Mtbr

Thanks Dave! Thanks makes good sense. Btw, checked out your blog and really like your style! I've ridden bmx for many many years and never used brakes so am very accustomed to not using them now. I agree it trains your brain to do things differently as of now I'm trying to train my brain to use them.

Fair enough. I was on the Tarty website just now looking at the stems and saw this little video from them pop up on the screen. It was an informational video which indicated a taller stem is good for taller riders. Since I'm 185cm I'm thinking I might give it a shot to see if it makes a difference. Stay tuned.

Thanks Tomturd! Good advice! I'll give it a go!

Hi CalopS. I don’t understand the correlation between the bottom bracket and stem. When I look at my bike it seems the BB is lower and further forward which would seemingly make it more difficult to get the front end up because my weight is further forward of the rear axle, no? Are you saying it’s not going to make much of a difference what stem I put on because its more of a BB geometry issue? J Mc it seems like the bike is front loaded or front heavy. I just touch the front brake and I'm up on the bars with the rear wheel way high in the air. Super easy to do front endo's! I was hoping a higher stem might get some weight back on the rear wheel but CalopS may have a good point about the geo of the BB & chain stays now that I'm thinking about it.

Thank Mate! I'll give it a go!

I was actually thinking of going that route but in the US trials isn't very popular. I could visit 100+ bike shops in my area and not see one trials bike. Matter of fact I bought mine second hand because I couldn't find anything. People must import them through the mail or something as they are etremely rare to find. That goes for the parts as well. See this ebay link, there is hardly anything to choose from as far as "Trials bike" parts, especially high angle stems. http://www.ebay.com/...=7294&_from=R40 I'd like to get a high angle long stem but just don't know where to go. Everyone on ebay in UK will not ship to US. In riding my bike a little more last evening I am getting the front tyre a bit higher but it is really difficult. Looking at my bike and comparing to some of the really nice bike pictures posted on-line it looks like my hands are a little too far forward over the front axle. See the angle of the stem in this pic. Where could I buy something like this?

Cool! Thanks for the suport! I tried riding for about a 1/2 hour just now, working on it a little more. Like you say, just keep at it and it seems I'm getting the front wheel a little higher. It seems when riding I'm standing over the handlebars a little too much but that is only my comparison to my riding of other bikes. In reality it's probably my subconscious fear of falling backwards that's prohibiting me from pulling up harder. LOL!!! What I prolly need to do is go down to the sandbox or school where the green grassy fields will be softer and just let it fly!

The front wheel that is! Do you generally have to lean back, pedal forward, and pull up with all your might to wheelie? (And even then I can only get the front tyre about 30cm off the ground.) Maybe its my setup that could use some help? 26" wheel, 170mm crank arm, 100mm 25 degree stem, 22T chainring, and 18T cog. Sound ok or should i change something? Ps. was thinking of changing the cog to 22T and putting a 30mm 25 degree stem on for the time being. Better?

Sorry, should have mentioned I have a stock Gravity. And a helmet. Thanks all esp. for the trash website! Excellent!!!

Hey there Ladies & Gents! Thank you for having me on the forum. Just discovered this type of riding. Been riding bmx and mountain bikes for a long time and want to take a shot at trials. I've always goofed around on my bikes doing out of the ordinary things like jumping over rocks or riding off tree stumps & such so thought this might be right up my alley. (I live in the mountains of Southern California so have lots of beatiful places to ride) So my question, If you were to assume I knew nothing about trial riding and were to give me a list of 10 items I need to start learning or doing what would they be? A small explanation of the trick would be excellent as well. Thank you very much and I hope to start practicing these tasks shortly! Maybe some pictures to follow as well.