matt tomlinson

i feel bad because i mostly only post in here when i have a new video, which is what i am doing now. i must say there are some good videos in here to be watched as well. i recently made this video, the music is muddy waters, any comments and criticisms are welcome.

that kicked ass man.

nope that description definitely makes sense. i guess i just need to start lower than i was. hopefully that will allow me a better grasp of the move. i think finding that happy medium between the right height and making the move still the same may be hard though. heres to hoping the mental block goes away when i try this.

yeah i guess i could of separated the parts that are about up to fronts and doing hooks, but at the time i felt that it worked fine that way. back on the up to front deal i was trying it on a two foot stack of pallets this afternoon but i always just freeze on it. i guess essentially what i am asking here is how the hell do you learn the motions without going out and just trying the move. because just going out and trying the move is not working and at this rate i don't foresee it working. what can i do to become comfortable with the move beyond just throwing myself at a pallet stack? for example when i learned how to pedal up i did so on flat ground first then transfered this motion to a wall, however because this move is essentially doing a endo onto a object you cant really do that. i am pretty sure i understand the physics the move and while trying the move i think about the move, but always just end up doing a large a pedal kick to rear to get to where i want to go. its incredibly frustrating literally having such a mental block on doing new things on the bike without the default "kick to rear" setting in.

i searched for a while with this sites search function and looked in the frequently asked questions but i didn't find anything on this topic. basically i am looking for help with the moves mentioned in the title (hooks, up to fronts, sidehops , and taps). i guess so i don't get overloaded i am going to concentrate on the up to front and hook first. my problems with the up to front move is that i just cant commit ,there seems to be a mental block whenever i try it. i can picture the move and i feel i have a pretty good grasp on what needs to happen but i cannot for the life of me put it into practice. i guess i am looking for suggestions on how to commit more or ways to practice the body motions without actually doing the move. on hooks i also have the basic grasp i just don't think i am reacting fast enough. i also have a few questions on the actual mechanics of the move. when i get up i don't think i am keeping my body moving up which is pretty integral from my understanding of the move. what i think kills most of that momentum though is not really knowing what to do after i get into position do you guys keep the front brake on and pivot the bike up from the front tire or not use the front brake and just push the bike up the rest of the obstacle. i can't really tell from watching videos of others.also i am not trying to do this up a wall, i am using a stack of pallets with one pallet on the side that makes a sharp 80 degree angle, i figured it would be easier to learn this way. i know video of myself would help this thread immensely but unfortunately i don't have any of these moves. thank you all in advance for any help.

honestly i have never heard of that bike or that company. but it looks pretty solid and all of the reviews check out. i guess my advice would be go for it.

from my experience on my first bike (a 2004 brisa with a -15 bb) the bike will be more stable on two wheels. rear wheel moves will be harder and require a different posture to stay on the rear wheel than a newer frame. that being said if you were into bmx the lower bottom bracket will probably give the bike a more "streety" feel especially compared to newer bikes, my brisa manuals and j-hops like a dream compared to my raven. if i were you and i was on a fixed budget and wanted to get into trials as soon as possible i would buy this bike, it will probably be great to learn on especially if you have other people to ride with. the bike will probably no doubt teach you the basics and show you if you like the sport or not. or at least thats what my brisa did for me. if you feel like you need to upgrade after that you can. it would be nice to know the make and model of the bike though and possibly what part spec it has to see if you are actually getting a deal or not though. i am sure the fellow riders here will also help you out.

thanks man, i probably have advice for a newbie just shoot and i'll see what i can do. i am sure the other fellow members would do the same as well. the band is iron&wine, the song is muddy hymnal. not my first choice for music for a trials vid but it was the only file that would work. and now it has kind of grew on me to a point where i think it was a good choice to use this song.

not going to lie i totally forgot about this place, but out of nowhere i come back and i am validated. the problem is i still suck so i am still going to post my video in the beginner section. its from a couple of months ago and i am somewhat more consistent and smooth now. i made it in a day probably not more than a couple of hours of actually riding, maybe some other beginners will find it useful or entertaining.

that was hardcore. i think you just stepped up freestyle fixed gear to a new level.

a video documenting my first six months of riding in chronological order.

here is my current progress i have been dropping picnic tables for a while, but have just finally got video of the feat. the other one is me going up a waist high loading dock and down some adjacent stairs.

i like to listen mostly to, the brian jonestown massacre the dandy warhols weird owl the black angels dead prez black moth super rainbow dead meadow and bob dylan is quite nice sometimes.

cool deal, trevor bodogh of meta bikes out of canada is pushing for this as well. the two should get in contact somehow.

i would post this in the real forum, but i am not aloud to yet. so since this is a trials forum in the u.k and the olympic games are coming to london in 2012 i think you guys as riders should really push for trials to be part of itinerary for the next games. i am sure you guys would love to be the first country to host trials in the games. if anyone else thinks this is a cool idea start working on it. i think london is our best push as trials riders to get accepted into the games. good luck to you guys who take up the challenge.

i did this the other day, its nothing to special but it showcases that i am not afraid of doing big drops anymore. i have a picnic table vid but its long and i dont feel like editing it down.

i remember i bought a specialized hardrock pro the summer before my senior year with an aim towards eventually mastering north shore riding. i live in michigan so naturally there isn't a whole lot of north shore riding. so i did some downhill stuff and xc mostly on it. in the meantime i searched through google video and youtube for videos of people riding their bikes and i came unto some trials stuff. naturally it blew my mind, but i never thought i could do it. that year my school let a jonathan poole a local trials rider in on fridays to teach kids how to ride. i was infatuated with the sport from there onwards. at first i still had my north shore kick so unfortunately i kept riding hardtail mtbs around thinking i would progress better on those for some reason. eventually i decided i actually wanted to trials and i bought my first bike this last september. since then it has been a blast and i haven't looked back since. fun fact: the first bike i ever saw pedal kicked onto stuff is now mine. the story goes like so, we were taking our class picture in the gym and on the other side is j.p just messing around on his bike (at the time his) and some of the obstacles he brought he pedal kicks up unto box across and then off and then the whole senior class starts in rapid applause ( a class of 500 mind you). i now own that brisa and i can probably do that same move already.

hey guys, i am seeing that a lot of you are waiting until you have a video to post here. back at otn when this was running there, most of the time the guys just wrote out something really cool they did in the past week. so if you are just out riding describe what you pulled off in a literary fashion and that will totally suffice. doing that and having people willing to help out other beginners with technique ideas, whether through vids or writing will hopefully be able to take your riding up a notch. also as an idea. some of the guys back at otn would challenge each other in the beginner section to certain moves and then you would have to replicate it as best as possible. obviously that would require video though.

to my knowledge it is happening because there is some amount of rubbing going on. your pad is either set up to far in and hitting the rotor or your rotor is bent. if it is the latter you may be able to feel it performance wise. it may also be because you need new pads. to my knowledge thats the fix, but i am definitely not an expert.

at least here in the americas pallets seem to be really big. you can buy them or get them free from most lumberyards around here. they are really easy to shape and definitely are sturdy and movable. if you have the funds a couple of nice boxes (potentially also called fun boxes in europe?) are also really fun to ride. most of the man made stuff my friends and i ride is built out of reclaimed wood or the wood that is slightly warped from lumberyards. once you start building the possibility's are endless.

back at otn we had a thread were you could post the cool stuff you had learned how to do. a kind of way to document your progress and show other riders how you are progressing. i didn't see that here so i thought i would make one. orginally the props for this idea have to go out to my buddy scott, sxbud on here. so i will start out. today i accomplished this little feat. and i made a new rear wheel last night.

here is my beast in basically the same condition as it is now. http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs165.snc1/6...6_7250529_n.jpg and a nice pic of me riding it a couple of weeks ago in mid winter. http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs123.snc3/1...15_312685_n.jpg

hey guys, i am matt tomlinson. i am from northern michigan in the united states and i currently ride a brisa b26d. i got the bike in september and it is my first real trials bike. i have a pretty simple setup of v-brakes on it right now, but i also often experiment with some brakeless riding. its winter here right now and the snow isnt stopping my friends and i from riding. when i find the right forum i will post some pictures of us riding our trials bikes in the winter. asides from trials i ride other disciplines of bikes such as some light downhill and freeride as well as some bmx to round it out. i also xc ski and snowboard in the winter to pass the time. i am currently going to school for a degree in renewable energy and i absolutely love those classes. hopefully i can become an active member of this forum quick enough and start reading about trials again (i am ex otn).