ozz

Does anyone know when Cumberland County's Memorial Trial (16th Nov) is to be rescheduled? No info on the website as yet. I was just wondering what the new date is, if it's been decided yet? Thanks Oz

Yep, it tastes of strawberries too! It's also bright blue, so it's easy to see if you've added it to your fuel.

That's a shame, I was always impressed with the value, ordering from Oset directly in the past. Most of the parts are from push bikes, so it might be worth a look around to see what's compatible.

It's hard to believe all the components add up to less than a whole bike but if they do then go for it, sounds like a fun project you could do with your lad. My only concern is the 16" bike for an 8yo, it might be a touch on the small side. Maybe take him to a local dealer where he can have a sit on a 20".

Great advice everyone, thanks Izzy moved up to the 16" 36v very easily, a little hesitant at first but he stands up much more than he did on the 12.5 Now I'm looking at pictures thinking "how long before he grows out of this one?" I'm glad we went for the 36, the power is fine for him (although it had a 9yo in tears when she rode it up a wall - that's what happens when mothers are left to supervise!).

I considered a radio controlled kill switch mod but I think the range was only about 200ft.

I think I read somewhere that there was a problem with the gauge of the cable that links the two batteries on some of the 16 24v. Might be worth checking.

Thanks, this is just outside our house, Askam, Cumbria, England. It's quiet handy, it's common land so the lal' lad can just ride around there. Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look at the bars on his bicycle, if those are not suitable I'll head down the bike shop. I think the 36 is the way forward then. It'll have to be a Christmas pressie. Should hopefully get more than 12-18 months before he grows out of this one!

Thanks Pete, well his birthday is coming up soon. Did they go to the 24v or 36v?

Hi, My lad is nearly 4 and the 12.5 is looking a bit small. I don't really want to our faze him by moving him to a bike too big for him. I tried using the adjustable stearing head from my bicycle but it didn't just raise the handle bars it also move them forward quiet a lot which seemed to have a drastic effect on the bike's geometry. I think he'll be ready around Xmas time to move up, but until then does anyone have any ideas how to make his 12.5 bigger and therefor easier for him to ride?

Fun and games, with Izzy (aged 3.5) I really enjoyed some of the other posts, they've given me some great inspiration to get some more varied practice for Isambard.

I know the Westmorland MC were originally planning a two day event this weekend but it has been postponed. I haven't found anything on the local club's websites or on TC, and the local garage didn't have TMX today! Where is everyone (from the South Lakes) going this weekend? Oz

45 miles, no problem. Plus you can get the trials bike anywhere which will probably annoy the cyclists (bonus)!

So am I the only person who gets tired of trailing through different sources to find what's on? Thanks, Does anybody know who to contact in the Northern Centre? That's interesting, but rings a distant bell now you mention it.

He he, I tow a bloody great big 6x4 trailer built with a car axel behind my little 1.4 Corsa, sometimes with two bikes & three people! I always measure my fuel consumption and I thought it would plummet, but no, it was about the same, even on really hilly & twisty roads. Must be because with all that weight the choice of speed is slow or stopped. I just set off earlier and let all the riders in their vans passed.

Thanks, I'm about to send an entry in to one of our local clubs so I'll ask if they can spare me one. Actually I don't know why these aren't available to download on the relevant centre pages of the ACU site, anyway I've emailed them and asked if this would be possible.

My wife's theory on this was; All the incidents in this race were premeditated to inject a bit of excitement for the new American audience. Oz

I'm posting here because I assume they are published by the ACU. I thought that when you received your ACU license that they also sent the little booklet with the calendar of events in your centre. Apparently not, so my question is where do I get one? I don't want to be critical here because I really appreciate all the work that the local clubs and organisers do, but planning ahead for trials can be so difficult (I know I'm not the only one who has a busy schedule). Usually clubs post their trials on the TC calendar which is great, but sometimes it's only a week before hand. Some clubs have websites and are kept up to date, some are not, some clubs only seem to post events in TMX, some don't seem to bother. It used to be so easy planning ahead when it was just in TMX (and my dad would organise entries!) Now it seems to be everywhere but inconsistent. Is anyone else fed up with scouring different sources for trials and continuously checking websites for updates? Again I hope nobody takes this personally because I know how much effort goes into organising events, and I really appreciate it. I'm sure if clubs were a little more consistent with their promotion they would get more entries. One more point. I never see trials advertised in local rags under the events section, I'm sure these listings are free and would be a good way to get more people into the sport, the only events that seem to get advertised are the ones that charge entry for spectators. Oz

I'm not sure what's on round Manchester, but I'm sure somebody will help you with that. I have a '99 Gas Gas and I love it, (I think Gassers are like wine - some years are better than others) it's reliable (1st or 2nd kick), lo-maintenance, easy to ride, has soft power, easy to recover from mistakes. but it's a bit heavier and not as pretty as the newer models. Never had a Beta so I couldn't really comment.

That's horrible, I could only watch a minute before the motion sickness got the better of me Looks like great terrain for trials though. Oz

That sounds perfect. Thanks very much.

Should do a poll, like the mixture one Always used to use Michelin but I'm on Dunlop (Birkett's recommendation) now. Very happy with the grip it was giving at the weekend on some pretty slippy stuff. Not bad considering it's lost quiet a bit of it's cutting edge on some road trials. The knobbles are still really soft. Oz

Yeah I thought that might be the case. I'm not very good at asking for fives, but maybe I could refrain from anything crazy and just enjoy the ride round as it's so close to home.