Phatmike

That poll seriously needs re-working. Also have a look through the *many* 'which pads' topics that exist. Most of them will advise towards Phat Pads

Likewise, however I felt the rubbish bits led up really to the good bits! They were all along the right lines which was a massive change to Top Gear (actually showing green as a good thing, or the real value of cars; enjoyment, etc) but of course they put a classic Top Gear spin on it to keep us all entertained at the same time (ripping the piss out of the Gee Wiz for one! )

Brilliant! Props to Danny for donating the bike to charity too.

I totally believe that top riding will be from mindless clarity. However trials is a learning process, which requires active mental action - quite the opposite from a no-thought state. I think you must maintain the balance between being totally focused on what you're doing in order to learn it, (applying consciousness), and also being able to subconsciously draw from your mind and muscle memories. An example of that is a move like Hooks - I know how to hook, however if I'm trying a big one, I might have a few great first goes and then lose it as I start to think about it more and about how to get up it. But I believe and know subconsciously that my mind is capable to control my body in order to achieve this, I've probably done this height in the past - so why can't I make the damn hook?! More often than not it's because my mind is too bogged down and too focused to allow me to draw upon this powerful subconscious knowledge about getting up the wall. So what do I do? Simple; Once I've had a few (close) failed attempts, I'll often spend a few minutes doing some gaps, or trying some bollards etc, and then with a completely clear head, safe in the beliefs that (usually) I'll go for the hook and make it first go! One way to reinforce these beliefs (which is discussed a lot in trials) is visualisation: If you can clearly imagine yourself nailing a move then you've a much higher chances of doing so. This goes even further if you can then consciously imagine it - that is to fully immerse yourself in this imagination (which might only take 5 seconds to do before you start drifting off into 80" sidehop dream land) and to be aware of the different things going on - for example where you body position is at different key points in this visualisation, or when you're kicking, or how hard! By doing this you are already training your body and mind to do exactly everything you've visualised, and preparing for it also. The bonus is about drawing upon this knowledge consistently - remember a time when you didn't know how to pedal hop; you'd need to think about the kicking, jumping, braking and pretty much everything until you had it nailed. However now, you know how to do all that, so you can think about, say, jumping harder to make a sidehop. This can be applied to pretty much any area of riding - I'll take hooks again for example: If I know how to hook, and I am trying a wall I know I can make, the belief I will make it is very strong in my mind, so I do not need to actively think about how to hook. What I can do with my mind during that time, is how to hook better.

Y'know, watching this now makes me feel my riding has become very 'robotic': Programmable, limited, and created by man. I will fix this.

Kool Max! Cheers for uploading that - had been wanting to see those clips for quite some time. Some amusing comments in that vid I thought, haha. "f**k that!" "Haha, and there's the police in the background" "Well done!" I also like this; *Heck yes I'm gonna stick this* Glad you guys liked it

I've been using KMC Kool chains for about 7 years, and recently (only the last 4 chains or so) have been literally falling apart within a few weeks. Before that, they'd last 6 months easily! Matt Burrows has noticed the same, and gone for a trialtech lite (??) chain, which seems to be pretty good. Not a fan of the KHE chains in the slightest, would others recommend the TT Lite as a suitable replacement too? If not which

Just gonna add to the 99% of the population here! The CNC backings available all but eliminate flex within the pad backing itself, which means the (massive) amount of energy that goes into deforming the plastic (essentially heating it up as it flexes back and forth), goes directly to adding more power to your brake! As you can imagine, this reduces the flexy feel of the brake, adds to the grabbiness of it, whilst reducing unnecessary noise, and naturally increasing power. I'm gonna follow Steve with the shameless plugs and point you to the links in my signature. :wink2: Mike.

Worth remembering that the only time I (and most others I assume) only remove the chain because it's broken so I'm repairing it, or replacing it with a new one. Both of which circumstances I'd be using a chain tool anyway! I can't see the point, apart from as JT mentioned - if you're experimenting with belt drive. Good on you for thinking though - it'd be great to see some more 'trials' orientated 24" bikes out there for sure.

Glad you agree Mike, link's here

Noone is. We've got to do the trip for £0. So hitchhike, free train travel, and in our case, free tickets from some lovely people at Easyjet! I get what you mean about people going on £600 holidays providing they raise say £700, with the costs coming out of that, however it's still a win-win situation. The charity gets money it wouldn't otherwise have, the people taking part get to go on an amazing trip (for free), and have the knowledge they're doing something good for the world (and I hope would donate money themselves too), and the sponsors also get the chance to actively contribute - which they might not do otherwise.

Bad news everyone! It looks like our aim of Jerusalem has been shattered - simply not possible. We are however going to Marrakech Huge thanks are gonna be going to the MD of Easyjet.. Thanks everyone who's donated so far (why not post in here as well as let me know personally..). Remember the donations don't go into our pockets to fund the trip, they go directly to the charity. Mike.

I should also add; I'm still happy to take payments outside of Paypal (cheque/cash, Bank Transfer/Deposit, Postal Order, etc etc), which will also obviously waver the Paypal fees. The prices above will still apply, (including the £2 donation, which I'll make to the charity myself on your behalf). Cheers!

Hey guys, In light of the Escape & Event event I'm doing on Friday to raise money for Help the Aged, I thought it'd be a great idea to combine it with a Phatworks offer. So for the next 10 days, (offer closes Midnight Saturday 28th November), I'm offering £4 off the price off the price of a set of Phatpads, and am offering Black or Gold anodised backings for the price of standard backings, providing £2 (or more if you're feeling generous ) is donated via the Just Giving website below. I'm also offering £2.50 off the £12 r.r.p price of the Phatworks pad material refills (which are the standard pad fit, so will fit into other standard cnc backings), providing the same £2 (or more) donation is made to Just Giving! So you're guaranteed to save cash, have an amazing brake, and feel great about giving to charity too. In brief: Until the 28th; Silver, Black, or Gold anodised Phatpads will cost you only £21, plus £2(+) to just giving. (Standard price is £25 + p&p) Phatworks material refils will cost you only £9.50, plus £2(+) to just giving. (Standard price is £12 + p&p) I ask that you also contribute £1.25 (or 85p if just material refils) to the Phatworks order to cover the costs of Paypal. Free shipping is included, but recorded is optional & advised @ £1 extra. The paypal email address is Paypal @ Phatworks.co.uk (don't forget to delete the spaces in the email, and also include your Name, Trials-Forum Name, and Address with the payment) My Just Giving page can be found here; http://www.justgiving.com/MikeySingletonIsOuttaHere, and don't forget to add your name with your donation, so I can check it against your order! If you don't know much about Phatpads - they've been used and adored by hundreds of riders, including Kenny Belaey, Damon Watson, James Porter, Ben Savage, Ben Slinger, Max Hoffman, Adam Bessel, Tim Stedman, Matt Burrows, and many more) for nearly 4 years. They offer unbeatable performance in the dry, wet, (and mud!) on smooth rims and grinds (Maximum performance is achieved on a fresh grind though ) They're the slimmest backings on the market today, which is great for you guys running wide rims and having to trim down your material. More info can be found here; http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....howtopic=129959, and if you've any questions, don't hesitate to ask in that topic for lots of replies, or email me directly at mike @ phatworks.co.uk Thanks very much! Mike.

Hey guys, I'm taking part in escape and evade this Friday, with the aim to get to Jerusalem. (Tel Aviv is as far as easyjet fly, and hopefully we'll find a kind Israli to take us from there!) It's for a great cause - Help the Aged, who've helped many people I know, and are a superb charity. http://www.justgiving.com/MikeySingletonIsOuttaHere Please give whatever you can, and follow me on facebook! Mikey.

..and is also at the heart of most if not all world religions as well - as the charter describes. An important thing I think to remember is that the term 'religious' has connotations of belonging to a large secular religion: Whilst I might describe myself as a 'religious' person, it certainly doesn't mean that I conform to the beliefs of any one particular religion, but upon my own beliefs and understandings, and taking ideologies, principles and beliefs from many world religions; Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism and the Rastafari movement to name just a few! What it's saying is that whilst the principles outlined in the charter can apply to any member of any secular religion, any person can take note (I think even reading it alone will start to develop awareness of it's power), and apply them to their own lives. As Ben said there is a path upon which anyone can live their lives far beyond what most people know and understand, and if people can even just acknowledge this, then more and more people will begin to live their lives in a more compassionate, loving and fulfilling way. Ps. Ben; brilliantly written posts above, couldn't agree with you more mate.

I really thought that was the best episode of TG they've ever made! The whole episode was funny, captivating, factual (ish as always), and inspiring. They cut out so much of the usual B-S, apart from the one staged crash with the Dacia Sandero - but even that I thought was comically brilliant. Loads of casual racism towards the US, and Romania, a funny guest, a great section on the 7-series and the Merc, a hilarious trip through Romania (how awesome were the tunnels through the Parliament building..), and an amazing drive on those wicked roads at the end (I seriously intend on purchasing a sports car and taking a roadtrip there next summer). Plus it was in HD - what more do you want!

Whilst you're point's valid in the sense that it has been put together by people that include religious leaders, other contributors have included Atheists, Agnositcs, and members from many other belief systems. The purpose of this charter is not a religious one; it's principles can (and I hope will) apply to politics, businesses, and all aspects of all of our lives. Yes, this is starting from a religious perspective, but as you said - that's a cause of many global issues. If those can be resolved, then this can be the start of a solution to many of the world's problems, such as drastically reducing harmful energy consumption & production to name but one. It came out today, so I'd urge everyone to have a read of it and see how you can apply it's ideas to your own lives. If there's parts of it you don't agree with, or parts you really agree with, then discuss! http://charterforcompassion.org/

Drop me an email - I supply them.

For reference, the Phatworks backings are standard fit. So any pad material will fit in. Slimmest of the bunch too.

Prototypes!

Hey guys, I'm not sure how many of you've been following this, but I'm so excited it's about to come, I truly hope this is the continuation of something great, and will begin a massive change. http://charterforcompassion.org/ http://charterforcompassion.org/video#wish http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charter-for-...on/163223499166 Keen to know your thoughts.

This one is the best one http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controll...p;modelid=15710, however I'd go with this one http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controll...p;modelid=19584

1:25 - love it. Some awesome locations to film, nice to see some fun riding going down too. But I know Tom can ride better than that - I wanna see vids of him pushing himself more.

C'mon guys, this is an opportunity not a disaster! I agree the venue doesn't have the same scope as Buthiers, but us Brits brought so much energy to the event, and that can't be lost. Besides, there's still a lot of riding to be had there! I suggest we turn the wooded rally track into an open, off-camber field event! Give the 2wd boys a chance And we'll still be camping like gypsies, no doubt about that. I'll still be coming to this one, and I'm gonna have a blast there no matter what. If afterwards, we decide Buthiers will be more suited for KD, then I'm sure we can bring it back. Perhaps Remy will run one event at each in future years to come - the sport's big enough for it! Beginning & end of season? See you boys there