neils on wheels

How recently? Mountain Bikers riding in a 'top group' having been using first 2x10 and now mostly 1x11 gear set ups for years. I think Shimano's last 3x9 XTR set-up was about 2009. I had 3x9 XTR on both my bikes for 4 or 5 years, so must have done a few thousand miles without any of the problems you mention. Anyone who has ever ridden a single speed for any distance on a hilly route will know it is a far from enjoyable experience!

Plus the best first timer was won by the ever gentle Billy Bolt on a 125 Ossa.

Doug Lampkin will be the UK Importer & Distributor. I'm sure he doesn't need our advice, but I rather suspect he'll prioritise established trials dealers over Mothercare for his retailers...

Yes They plan for late this year Nothing yet announed

Do you think Doug might be extra motivated having lost 8 on time. Apparently his first ever SSDT time penalties.

I'd rather have a light bike land on me than a heavy one.

Copied from Mavic cycle wheels, where it as much a brand identifier as a valve identifier.

Has anyone here any experience with a motolug http://www.motolug.com/index.php folding trailer that they can share? I know they are not the cheapest, but I like the idea of being compact to store and having the option to assemble it as a one or two bike trailer. If anyone has used one I would be interested in your feedback on the quality, ease of assembly/disassembly and how well it tows. Thanks in advance.

I completely agree. As has been discussed in other forum topics the WTC could benefit from such variety too. On a Saturday the Hook Woods sections were described as "tight & technical". Dabill won on 22, tenth place lost 94. The point being that in more flowing sections the differential between WTC level riders and the best National riders is reduced, leading to a more open trial.

I don't agree. I was there and found it refreshing to see some open sections not just tight turns & big steps. In the Championship class only two sections weren't cleaned. No section was fived by every rider on every lap. I agree it was good to see two young riders Dan Peace & Jack Price in the top 10. Interesting too, to see how Casales struggled with the different sections and conditions. In contrast see how the Southern guys who understand better how to ride these conditions fared: Sam Haslam & Sam Connor in 3rd & 4th. All that being said, I was talking with Steve Saunders at the top of section 6, he was a bit miffed as the section had been stiffened up by the club since he had set it out last week.

Well Dan, you've seen Toni Bou's technique now too, does that mean that you'll be replicating it in your next competition? Maybe what he does is not easy to achieve, which is why no-one else does.

This can't have been a great advert for out sport can it? How many people at Barcelona would have watched the X-Trial, watched the indoor enduro & thought "trials looks like fun; throwing a bike and my body at a welded metal box before falling off, I think I'll take that up!"?

So here is where I'm struggling. Your earlier posts suggest a restriction of development, yet here you acknowledge that restricted development contributed to the demise of the first wave of Spanish manufacturers. I just cannot see how restricting development will help this time around, as others on here have posted, it may encourage more of us to hold on to our bikes for longer and thus put Gas Gas and others in a worse situation as sales decline.

Remind us what happened next to Ossa, Bultaco & Montesa...

Light weight does not have to mean unreliable. I don't want an unreliable bike, I want a lightweight one that is reliable & performs well. As you say, the technology to achieve this is readily available. FIM introduced an increased minimum weight limit a couple of years back, it was not popular with many. Dadof2's suggestion to further increase this minimum weight does not get my support.

In your opinion. I have a different opinion. I'd gladly pay more money to have a lighter bike. Legislating against progress is plain daft.

On this brief evidence, he appears to be getting on OK with that big, heavy four stroke! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYPPgoe-gYg

When two riders are equal at the end of X-Trial qualification, they ride one section to have a "Run-off". I think when we have these 'failure to agree' dialogues in our forum, we should call them a "Dad Off"

They are from the same County, but there are a fair few trees in that County, so I wouldn't be quite so sure. Dabill did not consistently break into the world top 5 on a proven bike (maybe he did for the one year Fajardo spent on Ossa?). If he equals his previous results, i.e. sixth in the world, on a new bike I think the whole team will have done well, if he does better than that then they will have achieved something noteworthy.

No slant felt or intended here. I'm merely seeking to understand how things work. My understanding is that the effect of the 'levers' is to move the bottom shock mount rearward as the shock compresses, thus reducing the leverage ratio applied to it and making the suspension harder to compress and thus 'stiffen up'. I've not studied the kinematics of this, it is just an educated guess based on what I would expect to happen.

Much appreciated

No, I do not believe they can.

Dabster, I'm not sure I understand the parabolic bit. I thought the compression curve would be some shape of rising rate?

The 'levers' are not there to smooth out the action, arguably they would do the reverse by adding friction. Their purpose is to change the leverage ratio applied to the shock to control the rate at which the suspension rate increases.The Rev3 shock achieves the same with internal valving.

CAD drawing welds will always look good. Let's wait & see photos of a manufactured frame, or the bike in the flesh.