Trials Training And Technique

Hi guys I thought I would start my own thread, hopefully where I can get some advice on "my" techniques. Im not very good....yet....but im working hard at it. Ive been riding for just over 2 months and try to ride for a hour everyday in my little obstacle course. What has improved dramatically is my ballance and throttle/clutch control. I still battle to use my rear brake and dont use it as much as I should....im guessing? ? Im slowly starting to hop the back wheel higher when doing that zap thing. Ive only started noticing now how much practice helps. Ive been frustrated up to now but today everything kinda clicked and I felt I rode good. I have a route marked out th…

Has anyone made any homemade obstacles? i am tired of riding the same old rocks and logs on my property, and would like something i could possibly move around the driveway to practice in the evenings.

Have you had any 'a-ha' moments when riding, like you've figured out something big? I've had a few in my two years of riding - I'm at clubman level now, so I thought I would share and hope others can share similar discoveries that made a big difference to their riding. 1. Unweighting the bike. It dawned on me that these bikes can go over just about everything, it's pulling us fat lugs over the obstacles that upset the bike. Unlike MX where you charge at everything, trials is generally about either getting your body over an obstacle and then pulling your bike with you, or letting the bike get onto something by unweighting yourself from it and then once it's on there, p…

Throwing together a series of vids on basic trials techniques for the club I joined a few months back, to repay them for helping a noob out so much. Keen on feedback to make sure the information is accurate. Keeping them fairly general but bits will be specific to Australia e.g. we don't have the non-stop rule yet. Available as text files from the club site here. GENERAL TRIALS INFORMATION Setting up your trials bike How to walk a section Pre-competition mechanical inspection & other pre-ride check lists How to spot for another trials rider Building man made obstacles & a practice course BASIC TRIALS TECHNIQUES Balancing on a trials bike Full lock turns and piv…

This year I want to attempt a 10 mile wheelie on my Pro 300 but I have some concerns... I have done a 3.6mile wheelie before which ended when I ran out of road but even at this point I was starting to get pain in my hands but I think this can be sorted with a pair of proper road gloves and some pre-wheelie hand-care. The main worry is the engine, with bigger bikes (usually 4-strokes) the engine can be damaged due to being starved of oil because all the oil rushes to the back of the gearbox, would this be the case with a trials bike on such a long wheelie? Im not worried about the rev's as Ill be doing it in 5th and 6th gear using fairly low revs. All the best Tom

New to all this and finding it difficult finding grip on muddy inclines, a few of my mates have had a go on my bike & also have the same trouble while having no bother at all on their own steeds. I initially thought rear tyre but plenty of tread 10mm infact. Any ideas??

Ok we all should recognise that we need to be wearing a helmet to protect your melon when you come off. But I wonder how many people wear knee protectors or back protectors whilst riding. As trails is generally a low speed sport do we really need this type of protection. I have seen a few people wearing such protection and I was wondering if A, it is really required and B, where are they getting it from........MX stuff I wonder? I would imagine it restricts movement?

Hello Guys, I got a couple of dummy questions here as a relative rookie... as winter is here and can't get out I'm trying to practice some static balance on my trials bike. As such the bike is off and on flat ground. I haven't been able to find much detailed techniques to improve balance on such conditions... so I have a couple of findings from my own and some questions... if you can please provide sound feedback on it, I'd appreciate it! Findings 1. Start with the handlebar straight - apparently at some point people develops a preferred site to lock the handle bar... in my case, starting with it in the middle/straight position helps me correct unbalance as per item…

I read in a great old book on trials that unless you have perfect balance you will never be able to ride trials. The author also said the best way to learn perfect balance is with a unicycle. Wondering if anyone has tried this route. Seems to make sense but a unicycle is very hard to learn I would imagine. At least with Winter coming it's something I can do in the basement to get ready for next season.

Hopefully Billy Craig is still reading this this forum. In a recent fall I suffered a complete full thickness tear of the supraspinatus with retraction on my left shoulder (this is one of the rotator cuff tendons), there is also some damage on the infraspinatus. I will be having an operation to re-attach the tendon. Has anyone experienced this sort of injury and if so what sort of recovery have they made with regard to riding eg what % of previous strength was recovered, and how long did it take to recover, are there any protective braces that exist for the shoulder that are worth wearing when riding? Any advice/help would be appreciated. The quack tells me I shouldn’…

I know this subject has probably been discussed many times before, however i would like to put forward my observations on technique. Through forums etc i have been instructed to drop the knees forward to compress the front forks, and then to gently pull on the bars while transferring the weight over the back of the bike by straightening the knees. While gently pulling on the bars i find myself pulling myself forwards which is exactly the opposite to what i am trying to acheive. If however, i PUSH against the bars while straightening the knees my weight will automatically be transferred to the back of the bike.

Hi, I've somehow manged to get tendonitis in my left wrist from using the clutch on my trials bike and I'm getting desperate for ideas on how to cure it. I think it started about 2 months ago from a mild sprain and now , about half way in at a trial I suddenly can't pull the clutch in anymore without sever pain in my wrist. I've tried resting it for over 2 weeks and it didn't seem to help. I also had quite an amusing time at the doctors trying to explain that it only hurts when I use my index finger and why I couldn't use my other fingers to help pull the clutch in. I'm pretty sure it's the tendon running from my index finger thats inflammed from overuse, so a form of re…

Since a group of us have gone nuts with trials riding the past year, it's also dramatically changed the way we ride our dirt bikes as we apply the trials techniques to the bigger heavier bikes. As a result, we've slowed down a lot, get less injuries. do far less damage to the environment and (hopefully) have become better riders as a result! If anyone is interested, we've been posting these vids and articles. we've started a website about cross training techniques as well here. BEFORE YOU START Protective gear Setting up your suspension BASIC CROSS TRAINING TECHNIQUES Braking Feathering and dropping the clutch Riding across a camber…

Hi All, I have been riding for many (40+) years, but I am totally new to the sport. Bought recently a Cota 315R and I am having a hard time finding a comfortable position for the levers, the clutch in particular. Holding the clutch with my index finger ends up pinching my fingers or hitting my knuckles. From various pictures and videos, I see setups that are dramatically different, WRT inclination and horizontal position on the handlebars. I know the answer is "whatever works best for me", but when learning I find easier to start from a neutral setup and progressively adjust from there. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Part 3 in my micro series. Clutch and throttle cameras synced to maybe give a better idea about timing. Obviously not much going on with the clutch in a Double Blip. This clip I've tried to show the difference in reaction when the back wheel hits with throttle on and off - it's perhaps a bit subtle, but it should give the idea I think. Throttle on and the bike jumps much more, not as smooth rolling over. Don't take what I offer as reliable knowledge - I'm just a dabbler of little real skill!

I know there is no substitute for learning to ride a trials bike other than actually riding it. But, for those times when I am stuck in the house. What is the best training DVD for beginners? So far I am lead to believe that the Ryan Young DVD is the best, but it is very expensive.

Hello, I'm interested in the proper handle bar positioning, but all I find on the topic is to Position bars so they are in the optimum "middle position." What exactly is that??? Is this having the bars parallel to the forks or is this to have them in a vertical position to the fork angle. thanks, R

I cant seem to do slow wheelies. If I do them in first, I run out of throttle and it just screams once it speeds up, same with second. 3rd I can get big wheelies, high and long but they're too fast, power wheelies and not controlled and slow. What gear am I best on doing this in, and any tips on how to get used to using the back break? I know thats what I must do but as soon as I do the front end copmes straight down. Am I supposed to lean right back when I brake and come forward abit again when I blip throttle? And am I suposed to be holding a bite with my clutch? Any tips please

hello all im a total novice had bikes for years mx and road had a few trials bikes but never lernt to ride one proply, my friend went out and brought a gas gas 05 300 txt pro (very nice) im looking for one ive had a sherco before and loved it i want a 06 or up 2.9 but my friend says that hes looked into it and he thinks i should get a gas gas as there better! are they?? any sugestions?? thanks all ps. any one want to teach us lol

Folks, Apologies if this has been dealt with before but I'm new to trials. My 10 year old son and 14yr old nephew are riding beta's in junior divisions at the moment. We've had a few instances of bikes getting stuck on full revs ( for a number of reasons, (dropping,caught cables etc.)On a few occasions the engine kill button doesn't work ( I presume because the engine is so hot at that stage. Can anybody tell me what is the best method of stopping the engine when this happens ? Some suggestions we've heard are "turn the bike upside down", "Rip the carb off asap" or "block the exhaust with your hand and choke the engine" Any help would be appreciated, Thanks