Tommy d

I disagree SO much! There are people who are like that but it's pretty boring and it's not what makes street fun. I do agree that natural is far more difficult. For me that makes it less fun, but then I just lack the skill. I admit it is satisfying when you manage something on natural, but as soon as I get back to street (flat surfaces etc) I feel like I can breathe again! I think it's because you can ride more comfortably, feel like you're in your element rather than fighting against the surroundings, it lets you get the creativity going. With 'a wall', there's an infinite number of things you can do with it, not just 'hitting it over and over again'... I guess there are an infinite number of lines in natural I just don't find them very enticing. I like to be able to roll and use speed (almost as if I were riding a bike...) Phew I'm done. Just ride what you enjoy...

Hey, great idea! For some reason I now have this image of you as one of those crazy New York bike messengers but with extra luggage! I know you said about the website not being quite finished yet, for me the 'about us' section doesn't work properly, scrolls way off to the right to get all the text in. Anyway good luck with it!

That was awesome! The workman guy made me laugh. Good riding!

Wow, that was pretty smooth and pretty massive. Can we have some longer lines please?

Street for me, I like the terrain simple so you can get creative with what you do on it.

That was actually amazing, even better than the other one. It's just whizzed passed 'danny mac promo' as my favourite video of the moment. In the summer holidays I'm definitely gonna have to track you down in Folkestone or somewhere Kentish! I'm just off to watch it again. EDIT: wow I actually I can't spell with one hand (sprained wrist...)

That was pretty cool, looking forward to the 'proper vid'.

That was really cool, I loved the song, and the riding, which is saying a lot for me as I generally hate natural videos... I did find the whole video a bit too long (short attention span maybe). Makes me think it's a shame I'm so appauling at riding natural.

Search! There's loads of topics on this somewhere... Water feels less sluggish but can apparently mess up some of the insides of the brake... I think? My back brake has never been bled and my front now has 3-in-1 in it...

Just cos it's so much fun! It never gets boring because there's always more to do that you haven't done before, and always new places to ride and new people to ride with. There's other stuff I like about it like it keeps you fit and gets you outdoors but I don't think that's really why I do it, it's just good. Oh and more things, riding can take your mind off absolutely anything. And it makes you feel kind of free that you can go pretty much anywhere and find something to ride on.

That was really good, both riding and editing, was it all in Folkestone?

First of all make sure that the wheel is in the centre, if that has moved sideways then one side of the brake will rub... Otherwise, you just loosen the bolts that clamp the brake in place, move it so that the pads line up nice and squarely with the rim of the wheel with a couple of mm gap, and do the bolts back up. I'm sure you'll get used to adjusting your brakes soon enough.

Of course I realise the actual trials doesn't need a seat (unless you can manual standing on the seat like Brett McCullough) but after having a trials bike without one for a couple of years, it's so much nicer to be able to sit down for a rest or coasting down a hill etc. Bearing in mind that in Southampton I live about a mile and a half away from the town centre and it's pretty much all downhill... Yeah not far off, basically I quite liked the Saracen and the way it rode, with the exception that they kept on snapping. My previous 3 frames all broke just behind the BB which is why I asked for the gusset there just in case (see pictures). Whoever mentioned the forks, they're kind of leftovers from the last bike... If I win the lottery I might get some black ones with V mounts... Like Dont you just... said, that angle is a result of the mounts underneath, and I thought I'd give them a try since I will probably want V brakes one day when I can afford them. The brake seems to work slightly better than it did on the old frame too if I'm not imagining it. Here's a couple of pictures of down below as requested: Was there anything particular you wanted to see? No idea if those pictures were any use... Just for fun here's a bonus pic of the bike with it's friend the Giant: And here they are in action: http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....showtopic=96208

That's actually a really hard question! I guess you're thinking of internet videos rather than DVDs... It might be Andy P's video in TM1... It's so smooth. Or maybe Do The Goooon Again of Boon's... it made me want to ride like that.

It's quite impressive riding... but the video would be a lot more interesting if you didn't just have one trick in each clip. Otherwise it's just clip pops up, you do a gap, next clip. Longer lines?

I agree. Quite good overall, I like it when you do the longer lines. If you're in Kent then I'll probably see you some time in the summer - saw a few spots I recognise there...

Here's what Gilly and I have been up to while we get used to our new bikes (a Giant and an Iolo). It's all from a few fun rides in Ramsgate and Herne Bay, edited by Gilly. You can download it here: http://tv.isg.si/site/filebrowser/tommydthatsme --> Easter Video.avi 50mb, 3'27" Or watch it here: Hope you like.

I am very pleased to announce the completion of my new bike! My old MAD frame broke over Christmas and this has been in progress since then. Finally managed to get the seat sorted, and the bottom bracket healthily bodged. On with the pictures: I tried to use the TF gallery but first it told me half of the pictures were too large (they are all the same size) and then I couldn't find a way to post them in here without them being huge anyway... never mind! Time for some geometry! Wheelbase: 1040mm Chainstay length: 383mm as the wheel is currently BB height: +10ish, I don't have a way of measuring that very accurately... Head angle: Really no idea how to measure that but it should be 73º And some parts for good measure: Frame: Iolobikes, horizontal dropouts, extra gusset behind BB on the drive side, maggie mounts below, V mounts on top Forks: Saracen MAD 2005 Headset: FSA Orbit UF Bottom Bracket: Shimano (plus broken bodge spacer and cable tie ) Cranks: Middleburn Pro Trials 22t Front Wheel: Alex DM24 on Mission hub Back Wheel: Mavic EX721 on Hope XC Stem: Easton Vice 65mm 10º Bars: Easton EA50 25.4mm Grips: Ritchey WCS Truegrip Brakes: HS33 2004? Booster: Echo 4-Bolt Front Tyre: Michelin Wildgripper Hot S (Not good. If I was made of money I'd get something better.) Back Tyre: Maxxis Minion dual ply 2.35" 60a Singlespeed kit: Gusset 18t Chain tugs: Gusset Chain: KMC Kool K710 Pedals: V8s Saddle: DMR Expert MkII phew I have no idea how much it weighs. Seems light to me... was incredibly light before I fitted the seat! I've been riding loads since I got it working cos it's so much fun! There might be a video around tomorrow...

So what's the riding for?! Get V brakes? Or to take another approach, borrow a dirt jump bike or something for a day then the change back will be amazing...

Yeah, I would say the same, take it out, make sure BB threads are clean, then grease them, then put BB back in tight, make sure the tapers are clean, same with the cranks, and put them on tight too. You can also grease the tapers but that's as bit risky cos if you forget to keep checking the cranks are tight they might round off... Anyway I say that lot is more likely to stop the creaking than a new BB.

Worked for me too, and made my hands hurt less than rubber grips rather than more! EDIT: Ritchey WCS rather than Halfords might be part of the explanation there...

I've just had 3 months off from trials but that wasn't voluntary, I just didn't have a frame. Going back to it now, I'm having to work a bit at the hoppy stuff due to 3 months of dirt and downhill. It's amazing having a light bike again though, and just feels brilliant to be back with trials after the gap even though I'm still catching up to where I was.