sstein

Lately on my Magura rear brake it has had a problem locking up. I have clean the rim, filed the pads a bit, rehosed and rebled the brake and set up the alignment perfectly. I can still hop on the back wheel, but it slips a bit on pedal kicks and I need to use two fingers to lock it for small pivots. I use fibrak pads but also had same problem with stock magura pads, no grind (and I don't want one) and no tar. I heard hairspray on the rim might help. All advice welcome.

I dont know, maybe I have been extremely unluvky with discs but mine keep warping and they are not crap ones. I have been through avid g2 rotors, hope mono trial rotors and at the moment am trying some gusset cutter style rotors on one of my bikes, on my trials specific bike I will keep to rim brakes from not on, they are more powerful too (it's like a 26" rotor)

I have had an FSA Pig on my 4X rig for a while now and it is an absoloutely, unbelievably good headset, especially for the price. They are so good in fact that I have decied to invest on putting one on each of my bikes (I have 5). The upper bearings may not be as good as the lowers, but they don't need to be as the lowers take all the srtain and forces of allowing the forks to move, whereas the uppers have no real strain as they only need to allow the spacers and top seals to move. Go for one of them, it won't let you down.

Discs on trials bikes are not a very good idea, they break if you muck up a hop and catch them, they warp if you ride in cold conditions and all the hopping causes a certain area to heat up (which it will do), they bend themselves just from hopping around. Discs on the front are not as bad on discs on the back but they are still a bad idea. Trust me when I say, it is worth your while to stick with the maggie or if you don't like it use a V-brake, they rule up front.

I have a couple of bikes with a mixture of Maguras, discs and V's. For my trials bike I would only ever use rim brakes as I keep bending discs and that is not just from knocking them but from heat dispersal and that is downhill where the friction is over the whole disc as it does not lock instantly. On trials bikes the heat subjected to the disc is usually very localised to one spot the discs are very likely to bend and if you ride in very cold weather they might even totally warp or crack. I would say stick to maggies if you like them, if not use the simple option of V-brakes with a good pad.

Keep practicing on the bars that you have at the moment. You will get used to them after a couple of rides and start to wonder why you ever had a problem with them. If you do this you will also find it easier to switch and ride a friends bike etc... as well as you can ride your own.

9 a's 2 b's 2 c's

This has been said in pretty much every other discussion on the same topic and in fact a few of the posts on this one. DO NOT USE A GEAR BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE TELLS YOU IT IS RIGHT! I am not having a go, I jsut feel that it is important that you try a couple of different gears, maybe one per ride until you find one you get comfertable with. Probably the most common is 22:18 however everyone prefers using slightly different gearing.

I have tried quite a lot of pedals now and I still can't see what all of the fuss is about with DMR pedals. There are so many cheaper options that work just as well. I tried some welgo platforms with long pins that cost around £10 and they lasted me well, although nothing I have tired has come anywhere near the gusset prosecutors. Thy are platforms with thick, fixed pins and super grippy cages round the edge, Have not slipped once in about 4 months and they are only £13.99 from crc.

I got my first trials specific frame a little while ago from a work colleague without trying it first. I am really glad I did as I love it. Just follow peoples advice, if you are new to trials get something that has had good reviews from others as you won't really know what feals right until you are used to trials bikes.

Why the hell would you want to fit a 20'' tyre to a 26" rim. It just wont happen, if you look at it from mathmatical perspective you would have to stretch the beading (a piece of steel wire) from 125.6" long to 163.28". Now I know that cables stretch, but I've never seen one stretch by 30%, in fact I would say that even with a machine that would be impossible. I know that this seams unlikely, but it could in fact be a loose stem/bar connection. Make sure that all of the bolts are corretly tightened up and that the threads are ok. Otherwise it is likely to be bearings, either headset as before suggested or it could even be your wheel.

I'm pretty sure that this topic has been done before and not all that long ago either.

I started in Swiss cottage only because my dad lives near there, but then I rode on to southbanks and all around central London looking for good spots to hit. Swiss cottage is well know by skaters as the ledges there just go on and on and there are so many. There is some pretty coll trials stuff too. Can't ride 20th though as my friend and I work on sundays

Chris Akrigg and Damon Watson. The two Martins still rank pretty high though.

I have hydro discs on one bike and maguras on another. The maggies are so much more powerful and slip much less. They are the ultimate one finger brake.

What ever you do, don't get mates round to beat the cr'p out of him. Even if the police won't arrest him, they still might arrest you and he is still bigger than you. My best advice to you is just forget about it, I know it is annoying about your frame and you must be pissed out what he did to you as well by the only thing worth doing, if the justice system over there is as bad as you say it is, is just not riding near there anymore. P.s. if it happens a second time, take a shot at his balls. If he is already beating the sh't out of you it won't make a difference if you fail, but if you connect you can grab your bike and run off while he is rolling around in pain. Though obvously don't go and start something and then try that (refer to first line).

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of some good spots to ride in London. I tried the iconic skate park (wasn't all that great) and some cool stuff near it but apart from that there was little I could find. The best spot I found was outside the library in Swiss Cottage. I ride with someone that is not into trials but loves small ledges to muck around on. If anyone knows anywhere like this please let me know.

Had a warranty issue and could not get through on the phone and they didn't respond to e-mails so I sent an e-mail saying that I would write to watchdog. Got an e-mail back same day.

It is very, very unlikely that it is your pedals, I have about 5mm of up/ down movement in mine and that is just annoying but causes no squeaks or problems. Take your bb out and regrease the threads, put it back in and make sure that it is properly tightened, then use an overly large amount of grease on the axle/crank interface and tighten the crank on to about 45-50NM-1. That should stop it. You should also regrease your pedals just to make them last longer, however you do not need to strip them down as someone said.

It all depends on wheel size, a gear ratio on a 26'' will feel much easier on a 20''. Also it is important to use what you feel comfertable with, don't let anyone tell you that your gearing is totally wrong if it is right for you. I use 22:17 and it works for me, though might change to 22:19. If you are really noticing that you need more power though go for the 2 tooth difference as with one tooth you won't notice any real change.

This is an easy one. Cable it as normal but have the barrel adjuster, on the lever, out about two millimeters. Push the arms together so the pads touch the rim and tighten the cable in place. Now just lossen off the barrel adjuster and you should have a perectly set up brake. This will only work if you have a well trued rim.

Cheers for all your help, can't wait for it to come so I can try them out now. P.s. found em on ebay, full built wheel with dx32 rim that is new went for £25, I'm lovin' it!