Sponge

When this topic first started I was already very very impressed! I didn't think that you'd be going all the way to making a full bike out of it, nevermind doing the individual parts by themselves like the cranks! Frame-wise, since it's near as perfect as can be, are the welds supposed to be missed out on the inside of the yoke/chainstay join? If only welds on real Deng frames could be that consistently clean! Nice work, I'd love to be able to do something like this some day!

If you find a tyre called the 'Trail King' it's the new name for the RQ from 2011 onwards.

Not 100% sold on baby blue throughout but colour is only just superficial! Otherwise it's a bueno bike! I concur, a booster would do it justice! Trialtech 4-bolt seems ideal, and very very light!

Not being sarcy this time~ Just some 4-bolt Echo SL forks for my 06 Python? My brother's the lucky one... I've built the git a whole and new '06 Pitbull!

It would be too powerful. In my personal experience, 160mm BB7s are already grippy enough on a 20" wheel. Just let them bed in properly and of course make sure the pads are aligned completely parallel and not at an angle! 203mm BB7'd probably rip your disc mount and spokes in the long run on a mod?

-Complete Koxx black sky -Every ti component possible. Straight from The Bank of Mum and Dad.

BB7s are more aggressive in terms of bite and hold but lack modulation and feel of smoothness that a Hope hydro has. Just a tradeoff

Sounds cool! But I'm curious how they've made an Esp->Euro converter since Spanish is a tiny larger than Euro? Unless it's a big outboard thing. I saw the other-way-round Euro->Spanish by Fly which was rather cool! But didn't look into that particular Fly adaptor in much detail so I'm not 100% if an Echo spanish spindle is long enough to just sit through and give good crank contact? Anyway, all this is pretty cool! Does anyone know if integrated (not internal) headtubes are OK with aluminium? The same cupless ones used in BMX that is... I guess it would save the need for head reaming/facing/fitting if it ever was brought into trials!

For an 'entry level' spec, that is really, really nice. Even if it were slightly tweaked to have sealed hubs and a sealed headset, I would already consider that a relatively high end bike! Sure beats what was available back in 04/05...! and moreso for those riders who started way before that even!

For the rotor bolt, you can superglue an unloved torx key in there and let it dry, then remove the bolt with it. How are you liking the pads?

T-tech 4-bolt. Go for 2-bolt only if you want to save around 6 grams. The t-tech 4bolt is designed well enough that it offers the support and stiffness of a 4-bolt superior to that of a 2-bolt which I personally would never ever use. The weight difference is minimal, and I'd rather take the extra stiffness and support of the mounts and bolts with a 4-bolt any day.

Just make sure to apply plenty of copper antiseize grease on the threads of both the crankarm and the freewheel.

Just a general question: Are headset cups supposed to be lightly greased or not prior to installation? I've heard both sides from many different sources, but leaning more towards installing it dry? Curious.

This is true. I saw one Echo SL disc brake in China which a rider was testing out, seemed okay from what he felt. Though the release date keeps getting pushed back and back, but hey if a better product is the result then it's worth it.

If you haven't yet, and have some lying around.. try some copper antiseize grease. I always use it for almost every threaded application, except for BMX freecoaster hubs. It cost me around £10 for a pretty big tub of it in halfords. There's so much I'm willing to shovel a spoonful out for any rider who wants some!

There are always exceptions indeed . The case is true for SL rim brakes, but they're pretty expensive to make to begin with. But to be fair, 100 RMB is only around £10 so the difference isn't too great compared to the Western prices. I lived in China for almost a year on a year abroad studying, and have been to China many times before and found that most parts like frames (esp. the newer simpler less CNC'd frames) are incredibly cheap if they were under Chinese brands. Zoo Lynx was 250 yuan in a store in Beijing, whereas something like a mid-range Monty 221Pr cost over 1000 rmb last time I saw. But yeah, overall it's surprising and convenient that Chinese brand frames are so cheap in China! Scoox, do you happen to know Huang Wu Yu by chance? He was sponsored by Zhi, and now rides an Orange Sky, he's supposed to be one of the best comp riders in China at the mo?

Antifreeze appears to work fine by itself, but IF you want to still try out some mineral oils... then Baby Oil is the first stop. I haven't used it myself yet but I always hear that the lever feels a lot snappier and reponsive, whilst it being mineral oil which doesn't corrode anything incase you're worried in the long term. I should think a bottle of baby oil is cheaper than anti freeze of the same volume, so why not try it out? If you don't like it, then anti freeze away. Since it's Baby Oil, even if you don't get on after testing it'll at least be somewhat of use other than for bleeding brakes...

Oops, my bad. Should've read it better. Offer's out there for anyone who's stuck without one!

I have a few Echo crank spacers untouched lying around (the ones that are supposed to come with Echo cranks for 'no bashring use') to give better chainline. I'm feeling generous so just pay postage and it's yours for free!

I think* on paper it's: 1045mm, 375mm, 71ha, +55mm, with 100mm long headtube. Don't know about reach though!

Baby Oil from J&J. I think it's around £2 per small bottle from Boots? It's a mineral oil which apparently is a bit thinner than the others. I've used LHM and Royal Blood and they're fine for me, but if I really felt picky about lever snappiness than Baby Oil is the only other one I'd consider. Some DH riders actually use Baby Oil in their mineral-fluid based disc brakes and rear shocks?

Cool, I wasn't entirely sure on if Magura was completely manufactured in-house. Thanks for clearing that up Meh, I only bothered bringing up the high prices of foreign brands in China as point to give a thumbs up to the Echo disc brakes for the Chinese market.

I think every single person on the forum knows that the at least 99% of trials parts are made in China. I wasn't saying that these parts were made in-house by say a European company and exported to China. That wasn't my main point though anyway. Almost any brand that isn't Chinese-owned then it normally has crazy over-the-top prices as imported goods. The same goes for everyday stuff in China, if you pop into 7-Eleven and want to buy Evian (bottled in China, not even 'imported') it costs 11x as much as Chinese-branded water (which isn't bad at all). Shopping for Western clothing brands that are made in China still carry *at least* the price in the West plus tax. Similarly Koxx parts are very very expensive in China, moreso than in the UK, same goes for all the other European brands... even though their stuff is made in China. Magura is shockingly expensive too, and I don't think that's 100% made in Germany either? Most generic disc brakes are turd for trials, so people use either Avid BB7 or those lucky ones use Hope or Magura if they can afford it in China. I think this is the main good thing about the (supposed) release of Echo's own hydraulic disc brakes. No import-esque prices, so the local riders can afford a decent hydro disc brake. I've noticed during trips to China that there are a small handful of parts that are exclusive to the domestic Chinese market. e.g. a factory-standard White Czar 24" instead of brown or green, and I've seen a few Echo SL disc brakes 'in the flesh' too, they are pretty but Hope has the reputation...

Killer Instinct on SNES?

I think it's good to 'preview' their upcoming products, at least we know they somewhat exist. But I'm guessing the reason why they're not so highly anticipated in the UK and Europe is because Hope is readily available and likely will not be much difference in price with the Echo disc brake. to be honest, the Echo disc is almost definitely something catered towards the domestic market in China as all other decent hydro brakes are from North American or European brands which are horribly expensive there. To say the least it's something to look at for the time being Seems these days the trend is going towards lighter and more simple looking frames whilst maintaining decent strength. I guess the lack of welded-on booster is nice for those people who don't like boosters or just want the lightest set up. Though to be fair, I'd trust a big sturdy 4-bolt booster over a welded on one. Agreed about the stems, his older ones had a design that looked fine and worked well?