Trials Training And Technique

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.

I'm struggling with anything bigger than something I can just push my front wheel out a bit to keep from bottoming. If I try to wheelie off, I often get too much speed and need more run-out than I'd like to slow down after I hit. I seldom get it right, but when I do, I feel like the front wheel is pretty high and I drop straight down and stop, but I can't get it consistently. Any tips?

This is how its done boys ..... weight over the bars !

Okay, so because of my location it means i have to travel around 1 hour 30 mins to get to the closest training grounds which on an evening is to far so i was wondering is there anything i could do in my backyard to allow me to train on evenings as well as the weekends. Bare in mind my garden isn't too big so i couldn't setup a section or anything like that but some little things to try would be great!

So i want to try and learn how to hop with the back wheel but im not sure how and how my clutch should be set for this particular task. Heres a link to a youtube video (with some ol music lol) of what im on about. Any advice would be greatly received.

Started Trials in the last week - done some green laning and a bit of enduro some time back. But my wrists really ache when I am stood and especially doing stand up wheelies- feels really alien- will this get better?- I find all my precision goes out the window as my body weight is held up by my wrists- should I be gripping with my legs -should I still be covering clutch and front brake with my index fingers? Really enjoying it though. Help much appreciated. cheers Bob

Any tips for when you're riding and feeling like you're not progressing? Last few times out I feel like hell on wheels- not the good kind.

The bike that is :-) Due to my hands not being that big I find it much easier to hold the clutch and brake levers with 2 fingers. However a friend who has been riding for years said I will get better control if I just use one finger. Do I need to try and train myself or doesn't it matter? Thanks Pete

I'm really glad I found trials and this is why... Here's my list! Please add to it, ok?!? Trials is great exercise! Outdoors, and fresh air! No one cares if you're terrible! Immensely challenging! Can practice engine on or off! Bikes (arguably) can run forever! Events are cheap to enter! Trials folks are friendly! Can do trials in any climate! Way safer than most (all?) other forms of motorcycling! I feel lucky to have found trials and all of you on TC, Happy Holidays all

Lance Armstong and Michael Phelps are apparently 6% or less....but they don't have to physically handle a 150 pound piece of high-torque machinery over the toughest terrain that any motorized vehicle traverses, like trials riders routinely do. What percent body-fat are Dougie, Bou, Raga, Fuji, etc.? Or better yet, what % would they ideally LIKE to be? At 46 years-old, what body-fat percentage would be the very very best for me, trials-wise? Is it closer to the body-fat percentage of Iggy Pop on free heroin day, or documentary-maker Michael Moore on free Hot Fudge Sunday day? I'm tracking my body fat percentage occasionally (I'm not really looking at my WEIGHT, per se, a…

Hi everyone!... Long story short, Ive been riding biketrials since i was a teenager and stunting sportbikes for 7 years, I have the trials motorbike itch installed in my mind since i knew about its existence. Planets have aligned and im waiting for a Beta EVO 300 2013 as my first real trials motorbike... I have no natural spots to ride here, its all plain-soft ground all around 400kms... So.... Ill have to make my own obstacles... It would help me a lot if you guys could describe, list or post pics of MUST HAVE obstacle to make my learning process as efficient, fun and safe as possible... I have access to pallets, cable drums of all sizes, drums, and used tyres of a…

A colleague at work has been asking me about trials because her 13 year-old son is interested in Moto-X and I said Trials would be better. Is there a site, preferably with videos, that would give them a feel for what trials is all about. Yes, I'll suggest they go to a trial, but some info up-front would help.

Hi all I'm new to trial bikes Im looking at a 80cc thats for sale .I'm 6 foot 182 lbs . Is this size motor big enough .the bike is a beta rev 80. I like to creek ride not competion riding ,yet anyways it look like it would be a lot of fun. thanks for your help Steve

Was thinking a bit about the physics of trials- in a laymen's sense. Is it possible that a heavier rider may have an advantage over a lighter rider, all other things being equal? The heavier rider gets more traction presumably, and has a greater weight to bike weight ratio. Perhaps the heavier rider has more control in the sense that the heavy rider is less prone to being influenced by the bikes actions. Over a rocky creek for example the bike is reacting to the terrain, can a 200 lb. rider influence the bike to do what he wants more than a 150 lb. rider of equal skill. Does the extra weight make the bike have less "say" in its trajectory and give the rider more control? …

hi thought i had alredy posted this topic but cant seem to find it so here goes again. I have said my situation previous but have been speaking to a friend over the last few days and just wondered what you guys thought ..... I have very little experience of riding a geared bike basically a complete beginner however i have a keen love of trials so the time has come on my life for me to learn finally my question is as a 26yr old with little experience of bikes would i be better learning to ride a geared bike such as a general field bike or could i learn on a trials bike and just practice and learn until im competant for a club trial could do with some help with this plea…

So I picked up trials, I have no idea what these machines are capable of or if I should bother trying. So this is the terrain I ride in. My short term goal is to ride a small section of rock (some areas get very technical with drops) roll over them, static balance on the rocks, then look for a line and continue to roll on, static balance again, maybe a few front hops and rear hops to realign. Is this do-able on this terrain over time? I can static balance on flat dirt pavement, but when it comes to trail riding over rough terrain its impossible for me to do so. Granted its my 2nd day of riding trials, and not knowing if its achievable or not, this is why I am asking. …

When I practice I seem to ride quite well and confidently, but as soon as I enter a trial I lose all my ability and struggle with the most basic skills! I

can any one tell me some tips on getting the rear wheel high enough on a jap zap i am struggling because i don't way enough to compress the forks but i don't want to change them any tips on how to do them or how to get the wheel higher thanks frazer (all ready watched ryan young got the video)

Hi all, Hoping you can help with a bit of technique,I’ve been practicing the jap zap over some barrels and these tyres. I can’t seem to get the lift I need which is stopping my momentum to get over. its a 300cc and I’ve been trying in second and third gear. any help would be appreciated,thanks

Hello. I Just start to jap zap. I want explain what Is for me because I saw that someone call It in a different way: it's when I hit whit front wheel the obstacle, and just After I Quick release clutch ans gas and Jump with bike ans body. The rear wheel it's suppose to hit where the front wheel hit. Now the question is: I saw some video and see two distinct technique in order to have the same final result: the rear wheel Jump from the ground. The difference it's not in the mocement but clutch and trhottle. The First it's like a double blip, and the steps seem to be 1) put the Wheele relasing the clutch and off gas 2) hit the nbstacle …