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Better late than never?!


haggetty
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Hi all. Well, at the age of 57 I finally get the opportunity to have a bash in the world of trials! (I think). 
Always been fascinated by the sport and love everything to do with off-road. I’ve been a road rider for 40 years and have only limited off-road experience with 2 sessions at Mick Extances enduro school in Wales and one go at ‘Trials Day’ which I thoroughly enjoyed. 
I’ve always wanted a trials bike but could never really decide how to make it work for me. I don’t have a garage or workshop so the maintenance side would be tricky (and a faff), plus, I never knew anywhere I could ride or practice so always put a purchase off. 
I’ve since however discovered that Earl Shilton club is only 6 miles away so that’s one problem sorted!
Bike wise, the Electric Motion Epure Race has caught my eye and ticks many boxes. People who have tried them seem to rate them highly and with no maintenance requirements (apart from chain oiling), no noise nuisance, no heat, no smell, 4-5 hour battery life, no fuel to mix etc it seems like a no brainer and has got me excited!
Cost is obviously the issue at £8k and it may seem daft for a novice to lash out that much on a machine, but, it seems the only realistic way I can get into having a go. I’ve justIfied it with ‘man maths’ and even the Mrs is onboard! Winner. 
I’ve booked a days training on an  Electric Motion at ‘Inch Perfect’ trials for April 2nd, and at the same time put a small deposit on a new machine they have in stock. If all goes well, I could be bringing it home with me! 
I’d feel like the ‘all the gear and no idea’ man and would feel very self conscious turning up anywhere as a ‘wobbler’ on such a machine but I’d hope for a friendly welcome anyway. 
Just massively looking forward to the whole thing! 
cheers, D. 

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9 hours ago, haggetty said:

I’d feel like the ‘all the gear and no idea’ man and would feel very self conscious turning up anywhere as a ‘wobbler’ on such a machine but I’d hope for a friendly welcome anyway. 
Just massively looking forward to the whole thing!

No worries on that score, the trials scene is by and large welcoming and patient with new riders and plenty of people are happy to be genuinely helpful when it comes to understanding techniques too :)

One thing I'd say is don't worry too much about having fancy trials tops and trousers - a comfy helmet and trials boots are the only special bits needed, I still mostly ride in stretch jeans and t-shirts and use cheapy Mechanix gloves more than the proper "off road" ones I have.

Good luck with your new hobby!

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2 minutes ago, turbofurball said:

No worries on that score, the trials scene is by and large welcoming and patient with new riders and plenty of people are happy to be genuinely helpful when it comes to understanding techniques too :)

One thing I'd say is don't worry too much about having fancy trials tops and trousers - a comfy helmet and trials boots are the only special bits needed, I still mostly ride in stretch jeans and t-shirts and use cheapy Mechanix gloves more than the proper "off road" ones I have.

Good luck with your new hobby!

Absolutely take that suggestion on board re keeping it low key! I think Matt black will be my colour scheme haha! 
It’s great that there seems to be such an instinct to help others starting out. Any help would be much appreciated of course. Good to know. 
 

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Electric trials bikes?  You see hardly any at trials competitions.  There must be a reason. 

Best learn on an ordinary, modern two stroke trials bike, before venturing into the electric world. 

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1 hour ago, stpauls said:

Electric trials bikes?  You see hardly any at trials competitions.  There must be a reason. 

Best learn on an ordinary, modern two stroke trials bike, before venturing into the electric world. 

I guess you don’t see many electric trials bikes at the moment. Probably mainly youngsters on OSETs. 
A cheaper 2 stroke to start on makes perfect sense, and if my circumstances were different, that could work. I will keep my options open for sure but the sheer convenience, lack of need for maintenance, lack of smell and no heat is all very compelling. The fact it wouldn’t annoy neighbours or anyone else because it makes no noise is probably the biggest advantage of all. 
Hopefully it’s ability to be ridden completely submerged in water would never be tested but it could come in handy haha! 
The test ride will decide it for me. 

 

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Earl Shilton is a fantastic club and really good venue so hope you enjoy. They run great trials for all abilities but also great training days which both my wife and son attend. We run both petrol and electric trials bikes and during lockdown it has been great to use the electric bike with no hassle and as you state very little maintenance. Technique is certainly different and no noise on events causes some amusement but hope you enjoy. Electric bikes have come on a long way, to see what youngsters do on these bikes is great. We have had both Oset and Beta versions and a match for any petrol bike apart from the tyres which is not an issue for yourself. Look forward to seeing you enjoying the sport at Earl Shilton

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10 minutes ago, Aaron 79 said:

Earl Shilton is a fantastic club and really good venue so hope you enjoy. They run great trials for all abilities but also great training days which both my wife and son attend. We run both petrol and electric trials bikes and during lockdown it has been great to use the electric bike with no hassle and as you state very little maintenance. Technique is certainly different and no noise on events causes some amusement but hope you enjoy. Electric bikes have come on a long way, to see what youngsters do on these bikes is great. We have had both Oset and Beta versions and a match for any petrol bike apart from the tyres which is not an issue for yourself. Look forward to seeing you enjoying the sport at Earl Shilton

Great stuff, thanks Aaron. Certainly looks a smashing venue and great for practice. Looking forward to it. 👍

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On 3/12/2021 at 12:43 AM, haggetty said:

I’ve justIfied it with ‘man maths’ and even the Mrs is onboard! Winner. 

😂😂😂😂 we've all been there.

 

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On 3/12/2021 at 1:05 AM, micm said:

57's nothing! 

I can't disagree there.

On 3/12/2021 at 10:44 AM, turbofurball said:

No worries on that score, the trials scene is by and large welcoming and patient with new riders and plenty of people are happy to be genuinely helpful when it comes to understanding techniques too :)

One thing I'd say is don't worry too much about having fancy trials tops and trousers - a comfy helmet and trials boots are the only special bits needed, I still mostly ride in stretch jeans and t-shirts and use cheapy Mechanix gloves more than the proper "off road" ones I have.

Good luck with your new hobby!

+1 for Mechanix gloves. (I also used to find €1 gardening gloves were better for sailing than the pukka £25+ jobbies.)

I'm inclined to disagree with turbofurball re trousers. In my view jeans aren't stretchy enough (even "stretch" ones) and properly designed trials trousers are much better. But watch out for the sizing!

20 hours ago, stpauls said:

Electric trials bikes?  You see hardly any at trials competitions.  There must be a reason. 

Best learn on an ordinary, modern two stroke trials bike, before venturing into the electric world. 

Reason 1: Cost
Reason 2: Conservatism
Reason 3: It's new technology and advancing quickly. A 2 year-old electric bike won't be nearly as good as a new one. Whereas a 10 year-old petrol bike in good condition is just as good as a new one.

I envy you. If I could justify £8k for a bike I'd definitely be following your path. It is the future.

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4 hours ago, trapezeartist said:

I'm inclined to disagree with turbofurball re trousers. In my view jeans aren't stretchy enough (even "stretch" ones) and properly designed trials trousers are much better. But watch out for the sizing!

The stretch jeans I have are a lot more forgiving than my Jitsie trials trousers 🤔

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8 hours ago, trapezeartist said:

 

Reason 1: Cost
Reason 2: Conservatism
Reason 3: It's new technology and advancing quickly. A 2 year-old electric bike won't be nearly as good as a new one. Whereas a 10 year-old petrol bike in good condition is just as good as a new one.

I envy you. If I could justify £8k for a bike I'd definitely be following your path. It is the future.

Thanks for your reply trapezeartist! I fully agree with reason 1.

Reason 2. Yes indeed, seasoned triallists may be embarrassed turning up on an electric bike! Understand that. I really hope I can keep my embarrassment gene suppressed!

Reason 3. Most that have used the EM Race reckon it’s as good as an electric can get and is more or less the equivalent of a petrol bike now in terms of its capabilities! 
Do you think it will lose value quickly because of the suspicions of battery life?

PS still trying to justify it myself actually haha! 

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