Sponge

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Garages are not always the most reliable of places. I've been told plenty of bad examples by people, and my dad's been ripped off a bit too. At the end of the day, garages just do it purely because they can, so they can make more money, which is why a great deal of people resort to home-mechanics. Similar to us on our bikes as bikeshops sometimes crap up the bike in areas and take their time doing everything which ends up costing a fortune, and not done to suit your needs. I can not be sure about this blue smoke issue, but perhaps it's worth investigating what its technical term is and research a bit online or in books. Then perhaps try and sort it yourself, or with any mechanic friends you may have. Hope you get it sorted out.

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The Gamits Joy Division

agreed!

Slightly off topic: Would anyone happen to know how to convert Windows Media format stye files (eg. mpg, wmv, etc..) into DVD-playable formats? I've always wanted to see a few internet vids on the widescreen

Hmm, not a pleasant thought!

You'd be surprised Ali . There are quite a few blokes in my old rugby club that used to even sometimes put elephant tape to their armpits and *rip* their hairs off... Ouch!

Bitter By saying things like that, I wouldn't send money to you. If you were genuinely in need, taping my leftover 50 pences in an envelope would be done happily. ---- But, to Tomm, I know that even though Chai made 2 topics, I re-bumped this slightly, and it may give Danny and tomturd a bit of hassle (so, apologies for that), but after speaking to Chai about it last night, he wasn't happy at all about the responses but fair enough, because he's probably quite emotional about this whole complicated ordeal with Antonio.

Come again? . If you didn't think i'd send a penny, I actually asked Chai if he wanted to meet me in London earlier this saturday to collect some donation money. ?? You? What? I'm not Chai... Even so, you are misunderstanding, JT. He asked the forum, and friend X (he shall remain unnamed unless he says otherwise) offered triple figures, amongst a few other people offering little bits and bobs. Friend X is infact not exactly Bill Gates, and like some of us Chai was unable to accept that much from one person because it was a huge sacrifice on behalf of Friend X. And to be honest, I think terror error may be right, and that it is just cash-in-hand payment for Antonio and his job. Think about it, Antonio is not a UK citizen, and probably doesn't have UK qualifications for a proper job, so probably has to work somewhere else just so he can support himself and his family. (Compare it to a 14 year old mowing neighbours' lawns for example, incase you are still confused... No sick pay for that) You should consult Chai himself about that matter, and I'm sure there's a good reason behind this. £250 isn't easy to make in 4 or so days for most 16-17 year olds. I think Chai's got a job, and is trying to find himself and Antonio new ones, as well as paying for Antonio's rent as well.

Whatever. Meh.. But, if YOUR good friend fell into a similar situation, I'm sure you'd resort to what Chai did? Remember, it was Antonio's dad who had something dodgy in his immigration thing, and Antonio's just trying to offer his family financial aid back in Brazil by working in UK. On the subject of Antonio, from what I've been told many times, he's quite a high-profile rider and a very nice guy. It is a shame that he is in such a sticky situation

Thanks Glen, I actually spoke to Andy last night about this, and neither of us were too pleased with Danny or tank rider's comments. One gets the impression that Danny's and tankrider's comments were in short sending out this message: "meh, tough shit" (but with added politeness to make it sound less harsh than it actually is). Yeah, even if Antonio's parents did mess up themselves, the guy himself is working in this country and sending money over to Brazil to support his family. Put yourself in his shoes. With such an injury he sustained, and the fact that he is a foreigner doing hard physical labour, life is extremely uneasy. Put aside your thoughts against his parents and their dodgy immigration issues, and think about what Antonio himself is doing, he's doing something really good for his family (something which most of us have never truly done, Yes, admit it guys, I can) I think it was Antonio's birthday on the 7th yesterday, and the guy at least deserves some peace of mind at such a time. I personally know of 2 friends of mine who have already made very generous donations, so I guess taping a £1 coin inside an envelope wrapped in thick bubblewrap to send to Chai from some of us would help greatly. peace. Well, Chai said he doesn't want such high numbers from one individual (yeah, one friend of mine has already offered triple figures in donation to Antonio, but Chai declined as it was too high for one person). But, if the situation gets worse in a big way, I can speak to my parents about it and they make donations to church every sunday, so this should be fine with them. But sadly, i somehow doubt he gets sick pay. Although I'm not too knowledgeful in this field at all, but isn't it only high-end jobs that get 'sick-pay'? I mean, I don't think I'd get sick pay if I worked for an icecream van guy, would I?

Read the topic below: (READ tank rider's and Danny's comments) http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....p;#entry1223317 For goodness sake, who cares at all about forum rules and all that junk. I think Chai was asking something very reasonable, and myself and plenty of others who actually have a heart and brain thought that Chai was doing the right thing. Asking for money in this one-off circumstance was not unreasonable, yet a moderator and admin just shuns him away and closes the topic? I mean sure, if it were some dodgy pre-member making that kinda of a post, then i guess people do have reason to suspect something... but it's Chai, and he's hardly rowdy or sweary, plus he's quite well known and has a good reputation? The topic is about a guy in his early 20's in a *seriously* tricky situation, and I have no doubt in my mind that Chai is telling the absolute truth of the situation there. Who cares about 'immigration laws' in this case... it's a friend in need and Chai's trying to get some financial support for him (due to the injury he sustained last London ride). The point is, take moral values into account. It is a shame that the 'politicians of TF' (i.e. some moderators and some admin) have to react in a way that is in favour of abiding strictly to TF rules and the laws laid down by our dodgy real-life politicians. Danny and tank rider, put YOURSELVES in Chai's shoes... what if Antonio Claret was YOUR good friend? Seriously if you think that this is all just a hoax and Chai's trying to scrape some money off people, then you are tools. (no, seriously, genuine twats) Sometimes I wonder if human beings even sit behind those usernames. Ah well... TF for you. Infact, Trials-Forum could infact be the internet-forum-equivalent of the Nazi third reich. OTN and every other bike forum allow people to use retailer's websites in their signatures, so why not TF? Stupid rule... Again, knowing how important TF-Rules are for mods and admins, they will close this topic fairly soon. Well, for the rest of you down-to-earth guys out there, just think about Antonio's and Chai's situation. Afterall, 'every little helps' (first and last time I shall ever quote Tesco) so even a small £1 donation from 250 members would cover Antonio's very unfortunate and unintended situation. Andy, how much more would you need? I may be able to send out some of my last remnants of my monthly allowance. EDIT: I had to let off some steam, . Although Antonio's parents may have done some dodgy dealings to get into this country... asking for small donations to help a friend surely is not too unreasonable, is it not?

Anymore for anymore?

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How come the Parkinson's going already? Oh yeah, I'm quite looking forward to this friday's Dissrm blog. Carlos's Burlish, mmmmm On another note:

EDIT: Holdfast 20.6 Incy Wincy 4mm dropouts! Chainstay Gusset... hmm Roadfools 13 AND Odessa Barcelona DVDs, free Pictures taken with my Samsung phone... meh, at least it does the job. CHUFFED! . Time to crack into a bit of Roadtrip 13 on the widescreen... mmm.

Oh fair enough, I have heard horror stories too about Winstanleys, mainly regarding uber-slow deliveries and so on. It is a shame, since their prices are so darn good . Holdfast again Mark? What's gotten you into one again? I swear your Parkinson is still pretty brand new! . However, 4mm dropouts do sound a bit dodgy, even for a micro-peg rider. Hmm, perhaps, meh, it's all good. I am rather dubious about the thin dropouts too myself, perhaps a Nocturnal would have been better for me... (too late anyway, but I couldn't be happier about mine ) Anyone seen the Odessa Bacelona DVD here? just out of curiousity?

Package arriving tomorrow: Contents: 1x Mutiny HoldFast 20.6 1x FSA Impact 1x Odessa Barcelona DVD Mmm, the living room shall be occupied tomorrow evening. Cox and Bedford shredding Barca... yeaahh (show-off over) Question time! Is Winstanley's fairly notorious amongst shops? After paying the rest of the money for my Holdfast earlier today, the guy at Half-Pipe was going on about how bad a reputation Winstanleys had amongst customers and other shops. Stating stuff about them not actually having all the stock in, whilst slashing over 50% of prices purely to try and get ahead of the game so they get millions of kids buzzing them when they acutally don't have that particular item for at least a month. ^Clever clogs? Or just plan cunning? (Looking at it from another shop's point of view, it is the latter)

Yeah, true, but that does happen literally daily in the BMX world . New products every day from some BMX brand, most likely either a spawn-off of Odyssey forks or a rebranded Midkit. It's not that bad, but when the price goes up drastically like Monty did to 'their' ACS Claws freewheel... that was just ridiculous.

Of course, it's always great to see new blood on the podium, but I agree about the Marts. I mean, without them and their Tricks and Stunts VHS all those years back, I doubt that some of us 'new breed' would even exist.

You whore Muy muy muy muchos nice! Well, I'll be posting up my HoldFast in a few days on here. Woohoo.

Woohoo! Nice one Chai, I would've thought you'd opt for the Team and Control over the Lite and Pure? Different, nonetheless! Those Denguras 'look' as if they have no hosing, how are they suiting you anyway? I heard that Matt wasn't getting on with his entirely well. Anyway, congratulations on the sponsorship.

Nooo , J-Kay, that Python is MY old beast Even got the TartyBikes receipt from all that while ago! I miss it . I remember how much I looked after that frame haha. Ride it well!