Chris' Lifelong Love of Trials Bikes.
Hi all, I’m Chris. One of the 4 mechanics at Biketart. I’ve been a keen cyclist for many years now. From road, cross, MTB and this other type of riding called trials. The guys call it riding around on kids bikes.... I guess they are not wrong but let me explain!
So I guess everyone has a story of how they got into bikes and mines probably like any other teenage lad! I went to Brighton with family around 2000 when we came across a trials display team featuring the Martin brothers. Now technically they are not brothers, but just have the same first name. Martyn Ashton rode for Cannondale Volvo and Martin Hawyes rode for Gisnt. Martin is probably know by many as the GMBN Dirt shed presenter but might not be aware of his trials bike back ground.
Trials biking to those who don’t know is advanced mountain bike control, having exceptionally good balance and bike handling skills. Being able to get up and over obstacles without putting your feet down. So watching guys jump up and down obstacles on one wheel and bunny hop over a high jump sold it to me. Watching these guys achieve the impossible created a spark to want to ride a bike like them.
So for Christmas my parents got me a “Tricks and Stunts” how to video so I could watch these trials masters at work and visually learn how to do these things, well it’s never that easy!
From this point I obviously had the best bike for the job, and Amaco Kamikaze from Halfords and a fantastic MBUK Mint sauce Lycra jersey! As this was my first bike I made do with it till it literally started falling apart around me. I think at this point my parents realised it was something I was really getting into and treated me to a GT Tempest, inspired by another trials legend Hans Ray. Pictured below.
Hans Ray giving me his approval of my Ashton build
14” triple triangle GT Tempest
Please note the KF custom bars and matching GT hat
And an endo for proof I learnt something from the video!
I think I kept this bike for a good few years, upgrading parts as they broke or wore out. I remember having a ballistic cnc machined stem, fsa powerpro cranks, dmr bash ring, dmr v8 pedals, dcd chain device and magura hs33 brakes. But of course I wanted something better.
My mum (when my parents separated) splashed out on my one Christmas and got me a Pashley 26mhz from Armstrong bike doc, and yes we are talking Pashley who made the postman bikes. Pashley had a TV series which included a few bikes in the line up, from bmx too dirt jump and trials bikes. The trials bikes where developed by Ed Tounge and his brother Mat. Also Clive and kriss leeson (not everyone will know these) had major input into the frame design. I remember watching these guys at the bike show and just had to have one! I actually still have one to this day!
They ran a Reynolds steel frame with a tear drop style downtube and classic raked fork. A tv series bubble wrap top tube pad. The spec on this is old school. It’s running a cane creek s2 headset, azonic shorty stem, azonic doublewall bars, magura hs33 quicksilvers with custom Pashley brake boosters. Hope to glide fromt hub laced onto a mavic d521 rim with radial spokes. Rear hub is a mono bulb, laced onto a x-lite phatso rim with tioga factory dh front and rear tyres. Middleburn valve caps. 3 peice steel bmx cranks with Pashley tv series bash guard. Sachs 8 speed grip shift with a Shimano dura ace rear mech, Sachs 8 speed chain and road ratio cassette. A dcd chain device and mr crud bear trap pedals. Use seat post and a dmr dirt jump saddle.i probably owned about 9 of these Pashley’s over the years, as good as they where I did snap a few, I guess I gave them a hard time!
From this point I guess I had the bug! And the list of bikes I had after this is actually quite embarrassing!
- Leeson clear 660 26”x2
- Leeson 609 24”
- Ashton justice 26” x3
- Koxx XTC 26”
- Echo control 26”
- Echo bounce 26”
- Giant Martin Hawes 26” x4
- Cannondale Ashton replica 26” x3
- Saracen x-tort mad team mad 26”x2
- Monty x hydra 20”
- Onza t-raptor 26”
- Inspired fourplay 24”
- Inspired hex 26” x2
- Rocket 26”
- Orange zero 26” x2
An 18 year old me on my Leeson Clear 660 on Folkestone sands beach
So I think it’s clear to say trials was in the blood. Over the years I’ve always had a soft spot for it but I guess with life job changes and girls get in the way so I kinda lost the time for riding and stopped for a while until this thing covid came along, if you remember. I thought at this time it would be great to start my own business and create a mobile cycle repair business called Wheeleaze offering a door to door solution of getting your bike fixed at home or work with quite a cool set up. Which is where I built up a fairly big client base and reputation. I supported lots of local cyclocross racing and events, club rides and much more.
I was then approached to get a brick and mortar shop based at a local pub, of which all sounded great. The concept being bikes and food go well, minus the drinking as technically this is not a good thing to mix alcohol and bikes and is illegal on a British highway, points do not mean prizes people. So I was busy repairing and selling bikes to the public along with homemade cakes and coffee! Not to forget homemade sausage rolls with Tomatoe chutney, those where to die for!! Unfortunately good things came to an end and the shop had to close ..: that’s another story!
With Covid came lots of people with spare money and time, so all us old dogs (strictly speaking me) middle aged men like myself discovered eBay and building up old bikes for fun! So out came all my old kit and gear, not to include the scary prices old retro parts where fetching! Bikes where so hard to find, as everyone was selling out, some my once full shop of Bianchi road and mountain bikes was empty, not to include service spares and parts … so what do I do, we’ll build trials bikes or course. Myself and old friends started building our dream bikes we couldn’t afford when we was younger, I think the pictures below will help you show my dilemma!
From left to right - Ashton Justicr, Giant Martin Hawyes replica, Cannondale Ashton replica, Pashley 26mhz, Pashley 26mhz
I got top 10 for the GTech Show and Shine at the 2023 Malverns Classic, and also was interviewed by Singletrack and Retro Bike
Saracen X-tort team mad Rich Johnston signature model
Martyn Ashton Best of the East Cannondale replica
Top finished product
Below was how it started
GMBN Doddy was also a massive fan of my bike!
Darren with his Martin Hawes replica and Tricks and Stunts outfit (watch the video and your understand) 
Another Martyn Ashton replica which took almost 3 years to find the parts for!
Another Pashley 26mhz, with the blue rare top tube pad
Schwinn homegrown ex team bike. Donated by Aaron Lutze of super rider tv. Jeff Lenosky's frame with rockshox and white industries cable hydraulic disc brake. People might see the bike in the videos “contact, evoke and revolution” filmed by reed merchant with other riders like Ryan Leech, Chris Clarke, Libor karas, JJ.
Even the frame material is top secret, see the ????
I miss these bikes 
My Leeson 609 24” having some restoration work done! Can’t wait to get this back! It even has stunt pegs!
What a picture! Spot the coda magic motor cycle cranks on the blue Cannondale! First type of seamless hollow tech cranks on the market
Most of the bikes I built I actually ended up selling on to other fans. Lots of the bikes where great fun building, and that for me was one of the most enjoyable parts. But once built I could only ride them now and then or just admire them. So when times where hard it was best to let them go to others that enjoyed them. Some are hung up in man caves where others are being ridden on a daily basis. My friend Seb brought the blue Ashton replica from me and rides it exceptionally well, even though it makes me shiver jumping up and down on walls in case it gets scratched. But these things are not built to be sat about, we have to enjoy them right!
So when Martyn Ashton announced his tour dates I had to go! So we booked tickets for the show at Tonbridge and thought it would be worth sending an email to the theatre to ask if it was at all possible to bring one of my bikes along to show to the big man himself, never really expecting a reply. A few days before while at work I get a call …. It’s only Martyn Ashtons pa. Martyn agreed to hang about after his talk to have a chat with us and to show him my bike …. I was absolutely buzzing!
So I rock up to the theatre .. late as the weather and traffic was toilet, with the Ashton on the roof (first bit of rain it’s seen) to get the bike down wheel it into the theatre to be told we couldn’t bring them inside. Not noticing the leather on my very rare Selle italia saddle had basically come apart in the rain …: f my life! Explained that we was asked to bring it along to be taken round the back and behind the stage where Ashton was having his talk. FEW!!!
Managed to find our seats and enjoy Ashtons talk. If you ever have the opportunity to see him on stage, please please go. As you know I’m a massive Ashton fanboy, but this guy has been a big inspiration to myself and many over the years: unfortunately he is now paralysed from waste down and in a wheel chair after a bad fall during a show at Silverstone. That being said he’s achieved new things and set big goals, from riding random tandems too riding down hill on a bike with basically a bucket seat attached. Martyn has a fantastic sense of humour about it all and as much as it’s a crap situation he’s made and set himself new challenges, of which is just mind blowing.
The show ends and people start leaving and we are called down to the stage. He comes back out and speaks to a small handful of us for at least an hour. Then we wheel our bikes out ..: he’s speechless. Bare in mind his actual bikes he rode are on stage pictured below.
The original tricks and stunts bike
For those that know road bike party (please watch this on YouTube)
Me, Ashton, Craig and Seb
Craig had one of Ashton’s original frames with him and Deb brought along the Ashton replica I built
Then he gets his sharpie out and said, well boys they get my seal of approval. This literally was a dream come true. To have a guy like Matt get you into a sport, let alone build a replica bike he rode to have the main man himself sign it was just wicked!
A picture that speaks 1000 words
As I was holding the bike I said “ sorry Matt just dumping this on your legs, he was like “it’s not like I can feel it is it?” Laughing … Legend
- Signature near the head tube on the down tube., sick!
- The spec on the Ashton is quite a list!
- Cannondale beast of the east 16” frame
- Stickers by retro decals
- Cannondale P Bone forks
- Cane creek s5 team headset
- Crud catcher downtube mudguard
- Magura HS33 race line brakes with kool stop pads
- Hope ti glide front and rear hubs
- Hope ti skewers front and rear
- Mavic D521 ceramic rims
- Sapim spokes
- IRC Kujo Dh tyres
- IRC Dh tubes
- Middleburn RS7 cranks with dual bash guard
- Rob Warner base jump pedals
- Hope bottom bracket
- Syncros seatpost
- Selle Italia flyte saddle
- Sachs 8 speed cassette
- Sachs force rear mech
- Sachs 8 speed shifter
- Sachs 8 speed chain
- Coda grips
- World force bars (azonic)
- Uno stem
- AND MARTYN ASHTONS SIGNATURE
I do also have a more modern bike, one that I’ve basically built up as an Ali Clarkson replica (most of it was his I think”, this inspired hex
This is the older hex frame 26” but in the team colours. It’s of a high spec not that I do it any justice, but I have fun and that’s the main thing. Spec is as followed:
- Inspired hex team frame
- Inspired hex fork
- Chris king headset
- Chris king hubs
- OCD custom titanium tensioner
- EBash bashgaurd custom made with my name on
- Light bicycle carbon rims
- Maxxis reckon tyres
- Schwalbe light inner tubes
- Middleburn valve caps
- Inspired stem and bars
- Pnw thick lock-on grips
- Magura MT7 race line Danny Mac issue brakes
- Sram centre line rotors
- Gusset oil slick half link chain
- Inspired pivotal saddle
- Hope seat clamp
- Sram decent dub cranks
- Chris king bottom bracket
I regularly post riding videos up on my Instagram so please follow me for more content! I’m a bit of a dinosaur on a bike, but I still have some moves for an old man! Which is why I got this tattoo … a dinosaur on a bike! Or penny farthing to the bike nurds out there! There is so many big names in trials, Danny Mac, Ali Clarkson, Charlie Rolls, Jack Carthy, Chris Akrigg know for his amazing ebike content. George Thoxson, Eaun Beaden, Sam Wheeler, Aundre Burton and many many
More. Also some great podcasts and YouTube videos from suoerrider and shin dig media if you want to find out more! Please give me a follow on socials for more content
Instagram: cycletech_chris
Dinosaur on a bike tattoo
I’d love to change out the crank to some cane creek Ewing's but I don’t really need them … I do really need them; I would like some. Maybe if I create a great blog my boss might treat me to some.
Well, thanks all for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it and if you would like more please shout out.