Swoofty

Pretty sure the Spank rims are disc only. For rim brake rims you'll need to look at the usual trials rims suspects.

If you cut enough teeth off on both sides you can use a real wrench to get it off. I've tied the wheel to a street sign post to hold it steady before and then go at it with a wrench and breaker bar. Viel gluck!

I've got an '09 or '10 Zoot, the black and green one. It lives at my Mother-in-laws house in Germany so I only ride it for a month every other year or so, but I've had the same problems. It's still got the stock freewheel, which feels fine. It does have a bit of precession, but no worse than I've seen in lots of other bikes. I switched to more burly chain tugs just like you, but it didn't fully solve the problem. What I've finally decided is it's the chain trying to climb over a tooth and then slamming back into the trough because the whole rear frame is flexing during a good pedal kick. I'm sure you could film it with a higher speed camera and see it, but I'm fairly certain that's what it really is. I love how light my Zoot is, but that weight comes at a price. Even the newer Zoot Pro frames were pretty lightly built. I plan on replacing my Zoot next trip to Germany. If you figure something else out, let me know too. Otherwise I'll pass my Zoot on to a kid.

Ah yes, i meant quick release, not skewer. And yeah resetting a post mount would be no fun.

Why not make 2 versions of the fork? Also, if it's an IS disc tab you wouldn't have to set it up every time, you just unbolt the adapter instead of the caliper (assuming post mount caliper obviously). I'd opt for the non skewer fork, but i don't need to remove a wheel for travel.

The best way to get better on any bike is to spend more time on that bike. It's always nice to think that we can just buy something to make us better, but practice is the only real secret. The Fourplay will probably be more fun to just ride around, but it's not a dedicated trials bike. If your end goal is pure trials, the Zoo will get you there. There's also no such thing as too many bikes and no harm in being an all around rider with many cycling disciplines under his belt. I'd say it's more spork vs salad fork.

Well ok, yeah not the crank bolts, but I never had to check those in the field. I can only dream of being THAT hardcore!

Back in the 90's everybody that raced XC had bar ends. I raced several seasons with them, but I honestly never felt more comfortable on the bar ends than on the handlebar. With the introduction of the first early carbon handlebars, they didn't play nice with bar ends, but bar ends were already on their way out and you rarely see them anymore. Anyone who wants to try out that hand position could easily install some bar ends and dial in the width to boot. Those contoured nubby bar ends that stuck in the ends of a handlebar seemed to make more sense to me, but brake levers would likely be an issue. In response to the bar vs tube example, in the case of a lefty fork vs a traditional fork, it would be more intuitive to compare a tube to 1/2 a tube (ie an arch) and say that the arch is stiffer and stronger. I realize it's only an example of the fallibility of intuition, but humans are predisposed to accept symmetry and question asymmetry so you'll only ever be able to convince the engineers no matter how many numbers you throw at regular people. I'd still like to try one ;-)

Not so sure about those handlebars. What's the supposed advantage there? It looks like something you'd use if an injury prevented you from using normal bars.

I've been running an Uno 35x90 since March and it's fine so far. Only thing I don't like is the face bolts are 4mm and the stem bolts are 5mm. Only silly 4mm on the whole bike! I miss my first Echo that used 5mm or 2.5mm for the WHOLE bike. Ah the good old days ;-)

That last pic looks really sweet. Best of luck, Hope to see them in the flesh soon.

I had a bad bit of tendonitis a few years back as well. The bad news is it does take longer than you think to heal, but it will heal. Pretty sure mine came from long hours at work with my right arm in a bad position and then on the weekends riding didn't make it better. I tried the pressure band on the elbow and it's amazing how much that little bit helps. An older stuntman asked me about the band and he gave me some advice that worked a charm. He said to keep it warm as much as you can to promote blood flow and healing. I did this by wearing a long cotton wristband on my elbow; warmth and pressure. The real trick he said was the 'door knob' move. With your arm bent at 90 deg, make your hand like you're holding a round doorknob and twist your wrist/arm like you're turning a doorknob. You don't have to do it fast, but just do it as often as you think of it; 20 times at a pop or so. It worked for me and hopefully it'll work for you. I've been tendonitis free for years now. In addition to what Ali said, check if your grips are too hard or your front tire too high psi. Usually those will affect wrists more than elbows though. And when you do go out riding while it still hurts, don't be afraid to take an anti-inflammatory pain reliever. I knew an older group of windsurfers who called them selves 'Team Advil', I understand them now very well. Good luck!

You should be able to deal with them directly. As for European dealers I can't say, but I've gotten all my I9s from Universalcycles.com. They're in the US (Portland, Oregon) and can get any I9 you desire and offer some nice discounts on their website. Good luck and good choice.

It's also possible to put gears on a hex too. The hex is about as close to a one bike solution as you're likely to get.

The Czar 26 is a damn fine bike too, but maybe not as easy to come by as a Hex in the UK. Who on Earth has said that the Hex was too compy!?! Certainly not a comp in the last 12 years! EDIT: Ooops, didn't see the Seattle part. I see mail order in your future. I got my Czar 26 from HBTrials in Canada. There's a pretty good crew in Seattle, you should find some mates soon enough. Post on OTN (observedtrials.net) for a bit more local (Seattle) info. If you road trip down to Los Angeles, hit me up.

It is a worthwhile endeavor to learn 'both ways,' but ultimately it will slow your progress and frustrate and confuse you at numerous times. Most people will say they have a 'good' side, but it's more appropriate to think of it as your 'natural' side. It's really akin to trying to be proficient with your left hand if you're naturally right handed; of course you can do it, but you came pre-wired right handed. Years ago I was a snowboard instructor and the 'official' training was to determine someones 'natural spin' and use that to determine which foot should be forward for that person and go from there. There was no mention of encouraging people to try going the other way just for the fun of it. I was a freestyler at heart and had taught myself to be proficient in both directions so I would encourage some students to try going 'backwards' because in the beginning it all feels awkward so why not give it a go. I have no idea how these students fared in the long run, but at least they could see that being able to go both ways would eventually be a good goal. As a counter-point, my dad was a professional tennis player and did his fair share of coaching and it was basically unthinkable to him that someone should have two forehands. Everyone has a dominant hand that should be developed and the other is your backhand and should be developed as such. It would seem that having two forehands or another way, as having no backhand, would be an advantage, but his belief was that you will still have a dominant hand and nurturing the other arm would only take time away from furthering that natural dominance. Like I said in the beginning, it is definitely a worthwhile undertaking, but probably better to wait until you hit a plateau in your dominant side trials training before going back and trying things the other way round. I've taught myself to sidehop either way and I can pedal kick either way, but I still definitely have a dominant foot. I don't know how much the pros put into minimizing there 'weak' foot to be more well rounded, but they'll still have one side that's more proficient than the other. Good luck!

If you find the right saddle with rails you can zip tie or hose clamp it to your frame. Also if you 'need' a seatpost, you can cut a long slot in the bottom of a seatpost and pound out the two new 'legs' to go around the top tube and beside your seat tube. Then hose clamp that in place. There are no good options for adding a seat to a seatless bike.

I only ever had this happen on my old Schwinn Stingray and I figured it was from hard braking and the whole tire shifting on the rim. An inflated tube won't move independently of the tire will it?

Riding trials requires nursing brake issues a large percentage of the time it seems. Don't be afraid of brake issues, just get to know your brakes inside and out and learn to nurse them appropriately. And there's always new brakes. Good luck!

Wrong forum :-(

Also make sure your brake pads are set up square to the rim. My Echo Mk4 had quite a bit of precession in the freewheel, but your chain should still have very little slack when set up correctly. Once your chain tension is right, then check to make sure those brake pads are square.

I know this post is a bit old now so hopefully you're tooling around on a sweet Zebdi. They're fun bikes, but honestly pretty heavy. The biggest thing to watch out for is the rear disc mount. That was the area most prone to failure and these frames are all pretty old now. They work wonderfully with Vbrakes.

It's definitely not big drops to flat. It's the bash landings for sure. Always break the drive side and usually have 2 spacers on that side too, but my setup is different now.

It's the same as the Hope retaining pin. 3mm sounds right, I'm not gonna run out to the garage and check right now, sorry.

Yeah I've cracked all the shimano BBs I've ever trialsed on. My euro BB bikes I run Hope BBs and no problems for years. The other SLX setup is on an Echo so Spanish Eclat BMX bearings with 24mm BMX spacers. Worked out better than I thought it would.