Swoofty

After 10 years of riding mostly street, I finally decided to get a proper pure bike and see what it's like. I built it up from the frame with all the latest trick parts and most modern trials companies are represented somewhere. So far it's been a blast, but now I'm out for a while with a cracked rib (from the street bike!). Hopefully a video before the year's out. Clean carbon fork Trialtech rear hub Hashtagg rear rim Jitsie Race 100HS front hub Crewkerz light front rim Crewkerz 25 x 145 stem Clean 135 freewheel Bonz splined crankset 175mm HT ME03 pedals Hashtagg carbon riser bar Magura HS33 2014 in silver Clean ft and Jitsie rear brake clamps Jitsie Reverz tires F and R Monty foam grips

Albert! I hope we get to ride soon too! You'll love the new bike ;-)

Finally got out and did some filming on my Czar Neuron 26 that's over a year old already. Glad I got all this in the can because I got a new bike this week so I'm changing gears a bit. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks Mark. Now if my frame would only clear customs i could build this thing! The wait is excruciating....

Ok 2 more questions: I have one 14mm piston version and one Nano version lever. Which one do people like better for the rear? The levers will be attaching to magura hoses. RLs website shows them attaching the hose with an olive and the sleeve nut only, ie no hose insert. Is that correct? Can i put the same fitting back in or will i need to cut the hose and use a new olive? Thanks in advance!

I have aquired a racing line brake lever body. Which rim brakes can i use it with? I have a 2014 HS33 and an echo (not SL) rim brake. Will the racing line lever work with either of those? Any mods necessary or mostly swap and go? Any help would be appreciated.

Got any pictures of your 'more trialsy' Czar Neuron? I'd love to see that. Mine's all street, but definitely +1 for the Neuron.

I've had 3 fairly traumatic chain fails; 2 with quick links, 1 with a half link. After the quick link fails I ponied up and got a Rohloff Revolver 3 chain tool. It allows you to re-rivet chain pins and I've never had another chain snap. Chains only snap at the worst possible time so for me it was a worthwhile precaution. I only use KMC 610HX also.

Great! Good to know. Cheers

I've always used steel 22t rings, but the new cranks have a different bolt pattern (shimano asym) and i can only find a 22t in aluminium. Will i just have to change it more often and otherwise it should be fine? Has anyone seen a steel asym 64mm 22t ring?

I wonder how old those people who said that were? I started street trials/trials at 34 and now I'm 44 and still going strong. I remember being told by the 40+ crowd (before I was one of them) that after 40 you can't ride every day. I know what they mean now. I try to ride every day that I can, but multiple days of riding to your level really does wipe you out. The realistic recovery time does increase (not to mention the wife, the kids, the job, the aging parents...) Don't mind the labels, just ride. If it stops being fun, take a break for a bit and come back later. Sometimes your brain needs time to process what your body is trying to do. I found Ryan Leech's Mastering the Art of Trials video very useful. He breaks it down into different levels that really do build onto one another. Also Trashzen is a very good resource.

I once swore by Magura brake adapters, but now I've broken 2 in about 2 years. They were both QM5s for 203 rotors. I've ordered the equivalent Hope adapter and maybe they're stronger. The added bummer is that I didn't catch it right away and I'd been wondering what was up with my rear brake (Oh so not a good feeling!). I guess I should be glad that even broken it held together well enough not to fail catastrophically. Braking chains has caused me far more grief. So the moral to the story is when you hear one of those 'PING!' sounds and it's not a spoke or the chain, do a serious bolt check!

Ok I guess I'll be that guy then; I got into trials because of Danny's April 09 video. I started racing mtb xcountry in 1993 and was heavily involved in it. I'd see Hans and Libor and Ryan Leech at the big bike festivals doing demos, but it never seemed like something I'd ever be able to do on a bike so I never looked much further. I moved to Colorado and became a snowboard instructor for 3 years. In 1998 I moved to Los Angeles and took up windsurfing and it became my all consuming sport of choice. I was still riding Xcountry, but only racing the big races in the western US. In 2009 I was expecting my first child and looking for something that would keep me closer to home. Danny's video was perfectly timed for me so I ordered my first Czar 24 (the Inspireds were too pricey back then due to the exchange rate at the time). I got Ryan Leech's training videos and slowly started learning. The 24" was great because I could put it completely built in the back of my car ('91 Honda Civic!) and ride it whenever I got the chance. I tried my first contest a few years later and finally met some other riders, but none were very close by (big problem in the US, large country, few trials riders). I still keep the bike (26" now) in the back of my car and I like exploring new areas whenever I can. Now there's a 14 year old that I ride with who lives just a few blocks away and he likes to throw in flatland tricks so that keeps me on my toes. When I ride alone it's about inch hunting and pulling off clean complicated street lines. Steve Rogers - You had a video called Andy and Steve Switch from 2010? After I saw that I really wanted a Rockman Switch frame, but I could never find an orange one. What ever happened to that bike? I heard most of them broke.

I'm a big fan of the Holy Roller 2.4 front and rear. I'm in the US and they can be had for relatively cheap (not the 24" version however, $$$ Oi!) I do only street and almost always near sand and the Maxxis compound stays supple for the life of the tyre. The Kenda (K Rad) compound gets hard fairly quickly and looses grip and Schwalbe tyres just wear out too quickly. I tried the Conti X Kings and Race Kings, but they have too much of an MTB tread and slide off skinny rails and don't carve concrete so well. The Holy Rollers are just too easy. They tick all the boxes for me.

I'll second the Ritchey grips. They are nice; I had them on my MTB for a while, but for trials I still prefer thin foam.

I sold my Echo 24 pure as well. It was mostly down to me not being a pure rider than anything else. I did my best sidehops and gaps on that bike. It sold quickly for a good price (it was the dual disc version) and after the sale I got numerous inquiries as to if I had any more of them for sale.

I ran a FFW on my Alias 20.1, but I'd definitely recommend an 18 or less up front for bash purposes. With a 22 up front, with or without a bash, it throws off your centering when you're on an obstacle on the bash/ring. I also was running 165 crank arms for the added clearance to ground, but I imagine now with a 135 rear end the clearance on the chainstay is more of an issue for longer arms. Super fun bike once you get it set up right.

Does anybody know if there's anything in the works for the 10th anniversary of the April 09 video? I'm not on FB or insta if there was anything there. That was the vid that got me into trials and I know I'm not alone in that. Anybody heard anything?

Which axle version is that? Is it 10mm bolt on?

There is much to be said for sticking with the same brand across your stable just for ease of maintenance (if you're the maintainer that is) and familiarity of setup. I'm married to Magura across all my bikes now so that definitely diminishes my desire to buy a different brand too. I finally sold my last MT7 and replaced it with an MT5. Trialtech MT5 pads in the rear, stock 9.1 Magura pads up front. Done.

Availability Oi! Yes, I ordered mine in November and didn't get it until March last year (maybe Marino's making them ;-). I emailed Echo last summer and basically asked them WTF because I think it's a real winner. At the time you couldn't get just a Hex frame either so there was a real drought of 26" street frames. Now Tarty has both Hex and Czar in stock; what a difference a year makes! And just for the record - I decided to paint my Czar orange BEFORE I knew the new Hex was orange. I was going for the old Rockman Switch look; I always wanted one of those.

I can't say enough good things about my Czar 26. I got it about a year ago. I got the 24 and 26 Czar frames around the same time and I've been riding the 26 almost exclusively since. I agree the geo is spot on. I'm not crazy about the Spanish BB or the chain tensioner, but neither were a deal breaker for me. There are some options to make a Spanish BB 24mm compatible so I could avoid anything ISIS. Racing Line also make some cups that will make a Spanish BB 30mm compatible. I've owned at least 5 Czars, an Onza, an Ozonys, an Alias and an Inspired since 2009 and the Czars have always held up fine for me. For the price they are impossible to beat.

Don't forget a new chain too. If you're using your old chain it might not be marrying up with your new cog.

I emailed I9 yesterday and asked them about the suitability of the Hydra for trials use and if using it for trials would void the warranty and this was their response, "I have zero trials skills unfortunately but if I did I would absolutely use our hubs. We do have a few trials riders using our hubs and no it wouldn't void the warranty." I imagine they got a lot of emails yesterday, but that's all the response I got.

The Hydras just went on sale today here in the States for $435 USD. I'd love to try one too, but I don't need a new rear wheel at the moment. The price is on par with Profile or Chris King and some other high end hubs, but Hope definitely still has the price advantage. The Hydra does come in a bolt on single speed version. I couldn't be happier with my I9 torch single speeds so a Hydra would be nice to try out.