spode@thinkbikes

I'm fairly sure you can get Winamp working in WINE (http://wiki.winehq.org/MacOSX) so you wouldn't need to run a virtual machine. Also xmms is available for mac and is basically a Winamp 2 clone. To anyone else, VirtualBox is free and faster than the free versions of VMWare - http://www.virtualbox.org And as OSX isn't available as a separate license - installing it would be illegal That's why I just stick with Linux instead

So THAT's what I'm doing wrong!

Why not just have a reeeeeally big poo before going riding?

Give the guy a break. What's more annoying - someone innocently reposting something, or a persistent flaming of someone that does so. You're making people scared of posting new topics - just in case it's not new!

How's it riding? I didn't notice the difference going from a rear 180mm to 200mm, so I probably wouldn't have bothered with the adapter

Generally speaking, Hope's don't leak. Of course ANY fluid based system can leak if damaged. Magura's have a much higher chance of leaking as the hosing is not as strong - catching them with your feet on the rear happens a lot. BB7's work very well, but with very little modulation and cost less (if budget is an issue). I personally use Hope Trials front and rear. If your rear disc is working - don't fiddle with it

Both Dave and I came from 1060wb KOTs and we are fine with it. I'm 5'10, he's 5'9. Rob is 6'6 and he's fine with it too. I personally find wb to be pretty irrelevant - it's the cock pit size that matters, and that can be adjusted with a combination of different bars and stem to get where you feel comfortable. I'm not sure on the rim brake front - I'm sure Tarty Bikes will be able to help you in that dept.

They are both the same colour - that's why I put them at different angles so you could see how the light catches it. It's a very dark grey, verging on black. A true graphite grey. The previous frames had a green/blue tinge to the grey. That's why I upgraded the second bike to match. My previous frame is still going strong with no cracks, which I'm impressed with considering I killed my KOT frames within 6 months... If you prefer a Magura, fine, go for it - it's nice and stiff and I imagine it would work well. Rear discs aren't everyone's bag, but anyone who has jumped on my bike has been pretty impressed by how nicely it locks. If I'm not mistaken, even Ashton has moved to rear discs. I'm not here to start a disc battle Anyone is welcome for a test ride, so get in touch if you want to try them. We have a free training session on March 16th, which I'll put details up about later, where you can give all of the bikes a go.

A new demo season, brings a new set of bikes. Thanks to our sponsors Tarty Bikes, Dave and I now have a new bike each, and our previous bikes have been upgraded a little to match, giving us two almost identical bikes each, for show-time redundancy. The bike (top) which is currently stickered up, has the following specs: Echo Headset Echo Forged Cranks Echo Bottom Bracket Echo Hubs Echo Low-Rise Handlebars Echo VP Pedals Simtra ST-1 Frame Simtra Stem Gu Bash Guard Tensile Freewheel KMC Kool Chain Hope Mono Trials Discs, Front (180mm) and Rear (200mm). Onza Hog Rims Maxxis Minion Rear Tyre Maxxis Bling Bling Front Tyre Aside from colour (Dave having blue handle bars and hubs, Spode having red), Spode is running an 18/16 ratio and Dave is running 18/18. Spode is running a dual ply tyre on the rear, while Dave's is single. In front, you can see my backup bike, which I haven't stickered yet, so you can see what it looks like sans decoration. The difference here is Revell Rims, front Hope hub and rear DMR Revolver. You'll notice I'm running quite a few stackers on the front of the newer bike, as it has the low-rise instead of high-rise bars. I'm fiddling around to see what I feel more comfortable with - but I'm tempted to change to high-rise, to match the other bike. For more pictures, and a few shots of our disc bedding in session, see this gallery. These frames are currently on offer for the rest of this month for £150 - we highly recommend them. They are without a doubt the best stock dual disc frame solution currently out there, with the mount position at +40mm, for 200mm discs without the need for adapters.

That's pretty mental

I'm 177-180lbs at the moment. That puts me as light heavyweight. My BMI is apparantly 25.4 according to that checker. Best method by far - stand in front of a mirror and tense your stomach and chest muscles. Then jump up and down. Anything that moves is FAT.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Hit-Jellyfis...s/dp/184354265X Never Hit a JellyFish With a Spade - Guy Browning. Hilarious - I had some strange looks lolling on the train at this one.

Who's going to be there? Rob and I should be turning up.

All of your knee problems could be entirely different problems. So suggesting "I get this", "I get that" can be misleading to him. The same rules apply - if you are worried, go to the doctor. If you kick up a fuss, he will put you through to a Physio, which is probably what you need. If in doubt, get in touch with Si (physio on TF). The reason I asked if the pain was in the tendon below the knee cap, is I'm convinced that "Jumper's Knee" is going to become the Tennis Elbow of trials. http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cyberthe...umpersknee.html I've been suffering from it for nearly 3 years and I think now because the only sport I do is trials. Your front leg uses your quads a lot as it is stamping down and your rear leg uses your calfs a lot as it is doing the bunny hopping. If you do nothing but trials, you can end up like me - my right calf is double the size of my left, and my right leg has a weak quad causing the tendonitis in my patella. Both Nick Goddard and I are suffering from it, so it's something worth keeping an eye out for. But as totaltrials suggests, it can also be a problem with your ankle - which is why I had a ligament in my ankle intentionally torn before Christmas so that it could have a chance to heal properly - this in combination with special exercises has reduced my knee problems a lot, but it's still not perfect (yet). For God's sake don't leave it as long as I did! N.Wood - I don't know if you're talking about the same thing as me, but the day after riding, the pain was so bad that walking into town my leg would just give way underneath me every few paces, and walking up stairs was almost impossible.

Thank you for sorting the stickers out for him

Is the pain in the tendon just below your knee cap?

Oh yeah, that's Scopse's Van. He just wanted something to decorate it with. We're paying him the same rate as we do for the tattoo on his left buttock.

Need I say more?

The new Simtra in "grey" is a lot darker than that - much closer to graphite grey. I think it looks ever better I'll post pictures later, I only built it last night.

I wish. I'm not nearly man enough for that. For some reason, FP's photos make it look like I hadn't shaved. Which is true, but it made it look like I had shaved some areas and not others. I'm a MAN GOD DAMMIT.

My discs don't leak ;) You were pretty close to that 50" tap though boyo.

http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/product.php?id=633 Was just about to make a post about these. £150 is an absolute bargain. They are very well built - nice and stiff, with a really strong rear disc and magura mount. I've been riding one since April - no cracks at all and it's been amazing to ride. I ride a 200mm Hope Trials on the rear. 1080 wheelbase is perfect for taps etc. but I still do 24" style spins and moves without a problem. It's by far the best bike I've ridden. Dave and I have just chosen Simtras for our 2008 demo bikes, so we have two of them each. If you make it to a ride I'm going to - more than happy to let you ride it, just ask Failing that, we have a few training sessions coming up in March where you can try them there. http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....8&hl=Simtra This is it, when it was first built.

First one home it would seem. Bedding in new gloves, and blistered up and popped on both hands Giving my knee an easy time too. It was an excellent ride though, and hooking the 50" section in Shell absolutely made my day. My first flat concrete hook Nice to see some familiar faces, and some new ones too. There was such a large crowd that we ended up splitting off as usual. I'd like you have spent a little more time with Nick Goddard, Nick Manning, Jack Meek, Sam Wheeler etc.. but it was not to be I'll have to travel down to their neck of the woods instead

Brings back memories. Zero with fattys will give you a 1010 wheelbase. I loved mine to bits, went through several. Just don't put a rear disc on them, those little tabs crack and break off really quickly. I had to have mine welded up with plates to withstand my hunk of weight If you got it at a good price, it's a great starter bike and most of that kit will move onto a new frame without problem.