Since beginning trials in 2017, I have been building a fleet of trials bikes. I bought my first trials bike in 2017: an Echo Mark V 24-inch competition style bike. A couple years later in 2020, I added a street trials bike to my collection: an Inspired Arcade (also 24-inch). I bought those first two bikes brand new.
Since the beginning I have struggled with what size bike to get: 24 versus 26 inch (I had no interest in a 20-inch). And of course as soon as I bought the 24 (both times), I wished I had a 26. So in 2023, I bought a used Crewkerz Jeoulosy, which is a 26-inch competition style (a.k.a., “pure”) trials bike.
Crewkerz Jealousy
Spec Overview
Fork: Echo carbon 9mm bolt on tapered with insert
Bars: Echo carbon
Front Brake: Formula R1 (disc)
Rear Brake: Racing Line, heatsink black (rim)
Cranks, Bash and Freewheel: Crewkerz
BB: BBinfinite
Rear Wheel: Crewkerz
Rear Tire: Try All Forward
My Thoughts On The Jealousy
I purchased this bike secondhand in late September 2023. As of this writing, the bike is still pretty new to me, so I’m still getting used to riding it. The bike definitely has a different feel than the Echo (below) due to size, geometry, weight, and gear ratio, among other things. All in all, though, it feels really nice – very stable on the rear wheel. When you get your balance in the right spot and get the technique down, it’s effortless.
Echo Mark V (24-inch)
Spec Overview
Stock Echo build, except as noted below.
- Front brake: Avid BB7
- Rear brake: Magura HS33, 4-finger lever (rim)
- Pedals: Crank Brother Stamp 7 (small) (photo shows the original Echo cage pedals)
- Rear tire: Kenda Navegal (photo shows the original Maxxis Holy Roller)
- Grips: ESI Chunky (photo shows the Lizard Skin Danny MacAskill grips)
My Thoughts On The Mark V
I live “in the woods”, so to speak, in a rural community, so I initially wanted a competition style trials bike, despite being initially lured into trials by watching street trials videos. I really wanted to ride street, but there wasn’t really anywhere close to where I live that would let me do much of that. So I bought a comp bike. And since then I have really enjoyed riding natural obstacles – we certainly have no shortage of rocks in New England!
Why 24-inch? Good question. In retrospect, I probably should have gone straight to a 26-inch bike. But the rationale at the time was that the 24-inch bike would give a more nimble, “streety” feel than a 26-inch bike would. The font disc brake option definitely helps give some of that street feel since you can modulate the braking better than with a rim brake.
Overall, I love this bike! It has been a lot of run to ride and has given me some really good times. But there are a few things on the stock bike that I needed to “fix”. First of all, the Echo brakes were terrible, both front and rear – they leak. Very quickly I replaced the Echo TR rim brakes on the rear with Magura HS-33s and TNN brake pads. I rebuilt the front brake caliper, replacing the pistons and seals, and that bought me some time; however, the Echo TR disc brakes not only leaked, but they didn’t seem to give as much power as I’d hoped. Fortunately, my friend Alex upgraded his brakes and gave me his Avid BB7 mechanical disc brake. After making the swap, I’ve never looked back – I love the Avid brake!
Inspired Arcade
Spec Overview
Stock Inspired Arcade Pro build, except as noted below.
Bars: Inspired Arcade Riser
Rims: Spank Industries SPIKE Race 33
Hubs: Hope Pro 4 Trials / SS Rear, Hope Pro 4
Sprocket: Gusset Double Six (16T)
Tires: Continental Danny MacAskill Air King (tubeless setup using Rimpact inserts)
Grips: ODI Longneck V2.1 Lock-On
My Thoughts On The Arcade
As I mentioned above, I actually wanted to ride a street bike. So after agonizing over which frame to pick, I finally settled on the Inspired Arcade Pro. While I certainly don’t (at least not yet) have any style or street moves, I still really enjoy riding this bike. It’s just a fun bike to ride.
Of course as much as I love this bike, I still wonder whether it was the right choice (for me). Part of me really wishes I had gone for the 16-inch Inspired Hex, to get the street feel but with a more “normal” bike feel. But I also wonder whether I should have gone with the Inspired Fourplay. One of the riders in my local crew has one, and feels appreciably lighter and more nimble than the Arcade, which feels really heavy to me (i.e., steel vs. aluminum). I’m not old, but I’m no spring chicken either – my aging body definitely prefers the lighter bikes for hopping, etc. While I will probably always overthink my frame choice, I still love the Arcade.
After riding the Arcade for a short amount of time, there were a few things that needed to change. First, the stock bars needed an upgrade. Honestly, the Inspired Arcade Riser bars should come stock with the bike, but whatever. They’re on there now.
Next, I wanted to upgrade the tires for better grip, etc., so I bought a pair of Contis. I also wanted to go tubeless, so I proceeded to do that using the stock Inspired rims. Big mistake. Not only was it nearly impossible to get the tires on and off the rims (I mean literally almost undoable), but they would not stop leaking. After getting completely fed up with that setup, I decided to just get new wheels. I ended up just building my own (for the first time) with the Spank Rims and Hope hubs. It’s a pretty sweet build now.
