Sam O

Tar is always a good way to improve your braking power. I don't generally use it but every now and again when i don't want my brake to slip at all i slap some on. Don't put too much on though as your pads will stick to it and i have found that on a hot day it starts to melt and your pads just stick constantly!

I gapped about 85 inches the other day. I was fairly chuffed with that

Run a disk on the front, anything that has alot of power will do, avid bb7 for example. On the back though I'd stick to eather a maggy or a v-brake. At the moment I run a V-brake on the back and its just as powerful as my mates maggy if not better!

I got a big rip in my pants last night riding at a mates house that went nearly up to my knee!. I put a cable tie round the bottom and jobs a gooden!

The length of the hose shouldn't really make a difference. Make sure that your brake is properly set up for your rim and give it a water bleed. Water bleeds make the brake seem a lot firmer.

Some pretty good pictures there! Lots of good riding going on.

Trial Noir is a good DVD. Its nice and cheap at £10. Its got some really good riding in it. I don't know where you can get a copy from, I got mine for Aire Valley Cycles. Just type it in on google and look for there webstie to see more about it. It is worth getting.

Nice pictures! I'm liking the look of that Koxx Hydroxx. Very nice

My first ever bike was awsome! It was orange, had fixed stabelizers and pictures of little green men all over it! Did its job though!

Get a Zhi off of tarty bikes. My mate has one and it is awsome to ride. If not get an echo lite (short) all of the wheel base and lengths are the same apart from a 5mm difference in bottom bracket height.

Nicely done! I can imagine that they will be fairly weak though so I'd be careful when doing anything big.

One word.... OUCH!

Get a Tensile freewheel or if you can't stretch as far as £35 then get the ACS claws. I have had one for a few months now and it has never skipped. If you can go to £50 then get the Try All 108.9, even if that does skipp you can barely tell! Hope I've helped.

Its all about personal preference really, generally the wider your handlebars are the more control you have over the bike. About the pain in your arms, try to build a bit of strength in them and they should stop hurting. My arms hurt there when turning on the spot.

It doesn't look the best bike but the Saracen is an awsome starter bike. I've had one now for about 5 months and I've learnt so much on it. The brakes are also really powerful and long lasting (seeing as they're V-brakes they're really good); I'm still on the same brake pads on the front since i bought it and they are still going strong. The other parts on the bike are all of reasonable quality apart from the freewheel on mine which had to be angle grinded off as it was so tight to the wheel. Apart from that I recomend that you get one. Also the Onza is a good starter bike as my freind has one. I don't know much about it though. Hope I've helped Sam

Looks beter now you've got your new parts on Tim. Its also very nice to ride. At least its got you off the stabelizers now! : Sam O

Very very nice bike indeed! But havn't you spent a little bit to much money on it to say that you havn't even done trials before? You might not even like it!

Nice video mate! Really liked the helmet camera bit , never seen that done before on a trials film. You should do some more but on bigger lines. Looking forward to seeing another one!

Thanks for all of the advice guys. Just wondering how easy it is on the back wheel and for sidehopping? Cheers Sam

Hi everyone I'm looking to buy a new trials bike at the moment and I saw on Tarty Bikes an Echo Lite 07. I was just wanting to get someones opinion on the bike before I went out and bought one! If anyone could comment then it would be appreciated. Cheers Sam

If you're using V-brakes i suggest that you use some Rock V-Pads. They are really powerful and work well on a smooth rim or a grinded one. You can get these from Tarty Bikes. http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/product.php?id=10009 Hope I've helped. Sam

My worst worry with trials is my freewheel skipping off a big drop. It happened the other day and i went nose diving to the ground! Owch! My other worry is the back wheel spinning on a drop. Thats not ever happened yet though, touch wood! Sam

Nice vid! You should bring out another when you get a bit better!

I try to ride everyday even if its just messing around on a pavement!