guineasmithpig

in most cases parallel push works well. but once the bushings wear a bit, and the linkages are a bit loose, performance deteriorates. anyone remember old skool xt's? after about 6 months or less, they were guaranteed to be screaming like a banshee! also with the newer xt's, i seem to remember mine being really powerful, resulting in more flex on the wrong setup. though it could also be flexing the linkages, due to the beasty, stiff arms. i'm gonna be using a newer style xt on the front, to see how it fairs. last memory of using this brake was that i had to take it off because it was TOO powerful!!! that combined with spanish fly's should be interesting! Smithy

also the odyssey A-Brake have option to run whatever side you want. they worked a beast on my mates dirt bike. they have zero flex, but may be a bit chunky for trials. anyone ever use them? smithy

hey, i'm just looking at putting a v-brake on the front of my old skool rig. have got the newer style XT arms, and hope to use an avid or xt lever, with the aforementioned cables. question is, which pads to go for on a plain F519 silver rim? i know loads of bmx'ers who use spanish fly's to good affect, but had also sen the rock pads look similar for less dosh. or is it really gonna be worth goin the whole hog for crv's? Smithy

get the number 5 bus from the bottom of the steps outside the station. it runs every 5mins. just tell the driver you're goin to the Zodiac on cowley road. i THINK its directly opposite the next stop after tesco metro (which is opposite my house ) who you going to see? Smithy

just got in. was flashed and sirened by a police car. crossed the pavement, crossed the road, back onto pavement right in front of them. with no front light on. with my headphones in. ignored them and rode straight to my front door. they sat at the driveway for a split second before tearing off again. can't be THAT big an issue to them then, can it? if theres one or two knobbers giving out ticketsall the time, just ask for their badge number and name, and report them. if they refuse, they're witholding info your entitled too, and breaking the law themselves. they're just power tripping and being arseholes. most police are sound. the few exceptions need to be put in their place. PROTECT AND SERVE and all that. not spoil innocent peoples afternoon Smithy

are we talking little chavs here? the ones who ain't quite old enough to get a moped yet? tend to get more of em after xmas, when they all get a t-bird off mummy and daddy. they soon f-off, but are freaking annoying when they're out. chav culture taking over still i vote that you and some mates just kill em one night when they're out. if it were up to me, the uk would have a mass chav cull. they do it to badgers and deer and stuff when they are taking over the land and destroying crops and stuff. why not chavs? they're a general menace to society as well as peoples personal space and property. kill em, kill em all Smithy oh, and next time that lad steals from a garage, go tell the cashier and ring the police?

if you or your bike isn't allowed on the road, you should be PUSHING your bike on the pavement. i think there was a big thing like this about lack of saddles on trials bikes, and no front brakes on street bikes a year or two ago. so i don't see why they aren't fining people for riding on the road without saddles either?! this all sounds like a loud o crap anyways. if you get fined, contest it. if they can't prove a law, get it in writing and take it to a solicitor or something. as soon as someone stands up to these one or two cops who are getting off on giving kids fines, and proves em wrong it'll soon stop. no need for 3 pages of people thinking they know better. go prove it, and show us you balls! Smithy

you people do realise that frame designers aren't just tryin to make frames they think look good, don't you?

iirc, don't they do the hs66 for tandems? does this have any extra power, for use under heavier loads? remember people riding for megamo and monty using massive 'trials specific' magura levers back in the day with beasty master cylinders. were these actually trials specific for team riders? or old hs33 levers? or from the hs66 range or something? Smithy

i guess what the legislation is saying is that reckless use of the pavements by cyclists is frowned upon, and thats the instance that the fixed fine should be applied. but if you are using the pavement responsibly and cautiously, then they can't just slam you with a fine in such a case, i'd explain to the officer that i'm riding responsibly and taking care not to endanger pedestrians. and if he feels compelled to get me off the pavement then i'll ride on the road at danger to myself. but if he's gonna automatically stick a fine in my face, i'll contest it with his superior powers. and i think the point that Simon is getting at is that, if they've seen you hoping on items of public property and generally 'dicking about' (in their eyes) then they're going to assume that your a danger to the public. trials is totally alien to most people, and they don't understand it. with the amount of chavvy youth culture around town centres at the moment, i don't blame them. all young people getting tarred with the same brush, even though we are doing something constructive and exercising our creative and sporting sides. and in such a case, you'd be lucky that they don't pull the 'criminal damage' game on you for even the slightest scratch to something. oh, and on a final note, i think it would be wise to respect the 'elders' on the forum a little more. they have seen trials progress over many years now, and this sort of thing has been going on for a loooooong time now, with no change occuring. and i'm pretty sure it never will, possibly even getting worse, due to the youth culture mentioned previously Smithy

once you're ready to start workin on it again, get yourself down the gym to see a decent trainer, or a physio. i was helped by simon lord (Physio on the forum) with a dodgy shoulder that has been weak for as long as i remember. think it was from falling down the stairs as a toddler. anyways, gave me exercises for it to strengthen the right areas. low and behold, stacked it at epic skatepark and seperated both my shoulders. so now both are tw@ed. am currently in the gym getting them sorted. here, you'll find you can't push anything, yet pulling stuff is fine. make sure you don't over-do the bench and shoulder presses, as my shoulder popped the other day pushing 8kg, and just kept locking up! am currently pressing about 6kg on each arm with dumbells, again, keeping the weight light. yet pulling up about 20kg, doing rotator cuff exercises with no troubles. i'm spending about 1.5hr session, doing mainly shoulder and surrounding area work, on silly light weights, but its really helping! the strained and weakened rotator cuff will make your shoulder pretty unstable, and this needs to be addressed carefully to stop any more damage. smithy

high roller xc's are supposed to be good, though my cousin used one on the front of his trials rig and it wore down super fast! i'm runnin a hard drive rear on the back, and a dynomite on the front of my xc bike, and they hook up fantastic. by far the best off road tyres i've used to date! just managed a whole winters riding with no wash outs or failed ascents. very impressed. oh, and the hard drive rolls well on the rear. the dynomite never feels skittish on roads, but does drag a bit. well worth the extra effort for better off road performance though Smithy

we used to have races down the marble stairs on dinner trays at our college

Impressive. Tis true that police can't/don't do anything in instances like you mentioned. Hopefully there will be a revolution against the whole chav culture sometime in the future. though i wish there would just be a national chav beating day. nick all their baseball caps, and ban mtv Base from the airwaves, and they'd soon disappear. dirty little bar-stewards. high 5 for you my good man Smithy

Damn, sorry to hear that man. Me and the family are big cat lovers, and we lost two of our three within a very short time, like 3 weeks or something. One was pretty old, about 14 i think, and hadn't been well for a while. Got to the point where it was unfair to let him go on, so had to have him put down. And the other was only young, 3 years old. Was a bit funny one day, and by the next morning, couldn't even get up. Had a kidney problem, and just lost her within a few minutes. Not good I feel you're pain man. Get yourself another one in good time, it'll cheer you up no end. Our new one is an absolute idiot and keeps getting himself stuck in boxes and bags and stuff. Keeps us amused Smithy

have a mate who's just finished the first stage of his architecture degree. he did art, graphic design and psychology at A-level, towards his degree. psychology is pretty important, because architecture is all about making stuff pleasing to the human psyche, and guys i know doing architecture find it REALLY useful to have a grounding in this to understand good design. you'll do reports on the architecture of things other than buildings. on chap did a paper on 'the architecture of alfred hitchcock films' and got an A for it! my mate did another module, though i can't remember what it was. you'll do a bit of maths at degree level, but not enough to justify doing maths A-level (i'm doing engineering degree, and you defo need it for that, but not architecture). so i'd look intoit further to sort your 4th module. the three above are of utmost importance though Smithy

thought i'd have a bid on the Law's anyway. there was two pairs running at £15 each on ebay. i won the first at £21.57. second pair went for £16! lucky buggers. still, £21 for a set of £99 ain't half bad! just asking for some details to make sure its the proper law cycles company doing the dealing. let you know what they're like when i get em Smithy oooo, and won some £70 Oakley bikin shorts for £27. thought that were good

Well, i'm at Brookes. just rebuilding my trials bike atm the only people i know close to oxford for regular evening rides are me and sam wheeler, and we've vowed to ride trials and street a bit more regular (whenever the weather holds out). i've also got some mornings or days off atm, so day time riding would be possible (though the town centre is way too busy til about 6pm) . get in touch with us on MSN (i'm at guineapig_84@hotmail.com), and organise stuff. we used to ride like 3 nights a week when i started uni. had most of the last 18months out though through injury. ride mainly street and parks on my revell now, but am looking to have a mess on the trials bike on week nights speak to you laters. and congrats on the uni placement Smithy

my insurance quotes literally halved upon reaching 21 years old. and thats with no years no claims. could never afford to insure the cars i had from 18 onwards. got me a 1.4 fiesta zetec at 18, then got quoted £2.5k on insurance, as its a group 7 car! the insurance quotes for that are still quite high. dunno if the class it as a 'hot hatch' or something. anyways, at 22, its cheaper for me to insure a 130bhp Passat TDi, or a 2.0l Zetec Focus. so gonna do that next year! for you new drivers, i would seriously recommend getting the cheapest to insure car for at least the first year or two, on your own policy. it really will pay dividends when you reach 21, and have up to 3 years no claims bonus. your insurance will be sod all and you can have whatever you want then! also remember, you're inexperienced, and if you are in an accident, it is VERY unlikely you will win the claim if theres a shadow of doubt over the circumstances. i got hit by a speeding motorist, 7 weeks after passing my test. he ADMITTED to speeding, yet still won the insurance claim, and my premium nigh on doubled! and that was on my mums policy (started at £600 on a 1.2 non-injected nova, went to just over a grand). also with your inexperience, i would certainly suggest you are gonna bump it to some degree (nearly everyone i know has at some point), and if you have to claim, they will rape you for it. after that guy claimed off my insurance, i just bought a new car for £450 (the first one was only £480) and that did me for a year. if you stuff a smart car, you gonna get screwed if you claim for a new one, or you've gotta buy a new one which is a waste of a nice car in the first place i mean no offence by all the inexperience comments, but any car enthusiasts will tell you exactly the same thing. no matter how good a driver you think you are, it is better that you learn from a wee bump in a crappy car at a young age. unfortunately, i know young lads who thought they were invincible on the roads and are now dead. Smithy

have you been through 3 freewheels using the same chain? could be the chain not meshing as mentioned before? also check for stiff or bent links. if all else is in order, then seems like the only thing left really. unless you've got a really dodgy ankle joint! Smithy

the Syncros are nice i know what nice pedals are, i'm just after some old skool caged pedals for my old skool trials bike! Ideally I'd like some Club Roost 2ds or 1Ds. the post was just asking about the Law pedals, as these looked really nice. not THAT old, but I DO NOT WANT new platform pedals. just so people aren't wasting their time posting loads of CNC beasty flat pedals. I'd get VP caged pedals, but they lasted about 2minutes when i last used them. so really, only responses I want is Law pedal info, and if anyone knows where theres some decent CR 2Ds lurking, let me know!!! Smithy

hmmmm, platforms again. just that i saw the Law's on eBay at £15. unfortunately i've had no replies from 'lawcycling' who has 0 feedback. i'm sure they're legit, but haven't been able to contact through the company site either. may just run the V12s i have until i can be arsed/have time to make my own pedals. can have whatever the hell i want then! Smithy

got v12s atm. but its for an old skool build, so wanted cages. anyone know places still selling Club Roost ones? as for V8s, i'm fed up of bent axles. put a set on my bmx when i had it. clipped on a wall on the first ride and totalled em. poo. V12 axles any better? or gonna be the same? and ali, how heavy is heavy? can't seem to find a weight on their site. about as heavy as old cage pedals? (TNT, 1Ds/2Ds, Triple Traps?) smithy

look pretty well designed. always preferred caged pedals like Club Roost 1D and 2D. hate them VP/Onza things. anyone ridden the LAW pedals, or know how they perform? mainly concerned about bearing and axle life. the bodies look pretty solid. obviously the 'cages' are removeable, but i dunno whether they are gonna be easy to get hold of Smithy just been on the LAW website, and they look alrite. MBUK review gave em 9/10, and they are selling off 2006 stock at £40 no sign o them replaceable cages though.... Smithy

Perv gets my vote had a look through the DK range? a few of their's were recommended to me when i was thinkin of gettin a cruiser for dirt. have since quit trials so went for a 'proper' dirt/park/street mrb, with 26in wheels and everythin Smithy