trials

[bigbore]

Hello all ,

I have been watching quite a few trials vids on u tube and would love to give it a go but as im getting on a bit ( 33) i dont want to be jumping on mad rocks , would just like to have a potter on some nice trials ...... I have been looking at the classics and wonder if thats the way to go ?

Questions i have are how do i get involved in this sport and what would be the best kind for my novice ability and age?

I have done motor cross before and also mini moto racing but that was a while ago....

My location is loughborough so not sure if there are any clubs near me ]


cheers jamie

[G]

There will be clubs near you.
I'd get a modern bike to start with, because they are a lot easier to ride relative to the old ones and if you're going to a club that does both, you'll probably be riding over the same things.
Once you've got in to it for a bit, you can always then look to get a 'classic', or maybe a better modern bike.

I got myself a 2000 Beta Rev3 for £650 a few months ago. Needs a bit of work doing to it, but been fine so far for me. I've done a few practice days and one 'proper' trial (I came last, but did manage to 'clean' one section once, which was nice - though maybe the observer just missed a dab, as wasn't sure if I had.

If you're anything like me, you certainly won't be starting on the 'mad' stuff anyway - lampkin etc do make it look rather easy . The 'proper' trial I did was your traditional around tight trees while going around gradients etc,

There will definitely be clubs near you. I found a couple near me that did practice days where you could go around and do your own thing.
Trials central (google for it) is the best resource for UK trials. Have a look through there - there's a UK specific section and I got some useful responses when I asked about places local to me.

[Blue_SV650S]

As G said, getting a modern bike will make it easier.

Clubs tend to have 3 routes marked out, the 3 routes covering roughly the same area, but of differing difficulty levels.

Basically you can select the easy route. From the ones I have done, sometimes the easy route is a bit of a joke to be honest. Others and it is still one hell of a challenge!

I had a Beta Rev 3 too and it was a nice bike to ride.

If you have done MX in the past, the you clearly have no fear, trials is a totally different discipline, it is about observing a route, then getting the speed/grip right to go up it ... weight distribution and balance come into play more than other bike sports I have tried.
____________________
The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[HoggyF]

as both above say, get on to trialscentral and find out when and where the nearest clubs and trials to you are then get yourself along to watch, ask a few questions etc and see how easy or hard the sections are.

I started this year and the 1st time I rode my bike (98 GasGas 250) was in an actual trial - didn't finish it and had totally the wrong kit on but never mind, some of it was rock hard, other bits were easyish but if i didn't like a part of it or couldn't clear that section I just 5'd it and went on to the next.

The other thing is you usually do either 10 or 12 sections 4 times each so by the 3rd or 4th lap you start to get the hang of that section, also wathc how others do it and learn.
I'd definately stick with a modern bike but it doesn't have to be the newest on the block as long as its basically sound.

Get out there and enjoy it, you'll love it.

[Teflon-Mike]

ACU Web-site also has list of acredited clubs in your district.
Many of them are nomadic & events can be quite away from thier notional centre though.
East mids centre is VERY lively & Loughborough/Nottingham/Derby/S.Yorks,there are LOADS of clubs; some of them are rather more competative and lay out harder courses than others, so you need to pick a beginner freindly one.
One of the 'best' newbie clubs in the East-Mids centre is Earl-Shilton Trials Club. They are based between Hinkley & Leicester & have thier own trials ground at the Yennards, where they hold ALL of thier events. Makes it a bit boring & repetative if you get keen, but the familiarity is good for a newbie.
As they have the lease on the venue, they hold a lot of non-competative practice & training sessions there, & if you pay the slightly higher 'practice' using the course out of event time is free.
Its a VERY newbie freindly club, as said they hold newbie, non competative events, but actualy events they duel or tripple route the sections, for easy, intermediete and expert, plus classic & over 40 classes, but the one that would suit you, at least for teh first couple of events would be the 'fun' class, run on the 'easy' sections..... if you want to actually do some observed sections.... just getting into it, you may just want to do a newbie event & free practice to your hearts content.
Plenty of members join up JUST to have the facilities at disposal, & compete more seriousely with other clubs.
May be a bit of a treck from Loughborough, though no futher than some events with other clubs, but worth the hike as your point of entry.
As for class....... well, the classics have got more diverse in recent years. There's now classes for the old Brit thumpers, rigid and suspended, but some clubs seperate the two-strokes and allow older non-brits to run with them. T-shock is still going strong, but no longer the budget class it used to be. Some people are sticking Yamaha reed-blocks, mikuni carns and programmable electronic ignition into old Bultaco's & Ossas, and hacking the frames to make them more nimble on modern short sections, & competative T-Shocks are getting expensive, like Pre-65 got a few years ago.
Still two camps in that lot. C15's without a distributor, fancy japanese carburettor, plastic mudguards & tank, that kind of thing, riding against bikes that have ALL Pre-65 parts.
But they now often have an 'air-cooled' mono-class, for the older mono-shock bikes...... mainly Yamaha TY's, for the budget club-man.
Personally, I always said that T-shock was the better newbie class, as it was less competative, while the bikes were cheaper to buy, cheaper to fix, and a LOT more DIY-able than the modern light fantastics.
Still true to some degree, but they are hard work on the more technically minded modern sections.
Air-Cooled Mono, seems like a reasonable compromise.
Contemprary bikes..... I have to confess I have not a huge experience of.
They are certainly a revelation to ride after my old T-Shock Cota!
But, they are a LOT more complicated, with disc brakes, multi-link mono-shock suspension, water-cooling, and now four-stroke motors, and in some case aluminium beam frames.
Incredibly light, I think the Sherco 270 I had a hop on is something like half the weight of my cota, and thats about half the weight of a regular road-bike! But very very compact, some of them almost need a complete tear-down JUST to get at the spark-plug!
They are no where near as service freindly as the older bikes. And the ali-beam framed bikes caused some luddite worries, in my mind least wise, about aluminium stress fatigue and snapped frames.... I've had my cota twenty five years.... frames been welded more times than I care to mention.... but at least I know I CAN weld it!
They have been around a while now though and have proved to have held up.
If you've done some scrambling and some racing..... you will find trials rather more laid-back and less regulated, and If you have both dirt & competition experience, its likely that you'll progress quickly and the 'fun' course will soon become rather unchallenging for you and you'll want to progress.
As ever, a lot of choices are dictated by money, but trials is a lot cheaper to take part in than other disciplines, and its only as competative as you want it to be, and as expensive as you let it.
If you fancy the classics, then they may be worth looking into; there are still enough folk running renovation projects just for the crack, rather than full on class reg-beaters, and in many ways, theres a lot more 'interest' in the classes, with more people riding more diverse bikes, more or less conpetatively.
If you want an easy time, go contemprary, but pick your bike with care, and you club!
And AS for being thirty three..... well, you'll probably find that apart from the Cadets scooting about on 80's & 125's making us all look like incompetants....... that'll make you one of the 'youngsters'!
Lots of old-boys out there, particularly in the classics, well into thier 60's or beyond!
____________________
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Imonster]

[bigbore]

many thanks for the great posts. I will be calling earl shilton club as that looks like a nice starting place for a beginner to the sport and having the practice ground accessible all week is an added bonus. I think i have talked myself out of having a classic now and will be looking at a newer bike year 200ish ( still a classic to some lol ) Is there any particular CC i should be looking at for a beginner ? I see that the beta rev 3 is a good starter bike so i might look in that direction,

Cheers Jamie

[G]

Year 200, yea probably considered a bit of a classic then ...
https://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/johonnot-cats/johonnot-cats-00-h-dir/images/p0079.jpg

Generally I think go for a 250 as an adult.
The 315r is also supposed to be a good bike - it was what I was after, but the rev 3 came up at a good price.