FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

(Of course the list is not complete, but you can send me an email to get extra info or for other tips to be added)

Bash rings
Bike settings
Bouncing on the back wheel
Clip pedals
Checking the bike
Endo, or balance on the front wheel
Lifting the bike in the air (bunny hops)
Lifting the front wheel (for wheelings or for a pedal hop)
Landing sharp on the back wheel
Mod bikes and Stock bikes?
Why a low seat?
Practising balance
Pressure for the tyres
Protections
Suspensions
What is a Zone?



Making a bash ring
If you only use the granny ring on a normal crank (set for three chainrings), you can get rid of the larger rings and replace them with two cheap steel medium rings. Then you have the smallest chainring protected by two parallel medium rings that will also grip on most edges.


Bike settings
What you need is plenty of room to move around the bike, to balance and to manoeuver. That summarises in a small frame, (usually the smallest available) and a combination of high rise stem and high rise wide handlebars. The length of the stem is determined by how much stretched you want to be on the bike. Wide handlebars give you more torque (strengtht) and more stability.
The seat should be adjusted to the lowest but not least comfortable level. When riding trials, its not necessary to shift gears, and you can set the gear to a 1:1 ratio (from crank to cassette). You may feel really uncomfortable and unbalanced at the beginning, but this is at this kind of ratio you'll end up if you want to pedal kick, or backhop. The tyres should be as big and fat as the frame spacing can take.


Bouncing on the back wheel
After a small endo, move your body backward with the rear brakes on, and lift the front wheel in one go. Then on the back wheel, knees folded for a jump impulsion, jump on site while extending the arms. In the same second, lift the handlebars higher by pulling the bars back to you, and lift the feet to let the bike follow at the same time. In the beginning, you will hop backwards, because of balance problems. Its a lot of synchronisation. Once you get to two hops, you are on the right way.


Checking the bike
First the brakes should block when pulled to the max. And if you have cables, pull to the max and make sure the cable is not on its way to break. Then the handlebars and the stem, pull on each sides, check there is no move, nor too bad creaking noises. Then the crank, there should be no game in the bottom bracket, nor between the crank levers (if you have alloy levers and they round-off a little bit, you can adjust the game by inserting some small aluminium sheets 10x13mm cut out from a recyclable aluminium beverage can. For the chain, it should run smoothly and fluid without bumps or jumps between the different gears. If two chain bits are not pivoting properly, use a chain tool to unlock the pin. Any part on a bike can break, but a frame or a back wheel wrecked into puree are still much safer than a bumpy chain that suddenly jumps or breaks when you kick in.


Why aren't clip pedals recommended for trials riding?
Because Its way too dangerous to have your feet stuck when you need to jump off the bike at any time for a safe crash. You'd rather land on your feet than on your back, believe me.


Getting on the front wheel
Moving at a slow pace, just apply full brakes on the front wheel. While the bike stops, carry on moving your body forward and above the handlebars by naturally folding your arms (you carry all the inertia and energy of the system 'bike/rider'), and then push on the handlebars at the very last moment. At this stage, your weight should be mainly above the stem, and pushing on the handlebars will put the bike on the front wheel. At the beginning, don't go too fast or you'll go over the bars (remember, it's about balance, not about crash speed). If things go wrong (going over the bars), don't release the brakes or you'll bite the rocks. Just put the feet back on earth, on each side of the front.Once you get it right, you can try a few hops on the front wheel (like dynamic push-ups), or carry on riding on the front wheel by releasing the front brakes and staying in balance above the stem (really difficult, it helps to be in a light slope).


How to lift the bike in a bunny hop or back hop, or side hop?
Lifting the handlebars is the only trick, because your feet can't lift the bike. It looks like the feet are stuck to the pedals, but in fact they are just limiting the ascension of the bike. The higher you lift the handlebars, and the faster you push them forwards afterwards, with a forward twist of the wrists to force the whole frame to follow, the higher you can get the back wheel off the ground. Of course you need some synchronisation, this is the difficult bit that needs hell of practice.
You can practice with full brakes on (the safest way to understand the move). That leads you to the back hop.
For the impulsion to jump, think about it like jumping on your feet without a bike. You need to flex the knees, then full extension. On the bike, same business but with synchronised pull on the bars upwards to lift the front wheel while still in extension. Once you are fully extended, it's time to lift your feet, like you do to jump over anything. At the same time you are lifting the feet, you need to twist the handlebars forward (its the only way the frame can follow, the entire bike rotates forward in a vertical plane). All the move takes less than a second.


How to lift the front wheel for a pedal hop or a wheeling?
From a low pace for the wheeling, lean your body backward while pulling on the bars and giving a good kick in the driving pedal. That should take off the front wheel from the ground. Once you have the feel, you just need to practice until you know how much to pull on the bars according to the pedal kick. (the stronger the kick, the less you have to pull. You can even lift the front wheel without pedaling (manual), just by pulling on the bars and moving your body really backwards (behind the seat post).
For the pedal kick: from a stand still, same move but more powerfull kick when releasing the brakes, to take off the front wheel and also lift the bike in the air, and full brakes on as soon as the rear wheel touches down.


How to land the back wheel on an edge
Typically, for climbing on a beam or a sharp edge with no support behind to land the front wheel, you need to land right in balance onto the back wheel, without dropping the front wheel.
You'll need quite a lot of practice for that, but the trick is to bunny hop at very low speed and nearly vertically, so that inertia does not force you over the obstacle. You need to lift the front wheel to the maximum and stay backwards rather than pushing forward like for a normal bunny hop. If you overdo it, then you'll probably have to hop back. Off course, you need to have the rear brake 'full on' when you land the back wheel on the edge. The best is to practice on a kerb that is about as high as you can bunny hop, with some plain ground behind.


Mod bikes / Stock bikes
Mod bikes are the modified bicycles customised for trials riding. They look very much like BMX but even smaller, with a long stem, high handlebars, a real bash guard under the crank, one single low speed and very fat tyres on small 20" wheels. The most famous brand is Monty.
Stock bikes are actually normal mountain bikes optimised for trials riding (low seat, only the granny ring on the crank) but normal 26" wheels and gear shifting for the rear. Of course, they need to be stronger than the average bike to last one zone.


Why a low seat?
The lower the seat, the more margin you have to move around the bike.On certain moves (climbing or landing) you need to be very streched backwards on the bike, nearly seating on the rear wheel, and a high seat would punch you through the stomach (on mod trials bikes, there nearly no seat, just a flat cap mounted on the frame). Anyway, you never seat when doing trials riding, so the seat is more like a protection from the frame tubing.


What pressure for the tyres?
It depends on the ground and the sharpness of the edges you climb on. The sharper the edge, the more inflated you want the tyres so that you don't get a double pinch flat when banging the back wheel on it (the unfamous snake bite, rim rails pinching the tube against an edge). For round blunt obstacles like wood logs, less pressure gives extra gripping because the tyre can litteraly grab the edges and shapes. less pressure also gives extra bouncing for landing, and is more comfortable. Fat tyres (2.5" or wider) are the best, and allow a lower pression than thin tyres, so more comfort and more grip.


How to practice balance?
Ride very slowly upwards a very smooth slope, and go slower until the bike actually stops without the brakes. Then try to maintain the bike on the same spot by adjusting the pressure on the driving pedal (right foot most of the time). When you feel that you are loosing balance, kick in the pedal to carry on or twist the handlebars to get extra balance. The next step to understand balance better is to let the bike go backwards in the same slope, by decreasing the pressure in the pedals. This exercice is easier on a medium gear ratio.


Why no suspensions in trials riding?
Because its a drag. All the impulsions you give to hop around tend to be absorbed by the suspensions, and the back wheel doesn't take off. And its extra weight. You can still do with a front suspension, tuned to the hardest setting.


Safety
OK, the obvious one is the helmet, I know its boring, too hot, uncomfortable etc...but after a few crashs on your back (the most common in trials riding, due to bad timing with the rear brakes), you'll realise how close your head can get to the rocks. Solid gloves, (the heavy braking involved wipes the skin out). And shin guards, to stop the pedals from grinding your tibias when you loose control.
Allways start small before you build the height. As a general fact, all the techniques described in that Website can be practiced from the edge of a 6 inches kerb, along your home street, until you are confident enough to try from higher.


What is a zone?
In trials riding, a zone is a guided track full of obstacles to climb on. To pass a zone, the rider must follow the tracks without putting the feet on the ground, otherwise he gets penalties.