Ali C

I cant see there being any strength issues, the chain links are shorter, shorter = stronger (a wider chain on its own doesn't mean stronger) and smaller teeth wont matter as the load will be carried over a lot more teeth than on a standard pitch setup therefore spreading the load.

when is more choice a bad thing? Lets say you can make a cog the same size as 18t but it could have twice as many teeth with 36t, you could fine tune it a few teeth at a time with only a small difference in how hard it feels, this means you can make the gear EXACTLY how you want it to feel, but also use it to make your chain tension (and chainstay length) shortened/lengthened in really small increments, no more crap heavy tensioners for vertical dropouts, no more pads not hitting rims properly and fine tuned chainstay lengths on horizontal dropouts. Oh, and stronger chains....win in every possible way.

it's certainly not a bad idea, people asked about putting a 19" wheel on a 20" frame a few times when I worked at TB, but it's perhaps too small a market for one.

spot on, though I am not a fan of XTR levers. I use the speed dial function quite a bit on SD7 levers and the XTR version really doesn't cut it. I would recommend some TNN LGV pads (best backings for vees and best material). if you get a booster, try and search for a carbon XTR or Salsa one, they are stiffer and will improve the hold of the brake 5 fold! If you can't find either of those boosters, a cheap one will be better than nothing. Also pretty important is some decent cables. I swear by Shimano SP5 and I refuse to use anything else. It's pretty much oversized gear outer, so it's completely compression-less (= stiffer brakes) and is very very smooth in operation with a small squirt of GT85 in there. Don't forget to set the arms up with as little tension as possible to really get a good feeling brake. Once you have done all that and set the brake up, you'll find it perhaps doesn't have as much bite as a magura, but it more than makes up for it with sheer holding power (more important than bite).

wasn't he trying to get Onza to buy the idea off him?

haha, I am not holding my breath, but it would be soooooooo cool if someone did it, more so than splined freewheels, tapered forks/frames etc.

can't help but think of that when people say "alot" now lol But yeah, Mark hit the nail on the head, smaller pitched teeth and chain would be the biggest win in the history of riding (well, almost). I'll be having words with a bike company about that I thinks.

haha, I had that idea yeeaars ago. I dismissed it due to the amount of play it could develop, chains stretch and would snap through the loads developed not to mention the extra weight and costs. I think it would be better to go the rout of moto trials and have a massively over built caliper but with a much higher piston ratio, this means you could use a much smaller, thicker rotor (possibly alloy) which is less likely to bend and rub the pads (necessary as the pads would only move a fraction). Works well enough to hold a 80kg bike and rider, so surly could be made for biketrials too?

this song cheered me up when I had depression plus it won't last forever and then you'll be happy again. I had it all through my teens but now I am extremely happy 90% of the time most of the time

the shifter isn't that far, for hill climbs you could start in 2nd or 3rd and build up the revs before going, I am sure you could still change gear depending on the climb though (I was never any good on my mototrials bike).

they are manual, yes you can shift during a ride. Clutch is the left hand lever and the gear change is down by your left foot.

been a pretty dam good year! Riding wise I have had more fun this year than I can remember having before! I have been paid to ride my bike in some pretty fantastic locations (Isle of Lewis was amazing! Also went surfing there for the first time ever, so so so fun!). I was lucky enough to get some pretty well paid jobs riding like the Gatorade Ad, did some pretty well paying demos like the Royal Highland Show too. I haven't had to work all winter. I have finally moved out and got a place near decent riding. Went to Germany for Eurobike, went to the Bahamas to teach trials (though that was bit of a nightmare, it was well paid and I can look back and laugh now). My sister had a baby who is really smart and very cute. Riding with Mark is very fun and I am lucky he is into photography and filming, managed to put out more vids this year than any other Helping develop the Hex was also a highlight so yeah, after 13 years riding I am still having the time of my life....bring on 2011!!

I have just built up a hex for natural riding and have just had a spin out on the street, the only thing that seems harder is taps (because of the shorter wheelbase), but everything else is still fine, I have a 90mm stem on mine too, so a longer one would feel a bit more stretched out, but harder to spin.

some people may disagree, but I think he'll be better off with the Revell. Sure it's not as suited to pure trials as the T-Rex, but as I always say, learn to ride on a harder bike and you'll be laughing later. Plus I so often see new riders on super long bikes and they just can't handle the length (what she said) and it hinders them rather than helps.

not sure if any of you are aware of the Pijin Blog. Mark updates it with new videos on a regular basis (as well as interviews etc). There are some pretty good gems on there, I particually like Fly's Tres video. It's a good half hour long, but the riding is amazing and so is the film work, music and editing, it really gives me a nostalgic summery feeling of lazy days riding bikes in the sun with friends...go watch it!

Kind of resistant to post this vid as you really should buy the dvd and support the producers (plus it's pretty awesome!), but f**k me Sean Burns is a sandwich short of a picnic! http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjMxNTQ5NTgw.html

for all round riding, get a disc, the ability to slow down without alerting everybody within a half mile radius is pretty handy!

ahh, k

wat? higher bb is easier to spin, you have to raise the bars as well though. If you raise the bb height and not the bars, firstly you are a fool and secondly it would be harder to pull up for hops which in turn is harder for spins, but a low bb and low bars will still be harder to spin and hop than a high bb and (comparable) low bars.

since when has TGS been "proper" street? I meant long chainstays and low bbs are bad for bmx type street where spins and hops are used.

as long as you don't want to do spins , long chainstays and low bb = bad news for "proper" street.

or a Hex

if the snow goes a bit I wouldn't mind going, not been for ages and never on my Hex.

either of those bikes will be good on the rear wheel, perhaps too good! I am a big believer in learning all the techniques in trials, bunnyhops, backwheel stuff, front wheel stuff and even streetier stuff like manuals and spins, even if you don't need to use them that often, it will make you a better all-round rider. The two frames you mentioned have pretty extreme geometry in that the bottom bracket is very high, this means the bike will be very bias for rear wheel stuff sacrifices a lot of other stuff. This is all well and good if all you want to do is rear wheel hops, but there is a LOT more to trials than that. It's not like other frames are bad on the rear wheel either and learning all the moves on a less extreme frame will put you in good stead for the future. Something worth considering anyway, plus it's no coincidence that most riders with a nice style learned to ride on "normal" frames even if they then later went to high bb frames.

I don't have much experience with the new SL hubs, but I know the older Echo splined hubs were a fairly tight fit with no play.