DYAKOV

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I suppose nothing new to add to what’s been said already but I’ll share my experience as I’ve just done the third comp in my life (2-3 months ago) and that was the first one I actually didn’t give up on for a change and came third in green. Bear in mind I’ve been riding trials since 2008, so not really a newbie in terms of bike control but comps are completely different to riding street, so I’d say I still count as a newbie. The first comp I entered was around 2009-2010 and that was in Bulgaria. There were different style sections, similar to the uci comps, so one was rocks, another one was logs, another one was tyres and oil barrels, another one was pallets, cable drums, beams etc. We weren’t more than 10 riders all in and we didn’t have categories at the time. I was too embarrassed to take it seriously because I knew my skills weren’t great, so I didn’t want to pretend as if I was really competing for the podium. From that point of view, I’d go first on most routes rather than waiting for more experienced riders to go before me and learn from their mistakes - don’t do that. Secondly, I didn’t explore the routes before the comp and I didn’t have a plan in my head when starting a route - don’t do that. Finally, I was super unrealistic about my skills and I guess I wanted to put on a wee bit of a show, so I’d attempt moves that I couldn’t even do in a normal setting let alone a comp - don’t do that. I’d end up running out of time or out of dabs on each of the courses which resulted in me being disqualified. After the comp I felt crap (as you’d expect from a young teenager who thinks that the world revolves around them) and I didn’t enter any comps for a very long time ahead. The second comp I entered was in Scotland, must have been 2017-2018. It was at Bob McGreggor’s trials academy near Glasgow. I got there late, so I had to catch up on time. I rushed through the first 3-4 laps, got jelly arms, made lots of mistakes… in a nutshell it was a similar scenario to the first comp and I thought there was no point in embarrassing myself further, so I voluntarily dropped out. The third one was a few months ago, same place as the previous one - Bob McGreggor’s trials academy. This time I wanted to make the most of it and I was determined to see it from start to end. I took my time, did my best and came third in green. Now after I’ve told you my life story, I’ll get to actually answering your question (based on my learnings). 1-I’ve found that there’s a great difference between the types of the courses. Man made ones e.g. concrete pipes, curbs, tree logs, cable drums etc are generally easier than pure natural ones e.g. rocks, rubble, mud, shit. Depending on what type of terrain you’d be riding I’d say - if you feel like you’re good enough for a blue on a man made course, go for green on the natural course. A step down means that you’d be able to finish all laps and you’ll find the whole event more enjoyable. The main reason for you to be there is to enjoy yourself and if you manage a good score, that’ll give you a boost to join another comp and do even better next time. Once you feel like a certain route isn’t a challenge any more, move up. Let others go the same journey rather than being the forever winner in green. The main thing is, start lower in the colours and go up, you’d be surprised how challenging a green route can be to someone who can ride street to an alright level. 2-There’s nothing embarrassing in competing against kids. If you think about it that way, you have less spare time to practice than a kid does and if you fell, you’d get a much worse injury/recovery time than a kid would. After all, there are age groups as well, so we’re not speaking about a 35 year old competing against a 5 year old. From that point of view, don’t compare yourself to others, choose a colour which suits you and don’t worry about who else rides that colour. 3-Arrive on time, make sure your bike is up and running. Go and explore the routes, make a rough plan on your head about how you might tackle some obstacles. Warm up and a very important thing - don’t rush to go from one lap straight to the other. Give yourself some breathing time, watch what others do and steal some moves if needed. 3-In my experience so far (which is mainly green route on rocks and mud) - rear wheel moves are close to non existent. It’s all about run ups, roll overs, lunges, wheel swaps etc. You’d get the odd drop here and there, so being able to do a pedal kick would be handy but I wouldn’t worry about the size of your jumps. If anything, standing on a back wheel pumps your forearms and ideally you want to save your energy. It’s probably different when it comes to riding bigger rocks or man made obstacles, I’m yet to ride that kind of a course. THE END

Quick update - the bbb chain tool arrives today and I’m pretty happy with it! Nice and sturdy, chain alignment all good, the larger handle makes it easy to turn. If anything, I’d say that having to screw and unscrew the bottom part all the time could be a bit annoying as opposed to the standard design (in this case the parktool is probably handier once set to the chain type you have) but realistically, how often do you get to break a chain. If anyone is looking for a cheapish and reliable chain tool - go for that. Nas

That’s exactly what my plan was - cut in a deeper slot at the bottom (although I was too lazy for the hacksaw and used an angle grinder instead). Not like it won’t work if I’m desperate to break a chain but the metal disc I have was too thick and it’s formed a bigger gap between the base and the wee bracket which holds the chain in place… Since I like diy, I might think of a way of further modding it to make it work but I’ll leave that for another day

Thanks buddy, I did some research on the topic and the CT-3.3 seems to be the optimal choice in terms of price vs quality but at £38 it’s still slightly out of my budget. I realised that £15 would get me to nowhere, so I added another tenner to the target price. I’m a bit weird like that, if I decide in my head that a certain product shouldn’t cost more than a certain amount even though I have the money, I would still look for alternatives. Eventually I ended up buying the BBB proficonnect btl55 for £25 delivered on Amazon. It is compatible with most chains (especially single speed chains which is what I need) and I liked the adjustable bolt at the base which looks much sturdier than other similar tools. I’ll update the topic with my first impression once I receive it. Nas

I’m sure that’s been asked before but times change and products change.. What’s a good chain tool which doesn’t cost too much? I’ve been using a Parktool CT5 mini chain tool and I’ve found that the chain doesn’t sit in properly, so even though the pin is nice and centralised it doesn’t fall into place. Last time I used it it damaged the chain link, so after a slight modification which didn’t work according to plan, I’ve completely ruined it and I’m looking to buy a new one. Ideally, I want to spend up to £20 but I’m open to suggestions. Going by the reviews online, the one I have is meant to be great and it’s not (or at least not for trials chains), so I’m interested in a product which has been tested and compatible with kmc z1ehx or similar (not sure about chain types, sizes and standards).

Without being in the trade, my understanding is that the big companies like echo, monty, koxx (including all their other sub brands) realised that trials is a niche sport and will never be as popular as downhill even in its peak (around 2006-2012 I’d say). So, some of these companies were either liquidated or shifted their production to downhill and other mtb. Now we have much smaller companies who produce in smaller quantities and charge higher. I doubt that any of the new companies have their own factory, so the problem is (and especially during and after Covid, where there was a lack of materials and labour + a massive backlog of orders) to get hold of a decent factory in China. I suppose that mtb brands who use the same manufacturers are in a better position of placing an order for say 20 mtb frames as opposed to 2 trials frames and manufacturers maybe don’t really bother with trials as much. Then you add Brexit into the mix.. I’m surprised how there isn’t a uk Marino guy at this point (like jaff and dob years ago) but then - who would buy a chromo frame over a carbon frame….

Cheers guys, didn’t realise there was a product off the shelf. Also my concern would be that in the case of me pulling my brake hose at some point I don’t want to have shit left inside the frame which would obstruct running a cable through it again but if it comes out with the hose, then that’s not a worry. Thanks, Nas

So I’ve got this issue and it’s not the end of the world but it’s pretty annoying plus any time the brake cable hits off the top tube I get a fright thinking that I’ve snapped the frame. I’ve tried to put a “stopper” made of a zip tie where the wee plastic insert is and it still allows some slack. Are there any hacks to fix the cable so it’s nice and tight inside the frame? See photo below Cheers, Nas

Similar to you, I’m a 3D designer, so I’m probably speaking out of depth here but I think that stress to the axle caused by the offset of the rear sprocket is irrelevant since the axle is fixed with a bolt/ snail cam (or a vertical dropout design). That would be the case if the axle was hanging in the air on that side.

I’d second what’s been said above. Go for a second hand bike for many reasons: 1) You don’t want to spend a fortune before you (potentially) realise that trials is not for you and find yourself being stuck with an expensive bike that you can’t sell for the money you want 2) you don’t want to get an expensive bike because you’ll inevitably bash a lot and you’ll end up destroying it 3) you won’t be able to appreciate a high end bike because you haven’t tried anything else before 4) you don’t want to buy a cheap starter bike because they’re crap and will brake a lot, will feel awful, won’t be safe 5) get a second hand bike because it’s most likely a good spec (even if slightly dated) going for the same amount of money as a crappy brand new bike 6) you’ll have lots of fun building it to your liking, experimenting with parts (appearance and geometry) 7) help out a trials buddy who’s trying to sell their bike as you’ll want someone to buy your parts one day I’ve found that people who buy full bikes brand new don’t get stuck in trials and tend to lose interest very quickly. When you invest yourself in building your dream bike it becomes your baby and you grow an emotional attachment during the process. Im not saying don’t buy new parts, you can’t only look for used stuff and a new part feels like a right treat every now and then but you appreciate it more and it brings you more joy that way. So from then on - is it going to be a 20” / 24” / 26” / comp trials / tgs trials / street trials? If you’re not sure, go on YouTube and watch different videos. Go for the style of riding you like the most. Then build a weapon and start learning. No point in getting a bike just because it’s available to buy and realising that you rather a different style altogether. Hope that helps! Cheers, Nas

Dude all I can say is you’ve picked the right nickname!

Hi all, I’ve been out of touch with v-brakes for a long time. From memory, avid sd7 were pretty decent but I’m now looking at new cnc models and I came across BOX & KCNC to be at the top of the range. Obviously, avid ultimate and lykke are great for trials but are very rare to get hold of. My question is - has anybody tried any of the 2 options above and any feedback? Or can anybody recommend another brand? Ideally I’d like a split bar clamp design.. Also, would anyone like to split a set of KCNC levers as seen on eBay for £82? See screenshot in the comments, can’t paste the link for some reason I ride EU style (left lever front brake), so that will make for 2 front brakes.. Cheers, Nas

What kind of an Allen key are you using? You might want to try a longer one to give you better leverage? Generally, these washers don’t need that much torque to stop them from spinning around even if they were smooth. You might want to look into changing the bolts instead. Another thing to check is if the axle on your hub is a bit too long and if you have the right spacers on it? If your spacers come a bit shorter, you might find that when you tighten the bolts the frame will bend in allowing the axle to protrude out of the dropouts. Then you’re risking cracking the frame as well.

You said it there - there is no wrong choice for a trials bike. My opinion is go on YouTube and watch different trials videos e.g. street trials (Ali C, James Barton), brakeless trials (Flipp), tgs trials (Neil Tunnicliffe, Damon Watson), comp trials (Charlie Rolls, Jack Carthy) and decide which style you like the most. Then you can get a bike that’s suited for that style. The bike is just a tool that you’ll use to practice what you like, don’t start from picking the tool to determine how you’ll be then using it. And when you get one - ride regularly as much as you can. Riding once a month won’t help with getting used to the bike, no matter the style of bike or riding you do. Another advice is (if you can’t test different bikes before you buy your own) don’t buy the most expensive one with top spec right away, don’t buy the cheapest either. Firstly, you might realise that you don’t like what you’ve bought and you don’t want to have wasted all that money; secondly, you’re very likely to bash it a lot in the beginning, so you don’t want to damage expensive kit or to fear for your safety over cheap shit; thirdly, if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy upgrading your bike bit by bit. It’s like a mini Christmas once a month - who doesn’t like that haha

I’ve been running a straight fork on my tapered frame - 26” comp trials bike - and I’ve had no issues so far. Having said that I’m not doing any big moves to front. I’ve done some pedal up to fronts to about a meter height and wheel swaps to about 60-70 cm height and it’s been fine. The headset which came with the frame was already compatible with standard 1-1/8 forks, so no adapters needed.

It’s worth double checking if that oil is compatible with magura before you ruin your brakes. I know for sure that .5 oil (used on hope disc brakes) doesn’t work on magura, so “2.5” alone sounds risky to me let alone the brand. As far as I know the trialtech fluid is a mixture of antifreeze and distilled water and at one point I must have been interested in making my own fluid as I’ve saved this diagram on my phone:

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If you bath bled the brake (properly), then you shouldn’t have any air whatsoever in the system. Or if there is a wee bubble, it should be so tiny that it wouldn’t affect the brake’s performance. Time to check all seals and bolts. My guess is that your lever is leaking through the piston (need new o-rings if not a new piston altogether); or the bleeding screw on the lever / bleeding bolt on the slave cylinder aren’t tight enough; or you have a snapped hose - look around all barbed fittings and shroud nuts for leaking. The last possible issue would be if the brake lever and slave cylinders weren’t compatible e.g. brake lever not pushing enough volume of fluid to the slaves. N

Here mate: Loosen 1, then push 2 all the way down, then tighten 1 again, so it properly holds 2 in place. You can also pull out 2 to see if there are any indentations which might affect the grip.. It did help and minimised the wobble but there is still a tiny bit of play as you can see in the second clip. It’s nothing too frightening but compared to a hashtagg lever I have on my other bike which has absolutely zero play, it slightly annoys me still.

Hey bud, thanks very much for the tip! It worked and minimised the wobble although there is still a tiny bit of play and the pivot bolt is moving as seen in the clip below: It’s definitely much better than what it was and won’t bother me to the extent of replacing the levers. Do you know if those plastic washers are available to buy anywhere? N

I bought a pair of used trialtech carthy levers some time ago. They work well but I’ve noticed a bit of play in the blades with one being way too wobbly for my liking. I was wondering if this is to do with worn seals/bushings around the pivot bolts and wether these are available to buy anywhere; or is that a result of old damage where the lever body might have deformed a bit? Anybody had the same issues with trialtech levers and any fixes at all? Cheers, N

Any update on this? I’m facing the same issue and it’s so annoying. I’ve thought to heat up the tip of a flat screwdriver and try to bend the wee pins in, so they form a tighter grip. Alternatively try and salvage the braking compound and transfer that onto cnc backings (hope I don’t ruin them). Somewhere I read that people use blue tac in the hole but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be any better..

You’re lucky it didn’t snap over a drop gap. Get yourself kmc z1ehx chain and don’t use the split link. You’ll be fine