcasin some awesome riders and quality guys. altho our rides usually degenerate into shits n giggles after an hour or two, and no1 can ride anyway!

smithy

[gazmaz03]

I don't think I have had as many things brake as you are making out, I have snapped a frame broke a hope rear hub and broke a few mech hangers. Thats all I think .

Gaz :huh:

[Pauly]

yep happens to me alot back in the day i had a echo bounce and just as i was getting real good on it it had to go and snap , then there was a 2 month wait for a new frame and the day i got it i had to go on holiday for a month the next day, as you would of guessed i got real s**t by now and started to get the basics done which i did and i was getting back to my usual riding untill the other week i find a crack in my frame, crackes in my cranks and to top it off a crack in my forks so you no it dose get kinda anoying :huh:

Pauly

[Tom Booth]

i had this about 5 months back, i broke preety much everything, from wheels to cranks then eventually a frame. but since then i bought qualit parts for me bike, and noting major has broken *touch wood*. Just save up for quality parts and youll be fine for ages!!!

Tom

[Littleharrys]

Yeah i know what you mean, usually punctures.

But as you get better parts over time if cant afford them all at once it happens less. I used to have some fsa power pro cranks when i started, they lasted 6 months, they kept coming lose and were rubbish, i upgraded to middleburns, not had a problem in 4 years.

It may be expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Harry (Littleharrys@hotmail.com)

[Luke Drewery]

It seriously does annoy me when my bike breaks, i am going through one of those phases now. My rear hope mono hub (quality part) has completely obliterated on me about 3 or 4 times now and so it shows sometimes quality doesnt last. I have been watching chris akrigg videos too so i want to ride badly but cant :huh:

However, i have pre ordered rear red hope trials hub through hope and my local bike shop which i cannot wait to get :) Hopefully it will last longer (Y)

[Urpedigreechumdog]

Another thing i do is replace things before the are broken or as you can fell they are on the way out (things like cranks). Changing from square taper to isis has probably been the best move ever! Is such a more solid feeling and it gives you more confidence. But i'm always changing everything for the better... wheels, brakes, pedals, tyres, tubes, ss kits, cogs, forks, grips, BB's, stems.....

[colly]

is seem to brake a lot of frames, but problems are usually niggling i dont like problems, so far the planet-x has been a very reliable build, just a few niggling stuff from where i bent my forks :)

[N.Wood]

I've spent the last two years with no real breakages.  I think once you're passed the "total beginner" stage, you don't break mech hangers so much.  And when you get a nice bike, with quality parts, they don't die as quickly as cheap parts.  The only thing I've broken are cheap frames/forks/components.  Just get decent stuff and it'll see you right for many a year  :)

←

Same here.

I havn't broken anything for about a year and a half now (touch wood), i just wear stuff out.

I used to break a fair bit of stuff, but the more i spent the less often it happened.

Then you enter a stage where your riding out goes even the best components, so you start snapping forks/rims/frames/bars etc.

Then you go to the stage where even though you're doing massive things, you become so smooth you hardly break anything again.

Like a big (bi)cycle.

[downhill_rob2@hotmail.com]

OHHHH yes, i went through this stage... as all the carlisle riders will know :)" (Y)"

Every ride, i was riding good, but my bike fooked, but I still rode it.

It doesnt stop me, i learnt to ride with the crapest (blackpads) brakes that were jubilee clipped onto my frame (Y) :-

It worked, and it worked a treat!!

Then i passed that stage, and i hardly even use my bash guard now... as i used to alllll the time till i snapped it.

[steve sturt]

I did a ride on Monday at Virginia Water. Had wanted to ride there for about 6 years. Finally got over there on monday. First log I found I threw myself delightedly at and went over the bars, thus throwing the bike to avoid bars through leg incident and snapped my rear hanger. Anyhow bodged a loose chain single speed repair with a chain tool, which was ok, and then found one of the nicest rocks to ride in the whole world. Got home then took apart my disabled echo, to bring my old Pashley out of retirement, only to find my bottom bracket tool doesnt fit ISIS things, so am now without a ride as I am too lazy to rebuild the Echo, and dont ever want square taper middleburn near a bike of mine again. Hope the tool I ordered arrives in the morning. Its too sunny not to ride.

SO yes it does happen like that. Especially when you are new to trials as you are more clumsy and crash alot, unless you dont try or you are an Adrian Jordan clone.

[oakley]

i am quite lucky really, the only thing i have ever broke is a bash plate, a few punctures, (as expected) and sharn popped my brakes by throwing my bike! oh, and a chain!!!

*now touches wood and prays to god that nothing else goes!*

joE! (Y)

[JoNnY__Mc]

wow... it seems like most of you guys have it it pretty hard, i feel down when i get a puncture... i haven't snapped anything yet, all i have done is bent my forks and lost 2 gear hangers doing those side hops...