Trials Training And Technique

Hi guys, I'm in a weirdo balance situation. I can balance with engine off on concrete with race tyre pressures with one and even with no hands but when I'm riding I just don't seem to have all that balance. So what might be the deal? Concentration issues? Also I train on a daily basis with a wobble board and a trials push bike. Cheers

I'm at a point where the double blip is not adequate to get up some obstacles. I just can not twist the throttle fast enough. I see the need for a zap with clutch dump but realize that in order to release the clutch, it must first be pulled in. So, when do you pull in the clutch? I have not been able to convince myself to do this when the front wheel is far away from the obstacle. It feels like I'm trying to crash. I can sort of do it after the front wheel has touched (stab and release) but that seems a bit late. Are there any easy progressive ways to learn this? I have no natural tallent for this support so the learning process is slow. What I think I'm doing or …

I have a Sherco 125. In one particular section today, just a slight initial slope, soaking wet, in thick, slippery clay/mud, I could not get any traction at all - to even get near the tricky bits. I have Michelin x11 on the front and an X lite on the rear. Front was 6 pounds and the rear was 3 pounds. I am around 15 stone. What pressures might help?

Hey guys, Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue. I think a sprain a few weeks back (landed heavily on the bars) may have caused a twinge in my wrist. I have no pain while riding, I generally feel the pain more when I'm off the bike and I flex my wrist but the pain is isolated only to the area marked in red. If I flex my wrist into extension (like in the second picture) I get this fizzel/twinge in that spot or when I'm opening a door. Is this tendinitis? My Doctor instantly without even looking at my hand said Carpal Tunnel I've had the pain for about 5 weeks now. I've made some adjustments to the bike to hopefully improvement the ergonomics to …

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.

Hellloo, I am currently training my stoppy and wheelie (or wheel hop) teqniques, and especially moving the back wheel goes better and better. I am struggeling however to combine both teqniques. As an example riding down a log, making the backwheel go to the right 90 degrees and landing, and than I want to place the front wheel a little more in the turn to ride a wall of the small concrete pipes. This is where it goes wrong. The location is a bit sandy, so doing the turn without wheel moving teqnique is very difficult. When I land the back wheel, I want to lift the front wheel, but it starts sliding away (because its not totally flat). I think this is because I fir…

Hello everybody, I am a beginner trials rider from Hong Kong, and I am wondering what is the proper way to perform hops on both wheels. I can do locked-steer balancing for over 5 mins easily, but I still not mastered straight-steer balancing yet. Is it mandatory to master the striaght-steer balancing before practicing the hops on both wheels? Some local rider tells me to compress the fork like how to perform the hops on front wheel with forward body movement and arms , while the legs are additionally responsible to compress the rear suspension to make both bike hopping. But some other local riders tells me to only use the legs to compress both the fork and the rear susp…

Hi all, Had a good practice session this morning. I've bought a set of flags and have been setting up sections where I practice. Very good way to train by the way At any rate I set up some gates on a 2nd/ 3rd gear hill, rough going with stones, humps and bumps etc. Included several turns across a camber. I could clean the section going up hill but hit a bit of a brick wall attempting it down hill. Any advice for turning down hills? Panic set in, I tended to brake too hard on the front and sit down. I feel like my weight is too far forward and I'm going to fall inwards and down the hill. Where should your weight be when turning down across a camber? Is it wise to go …

Hey guys, I get a lot of different advice from different people at the trials clubs I go to. Watching people at trials I've noticed ways of riding vary a lot. Just curious, how do you guys generally ride a trial? I know a lot depends on conditions, but some guys only really use 1st gear, some experts I've watched are going round on a 300 in 3rd slipping the clutch. Some guys use no clutch at all, others use it for everything. Some people squat and hang off the bike, some people have a more neutral position. There are fast guys, and slow riders too. I'm too early on yet to have developed a way of riding, but I think I need to practice in 1st gear more, really try to get…

Hi, Whats the views on bars position, forwards or backwards? Bikes a beta evo 250, skill level sportsman/clubman. Height 5'10. Fair enough height of rider will matter. But its got to matter where bars are to how much grip you get from the rear? Watched an aussie trials video on youtube, says rule of thumb is have the bars so far forward that ends of bars are in line with angle of the forks. That is well forward! Then looking at worlds top fellas they also have the bars turned right far forward, is this due to the steepness of their sections plus the way they ride more and more on the back wheel? Cheers

Hi. I bought my first 4 stroke about 3 weeks ago; it is a clean 2006/07 Repsol 4RT. I am in my early 50's and have been competing for about 3 years on the easy and 50:50 routes. My previous bike until 3 weeks ago was a 290 Evo 2 stroke, all of my previous bikes have been 2 strokes and I had progressed to riding reasonably competitively in my ability and age classes. I REALLY enjoy riding the 4RT for all the usual reasons but accept that the transition to 4 stroke from 2 stroke is a learning curve as the engine characteristics are so different. The first thing I noticed riding the 4rt is the engine braking which I think I like. The second thing I noticed is that the eng…

Hello Folks, Just starting beginning trials training - have 30yrs of enduro/trail riding experience - C+/B- skill or so. My trials bike is a scorpa sy250. I am 6'1" and a "stocky" 220lb While practicing on the trials bike, I seem to have all my weight on my hands/wrists and I find it very uncomfortable, almost painful in my lower palms and wrists. I Know this is a broad question, but can anyone offer suggestions on what I may be doing wrong... bad stance? Need Bars Higher? etc. The the pain in the hands makes me look for any excuse to skip practicing and leave the bike sitting in the garage. I am missing out on all the fun of trials riding as a result of…

Wow, what an excellent day!! This to say thanks to the good folk of ESTC The instructors Luke and Neil had boundless energy and enthusiasm. As a beginner and a wizened old dwarf I assumed I was letting myself in for a very humiliating day – but not so. Despite being the duffer of the easy route group I learnt loads – perhaps most importantly is the gain in confidence. Also, met some really nice folk – trials appears to full of nice folk doesn’t it It was wonderful value for money as well. For just 20 quid you got some of the best instruction in the UK on a great site – how good is that. Definitely coming back for more………

Well I'm new to this world of trials and I need major help with turning. Can anyone give me any tips to help?

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.

I was coached to keep the feet straight ahead on the pegs. Having the heels in and brushing up against the swingarm was discouraged. The paint on the swingarm being rubbed off was especially bad! Anybody have any ideas on this. This was at TTC.

hi folks I am new to the arena of trials and have just purchased a 1985 TY 350. The bike runs as sweet as a nut but the previous 2 strokes I have ridden has had a more aggressive power delivery mine is very smooth right up to 3/4 throttle loads of torque but from 3/4 to wot the power stops building it doesn't drop off simply nothing more happens. It is standard bike it had a 145 main jet and a 38 pilot jet in the standard carby. I have changed the main jet to a 155 to see if it was short on fuel and also moved the clip position on the needle from the centre position to the lower clip position. Are these style of bikes all torque less aggression as MX bikes tend to be the…

I'm never gonna be great on a bike, I can live with that but the last 2 trials (a week apart) I've been failing to live up to my own low standards. Bit of background, been an occasional rider for the last 3 years, but now I'm competing every week since December now I'm riding my twinshock SWM.....I've been getting much better, can track stand whilst waiting my turn to my surprise stop mid-section etc but if its a little slippy I'm all over the shop struggling for grip, sort of flopping around like a bag of dirty washing....so 1 step forward 2 steps back. I'm lucky in that I have my own small practice area with small obsticles and my riding was awful last week when pract…

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a training center? I am new to trials and can find nowhere to practice so I have to enter trials to learn. After my first one I learnt so much and was confident and looking forward to the next. However when I got there the weather was rubbish and the sections were huge. I crashed on the first section I tried and then retired from the trial knowing I did not have the skills required for the conditions or difficulty of the sections. Even people I saw clear every section on my first trial where falling off!!! So I need to find some training so that I can restore my confidence and learn what to do properly. I live in Cambridgeshire but…

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