purplebeast Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) Looked outside around 4pm today....looked a bit wet still, but it wasn't raining and about 4C at 4pm, so I took the GasGas trials bike out for some playtime in the yard. Had a blast....a few dabs, but didn't dump the bike, and given that I did the monster log crossing (thanks Treeguy!) about a dozen times, zigzagged through the pine stand and did wheelies over the driveway, that was good! Even went for a bit of an exploring session...there's a hardwood bush SW of my place that has wide dirt tracks (pickup truck sized) criss-crossing all through it, and going within 200 metres of the 400 highway, with a few small hills, a bit of light mud, a stream crossing and just generally a nice area. I suppose I should find out who owns that piece of bush, but it's not posted, I'm local and the trials bike is pretty quiet, so figured it wouldn't be a big deal puttering about there. I think my neighbours ride their horses in there during the summer.....I'll ask them who the owner is. And anyway...I had my GasGas red/white jersey and matching pants on, so maybe they would think it was Santa just scouting some new routes prior to the big delivery on Christmas Eve? It sure felt good to be out on a bike in the dirt! Who would have thought it...riding with no snow on the ground on Dec 22nd! Amazing. I think I'm going to try and get out on the trails in Drury (and maybe Horseshoe) between Christmas and New Years, if the snow holds off, which it looks like it will from the current forecast. Anyway....I picked up a new set of knee pads a few days ago, to use on the trials bike. Normal dirt bike knee pads were a bit bulky and cumbersome at the slower speeds of a trials bike and with all the knee/leg movement you use on those types of bikes. Gary had mentioned that he frequents a good bicycle shop in town called Black Tooth Grin (from the greasy smiley face the chain wheel leaves on your leg, in case you are wondering where the cool shop name came from). They're on Dunlop St West....just before Crossovers (a local "gentlemen's establishment"), not that any of you would know or patronize a place like that! I went to see what they had by way of unicycles....something I've always had a hankering to learn how to ride, and figured I would look at the mountain bike knee/elbow pads while I was there, since they are made lighter/thinner than typical trail/mx pads. Found some 661 Evo knee pads that I liked the look, size and feel of. They are much smaller than MX pads....with no shin guard, but then on a trials bike, the boots come up far enough that you really don't need a shin guard. These knee pads use a lycra tube design, but have velcro on the sides, so that you can put them on even if you have your boots already on. They have velcro wrap straps that secure the pads above and below your knees, but what is really sweet is the kneecap protection uses the new d3o polymer. d3o is very cool technology...it feels like a soft, flexible gel pad....but hardens instantly under impact. Pretty high tech! Not cheap, mind you....a pair of these pads ran $140! Ouch! But man are they soft and comfortable! They also fit well under my tighter fitting trials pants, which even my smaller rigid knee pads wouldn't. Once they were on, they stayed in place for the whole ride with no slippage....and I couldn't even tell they were on! Very, very comfortable! I can't speak to how well they would do in a crash situation, but it would be better than not wearing any pads at all for sure. The only issue I've heard about with d30 pads is that they might not stand up to a sharp object as well as a rigid plastic guard, but it's all tradeoffs. I like the comfort, and for trials riding, give these knee pads two thumbs up! I'll be getting a matching set of 661 EVO d3o elbow pads when the bike shop has 'em in stock....would have already got 'em, but they were out unfortunately. If you are interested, here's the 661 Evo Knee Pad web page. Anyway....it was good to get out and have some fun in the dirt today, a few days before Christmas. Talk about a long riding season....by rights we should be snowed in by now! No complaints here, but if it's not a white Christmas, that will be very strange. Edited December 23, 2011 by PurpleBeast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samy Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 And what about the unicycle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebeast Posted December 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 And what about the unicycle? Hoping the wife will put that under the Christmas tree for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airwave Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 And the Unicycle ? :-) The 661 pads, sizing, online they are s/m/l what size does a 5'10" 190lb gent need to get? (entirely average dimensions) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airwave Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 http://www.sixsixone.com/information_sizing.aspx google is your friend, now, the unicycle? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samy Posted December 24, 2011 Report Share Posted December 24, 2011 I decided to learn how to ride a unicycle this year. I watched a heap of videos on youtube, then went and bought a cheap uni and never looked back. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebeast Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 the unicycle? :-) The wife didn't get me one....so I went out today and picked up a 20" unicycle with a fat (offroad) tire on it. Merry Christmas to me! So now I have to start learning how to ride one...fortunately, I have a big garage with a long counter I can use while learning. Can't play outside, since we have nearly a foot of snow on the ground now and it's unlikely to melt till the spring. No trials riding for me for quite some time. Maybe by the time the Spring thaw rolls around, I'll be able to balance on the uni! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samy Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 The wife didn't get me one....so I went out today and picked up a 20" unicycle with a fat (offroad) tire on it. Merry Christmas to me! So now I have to start learning how to ride one...fortunately, I have a big garage with a long counter I can use while learning. Can't play outside, since we have nearly a foot of snow on the ground now and it's unlikely to melt till the spring. No trials riding for me for quite some time. Maybe by the time the Spring thaw rolls around, I'll be able to balance on the uni! LOL i've never seen snow! I learnt in my fairly small garage. I found the youtube videos very helpful. I did about 30-40 minutes the first few days and then an hour or so each day after that as i became better. It too less than a week to be able to ride unassisted and about 2-3 weeks to start small turns and 'freemounting'. I was quite surprised at how easily i progressed once i passed that initial 2-3 day period. Mine is a 20" uni with thin narrow road tyres. Wear gloves and possibly kneepads! You'll come off a few times like i did and slap your hands on the concrete! cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplebeast Posted December 31, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 LOL i've never seen snow! Come up here for a visit and we'll demonstrate! I have a spare shovel...and a 700' driveway. I learnt in my fairly small garage. I found the youtube videos very helpful. I did about 30-40 minutes the first few days and then an hour or so each day after that as i became better. It too less than a week to be able to ride unassisted and about 2-3 weeks to start small turns and 'freemounting'. I was quite surprised at how easily i progressed once i passed that initial 2-3 day period. Mine is a 20" uni with thin narrow road tyres. That's encouraging....I have all winter and a 24x40' garage to play in. Mind you, the garage is pretty full with two wheeled toys! Heaven forbid if I lose it on the uni and ding my wife's Road King! That would be the end of me! Wear gloves and possibly kneepads! You'll come off a few times like i did and slap your hands on the concrete! Sounds like good advice...thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothandnail Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Good luck with the uni , once I bet my brother $20.00 I could ride any thing with a wheel, he went and found my sister's old uni , nearly killed myself everyday for a week or so , till I figured I'd be $$ ahead to pay the bet , instead of Dr. bills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samy Posted January 1, 2012 Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 Good luck with the uni , once I bet my brother $20.00 I could ride any thing with a wheel, he went and found my sister's old uni , nearly killed myself everyday for a week or so , till I figured I'd be $$ ahead to pay the bet , instead of Dr. bills LOL i thought the same thing until i started searching youtube and found heaps of very helpful tutorials. Little things like pedal position when mounting, body position etc make or break it! cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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