Apart from electric bikes, is there any more ways to develop the petrol bikes?

 

We're at a minimum weight of some 65kg....................so apart from a bit of tweaking and titivation, is there any further strides in Trials bike development that can be achieved and is this it?

 

Seems a bit stuck at present and bikes haven't moved forwards at all over the last 10 years

 

Comparing old Britshocks to the Spanish armada in the 60's and then Spanish and Jap Twinshock advances in the 70's, then the arrival of the revolutionary TY250 mono in the 80's and watercooling and disc brakes of the 90's, follwed by the lightening and better frame/suspension geometry of the early 2000's, nowt much has altered since 2005 onwards, has it?

 

 

Is that it??

Bikes are pretty darn good I am thinking. Hope the industry does not go in direction of auto's etc, were they are now ....over engineered...Design driven by a given vehicle life span so components cheaper, chassis thinner...cheaper and disposable components that are ''unbolt, buy new$$ reinstall'' by a certified  service technician, not even mentioning the endless recalls for defects and design flaws  ..... I think the bike manufacturers have done their part..its up to us now as owners to get our butts off the computers, couch's and get out and practice and practice some more     

Electric start

Bikes are pretty darn good I am thinking. Hope the industry does not go in direction of auto's etc, were they are now ....over engineered...Design driven by a given vehicle life span so components cheaper, chassis thinner...cheaper and disposable components that are ''unbolt, buy new$$ reinstall'' by a certified  service technician, not even mentioning the endless recalls for defects and design flaws  ..... I think the bike manufacturers have done their part..its up to us now as owners to get our butts off the computers, couch's and get out and practice and practice some more     

 

I couldn't agree more. One of the things I have always loved about trials is the fact that the average rider can service and repair their bike at home in the shed or garage. Cars have moved on so much that you need a lot of specialist equipment and an in-depth knowledge of computers to get most things done. When something does go wrong it usually isn't repaired, it is unbolted and a whole new unit is put back on.

In terms of future developments I am sure they will continue to increase usable power delivery and shave weight. Then one day someone will come out with an idea we never knew we needed and change everything.

Variable transmission - infinate choice of gearing

Hydraulic drive somehow - no chain

 

Maybe

Direct injection 2 stroke looks like it could be a bit of a game changer ... see Guy's thread / video on the matter.

Electric start

More weight, for no gain though

 

Electric start is unnecessary on a trials bike

Air suspension, like on mountain bikes or as the Fox shock (for Montesa)

Very light and adjustable.

 

Ceramic (wheel) bearings (already available) Less wear, better resistant to pollution.

Ceramic coating of cylinder / piston: Less cooling necessary = less weight.

 

And they could use the weight savings to strenghten the frames of some bikes.

 

Edited December 19, 20169 yr by guys

I'd like to have an easily removable electric start that weighs about 7lbs.

 

When I ride my 300 lb dual sport, I'll start the bike a few times a ride. All new dual sports have e-start.

 

When I ride my 230 lb. enduro bike, I'll start my bike a handful of times a day. Most new enduro bikes have e-start.

 

I can do without e-start on these bikes since I would only have to kick start a few times a day and if I stall and crash, it's my fault that I have to be annoyed by kickstarting it.

 

On my trials bike while practicing, I'm have to kickstart dozens of times a day and would like to push the magic button while stuck in awkward position. I'm constantly stopping to clear, walk new lines and rest. It get annoying to have to kick start all day. In competition I'd like to take it off.

Because of the minimum weight and rear tyre size limits any significant performance improvements are extremely unlikely, in any case does anyone apart from the top few in WTC need a more able bike?

I would like to see:

Tubeless front tyres

Electric start - do away with kickstart

Battery, simplified alternator and car type electrics with OBD

Cable operated brakes and clutch

If trials bikes get any easier to ride, you might as well sit on the settee with your bloody Playstations...

.... electric starts? They'll be watercooling them next.... ;>]

Reiger shocks, Fuel injection, programmable ignition curves. diaphragm clutches, hydraulically formed frames, hall effect ignition triggers... Progress marches on but it's easy to lose sight until you are looking back. Is invention slowing down? Yeah probably. The curve will flatten in any sufficiently mature technology/market but it hasn't stopped. Electric is the next big frontier only because it will be necessary to satisfy the land lust of tree huggers and a radical chassis change will run into market and regulatory inertia. Otherwise we'd have all jumped on the Bultaco electric but we didn't because it looked funky.

 

I clearly remember looking at my '87 TR34 and thinking, "That's it, there's literally nothing that can be done to make this better." In my own defense I can only add I was young and stupid. Now that I'm old and wise (stop snickering you guys) I can see that at every stage of trials bike evolution I've witnessed I thought the same thing. And I was wrong. So rest ye merry gentleman and enjoy what's to come. I'm sure there is more innovation to come that can only be appreciated once we get to play with it.

TWO WHEEL DRIVE

I think trials - modern trials will kill itself slowly over the coming years.The problem is the riders, not the bikes.Very few riders can make use of bikes that are 10 years old let alone the brand new ones if they are honest.All the threads about which a rider should buy - a 200/250/300 ? Truth is a 125 is more than most can use,plenty like to THINK they need more,but they don't.

Look at how many clubs have folded that run modern trials,then look at classic and twinshock entries - the Kia series is a good example. The point is that the sections can be hard enough to test even very accomplished riders on a twinshock without being completely mental - scaring away your average clubman rider - who,by the way fills the entry list and buys most of the bikes.

When I was running trials for Bath Classic I got fed up with turning away people wanting to enter on modern bikes,as I said to them its a classic club with appropriate sections for older bikes. They just wanted somewhere to ride where they could get around without killing themselves or looking stupid,I sympathise, but not at the expense of other riders on Pre65's or twinshocks. 

Not saying its wrong,I just think it has run its course, technology has got pretty much to the end of what Joe Wobbler can use.

I think trials - modern trials will kill itself slowly over the coming years.The problem is the riders, not the bikes.Very few riders can make use of bikes that are 10 years old let alone the brand new ones if they are honest.All the threads about which a rider should buy - a 200/250/300 ? Truth is a 125 is more than most can use,plenty like to THINK they need more,but they don't.

Look at how many clubs have folded that run modern trials,then look at classic and twinshock entries - the Kia series is a good example. The point is that the sections can be hard enough to test even very accomplished riders on a twinshock without being completely mental - scaring away your average clubman rider - who,by the way fills the entry list and buys most of the bikes.

When I was running trials for Bath Classic I got fed up with turning away people wanting to enter on modern bikes,as I said to them its a classic club with appropriate sections for older bikes. They just wanted somewhere to ride where they could get around without killing themselves or looking stupid,I sympathise, but not at the expense of other riders on Pre65's or twinshocks. 

Not saying its wrong,I just think it has run its course, technology has got pretty much to the end of what Joe Wobbler can use.

Kinda sums it up