Matt Burrows

Must be 5mm gear cable, most is usually 4mm. But unless you get the decent Shimano stuff I'd stick with a linear bmx cable. Always use a brake inner wire, I've had gear inner wires jam in the lever before causing a nasty faceplant

Considering how many people f**k it up, or moan about there brakes not working and not understanding why, I'd say it can be hard. Certainly one of the most complicated bits of maintainence you can do. In principle its very simple, but it takes experience to be able to diagnose and fix all possible faults. Having a helper who has done it before is definitely recommended, ideally actually with you and not just on the net. Hope charge around £40 for a full service.

Thats a pretty unfair sweeping statement! I think quite a lot of Deng's parts over the last few years have actually been very well designed, and if you knew anything about parts design and manufacture then you might not be so judgemental. At the end of the day Deng forks are considerably cheaper than alot of forks out at the moment, and there is a reason for this. Deng use a cheaper grade of alu compared to say trialtech or inspired forks. A few years ago when deng forks were all made from u6 they lasted well. Then the cost of materials started to rise and I'm pretty sure deng changed the factory he used to make them. It was a case of increase the price quite a bit and have everyone moan or change the material and lose a bit of strength. For a lot of riders the forks are strong enough, for some riders like me they really aren't. I broke quite a few sets that all lasted around 6 weeks, when the older forks used to last for about 6 months. I'd heard good things about trialtechs, so bit the bullet and paid the extra money. And now I don't have to worry about my forks... Funny how more expensive parts are often higher quality eh? If you are hard on parts then you have to be prepared to pay for it. The Echo TR range is marketed as a budget orientated groupset for the average rider in mind ie. not for harsh bastards. Most of the TR parts are light and fairly cheap, you can't expect them to be very strong! Designing parts is a very fine balance between making something good and making something that will sell. You could make the strongest parts that last for years, but if they are too heavy then no one will buy them! The market is very weight obsessed these days, and manufactures have to follow market demand to stay in business. In a lot of ways they are quite limited in what they can do with design and manufacture. Heres a few Deng parts worthy of praise: *Older frames like the 2004 pure, most 05 frames and 07 Adamants. These and others that were made from U6. Compared to a lot of modern frames these are practically indestructable for most riders, and a huge step forward from old frames like MHZ, Orange Zero, Zebdi and early Echo frames. *Echo CNC cranks, not the lightest but again very strong and stiff cranks *Echo SL freewheel, widely regarded as the best money can buy right now *04/05? Zoo bars *New Echo BB design, the first of its kind made for trials. With a steel version that is as strong as any other ISIS BB, only with much better bearings and nearly 100g lighter. Fair enough he has made plenty of parts that have been shit, but almost always these are redesigned and improved upon significantly. Either way if you had any idea how far trials has come in the last 10 years you would be more grateful. I used to ride on a 16" Xc bike with a Deore hub, I had to get the frame repaired every month it was so weak (ironically I was probably still better on that than 50% of the forum is now). Sorry for the rant P.s. For the record, I have had a rear TR fixed hub for 4 or 5 months without any issues. I would be keen to hear what problems people have had? (other than just bearing issues)

Trialtech forks...

Yeah I've spray painted maguras before, you just have to be cover the pistons and seals which can be a little fiddly

Yeah I have one, and mine is way nicer Might actually post it up if my photos ever turn out good If you had black rim tape, and a black or silver magura it would look a million times better, but aslong as it rides nice I guess that's all that matters

I don't think thats as big as a problem as you make out. It happened to a couple of my trials brakes after nearly 18 months of hard use, riding 3-4 times a week. It's very rare that I see the problem on XC bikes, bare in mind I've probably done 30 or 40 caliper seal replacements in the last 2 years at work. And the Elixir has a completely different lever, I'm sure it has plenty of weaknesses but just not convinced the lever seal is one of them. To Bjorn I will say go ahead and try them out! From my experience the Elixir performance is on a par with the Marta which is pretty damn good, I'm sure they will be good for mod. After looking at your bike I reckon they would suit it well, please let us know what you think if you do buy them. Nice rant If you're comparing to the Elixir mag brake then there isn't much difference, but there are quite a few differences over the standard elixir. Also I'm sure the manufacturing quaility will be much higher, standard elixirs can be pretty gash especially o.e.m spec.

If you want a light trials brake, I'd also advise looking at the Magura Marta SL mag brake. Stan from tartybikes was using one, if you're lucky he might see this and post up his thoughts.

Pure genius

At work we usually put a small ring of grease where that seal sits to help prevent leaks, might be worth a try. Is there any damage to the inside caliper faces? Any small scratches could prevent the faces from sitting flush and sealing properly It could also be that the fluid you see is just fluid that got trapped between the faces when you were bolting the caliper together, and not actually a sign of leaking from that seal. Don't completely dismiss the chance that it is leaking somewhere else or that the bleed has air in it.

Urgh I used to ride so shit on that control . Heres another vid with Max, Mike and me all on Adamants in Bristol. Max has the long frame and Mike and me are both on shorts. How they ride really depends on what version it is, I hate the long version but then have ridden the short frame for 2 years now. Neil T used to ride amazing on the long frame. If you use the search you will probably find hundreds of opinions and videos of the frame, so I suggest you try that first before asking questions that have been answered in depth before.

They are considerably sharper than Juicys, which are already quite powerful for XC brakes. Like most Avid hydraulics, when you get a good set they can be great, but the quality control is appalling. You could end up with all kinds of headaches as others have said. We've had numerous problems with sets we've sold at work or that have come fitted on new bikes. But then I've also been amazed at the power from such a light brake on test rides, not sure its worth the risk though! Also the lever blade pivot looks like a really weak link that could wear out very quickly, not a very solid fixing.

Possibly, i'm guessing the brakes are out as far as they will go? Other options include some new pads with slim backings (phatpads are slimmer than most) or some tensile brake mounts which are offset and will push the calipers out further. If you want an Urban front rim, I have a brand new silver one that I don't want and will sell cheap here

Yeah they look like nice bars, but I think would be too light for me and can't see them being any stronger than Trialtechs. Strength was a big concern as I am too old to be snapping bars

Urbans are appalling strength wise! These are made from a more expensive alloy and have a higher quality of design and manufacture. If these are as strong as Trialtechs then they will outlast urbans by a factor of 3 or 4, so are a bargain at less than twice the price. I would be interested to know a bit more about the design and where the extra weight is. Obviously the steerer design is very similar to Trialtechs, is the extra weight mainly in the leg thickness? I'd be very tempted to get a set for my stock as I think they look awesome, but I prefer the geo of Trialtechs. Don't really get why they have such a low rake, but I guess they will make most pure trials bike a little more streety.

2 minutes on the search finds...

I'd have about 96-97mm, the widest you can possibly have and still allow for an XTR booster . I run Heatsink adaptors so I can adjust the position in set amounts, but I really struggle to run new pads and an XTR booster with my rim (47mm). The lowest spacing I can use without removing the booster is about 94mm, and thats just not enough with 14mm thick pads. If you are using a wide rim, I'd say it needs to be about 100 or even 105mm to accomodate most new pads (which tend to be 15mm or more).

Czar sounds great ^ +1 on the whole horizontal dropout issue, vertical dropouts really should be a thing of the past! I was a bit hesitant to try snail cams and h.d. on a 26," but now I have I never want to go back. I can't believe I have spent so many years riding struggling with mech hangers, mechs and dodgy tensioners, they seem rediculous now!

Hey guys, I thought I would give a little review on the new Inspired bars. I am one of those riders who loved the 05 Zoo risers, I had them for 2 years and couldn't break them. Before that I had broken many alu and steel bars, the only ones I would run were 400g DH bars. The Zoos were the first trials bar I trusted enough to use, and also had an awesome comfortable shape. So when they stopped making them I was a bit stuffed until the Trialtech bars came out. These have a great shape for trials, but also quite extreme and I always felt they had slightly too much upsweep. Also I thought they were a bit light for me, and although they did take a whole summer of riding and comps I did manage to snap 1 set. So onto the Inspired bars, these are about 30-40g heavier than the Trialtechs (similar weight to the old Zoos). They are the same alu and have a very similar design but just a bit thicker, so hopefully they will be even stronger. They have 1 degree less upsweep, which in my opinion is more comfortable while still being very trialsy. They certainly feel very trialsy in use and still have the same overall rise as the Trialtechs, just ever so slightly more relaxed and streety. To give an idea of my style, I ride mainly TGS with the odd street move, but also ride elite in the nationals. So don't let the 24" street label put you off, these feel like a very good trials bars and would be a great choice for the TGS bashers out there.

It looked like it was good riding, but the camera work was so shit it was hard to tell. Really bad quality as well which is a shame when this guy obviously has skills and imagination

SP51

Your not blind dude don't worry . The Echo frame has a disc mount now, with vertical dropouts, the czar does not.

How sexy are the inspired forks? They look awesome, as does the TNN booster and clamps. Light, simple, easy to set-up and good value. The best solution for clamping/boosting possible?

TPAs are extremely useful for adjusting for pad wear or even if you just want to change the bite point, I'd be completely lost without one when riding comps! And the same for power adjustment, so you can get the feel exactly right. When I get tired I tend to set it for higher power and am grateful for the extra flex, but when I'm fresh I like to set it stiffer. Its £2 extra, adds no weight and just makes life easier, how can you possibly complain about that

That tap pic is funny, shows just how much force goes through the bike when you get it right. The place is looking good for practice, I'd be keen to come and have a play when your next having people down.