Trials Training And Technique

Dont know about you guys, but heat stress kills me and my trials stamina, performance. Being originally from cold, rainy Scotland and now living in the really hot, dry, southwest USA the heat just saps my energy and subsequently brings on muscle cramps that are totally painful, subsequently causing me to cramp out of the trial. I have listened to many a person telling me to eat bananas, salt, magnesium, drink more water, drink pickle juice, take an Aspirin before the trial etc etc. Nothing worked. I had a doctor check my electrolytes and all was well. I tried numerous off the shelf products all claiming to stop the cramps, nothing worked. I have taken high doses o…

Good evening fellow riders, I am getting arthritic type pain in my index fingers and knuckles after riding. I am also getting pointy bits on the side of my index knuckle joints from the obvious repetitive use of the clutch and brake. Has anyone else experienced this, and have any wonder cures or suggestions, I have tried riding with two fingers on the levers, but find that quite awkward. Cheers in advance.

It may seem daft but can anyone tell me when i should get a new rear tyre? My current one is still full depth on the tread but is rounded on the leading edge, not all the way though. Should i buy a new one or turn it around? Will it make a difference,i know on an old motocross i had, i did this and it improved but does it matter for trials? Hope to hear from someone[ ive never used a forum before] cheers phill....

Afternoon all. I have searched for some relevant info on the site but to no avail...so can someone please describe the various trials technique lingo that I happen across reasonably often? Jap Zap? Splat? um....etc? Ta very much. Chris.

While out practicing what is the main way you's practice? Do you focus on certain areas each week like hitting big steps, hoping etc or do you just ride about and hit whatever takes your fancy. im wondering what way people find it best to increase your skill level to become a better rider. thanks

If you ever get a chance to attend a class given by by Ryan , do whatever it takes to get to it ... 1; THE BEST instructor ever. 2: More relateable knowledge than anyone I've ever met . 3; Patience unending ... 4; Unbelievable Skills on a bike . 5; You will come away a much better rider . 6; You will use muscles you didn't know were there. 7; You will still be sore a day or two later . 8; The grin on your face may become permanent . 9; And your Brain will absorb info on how to do just about anything you will ever encounter in a section . 10; Then Practice , Practice , Practice , Practice ,until you can just put it all into practice ... And if you ca…

what sort of things make a rider smooth as when it comes to riding a section I feel all over the place?

The japzap works well for medium height steps but at what height step would you need to use a different technique like a splat? I know there are different variables but lets say good traction and a plain vertical step. What height requires a splat? Im far from ready to attempt a splat but I would like to know what height to work towards using a japzap before I need to focus on a new technique.

Want to learn hopping the front wheel. Have watched the vids and get how you compress the front suspension and work with it on the way back up. . . but whenever i try to stop and balance and try I always loose balance I can balance on the bike in the shed with engine off with the front wheel turned about 45degrees but cant when its straight. . . Any tips on how to learn hopping or should I go back to trying to balance with front wheel straight? I was told that hopping helps balancing and vice versa so they compliment each other was thinking about getting someone to hold the bike steady while I try hopping. . .

Does anyone have any tips for splatting big objects? 99% of people will tell me all you need is balls and to just rev the engine and dump the clutch, Ive got the balls (and the stupidity) and quickly realised that theres alot more to it than that. Im looking to get as much lift as possible from my splats, currently trying them using a kicker but not getting the desired height from it. My usual technique for rocks is punching the front wheel into the rock to get that "spring" effect, this seems the work great for me but I cant seem to get over anything more than 5ft using it. any advice is welcome! All the best Tom

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmw3Mz-XhpyudDpq3xUx8Q

I practice falling off down the garage in the evenings,and somtimes venture to local scrub land to do more technical stuff (some local plod interest at times...usally leave me alone due to it being a trials bike),incorperating local events at weekends............What does everyone else do ?? thanks Mike. Just read frontroomautos post"Places to Practice and Ride......answered all my Q's really.Count myself lucky !!

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.

I didn't get flamed for posting the enduro bike video for my last how to here. I'm doing this on the dirt bike because of its universal appeal, lots of folks crosstraining. Pretty much works the same on the trials bike. I always see folks confused over the japzap vs double blip so I put a back to back slow mo comparison of my interpretation of the maneuvers in the video. Hope it helps someone.

So I've been working on learning as much as I can as fast as I can. Its actually been going a lot better than I thought. I can balance about 50% of the time. My clutch control and throttle control are 4x what it used to be. One think Im still having problems with is timing. Such as loading the suspension and letting out the clutch to lunch the bike. I've been working on small bunny hoops to help this. One on thing that I'm having problems with and always have even on the bigger bike is remembering to cover the break during a wheelie. I really want to use the wheelie to help find that rear glance point. One other thing i've learned is a rear wheel pivot! kind of fun actual…

I guess this isn't really a Montesa question in general. I have a 06' Montesa 4RT, I am a beginner, started to do figure 8, using two flags, as I get better will move them closer, my question is this, where the bike idles high, I have my index finger on clutch and front brake, as I go through my process, all I have been doing is using the clutch and front break a tad, NOT USING THROTTLE, is this correct? Or should I be using throttle? Thanks Philip

Throughout this and other threads there are innumerable discussions about various techniques and manoeuvres that digress into discussion/argument about exactly what's what, sometimes degenerating into completely unnecessary vitriol, or sometimes just becoming a confusing mismatch of terminology. I haven't found any definitive "Trials Dictionary" either here or elsewhere online. Perhaps a sticky could be put here with broadly agreed definitions of eg. Roll-up Double Blip Zap Splatter etc Each should have all the commonly used terms worldwide (or at least in the english language as that's the default here) ie Zap, Jap Zap, Zap Zap …

Hey Guys I am after a bit of advice on how to stop soft dabs. Recently I have been ruining good results due to silly dabs that even C riders would never do. When it comes to hard sections with big steps or really nasty rock section I can clean it confidently but then the next section I will drop a silly couple of dabs in a easy section. I never seem to drop them because I am struggling it seems more of an safety dab that in reality I should not need. Can anyone give me some advice or ideas how I can get over this. Thanks

having trouble when doing a wheelie i cant cover the rear brake,it seems the brake sits higher than the footpeg so i cant get my foot onto the brake while my foot is on the peg,try putting your foot on the ground while sitting on a chair and lifting your toes off the flloor with your heel on the ground really hard to do then imagine wearing boots near impossible,how do you guys do it,ithought i could adjust brake pedal but dont think i can. bike is a gas gas 270 txt

Engine breaking or rear break or both? So when going down hills difrent pepole have told me to difrent things, ok so you use the front break, but some pepole have told me to use the rear break which i normaly use (ends up with me coverd in mud ocasionly ) but some pepole say they use engine breaking. So which one do you use? and which one is best? Thanks