All this bicycle talk reminded me that I had an old Haro BMX tucked away in the basement. Got to thinking that it would be good for a little bit of fun to dig it out and see if I could still do some of the stuff from 25 years ago. The answer is no. :huh It took about 14 seconds to deposit me on my ass. My kids thought it was great.
Decided it was time to start learning how to edit video. Ben and I played around a bit with it, and it wasn't nearly as tedious as I expected it to be. <object width="425" height="240" ><param name="movie" value="https://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2010102501.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashVars" value="s=ZT0xJmk9MTIxNTM2ODI4NiZrPWNwUFZyJmE9MTYwMzQxOTFfN0N2S3omdT1jaGFybGE=" /><embed src="https://cdn.smugmug.com/ria/ShizVidz-2010102501.swf" flashVars="s=ZT0xJmk9MTIxNTM2ODI4NiZrPWNwUFZyJmE9MTYwMzQxOTFfN0N2S3omdT1jaGFybGE=" width="425" height="240" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object>
The Echo is what's referred to as a stock which has 26" wheels. It's really Ben's bike, I just goof around on it a bit. The Monty that I have coming has 20" wheels and should fit me a lot better. I just got back from riding for a little over an hour, I'm whooped but I'm starting to figure out bounce turns pivoting on the front wheel. I think I managed about 90 degrees to the right but only about 10 degrees to the left.
Echo is a well known company with lots (for trials) of parts support. The 4 bolt rim brake rear is awesome, and can hold my 190 pound mass balanced poorly on the rear wheel. The closeout deal at CBtrials is a killer deal. The only thing I would add is if this is for your young son, look into some older brake master cylinders. Most of the new ones are radial style pumps and as such, position the lever much farther from the bars when at rest. Charlas Monty has different masters that our son can easily reach. Just a thought. If Cb lacks any stock for your build, MidwestBikeTrials.com is where I had my bike built. Matt was very helpful.
I found some stuff from around Y2K on an old hard drive. This was just before Echo and Koxx started distributing widely, before trials specific parts were easy to find and while a UCI legal stock bike still had to have six "working" gears and a seat. A bash/spider/ring combo I designed to integrate with XTR 952 cranks. What happens to a King cog right before it breaks into several pieces Like my "shifter" there are six cogs, one's hiding behind the King. one of many pad compounds I tested and developed in conjunction with 5.10
I really don't know very much about bicycles at all but even I can tell that that is cool. Did you dust off the old trials bike yet?
Just got back from a little over an hour riding at the park, worked on trying to find the rear wheel balance point on the Monty. I got there a few times but for the life of me I cannot stop involuntarily hitting the "eject" button. My brain is saying "Sweet!" as I watch my hands let go and the bike hits the ground. I'm such a chicken. Had one crash and smashed my kneecap on the stem pretty hard. That one took a few minutes to walk off. I guess it's a good thing I already had a bruise there. I can pivot on the front wheel 360 degrees going right (little hops obviously) but I can barely go left at all.
You might look into a decent set of knee and elbow-pads to protect the pointy bits, knee-caps are pretty easy to break :eek1. I find myself getting injured more on low speed bike and moto stuff than high speed, but then again I fall over more often doing really low speed stuff so maybe it's just a numbers game... Great thread!
It takes a while to overcome what your brain is telling you to do. The more you work at it, the more the movements will become automatic. Good thing practicing is as fun and rewarding as it is. eh...it happens. When I first started riding I broke just about everything on the bike but the frame itself. It's part of learning to dump it every once in a while and most of the time the bike will be fine. I know the instinct is to wear more protection but then you're not addressing the root of the problem which is usually a need for more aggro pedals and stickier shoes. that's typical, you'll figure it out. look further over your shoulder and remember...envision your hips going from where they are to where they need to be.
O.K. Here's my current ride... That's a 1917 Hudson the Norco's leaning on. Norco is built with Reynold's 853 tubing (LIGHT). Can't find a pic of my old Ibis 24/20... just traded it for parts to build a DJ (Dirt Jump) bike. Those that want to build on the cheap. Stay away from WallyMart and find a quality used small Mtn Bike (full sized, 26" wheeled) strip off the 2 larger front rings/ derailleur and start having fun!! (Check out the brakes!!!) After years of Bicycle Trials... getting used to my (new to me) 280 TXT has been an amazingly fun challenge. Thanks to Charla for starting this one!! Cheers, S.
I'm thinking I may go ahead and order the G-Form knee guards to go with the shin guards I already have. They are lightweight and should take the edge off of the hard impacts. It was scary fun to practice that stuff, I think that's why I like it so much. My comfort zone is definitely expanding so I'm able to keep pushing for a little more. I've been throwing motorcycles on the ground for nine years now, I'm really good at it. It's interesting that you mention that. I was wearing my running shoes today and I pretty much immediately knew that the were the wrong choice but I didn't want to go home to change them. My feet were slipping all over the pedals. My Sketchers with anti slip soles are MUCH better for riding. A couple of things here... My right foot is my good foot and I've found that it's easier for me to bounce left if I switch to my left foot forward. Is this normal or a bad habit to get into? I also realized today that I wasn't switching the direction that my front wheel was pointing and that was why I was losing my balance so quickly. Thanks for taking the time to offer pointers and encouragement. I really appreciate it.