bikespace

I'll give them a ring, cheers.

I did a good bleeding job on my lads Rev50 this week. Brake was excellent yesterday, and for the first few sections today. Then all of a sudden nothing. Bugger - back to square one Strip down this week. I'm Ok with the caliper end, but anybody know how much you can do with the cylinder end?

1995 TY250, we're talking mono.

The ones who want to ride around for clean all day would never admit it. The rest doesn't surprise me too much. I'd say most people do want a bit of a mix. Only normally the top experts who want it tougher. Everyone else has the option to ride up a class if they want it harder, unless of course they're pot hunting.

Keep it on topic baldy

It's getting harder to please everyone. At our trials generally: White route - Beginner - Very straight forward - no big drops - no big steps - no really steep banks. Yellow Route - Novices - Bit harder, some toughish roots, logs, rocks, NO HOPPING required Red Route - Expert - Most things go - avoiding dangerous stuff - hopping probably makes at least 20% of these sections easier. Green Deviations - Inters - Expert route minus the nasty stuff, hopping avoided. The expert route used to be the easy one for me to mark out. If I can ride most of them with what I call an ar5e tweaker for the odd one or two then generally it was about right. I'll put it fairly anon, but in one of our last few trials we've had an odd complaint from an expert rider (he went home). Now I do respect the bloke so it makes it a bit harder to take, and I've got to admit i only heard second hand so don't have the details. If anything I thought we'd judged the expert route very slightly on the easy side (I'd actually eased a fair few of them up considerably) There were about 8 of us I think on the expert route, and marks ranged from 8 to about 54. My spritely 19 stone frame running (waddling) round with my lad (on the first lap at least) found it fairly relaxing, managing to clean all but one section on the last lap. To have an expert go home after a lap sort of made me think I'm not going to manage to keep everyone happy. If anything I would step the next one up just slightly, but that don't seem like the right thing to do. I really don't enter in to the bravado thing, I like to try to get the route at a level where most if not all of the riders will be happy. If they want less they can have less, if they want more, they can have more. This one's knocked me back a bit.

Lost a bolt from sump guard. Looks to me like I need an M7 15 countersunk. What's strange about M7? Doesn't seem to be listed with the other sizes. Any idea where I'm likely to find one at fairly short notice. I can get away without a countersink for the odd trial I suppose. Are these definitely M7 anyone, or have I fat fingered the measurements here? Cheers, Gaz And is it me, or does this little bike rattle itself to pieces? Runs great, but has an automatic renewal scheme. Nothing on the bike is over a year old, as it will have vibrated off by then.

I think he'll leave it on the back burner for a few years. He started in moto trials, used to ride the Inter route even when he was in C class, so no slouch.

Yep, that's the one, and that vid's not actually showing his full capabilities at the moment. Looking good for the future, hopefully with his brother Tom hot on his heels. How useful would it be to live with your training partner full time eh?

Well done to Sam Oliver , managed to pick up sponsorship from MRS, the UK importer for Monty. No doubt this will be a great help as he (and the Oliver crew) make an attack at the World Rounds. I'm not one for blowing people's trumpet when they start to get a bit good, but I've never seen anything like it. It gives you a tingle down your neck. I've always thought that if you really want to excel at something, you have to go absolutely over the top - training training training. Sam is doing exactly that. Watch this space.

If that's your better half in the Avatar, bring her along too. In fact, if that was your better half in your avatar, I guess you would be staying at home

What is National clubman level though? - we've had this before. I would class myself as a centre clubman rider - I'm expert. We're not talking anything below Inter are we? Probably right about the over 40 rule Dabster I think.

I've often thought "If you win the clubman class, then you were riding the wrong route". Now that may seem a little unfair, and there may be the odd exception, but if the classes are based on guesswork, then that may well be true???? If I won the clubman route before 40 I'd be feeling guilt rather than pride I think. Not trying to wid anyone up here by the way, as I'm regularly in the position of deciding which route, and these are things that play on my mind.

This is a tricky one. I ride the Expert route...I'm 'approaching 40'...I'm over 18 stone. I manage fairly well at most trials on the expert route. I have a dilemma at some of the nationals. I asked around for the Lakes 2 day which route I should ride. I opted for the clubman route eventually, and would literally have died on the Expert route. The Manx 2 day for the last few years I've ridden the Expert (National route), and I'm left fairly crippled on the nights in between Last year I think there were only about 50 of us on the hard route and I was I'm sure in the last 10-15. There were riders far better than me on the clubman route. This year I p[lan on riding the clubman route. Who says who can and can't ride one route or another? I really couldn't give two hoots about an award, but I wouldn't mind being able to walk (and have a pint or two in between)

Lots of threads on this. Have a search, but this one seems to hit the spot towards the end. Regular problem with the rim tape. Still got a spare in my garage waiting for a bit of a clean up and sort out. Clicky HERE

I missed this one, ya bast&*ds. Dodgy camera of Ian's - optical illusion, makes me look like a fat bast&^d somehow I reckon he dubbed it on photoshop.

Oh, and a few miles down a road when I missed the turn in the hailstorm. Was it the same time of year last year??? I'm sure I remember a hailstorm and torrential rain??? Look at it this year - Ain't global warming great

I like the look of this blue shorty lever. Why have a lever big enough to get two hands on it when you're only going to use two fingers at most. Shorter one sticking out less is bound to get broken off less too. Would anyone buy levers like this??? I'd have a few straight away. Anybody else see the market for these?

There was about 20 yards down a grass verge last year, but worth checking with them, just in case the route changed.

Sometimes that works - sometimes it doesn't. On occasions I've tried jumping on it and still got nowhere, and I reckon I've got more weight behind me than most.

Alan Sagar observing at our Forest Trophy trial to unnamed red faced rider: "I've had 150 riders through here without moving any rocks, what makes you so ******* special?" Grimbo can be pretty good at it. Seen him almost use a wheelbarrow to move a kicker in Edit: I've just noticed the thread that probably prompted you to ask this question. I honestly hadn't read it before.

Last year it was all off road. Two laps of 20 I think? Damned good trial, and it fitted in to the level the ACU were trying to aim the Novogar at. Nothing daft - I remember a lovely waterfall section - was hard but ridable by most of the entry. Some nice rock sections on the top. I can't make it up there this year, but would definitely ride it if I could.

That's exactly the one I've got. I'll recommend it to anyone if you do enough tyres to make it worth your while. Makes it absolutely effortless. One of these and the standard tyre beader to get the tyre back on takes the hassle out of it totally.

I bought a bead breaker off Wiggy - bloody useful, but that doesn't help you. Try getting a shovel in there. Bit of weight and should go nicely.

That's twice tonight I've actually laughed out loud. Too much cider me thinks, unless you've got funny guests staying