Ali C

I enjoyed my head doctor when I had fattys, never came loose.

bit'o snow here, only on the hills though. took me an hour to get warm in bed last night, thats with two blankets too

wont come close to fitting

I can gap my inspired just as far as my 26", the inspired is actually pretty good for trialsy stuff, I can tap, sidehop and gap just fine and thats with a more bmxy setup too.

looked like an awesome ride! wish I could have gone Mint photos too and Dan is my hero

Try doing them in vids instead of the rocking ones in the vid, much nicer to look at

worst frame I have ridden!

ok, nice to see new riders. Wasn't that great a video to be honest, but I'll try and be helpful rather than nasty. The eiditing didnt quite go with the music, shorter clips and more of them would have suited that tune, also different camera angles always help (rather than just a static cam) and I am never a fan of night riding vids as you cant see much. I am not a great editor, but its like riding, the more you practise the better you get, I look forward to seeing your others. as for the riding....to be honest, I dont think that frame is doing you any favours. As you have just started, you will still be developing your balance, with a frame with such a high bb your center of balance is a lot higher than normal which makes balance sketchy unless you have it dialled....your trackstands look like they need a bit of work yet, a lower bb frame would help with that (I think EVERY rider should start on a old mtb or low bb frame, it helps with overall riding no end!!) Also with the high bb, the bike is doing a lot of work for you while back hopping, if you ride that bike, you will be slowing your overall bike handling learning. from the very first shot your body (well arms to be exact) didnt look quite right, your elbows looked too far out as if your bars are tilted forward too much, maybe experiment with some bar positions.....I always reccomend the bar to be tilted thurther back for a beginner as it gives a more natural mtb position which is easier to learn with. I will say that after 8 months I wasnt as good as you, but I was on an 18" xc bike! I like to think that bike taught me more in 18 months than 2 years riding a high bb bike would.

nope, not one bit. BUT! if the weather is BAD then I'll either go on my bmx at the indoor skatepark or stay at hope and do some weights (plan is to do weights after riding anyway)

here's my topic I made (a very long read!) my topic To sum up, there's a proposal to turn a few quarrys in lancashire into a mtb mecca (like theres places built in scotland and wales) the project is called the adrenalin gateway. I was asked to help with the trials side of things, my goal is to turn lee mill quarry into the best mad made trials park in Europe, theres already tons of natural there, but I am going to get all the rocks moved around and import different rocks (limestone, granit, millstone grit) as well as man made stuff (concrete stuff like pipes and blocks, rails etc). Hopfully it will be finnished at the ned of march. I live 15 mins away, I would always be up for a ride there!

yeah, dave cleaver told me not to use a brace as his ankles a bit f**ked too. Two more days and I can take my cast off:D

lee mill quarry up near Rochdale/Burnley (when its finnished) hopfully the biggest trials park in Europe! (and the world?)

power wise rim brakes are fine on the front, its just that I hate how they feel, a disk has much more modulation and makes you ride smooth. A rim rear brake (be it vee or maggie) is pretty much what all stock riders run (bar Tarty!) as they are more direct feeling than a disk (in my opinion, spoke flex makes a rear disk feel a bit naff) and people can hit and bend disks.

the first spec I did was the lightest I could think of (without going for a front rim brake because they are just....crap) An eno frewheel isn't "as good" as a king, but for trials its maybe better, its a lot cheaper too and easier to repair/replace parts. I dont rate front king hubs at all, not as light as the viz hub and I have seen axles and flanges snap (nice bearings though!) I do think the hope sl brake is possibly one of the best disks out though, but like adam said, a 160 isn't really powerful enough for the rear.

I am bored....so... ...if your after light, this would be my choice: fork: atomz H/set: Hope internal Stem: TMS welded 130x30 Bar: Viz Flat F Hub: Viz disk F rim: Try-all R Hub: Viz Fixed R Rim: Try-all Cranks: Try-all BB: Echo alloy Pedals: echo magnezium Chain: KMC Kool k810 Bash: Atomz F Cog: Eno freewheel R Cog: BT Threaded F Brake: Hope Tarty SL R Brake: Magura 20th anniversery F Tyre: Try-all R Tyre: Maxxis High roller 2.5 Tubes: Welter weight Grips: Rockman fats Tensioner: 74 kingz Then I would get Ti bolts for the stem and hubs, alloy bolts on the brake clamps and crank bolts, get some rock pad blues and enjoy a light bike. If I wanted a more practial weight bike then I would have the following: fork: atomz H/set: Hope internal Stem: Symtra Resystem Bar: Monty riser F Hub: Viz disk F rim: Atomz R Hub: Hope Pro 2 R Rim: Echo Cranks: Middleburn pro BB: Echo alloy Pedals: Echo magnezium Chain: KMC Kool k710 Bash: Middleburn F Cog: Middleburn R Cog: surly F Brake: Hope Tarty SL R Brake: avid Vee F Tyre: Maxxis sligle ply R Tyre: Maxxis High roller 2.5 Tubes: Welter weight Grips: Rockman fats Tensioner: rohloff all personal preference though

miiiiiiight go

more foot fetish Torn ligament cast was bmx rather than trials that inflicted this mortal wound though

jeeez, you still recovering from that injury bongo?? thats pretty harsh! Still, its inspiring to see your still 100% into riding and can see the good side to life I am recovering from a torn ligament in my foot (also from bmx!) I have been in cast for the past 5 and a bit weeks and I doubt I'll be riding properly for another month or so yet, its not as long as you were out but I can see where your comming from. at the moment I am as into riding as ever...maybe more as this time off has made me realise how much I actually enjoyed riding! I am watching vids, studying techniques and I am getting into weight training (as much as poss with bad ankle) so I am ready for next years comps. I seriously CANT wait till I am riding again, the time off has just pushed my want for bigger better riding and comp results more than ever...I want to improve soooooo much! I have never been this determined to get better at anything in my life!

with static moves, the body needs to be relaxed. I see a lot of riders riding natural and the instinctive thing to do is to tense up, thats one of the worst things you can do. Being loose and flexy allows the bike to move about underneith you without making you fall off. Now that your (hopfully) riding relaxed you can work on your static moves. its nearly ALL in the body movments, if you want to jump somwhere you have to preload and throw your body there....its like throwing a rock, its not going to go far if you dont move your arm! throw your body and the bike will follow. also another tip. if your riding natural and the tyres slip, dont put your foot down straight away, keep on the bike. more often than not the slip will stop within a few inches and you can recover from it....I see a lot of beginners put their feet down for very minor slips. have fun practasing

try and get the oversized xtr gear cable, its exactly the same as bmx linear cables that dont compress except you can get it in longer lengths. I just use bog standard shimano inner cables.

for riding natural, the best training is simply to ride as much natural as possible. If you want to practise while not being able to get to natural I would reccomed getting your balance dialled, this can be done by ridding thin things, riding as slow as possible etc, anything you can think of that gets balance up. Its also worth learning front pivots in both directions, trackstanding with either foot forward (VERY handy) and trackstanding brakless by looking at any dimples/ledges/roots and leaning/resting the front wheel in them. That gives your hands chance to recover mid section and promotes great chaintension control. when riding natural, think about when to use your brakes....I see kids at comps with brakes fully locked wasting energy when they could just use one brake if on a downslope, or no brakes if on an upslope. Also get rear wheel control dialled by picking marks on the floor and landing on them, the more the better. I think those points really help to improve with natural riding.

out soon guys and well worth the wait!

pretty cool, some nice moves in there saw some nice hooks and stuff in the background, somthing for your next vid?

get well soon Ben

not till I have them dialled