sstein

Jesus hoots, you have really got the group ride bug at the moment. It used to be a struggle to get hold of you, now you are at every ride.

I might come, either or both days depending on whether I am going to woburn this weekend or not!

The mk1 and mk3 had different geos, i am pretty sure of it. The Mk3s are also not current, i don't think they have made them since 01. They were really nice, in fact I still have one, but the geo is very outdated, even for it's intended purpose of dual slalom. The chainstay for instance is 17.5 inches (if i remember correctly) more than an inch longer than most similarly styled current frames and 2" longer than most trials bikes.

Of course it does not improve grip, unless it's fro street only in which case get slick tyres! How the bl**dy hell would it improve grip!? Street tyres get more grip by having more surface contact. If you are riding anything other than an ultra smooth surface this does not work and on mud or rocks or anything like that grip will be improve by soft tyres as they mold around the object giving more contact area, or treads which in effect do the same thing, but dig in to the nooks and crannies (or mud) stopping you from sliding.

I would ride it! though i would be a little cautious of the juicys and the hammerschmidt

go to a bike shop and ask for some of the allen key nuts used on the back of v-brake pads, they will work fine. Alternatively the washers used for brake boosters will also do the job. Onza do not have any, I have already asked.

Gusset linear slick cable! The best outer I have ever used.

I hav an a2z buzsaw (think that was what it was called anyway) rotor on my trials bike, a hope trials on the front of my 4x bike and a gusset rotor (pretty much the same as the alligator) on the back. Performance wise they are all the same for bite and hold but the gusset is the only one that doesn't seem to overheat going down a huge hill drag anchor style.

I couldn't love having a speed dial more, it means that I can get the feel and power just right for me

Any videos as I have to see this. What is the biggest drop you have done!

Agreed about the moto, but not sure about the minion. Tyres are a very personal choice, especially downhill ones, if you are going for a tyre just for dj then get something like the moto (i personally prefer the kenda k-rad as they are lighter and can be run at higher pressures) but if you are after something for a bit of dh or just all round riding then I personally have found that nothing gives better grip and all round performance than spiked tyres such as the continental vertical or the maxxis ignitor fr.

Agreed, that vid worries me. Start on smaller things and get used to getting your back wheel right on the edge (I mean so close that if you let go of your brake you would pretty much just roll down the wall) then lower the front and get you bum over the back and release the brake (maybe with the tiniest crank rotation to make sure the back goes down first). Once you are off push your feet towards the landing and on impact soak it up as much as possible.

Yeah, he does that, don't worry, you will probably get an e-mail in a week or two after your frame has arrived.

southbanks, elephant and castle, Russell square and then up to victoria park? That seems like a lot of time spent riding to spots.

Doesn't mean that you need to use numbers to replace letters!

How far away do you work form your house? I always rode my trials bike to work so I could go out on lunch etc... If you have not actually started riding yet then just use a normal bike to learn on as it will be easier to get around, but if you really want to get a trials bike, 24 or really short (old school) 26 are the easiest to get around on. You could maybe even have two gears on it to help.

Do that as they will snap if you DJ on them and when forks snap it hurts, trust me!

I have used those things before and they were not as secure as quick release, but I will give it a go to see if it works!

I was thinking about this, though not sure the axle would hold. I was also thinking of getting a new axle machined that uses nuts, if I do that it means that I could also run pegs which would be cool as I do like to grind.

Thought you sold your trials bike!

There is nothing at all wrong with V brakes. If set up properly they are just as powerful as maguras. It just comes down to the fact that most people try a magura with a booster and good pads on a grind, etc.. and go this is much more powerful than my vee. If you set up your vee with the same pads, a booster and a grind, it will be just as powerful and have a nicer feel to it. Plus it will be cheaper and easier to maintain. There is nothing wrong with the RIP as a beginner bike and just because you get good doesn't mean that you will need to change it. By all means change some parts such as the cranks and freewheel, but good riding comes from the person not the bike.

I had a normal tensioner and broke it one a sidehop.

May come, depends on my exam preparation though.

Trust me when I say the quick release could not get any tighter, I stamp them shut! Anyone have an idea of a bodge? otherwise I will need a new wheel or tensioner

I have a couple of 74kingz tensioners. When I run one with my hope hub which uses a female axle it is fine, but when I use one with quick release it keeps moving around so I lose tension. I put on a normal tensioner but I just broke that so before I buy a new one I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of how to solve the problem?