Phatmike

Lol! I pitteh the foo' with a negative miiiindset!

Although Ross, it was more a case of discussing arrangements if Vince refuses to take them off! Jack Meek actually showed me the Chamfered edges on a pair of Phat Pads he modified a couple of years ago. After seeing it work and given we had more options with the moulded material, I thought it would be worthwhile. Thanks for all the comments, and keep posting up issues with the site as they are continually being resolved. New photos and updates are also going up as soon as they're ready (the site's got a great content-management system that Danny's implemented, so it makes modifications really nice and simple for us to do). For those who asked, the Phluid is a brake fluid designed for hydraulic rim brakes. It's water-based, without any of the corrosive compounds in tap water, with an added corrosion inhibitor to protect the inside of your brakes. It's been in testing for almost a couple of years now and has done really well. (Original brakes are still working perfectly from the initial batch, without even having been topped up!) I can't wait to get it released! Luke, there was a reason we didn't go for the domed recess in the Vee backing. I don't know how much of an issue it would have been, but I didn't like the idea of having a steel convex washer rubbing against an aluminium backing (despite the anodising). This way gives you a bit more flexibility. The nav bar isn't quite right in Safari and Chrome, but fine in FF and IE. We're working on it! And as Ben said, Martyn, Vince and Ryan have all expressed interest in using the pads, so they're all going to be using them. Phatworks is sponsoring the MAD team now as well (as most of the team have been using phatpads for a while), and also a few other awesome riders that can give their impressions. We've just had our 1st order - being packaged as we speak!

Hey all, Our site is finally up and running. A huge thanks must go to Danny Brady for putting in so much time, effort and talent designing and coding the whole thing, Neil Symmonds (Dealz) for helping get the whole thing going, the Biketrial Federation for encouraging our sponsorship of the National round on Sunday (and all next year!) and also to everyone else who's helped out. Our PHATPADS, PHATMAGS and PHATVEES are now on sale! They've all been re-designed and re-engineered from the ground up to be as good as they can be. The much talked about PHATPHLUID will also be released soon. A secure, Paypal cart system for orders is now up and running on the site, whilst our Steamline card payment system is in progress. Delivery is set for UK orders and international orders are more than welcome. We will contact anyone abroad regarding delivery charges above the Uk cost once an order has been made. (We use Royal Mail and Airmail) There's a lot of info yet to go on the site, from our incredible group of team riders and new media, to news and galleries. So keep an eye out! We're really, really pleased with our new pad range, and feel the quality of them is something that has never been seen before, and after riding them for the first time on Sunday I can confirm the performance is better than ever. Everyone who has seen them has said the same kind words, but I urge you to try them out for yourselves! I welcome any comments, feedback, warnings or advice regarding anything we've been working on. Mike. www.PHATWORKS.co.uk

Looks like trials has gone proper full circle, with a lot of exciting tangents along the way! The bike looks good - nice work Dave & Co.

Barbara, my entry will be done as soon as I'm back on terra-firma! Been really excited about this weekend for a while now; I really hope we get a good turn out. (A) What are you waiting for guys?

At least get de-ionised water if you can. Tap water will work, but it does corrode the maguras long term. As Ryan said, it does sound like sticky pistons, clean the pistons with a toothbrush and then use a lube like finishline wet chain oil (or cooking oil if you're in a rush) on the cylinders and lever pistons. (With a water bleed! Don't mix oil and water for the brake fluid)

I've never really treated riding like milestones, more as a natural progression of bike control. I might not be able to tap as high as 2 years ago (say..), but for sure my bike overall bike control has improved. Trials is definitely a sport that doesn't need heavy time investment! (That's the addictive bit) Just ride hard when you do ride, and get talking to other riders about techniques to help you progress as quickly as possible. Understanding the mechanics of control really helps gain consistent techniques that can be used for loads of moves. Most important bit is to have fun and challenge yourself.

It's on the continent -> therefore it's cooler than the UK. A Brit-Style mega mash up in Buthiers would be sick. I say we invite over all the Eastern Europeans and Russians to see if we can still hold our own!

Bon soir chaps! So I'm sat in the back garden of a nice dutch house, eating some caramel dessert and watching Danny Grey's 'SM DVD', then got to thinking about who are the 'senior members' of trials - and where they can gather. I mean people like the top competition riders, the event competition organisers and sponsors, demo teams and riders. How many of those guys use the s-m part of the forum? Do many still ride or care about the sport? How many of you want to help out with the sport? I suggest we invite people who can and are contributing to trials to speak in the s-m part of the forum, or even abolish it to start afresh. All I see in there is either a small group of old friends chatting about their lives, or an even older group winging about them. There are loads of people that want to see the sport grow, but have little idea how. The competition scene needs a lot of help; almost all of the Uk's top riders that compete internationally deliberately don't attend the British nationals because they're too easy! Then when a competition is set with hard routes, people complain because they're too long: Just one example of an opportunity to make the most of by paying attention to. Events like Tarty Days, MAD STOCK (tbc), Nass and the Red Bull Bike Battle could become so much more awesome now that trials has got such a sound base. (Not to mention TV gems like under pressure) So who is there in the trials community that should be involved in being a 'senior member' to discuss events and promotion of the sport? I've posted this topic in S-M chat as well, to get views from 'both sides' of the forum Mike

Nice one Jonny! Great vibes that day - so much fun getting so many guys out, it would be good to get more riding done by everyone next year Like I said in the video Ben, wasn't happy it didn't go all the way down but after so many attempts I didn't want to tempt fate by trying it even more - was very lucky not to have a nasty crash on that one..

Looks incredibly well produced - wouldn't expect anything less. Can't wait

Offer still stands Kris! Does the frame have a bit of clearance on the shell to lose a few mm? You kept badgering on about how you want a lighter bike anyways!

Bearing in mind some young guys aged 12 who can't afford anything along the likes of an 'ok' bike - ..of course it's all about the rider, but it's not often you'll catch a tip top bike rider busting out any sort of phat moves on some awful bike that's falling to pieces! Once you've got a bike that is comfortable, appropriate and safe it's just a case of riding it hard 24/7..

Interesting subject - can trials riders tap into the knowledge of past, present and future surrounding us in the universe? Is such a thing even possible? Does riding trials train us to open up to this, or is it something that people simply claim to be born with? As riders we posses the ability to learn to control ourselves during self propelled flight, whilst at the same time developing an understanding of intense emotions like fear, rage and stress - yet always striving for the inexplicable feelings of joy, satisfaction and fulfillment. Perhaps by participating in a sport that is not only impressive to the average human being, but often inconceivable and through nurturing a greater appreciation of the emotions trials can provide, we do, in fact open ourselves up to new insights otherwise not usually attainable. We are quite a rare breed - with trials riders accounting for less than one thousandth of one percent of the population of the earth (1 in 100,000 people), what is that draws us to this sport? Unlike most sports it is not about winning, nor about as going as fast as possible. Perhaps it is such good training for key aspects of life - Skill, Power, Control and Balance? Although ride... Oh wait you said physics! ..never mind

I think the pads aren't being considered as they haven't been formerly available for quite a while now. This is changing though.

And pretty it did look - that frame was gorgeous!

This. (and asking for tips on here!) The main thing is being able to balance on the front wheel - before you think about turning round, make sure you can balance first. The more you do it, you'll get a feel for hopping forwards or backwards depending on how your balance is. To turn, you move your body slightly in the direction you want to hop, using the friction of the front wheel to push against. The hop then brings the bike back balanced underneath you, so you land nicely in control. In theory...

I'm looking to make the switch to FFW too - can any others shed some light as to whether the Echo SL will be more durable than the Trialtech? Only £10 in it so cost isn't much of a factor here..

Really well made point here - all the best pads have kept their winning material for years, and only when they changed it or got rid of it did the problems start! I'd go with the pads that you feel will always give you reliable performance in all conditions, and that have always inspired confidence across the scene.

I'm gutted to hear that - clearly a big loss to an awesome set of people. Naturally it's worth keeping an eye on the local eBay/Cash Converters, and also all the local bike shops and Halfords, with pictures and details if you can, and the advice to call the police with any suspicions. I hope you get them back but failing that insurance is always handy to have as backup in these kind of situations - were they insured? Will keep an eye on where i can.

Ah cool - I didn't know marino were making it for you - good stuff! Have you got any other interesting ideas going on the frame?

<old man> But the fact is you push how fast you can go. Despite all those factors, anything can still happen out of your control that you can't predict or react to - a person running out/diesel spill/someone not seeing you etc. That's the main difference, not experience, skill or intuition. In other news, 'lol' at the whole story.

Great stuff Ross! Think I may have missed a part - are you making a whole custom frame for these to sit on? How do you want it to turn out?