Why Trials?

[THE MANGLER]

What Was It That Made Each Of You Want To Spend Your Lives Mastering The Most Demanding, Technical, Skilled, Discipline Of Cycling?

[Oskar]

so i can get laid

[martin t]

cause im not gay

[guumer]

cause i like men

[martin t]

cause my dick didn't fit in lycra clothes

[Oskar]

cause teh seat hurts my balls

[RT Wolf]

First non-joke answer?

I think trials attracts a certain kind of person, usually hte technical type that's into technology, comp sci, engineering, whatever. Basically, the type of person that has a damned good spatial intelligence and awareness. Because you need that in trials. So, I think the common factor between trials riders and geeks is their advanced spatial awareness. And analytical skillz. Trials stimulates both the need for mental/spatial/analytical challenge and physical excersize is just damned addictive.

PENIS!

[mekanic305]

First non-joke answer?

I think trials attracts a certain kind of person, usually hte technical type that's into technology, comp sci, engineering, whatever. Basically, the type of person that has a damned good spatial intelligence and awareness. Because you need that in trials. So, I think the common factor between trials riders and geeks is their advanced spatial awareness. And analytical skillz. Trials stimulates both the need for mental/spatial/analytical challenge and physical excersize is just damned addictive.

PENIS!

wurd to that...I still ride some bmx still but I like the safer moves in trials.

[Stikman]

Trials is for fags who want to be different, and want to push their limit without having to push their fear limit.

Its also fun.

[decline]

there are a few reason i got into trials...i am by no means good so i dunno if the way you worded your question entirely applies to me..cuz i havent mastered shit.
1. i sucked at all the other kinds of riding
2. i am a super tech gear head
3. its cool
4. althought my lycra makes my junk look good its not always comfortable

[Tanner]

I saw a Hans Rey video and said "I want to do that."

[hophopsnap]

its fun, and the road rash isnt as bad.

[philth]

I love challenges, and problem solving....so why not? there something in my way, from where I want to be, so figure a away to go up, over, across or not so much round.

[xsv4crob]

Because I can. I got into trials to improve my MTB riding skills and trials took over how I wanted to ride. I love the personal challenge. Trials goes right in line with rock climbing and all the hard BS that I like to do.

[Bryan]

It's really fun

[lucky13]

I saw a Hans Rey video and said "I want to do that."

sorta the same for me, except I was "doing that" and someone said "hey you look like hans rey" and I was like "orly"

[mikeyr89]

I saw a Hans Rey video and said "I want to do that."

Except it was Ryan Leech. And I wanted to improve XC skills, and it's fun and looks sweet.

[Lagerhead]

Because I knew I'd never be fit enough to race XC. :eek3: Slow speeds and shorter distances mean less effort, right?:momaru:

[Air_Force_Trials]

When I was a lot younger I saw this guy jump up onto a wall but I always thought you needed toe clips or clip less pedals and the thought of being strapped onto the bike made me not want to do it. Then years later I discovered that you don't use any of that crap. So I got determined to try it out and was in this bike store in Hawaii and that's where I met Nathan Goodhue (aka TrialsinHawaii). I was trying to pick out a good beginner bike and he gave me some pointers. Then I started riding with him and he introduced me to the entire Hawaii Trials Gang and I was sold from then on. I probably would have quit a long time ago (because this sport is so damn hard to get good at) if it weren't for me meeting Nathan.
I love this sport because it is a very analytical and thinking sport. You got to sit there, or rather, stand there and figure out which way you wanna go. Oh and btw, I went to school for Electronics Engineering so I guess I do also fit into that category of being an engineer, scientist or mechanic, LOL.
Now thanks to Nathan and the Hawaii Trials Crew I am totally in love with this sport and I say screw all the other sports I used to play!!!

[va_tick]

I saw a Hans Rey video and said "I want to do that."

Thats the exact same reason I got in to it :eek5: !

[gplung]

Technogearhead---love anything that challenges my balance.

[rush]

Used to do it as a kid on a BMX when I didnt know that bike, or even moto trials existed.

Found out when I was about 21 that people actually rode biketrials as a sport. A year later I discovered the internets and some info about it. A year after that I think I got a bike.

Ive always loved the thought of riding in creeks, drains, muddy banks, rocks etc.

There you go.

[Keith Courage]

I really just think that it looked fun and wondered how they did that shit. So really just curiosity, I guess.
I got my first (trials)bike a lil over a year and half ago on a whim.

I'm just joking, I started riding to imprewv my le37zor 3-8ikinG sK1llZ.
And so I could throw out bad jokes on a gay forum.

[spoke2570]

The bikes look so strange amongst others. How could you not want one?

pete b

[sethman]

they are awesome. i saw my friend (ty smith ) ridng one day , and i was on a skate board. he was about expert level at that time and ,i ended up having him in my science class the next year . i begged him to teach me balance and control and i progressed to sport over about 6 months . i just hit expert and started riding alittle more...hmm (smart ) i guess you would call it. thats where you can actually distinguish trials from street, and where the real fun starts. its the most physically and mentaly challenging sport out there. i beleive that trials is the most elite form of bikingtoo . plus , less than one percent of america rides trials and less than two percent has ever seen it , meaning that whenever you go and ride your basicaly gonna get a new crowd to educate every time. i dont know its just for me. thats about it.

peace out, sethman

[free_rideman]

I think one thing about trials, is that after you master it even to a middle level, everything else is just so easy. You truly know how to handle a bike.

When people are into stuff like freeriding, most people get a thrill because they like that feel of not fully having control of the bike. After trials I think you lose that to a certain extent, that is why a person keeps on coming back to trials, since it is the only thing that can challenge him.

Also there is a sense of creation. You can ride a certain place your own way, make up your own line, one that is personal to you. After you complete the line you worked so hard to create, you have a feeling of completion in a way. A feeling of control. That is probably why us nerds love this sport, we love that aspect, control that is. The cool thing about it, is that it can't be taken away. No matter how crappy a certain riding enviornment is, we can still create an awesome line. A freerider for example, is at the merce of the trail he is riding, and his own limits. He can't taylor a line to the extent we can.

That said I also think trials riders have this determination in them, that sometimes makes them get into endurance stuff, like road bikes, or xc (or all mountain). (unless you get your endurance from riding trials like four hours everyday)

Anyways, I love trials, and I will keep at it!! (It is a pretty cheap sport to get into IMO, no clothing or special accessories)

[MIKE1968]

Because The Girls Like Me When I Type Like This And Ride Like This

[sethman]

type like what ?

[Soapster887]

"Like When You Type Like This Jeeze"^^. Trials challanges you not only physically with the dynamics of moving your body in certain ways, it also challanges the mind to do that. Plus, the "Holy shit, how did you do that?" responses are rather amusing.

[sethman]

i love those responses. And I Dont Really Care For This Kind Of Typing. takes too much time. lotta chick like the bike though. "you sure do know how to handle that bike". i get this from more chicks than anything.

[Peace]

because i like to drink

[diamondback2222]

I like bloody shins........................:o

[Elan]

type like what ?


Like This, You Tard!




Most People On This Forum E-Ride Because They Want To Be On A Forum With Me.

[sethman]

your the tard. i posted like 3 posts back that i knew what you were talking about.trials rocks . thats why.

[Stikman]

Where are these rocks man??

Trials toungues ballz, it's too hard and chicks definately do NOT think it is cool.

[sethman]

gotta do it right , and have confidence . if you cant ride then how would you know?why do you say chicks dont dig it if you cant even ride?:luke:

[MIKE1968]

I Nkow What You Mean. This Time Me And Matt Who Own This Forum Were Out Ass Faced Wasted Downtown Denver. We Hit On Mad Bitches. We Finally Found This Slut Wasted Off Her Ass Running From The Cops Down On The River Walk, We Helped Her Up To The Street After She Threw Her Shoes Up To Us And Then Drove Us Home All Wasted. It Was Sick, She Came To My Crib And Totally Did Things Of Illegalness Then Disappeared. Not As Good As When Matt Cutt His Foot After Ass-plowing This Girl He Doesn't Even Know.

[sethman]

thats th funnies fuckin storie ive ever heard.

[mcdub]

Trials is for fags who want to be different, and want to push their limit without having to push their fear limit.

Its also fun.

Are you joking ???
You must be some shitty as rider to not get scared.

because Ive ridden xc,dh,street,dj and trials.

And wanted to try trials and i just never stoped riding it since.

[mcdub]

I Nkow What You Mean. This Time Me And Matt Who Own This Forum Were Out Ass Faced Wasted Downtown Denver. We Hit On Mad Bitches. We Finally Found This Slut Wasted Off Her Ass Running From The Cops Down On The River Walk, We Helped Her Up To The Street After She Threw Her Shoes Up To Us And Then Drove Us Home All Wasted. It Was Sick, She Came To My Crib And Totally Did Things Of Illegalness Then Disappeared. Not As Good As When Matt Cutt His Foot After Ass-plowing This Girl He Doesn't Even Know.


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

How the fuck did he cut his foot :rofl:

[Stikman]

Are you joking ???
You must be some shitty as rider to not get scared.

because Ive ridden xc,dh,street,dj and trials.

And wanted to try trials and i just never stoped riding it since.

Yeah, real serious.

On a more serious note though, I have never felt the same fear as when looking at large drops with of camber landings into shady corners on my DH bike.
I was a little intimidated by some drops and moves on my trials bike when I first started, but now I have waaay less fear. Not so when pinning it on the verge of loss of control on my Bullit.

[spoke2570]

When people are into stuff like freeriding, most people get a thrill because they like that feel of not fully having control of the bike. After trials I think you lose that to a certain extent, that is why a person keeps on coming back to trials, since it is the only thing that can challenge him.

Over the years I have hit most corners of the sport, and they are all about control of one sort or another. Trials is certainly one that precludes any faking. The freeriders that can truly pick a fresh line and take what comes are worth watching, but those rides aren't huckfests. I hit road with a guy who was a stayer in his prime: His cadence is so perfect and his wheel is so steady its like riding a tight rope. I can't do that.

There are a lot of fakers out there and it is hard to keep them from ruining any discipline they pose.

Trials is way cooler than THIS (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6530039596888956061&q=cycle-ball&hl=en), or THIS (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8867862777896510907&q=artistic+cycling&hl=en) and THIS (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9026838489904472871&q=artistic+cycling&hl=en), but people have been doing DUMB STUFF (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3425684014311813903&q=artistic+cycling&hl=en) on bikes for a long time.

pete b

[Juhan]

I don't know. At first I started riding bikes because I couldn't skateboard anymore(a doctor said I can't do it anymore because my back is retarded). Then i tried street, dirt, and trials, and after that i still wanted to ride biketrials. Now i'm thinking about building a 24" street rig with suspension or maybe a bmx so i could ride street/park again(I have this obsession of trying a backflip into snow this winter) but I'll still be riding trials.

[stpatr3k]

I first saw trials as mototrials in TV and was amazed...a few years later I saw trials being done in stock and was blown away. I was amazed that it can be done in a bike.

I never though I could learn trials until I went into MTB (my first time on a bike again since 20 years ago) and got an XC frame last year and tried to learn the trackstand and never stopped since then.

[lewisdaly]

always loved my bike, from way back in the early 70's as a toddler to right now. got into pretty much all cycling disciplines through the years, trials, however, tops them all to keep this science-head happy!

:h5:

[Evan Ritchie]

your the tard. i posted like 3 posts back that i knew what you were talking about.trials rocks . thats why.
Not to be a wanker or anything but your first word should be "you're"... kind of loses some of the punch when you're calling someone else a tard and you use the wrong word in doing so.:momaru:

[sethman]

BFD. im just tryin to get the message over.

[Evan Ritchie]

... another thought. I was just watching the bonus footage on Manifesto, again, and remembering Robin Coope and Ryan Leech giving a demo at a race for SPOKE (Students Pedaling Onto Kreative Education, a school MTB club in the lower mainland BC with a full race series and rides with pros etc.) and Robin was giving an impromptu lecture on physics while lining up a drop that gapped out 4 or 5 feet. Here was this guy up on the rear wheel, looking at a drop that was bigger than anything I'd ever done to that point, and he was talking about inertia, friction, acceleration, trajectory, velocity. I was damned impressed.:bowdown:

These two have done much to foster my appreciation for the sport, as has Joan Jones. She runs the West Coast School of Mountain Biking. She was the first person who demystified some of the initial moves of trials and made my overall riding skills begin to take flight. Not only does she have skyllz, but she has done a bunch of work to take the skills of trials and freeride and codify them so they can be more easily taught and learned. My hat is off to her.

[ronan_zj]

I just wanna get a break from school...

[rush]

Not to be a wanker or anything but your first word should be "you're"... kind of loses some of the punch when you're calling someone else a tard and you use the wrong word in doing so.:momaru:

:06: For the win! :h5:

[mcdub]

Uh oh.Grammar fight.
:Runs off in the dark:

[THE MANGLER]

At Least You Don't Type In All Caps!

[eastside]

At Least You Don't Type In All Caps!


A story like that you have to type in caps! :bowrofl: Those are the stories you tell your great grand children....

[gplung]

Depends on what your definition of a good story is--LOL.

[mekanic305]

Most People On This Forum E-Ride Because They Want To Be On A Forum With Me.

That's why I ride! :hsugh:

[justtysen]

Are you joking ???
You must be some shitty as rider to not get scared.

Trials riding is generally less spontaneous than other riding. All cycling disciplines reward visualization, but trials demands it. A rider can't execute a maneuver without first scoping out a place to land. This visualization makes it easier for a trials rider to know their limits and prevent needless crashes. When riding at speed things can just happen and riding is at least partially a reactionary activity. Since their are few surprises in trials (provided the obstacles are sturdy) riders can more accurately anticipate the movements they will need to make. Trials is a routine of constant revaluation,and the discreet units of expolsive movement give the trials rider plenty of outs. Unlike racers, trials riders can simply put a foot down or jump off the bike if things go wrong. Sometimes the heights involved do make this impossible but a rider need never encounter these situations without experiance.

The biggest reason trials requires less guts than other types of riding is that all of the trials moves can be practiced without the added risk of heights. The skills are the same. Riders can perfect the skills and then go higher to build their confidence and nerve. With high speed sports, going bigger means that the moves will have a different timing and possibly a different feel which will need to be learned.

So trials can be mastered with much less risk than most other cycling sports. Fear is really only as important as the rider makes it. If you are into scaring yourself with massive drops or risky gaps that is fine, but somebody else could gap and drop just as well on low risk obstacles until they aren't afraid to go higher. Maybe some riders are hindered by fear, but in my experiance people who practice the skills without scaring themselves learn at least as quickly as those who always go big. I think fear is really only an issue when it comes to scaring yourself enough to keep practice interesting. So fear need never get the best of a trials rider.

[mekanic305]

Trials riding is generally less spontaneous than other riding. All cycling disciplines reward visualization, but trials demands it. A rider can't execute a maneuver without first scoping out a place to land. This visualization makes it easier for a trials rider to know their limits and prevent needless crashes. When riding at speed things can just happen and riding is at least partially a reactionary activity. Since their are few surprises in trials (provided the obstacles are sturdy) riders can more accurately anticipate the movements they will need to make. Trials is a routine of constant revaluation,and the discreet units of expolsive movement give the trials rider plenty of outs. Unlike racers, trials riders can simply put a foot down or jump off the bike if things go wrong. Sometimes the heights involved do make this impossible but a rider need never encounter these situations without experiance.

The biggest reason trials requires less guts than other types of riding is that all of the trials moves can be practiced without the added risk of heights. The skills are the same. Riders can perfect the skills and then go higher to build their confidence and nerve. With high speed sports, going bigger means that the moves will have a different timing and possibly a different feel which will need to be learned.

So trials can be mastered with much less risk than most other cycling sports. Fear is really only as important as the rider makes it. If you are into scaring yourself with massive drops or risky gaps that is fine, but somebody else could gap and drop just as well on low risk obstacles until they aren't afraid to go higher. Maybe some riders are hindered by fear, but in my experiance people who practice the skills without scaring themselves learn at least as quickly as those who always go big. I think fear is really only an issue when it comes to scaring yourself enough to keep practice interesting. So fear need never get the best of a trials rider.

:ugh:...nice explaination. But, what you said can be applied to any type of biking.

[drtbiker620]

i ride because no one knows what it is there are only two ppl in the town that i live in who ride trials, me and my friend who got me into it. thats it. granted we taught a lot of ppl to hop on the rear wheel i dont plan on there being some 12 year old kicking my ass any time soon. i love it when ppl ask me where my seat it or why i have holes in my rim. and how easy it is to impress ppl from doing gaps to hopping up a damn picnic bench to hoppin on the rear wheel. trials is a way to clear your head and thats the best thing about it...there i said it

[decline]

it just feels good when you nail a nice move you have been workin on. or do a gap and hear that chirp of the brakes and impress people. and then to do sidehops...i love side hops.

[justtysen]

:ugh:...nice explaination. But, what you said can be applied to any type of biking.

Misapplied.

Any form of cycling which requires speed or height will be learned more slowly if a rider is afraid to practice at that speed or height. Flatland and Artistic Cycling are the only other cycling disciplines I can think of besides Trials whose physical skills are not dependent upon speed or height. Their physical skills cannot be learned more quickly by being fearless.

[Ali C]

I was into xc, then I saw some kid doing pivots and I thought it was ace. Then I got an issue with mbuk that had an artical with ashton, hawsie and Hans Rey riding california (when they filmed chainspotting)....I thought it was amazing!

I then bought chainspotting and I thought it was even more amazing!!

I then went to Bike 98 and saw them ride, that was more amazing than the previous amazing moments!!!

I then saw an artical in a magazine about a round of the British champs that was held not far from me, it had details about a local club, so I joined up, still riding my xc bike....best desicion ever!

[Tha Goat]

Cause the feeling you get when you nail a move or line just can't be beat!

[PXride]

Cause the feeling you get when you nail a move or line just can't be beat!

[aki]

I saw a Hans Rey video and said "I want to do that."

Pretty much sums it up for me. Didn't even know it was a sport!

[DMofo]

you have obversely never had someone come up to you and go "where the f*cks your seat kid". its the funniest experince. and also when people stop in the street to watch as you nail your next move and then having some little kid go to their dad "i wanna be like him" they are awesome feelings.

and plus its different.

[KeepRollin]

having some little kid go to their dad "i wanna be like him"


I dunno.... I like, "Hey son, do you want to try that?" "No way that's crazy!"

[Mango]

i first rode street for about 2 years and got some basic stuff like pedal kicks and pivots. Then when my friend got a trials bike i had a blast on it. Surely enough i got my own bike and now a year later I have a decent dedicated trials bike.

I also liked the fact that its so much easier to ride. For street it gets really boring when theres no more stuff to ride nearby where if your on a trials bike you can do so much more just messing around on your driveway.

[poosh and hook!]

I was given a Haro Response in '89 by a friend who won it at a mountain bike race and couldn't ride it to save his life. I raced BMX and rode in 'freestyle' comps, so he figured I would appreciate it more. I rode it how I imagined it was supposed to be ridden, but I didn't know any trialsers to learn from. After a couple years, I picked up a Monty T219 and continued to flounder around in the woods near my home. Eventually, I lost interest completely.

Fast forward to 1999. I made friends with a few trialsers in Boston who convinced me to convert a small Gary Fisher frame that was lying around the shop into a stock bike. I rode that for a few months and I was hooked again, so I quickly replaced it with an Echo ES2 that I got from Tim @ Trialsin.com (http://www.trialsin.com). Last winter I sold the ES2 and never replaced it, which brings us to today... Me, without a trials bike. Suggestions?

-td

[lucky13]

Me, without a trials bike. Suggestions?

-td

www.trialsin.com (http://www.trialsin.com) And tell him you are old skool. He will set you up.

[MultiRider]

Misapplied.

Any form of cycling which requires speed or height will be learned more slowly if a rider is afraid to practice at that speed or height. Flatland and Artistic Cycling are the only other cycling disciplines I can think of besides Trials whose physical skills are not dependent upon speed or height. Their physical skills cannot be learned more quickly by being fearless.
Both this and your other post are a big part of it for me. I've been racing motocross for many years and the risk/reward ratio has being going the wrong way for me for a while. The jumps are bigger and scarier, the crashes harder, the injuries more severe, and my willingness to risk major injury just for a big "WHEEE!" over a jump has dwindled to almost zero. For the majority of big jumps, as justtysen said, there's no way to try it slow and easy. You either pin in and hope or you're not going to make it. I used to really enjoy the rush of a monster jump, but too many friends have broken too many bones lately. Then I broke my collarbone and decided I didn't want to break any more bones. Riding around with "no crashing!" really drained the fun from motocross.

So I really got into mtb. And the part of mtb that I liked the most was conquering technical sections -- rocks, roots, switchbacks. The biggest risk is not getting out of my pedals!

I recalled seeing a trials demo in the parking lot of an Albertsons in Colorado Springs. This guy was hoppping onto and off of plastic Pepsi pallets. I was so impressed! It was really cool. And I thought about the Hans Rey videos I'd seen. So instead of dumping $800 into a new Fox fork for my Yeti, I decided to buy a trials bike instead. Of course, $800 became $1000 which became $1500 which became $2200, but I'm completely happy with my Simtra! And glad the YZ450 is gone.

It is a lot more fun to get better and better at something rather than worse and worse. And to have fun without the 60mph-and-15-feet-off-the-ground-with-other-unpredictable-people risk.

Let's say that #12 decides he wants the outside line in the right hand turn coming up after the tabletop he is ascending. What are my options? Hit the air brakes? That was a HUGE rush in the heat of battle. A risk I will not take again. It seemed worth it at the time, but upon further review, DUMB DUMB DUMB. I wasn't a factory rider duking it out for a million dollar contract. I was just a guy at a local racing going for momentary glory. I know several people who crashed their brains out on the same jump (two different guys shattered both ankles coming up short -- wheelchair for 6-12 months). Just not worth it any more. A rush in trials can be had with far fewer risks and dependencies and such.

Of course, there were other types of fun, too. Doing tricks always appealed to me. Same on a bike!