Ali C

Sorry, one more comment! To elaborate on point 2 above "gives new riders encouragement". To me it's important to appeal to younger riders (which is why I try keep my content fairly family friendly and to avoid swearing) as they are the future, they are the ones who are going to be buying products in a few years, they are the ones who are going to keep the sport afloat when the current riders fall away from riding. It's easy to stick with what you know and carry on doing things that appeal to the generation you grew up in and I have respect for those who stick to their guns and make things work, but for the most longevity I feel it's best to appeal to the next generation and more quantity/vlogs seem to be what kids want whether you like them or not. My friend Par from the band Sabaton (name drop haha) had an interview where he elaborated on a similar point when asked why they try to appeal to kids as well as adults while being a metal band. I've started the link at the correct point. https://youtu.be/w_-9axUulWw?t=809 I mainly started vlogging to help myself, only afterwards once I got a positive result did I realise that this is what kids like and now I vlog as much for them as for myself.

probably not, that's another reason why I started vlogging, I'd often not bother riding as I'd often just get frustrated, just going out and riding didn't seem have a purpose, I wasn't pushing myself, there wasn't a "goal"...it was just riding because that's all I knew and I found myself just staying inside playing on the playstation. Now with vlogs, I'm enjoying riding as I have more of a "goal", I feel better riding if I have a purpose for it and as a result I'm riding way more often. I rode for 3 hours yesterday getting self shot photos and I'm off out for at least a couple of hours shortly to get this weeks vlog done

As a vlogger here's my view: I've always been a quality over quantity type person and never watched vlogs (I still only watch the very occasional one), I loved nothing more than going travelling with a filmer (mainly Mark) and finding interesting lines and busting my ass trying to land them and then having a quality video at the end of it that can be re-watched. HOWEVER Those videos are easier said than done, if you don't have someone decent to film you then you're stuffed and won't be producing any content at all (although Flip, Ben Travis and yourself James seem to produce some high level self filmed edits so it is possible). Now I've moved to Scotland it's a lot harder to meet up and film with Mark. The other thing that made me go back on my quantity/quality opinion was that nearly every kid I met asked me if I've a Youtube channel....it's replaced TV for most kids and they are hungry for content. Remember when you were a kid and you would absorb ANYTHING your fave riders would put out? (for me it was any magazine with Martyn and Martin, any dvd, any TV programme with content would be recorded and I'd be on Trialskings every night to see if they'd released a new clip) Well kids are still the same, they get obsessed with riding and want to watch anything involving riders they like, the only difference is that they now have access to all the top riders at their finger tips with Insagram, Facebook and Youtube. I resisted social media for a while but rather than sticking to the old ways I knew, I decided to embrace the newer ways for a few reasons: 1) It keeps me up to date with technology, I don't want to get left behind 2) It gives new (and old) riders encouragement, the amount of messages I get from people who watch the vlogs saying they've either started after seeing one or it's given them hope after seeing that everyone crashes/take lots of tries is quite high. 3) It gives lots of sponsor promotion 4) it distinguishes me from other riders (mainly Danny....I'll elaborate below) 5) It grows my confidence 7) It fills my time productively As for point 4, that was one of the main reasons I thought to do my first vlog....Danny is obviously the top rider producing the top videos, he's got the whole "epic" video thing dialled! I see a lot of people trying to either emulate him or try to copy his style of video to get fame themselves. The issue with this is that even if you did over take Danny's riding or video quality, you'll STILL be second to him! He's the original and he has gone beyond the riding, he's a personality now. My thoughts were that if I wanted to be known as a rider in my own right, separate from Danny and able to earn a living where I can actually one day afford my own flat or a holiday etc I can't try and "beat" him at his own game, I've got to find my own way, a different way. The way I came up with was to go completely the opposite way he's gone and go really raw, show everyone that it does take 10/50/100 tries to land something.....show people that an every day ride isn't a death defying mission...I wanted to get back to basics and vlogging hadn't really been done in trials so I thought I'd challenge myself to do one year and see how it went. I was prepared for a huge slagging, I expected negative comments, hate and bullying but actually, I've had non of that (though I'm sure there is some going on in some groups of riders), all my comments on my page or through personal messages have been extremely positive. Most of my sponsors have told me they love the vlogs too which is great. My friends and family say I'm more confident...I personally feel I've more direction in life now too and I suspect I'll continue vlogging after my one year anniversary. Anyway I've blabbered on more than I planned, to sum it up, deep down I'm still a quality over quantity person but I also realise that times do change, the way people interact with social media has changed, people expect content and if you can't/don't provide it then someone else will. Ideally vlogs and video parts can live side by side, I plan on doing some bigger projects this year...to answer James's comments about compatability, I'd maybe not show lines that were video worthy but tell a story about what it takes to film, show how long it takes to set up a camera, show how you'd warm up for a line etc....there's more to filming than the riding and I think that's something that could be vlog worthy....we'll see though.

haha, you missed out there Mark! She was a catch

Love that video! Just reminds me of summer and pure fun. Danny needs more wigs He also makes 26" wheels looks really appealing

Expect the first chick delivery 48 hours after the first sponsor deal. Babes come after the first 100,000 view video happens.

pretty much spot on, still getting random stuff to experiment with too! I agree that sponsorship shouldn't be the aim...a lot of people see a sponsor as a one way ticket to bikes/money but the reality is much different. Getting out on the bike and having fun and pushing yourself is the main goal I think people should look for.....if you get good enough (like Danny) then you may find you get people lining up to give you things, but still remember that it IS a job and you're expected to work for your employer. Sam Pilgrim was talking with Duncan about getting one of his old bikes but I guess he bit the bullet and got a new one, I very much doubt he'd have been given one though.

I remember them having issues when I went, so frustrating and unnecessary. I remember one excuse is they don't want the risk of oil on the wood if a hose breaks...like that's a massive issue.

Got new bike parts! -1 grown up point

if this weather clears up then yeah!

Cheers guys! Don't worry, I've practically no interest in cars so don't expect any car videos (vans however )

it is yeah!

Ti bolts do make a difference but only if you go all out and replace as much steel as possible.I'd start with Ti bolts for the Hope rear hub if you have one, that'd make the biggest difference. I use ti bolts everywhere (including brakes) but I also use alloy bolts in a few places (stem steerer, seat clamp, cassette lockring, seat bolt on tripod or pivotal seats, and even my front hub bolt is alloy (arcade forks and through axle, the axle is supported on both sides by the fork so the bolt doesn't have any forces going through it other than tightening ones). You could look to get ti pedal axles but that gives me the fear.

Hey everyone, just built up my latest Arcade, I'm so happy to finally have a red one! Mark can be blamed for that I'm going to do a bike check video at some point soon so I'll link that here so you can see all the details.

it feels pretty nice but the chainstays are very long, it took me a lot of tries to hop-manual up a 1ft high wall I then looped out multiple times trying the same line on my Arcade

'Sup, this is a a bike my pal Myles built up the other day. He rode trials years ago with Duncan and had a Pashley, unfortunately it got stolen years ago and he's been without a bike ever since. He got the bug again and managed to find a used frame which he got blasted and powder coated and some new decals fitted....it looks brand new! It's such a cool bike, I had a 26MHZ as my first dedicated trials frame back in 1998 and it was really cool to have a go on one again He even got approval by Eddie Tongue on Instagram! Here he is posing with it.

ah ok, give it a try I say!

that just sounds like any disc when they've got a little air in the system.

not sure if it'll have any relevance but I bled an MT7 with water and there was not noticeable difference in lever feel, perhaps it could be the same with Shimano discs so don't be disappointed if it doesn't do what you're after

haha so true!

good at the stunts!

nah, I'd say they're different techniques, similar but different

Actually there's both hook types in that video, you did it like the one at 2:29

that's pretty cool, you're doing a half hook, half "shunt" thing....that's actually harder than a standard hook but useful for getting over narrow hooks where the front wheel can't roll far. If you do what you're doing but commit your weight further forward you'll find you'll just roll up it with no second stage needed (like 58 seconds here old Trialtech video with Stan) which is more the motion/weight position needed for standard hooks......keep it up though

that'd be so cool! This is a pretty new camera so fingers crossed there'll be some handy accessories soon