guineasmithpig

errrrrrrrrrrrrr.... 1. engineer does not mean 'mechanic' 2. you don't need a 'vast knowledge of bicycle hubs' to know the best way to design them. simple engineering principles such as the behaviour of the materials under load, what loads are gonna be applied. all a hub is, is a pawl and ratchet mechanism within a shell, running on an axle. you probably ain't got the first clue what forces are being experienced by the internals of a hub during trials use. its almost impossible for companies to make absolutely perfect components for trials riders. they have to suit the market for use and cost. if someone made a totally indestructable, superlightweight trials specific hub, it'd cost about 3 times as much a king, n it'd b pointless developin it, because no1 wud buy it! big up hope for spendin all this time and money on our little niche market of cycling. bet its cost em a fair bob or two so far, but i'm sure the end result will be fantastic. i'm also sure there'll be plenty o little kids on here who'll find somethin to whinge about with it. geez, i must be gettin old. i swear some recent posts have come round for about the 3rd or fourth time (or more) since i signed up! long live hope tech! yours truly a grumpy old man (aka smithy)

yeah, raceface taper lock with steel axle. careful installing the cups though. mine stripped the threads when the cup was completely in the frame!? wud be pukka if they did a steel cup option........ ah well, i'm goin to isis after snappin a UN52 n breakin my ankle! smithy

i might be able to get down for about 6pm. i missed out last week. was sposed to be ridin on monday, but u all buggered off to plymouth or summat! i'll ring wheeler and find out what the crack is. smithy

if u can get the pads to bite properly, a front maggie is just a disc brake with a 26in rotor. Might have a go at a 1 piece maggie setup one day ^_^ zero flex beast with custom sized, over-powerful pistons

i think i've just wet maself........

had my fattys for 3 years. ran a 165mm louise on the front a while back, and then a 203mm avid disc. the beasty just ripped the bottom o the fork leg off after bout 12months. only just started riding my new ones (cudn't help maself (Y) ) so we'll see whether it was just the mega brake or years of abuse. if u want lightweight performance, i reckon the fattys r well up there. i'd say they'd be fine with a 185mm disc or smaller. even better if u run rim breaks!! smithy

go jaime, go jaime! now i'm back ridin, i can teach you how to be even better..... :P (Y) smiff

wearing gloves will not stop callouses occuring. but i've always worn gloves, and never had a blister (as far as i remember). i wear them all the time, same as i do a helmet, because i'm always fall off. a decent set o downhill gloves or bmx gloves (diggin the 661 range at the mo) do me fine. the 661s last me ages. don't really suffer any discomfort (unless they're a crap design with overlaps and stitches in the wrong places *cough* fox *cough*) anyways, its one o them 'each to their own'. u don't have to wear em, but u'll never know if u like em til u try em. like bum sex really. did i say that out loud.........?

that mech saver is worrying me. the whole point of mech hangers bending easily is to save ur mech and frame. from the look of how that device fits, a hefty smack will be directed to the axle, and therefore the dropout of the frame itself. also, the mech wont be able to move and get totalled in the process. seems to me its trying to eliminate the replaceable mech hanger and its benfits. don't seem very clever to me (Y) obviously a mech protector would be ace, but it don't see what this trying to achieve, apart from small hit performance, and the never seem to bother me or my mech. i'd rather replace a £5 (max) dropout than a mech and frame. smithy

this is smithy, a stoke/newcastle local. we had a commity set up with 'castle council for 2 years, fully designed trials park with sponsors, petitions, the works. then they suddenly scrapped the idea when they quoted us over half a million quid for the insurance of the park. they can do skateparks easy, because the ramps etc. are off the shelf items that are safety and quality approved to legislated standards. only way you can do trials park is on private land with full liability and insurance (or you have to have somebody managing the park to make sure riders sign contracts sayin they ride at their own risk etc.) i know some parks have been done before, but our experience turned into a big disappointment, and a lot of wasted time and effort besty o luck and let us know how you get on smithy

if u r after a nice street trials frame, the old giants are THE BEST! superb geometry for bunny hops and manuals, yet perfectly comfortable with 'proper' trials moves. super bombproof. i have dents in the downtube of mine, and used to grind on the chainstays too. nice machined yokes, and other parts. pretty light too, even by todays standards. about 4.2lbs? correct me if i'm wrong. levelboss 1065 weighs in at 5lbs! i ran an azonic shorty 80mm stem, and DW bars (2in rise) and loved it to bits. brought my riding and confidence along immensely. its now got dmr motos, and bout 3in chopped off the bars, being ragged around local jumps smithy

the spring tension in ur mech lifts it upwards and outwards. having removed the tension spring u can lock the mech in position to stop it 'swinging' but not laterally. now push ur mech inboard, so the jockey wheels line up with the sprocket ur using, then swing the mech until it touches the chainstay, and then lock it out. now the mech can not move upwards and outwards, leaving it positioned over ur sprocket for good. this is how the mech in the pic has been positioned, and how i've been running mine for years. good luck smiff

Game of Life!! classiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic! smithy

i'm 11 stone (max.) and run a 203mm avid with an SD7 lever. plenty o modulation, locks when u need it and has ridiculous amounts of power. just make sure u have strong forks :shifty:" with avids SD levers, i don't think u can ever not have modulation ;) smithy

haha i've just come back from first big xc ride on spds. :"> just forget i can't lift off the pedals. wudn't trust em for trials (Y) though i did show off with a little wheel swap over a log while they all got off and carried (Y) check them badboys! pedal is cleat, mecanism under you shoe (Y) yummy! (not) smithy

fattys r pretty ultimate forks, as long as they have sorted the disc mount problem. if ur runnin disc or rim brakes, they still perform really well. not really much else i can recommend as i've only used these since my mk1 px's B) only others i would PERSONALLY consider would be onza wise guys (think thems the ones). 4 piece design, solid disc tab, and ingenius steerer. super solid forks. forks r somthin i wouldn't wanna go floaty light on, as if they go SNAP on a tricky move, ur just gonna take a pretty heavy faceplant! smithy

a baby is born dead in hospital. the little dead baby goes up to heaven. when the little dead baby gets to heavens gates, the guy at the gate says 'sorry, we're full. you can't come in' dead baby says 'oh but i really wanted to go to heaven!?' guy at the gate says 'tell u what, take these wings. u can be a cherub' so off flies the little baby with a bow n arrow, n does his cherub duties the next week, another little baby is born dead. the little dead baby goes up to heaven. when the little dead baby gets to heavens gates, the guy at the gate says 'sorry, we're full. you can't come in' dead baby says 'oh but i really wanted to go to heaven!?' guy at the gate says 'tell u what, take these wings. u can be a cherub' so off the baby flies with a little harp, makin everyone happy (n stuff) the next week, a little black baby is born dead. the little dead black baby goes up to heaven. when the little dead black baby gets to heavens gates, the guy at the gate says 'sorry, we're full. u can't come in' little dead black baby says 'oh, but i really wanted to go to heaven!?' guy at the gate says, 'tell u what, take these wings. you can be a bat'

see 'girls kissing' thread, because i know ur an ugly bugger :'( and yes, i know 'ewwwwwwwwwwww' smithy

i wanna start a mini project while i'm at uni. but highly unlikely it'll ever happen though. anyone ever been in/near one o these? Z Cars Mini R1 would like to get at least a decent shell together, ready for the REAL guts. oh, u can get 450bhp Hayabusa turbo engines for em too :'(" but write ur will before hittin the loud pedal smithy

i'd call that jealousy 'hey dudes! i can wipe the floor with u , even with all this extra weight!' fashion victims.. agreed :'( smithy

ask any hot girl for her number. summer lovin, and all that. beats wankin. havin a beautiful young lady do the deeds for u. leavin ur hands free for.............. the tv remote, and a cold pint!! Caution! this can result in severe damage to the crotch area, and u may have to resort back to wanking for a number of weeks (unless u buy her somthin REALLY nice) smithy

ah, the joys of trials. once ur on a bike everyones equal. all striving for similar goals. all tryin to have fun. no discriminated unless they p*ss people off. bliss now i just need a working ankle.......... smithy

haha quality. oh, and... we want some video evidence too... gettin board o the same 'free clips' online. ah well, 1 more week til i'm sleepin with the missus everynite again. in ur face, wankers!! (take that as u will (damn! done it again!!! (oh i give up (errrrrrr)))) smithy

i know what u mean mark i'm as happy with different races as i am with my own sexuality (straight and sure of it, before u ask). wish everyone else in the world was the same. *sigh* :'( one thing that does miff me off though, is when people assume ur racist because ur white. is that racism in its self? smithy (oops! just realised we're onto racism. same applies for any discrimination of people for things not caused by their own actions. feelin like a right hippy now.... ) peace man (and women :lol:" )

'i ain't racist. i hate every f*cker!' quoted from a guy i worked with last year :'( everybody's equal. we're only human smithy