Maintenance Justice

Wheel swap, replacement or 'Pigeon' if you're in the North of the UK apparently...best bit of advice I can impart for these that really helped me with the technique and upping the obstacle size was: 1 - When you're static with one wheel on the obstacle only use the front brake. You need to kick the pedal just a fraction as you throw your body weight up and arms forward to get the drive. Holding the rear brake stops this and actually works against you in getting the lift you need. 2 - Go slightly sideways with your weak foot facing in towads the obstacle. If you go straight on your back wheel has a lot of distance to travel to get onto the obstacle, if you're slightly sideways there is less distance for it to travel. Helped me a lot when replacing onto taller things. Hope that helps!

This has been an entertaining week so far at TB towers. There has been talk of involving vehicles in the testing methods

Really good that @aener - very much enjoyed the creative lines interspersed between the usual 'big' stuff. More please

There is a marked difference between the two. From a novice perspective the 20" can feel great for back wheel work, they're lighter and a bit easier to manouver. Like @DYAKOV says though you soon get used to that and the initial feeling of 'iight and flicky' soon becomes normalised. The main thing I've found is that the bigger wheel bikes are more stable. MODS are very nervous on two wheels which can be quite restrictive when you're trying to learn the basics. Yes they're great on the back wheel but getting up there especially on difficult or uneven terrain from two wheels can be tricky. The big wheel bikes are excellent for tackling drops, pedal hops, gaps and up / gap to fronts - the whole process of taking off and landing is much more controlled and with a larger front wheel you've got a 'bigger' target to aim for when trying to plant it down from a gap or up to a wall. Totally agree with @Canardweb because you are much lower on the MOD obstacles appear much bigger when going up. HOWEVER - once you've got the basic skills down the MOD is much easier for tech moves like sidehops, wheel swaps and even certain kinds of gaps - you can pretty much chuck yourself over a gap and just drag the bike with you they're so small and light. I always try to recommend a big wheel bike to newer riders especially if they are from an MTB background or have not ridden at all. The extra stability from a big wheel bike really helps in the early days and when doing the moves we all do starting out (gaps and drops!) they're much more rewarding and controlled to ride in my opinion. Once you've done a bit of time on one and the got the feel of certain Trials moves switching to a MOD is easier and you suddenly have superpowers as all those moves you've learned on a bigger wheel bike take half the effort!

Its been just over a year since I started at Tarty Bikes and riding Trials! What a whirlwind of a learning curve it’s been from not being able to back wheel hop to doing stuff I wouldn’t have even thought of a year ago. Making small but consistent improvement has been the goal and getting in a minimum of 2hrs riding a week for the past year has really helped. Not shying away from moves has been really rewarding! I find sidehops really hard which means I do them more than anything else! Drops still scare me but I always make sure I squeeze in some big ones one every ride. It just goes to show you can still make great progress even if you start later in life, you just need to chip away at it instead of the long days riding the veterans did in their teens. Goals for next year? Bar height side hops, proper up to fronts and rolling gaps. Our little local riding group @tuesdaynighttrials (TNT) has had some great after work sessions with some big names and legendary locals all out together so more of that next year! Watch this space for a TNT trials comp in the North West…

I like the idea of being able to (relatively) cheaply mess with geometry. Be interesting to see how it takes the edge off harsh impacts. Also pretty exciting to ride a bike that could be eaten by Pandas.

New bike week! Decided I was kidding myself with modern bikes (super long and slack = eew) so back to what I know I like. Circa 2007ish Cove Handjob, 26”, short travel fork, steel frame. So good on tech and surprisingly capable for moto style Trials / general mucking about. 2 speed set up on this works a treat.

Wonderful creativity, really enjoy your videos

I'm using exactly that calliper set up but with the Hope up front. The Hope is definitely 'grabbier' with better hold. The MT7 has plenty of power with the Jitsie pads but doesn't have the immediacy in bite and lock that the Hope has. The power of the Hope calliper is down to the piston size, the addition of a Trials brake pad gives it a sharper bite but once the brake is locked it'll hold on whichever pad is in there if things are bedded in properly. If you're looking for ultimate power then definitely Hope on the rear with a Trials pad, it'll grab and hold very much like a well set up HS on a ground rim.

@marg26 agreed! Faffing less is key to improving, I try to keep corrective hops to a minimum but it's tricky being an older rider and less bendy but definitely something to work on.

We’re fortunate to have spots dotted around the North West within 40-35 mins of most of us and there’s plenty to do in my native Wigan. to be honest I’m not loosing much sleep about not travelling to bigger, better places until my skill set allows me to ride more than just a couple of things at a given spot.

I've been giving the MOD some love this past week in an effort to really push forward with side hops after feeling like I started to make progress on the Stock. Starting from the back wheel always seemed a bit easier on the MOD, I remember Cap telling me they were easier for sidehops when I first started at Tarty and that's definitely become apparant riding the Stock and MOD back to back. The main thing I've been struggling with is the starting position relative to the object and getting enough 'pop' to lift the back wheel up and over. I've found learning smaller hops from two wheels has helped cement the idea of getting the drive from kicking the pedals rather than just trying to bunny hop things, this was something I actually found easier on the Stock as a more stable bike but once the technique was imprinted it translated well over to the MOD starting on the back wheel. Adam Cox recently showed me the trick to pre-loading and positioning which has helped massively, another case of little hard won tips from experienced riders paying off. In terms of position I've found you need to be facing the wall with your front wheel, bike at an angle, more than you might think. It's tempting to get close to the wall as it's less intimidating but you need that room to pre load the bike and lean in for the launch. Starting too close means you have to twist a lot to get that sideways momentum and I nearly always failed to clear the object and the back wheel just dropped off the edge. Even if I don't make it now starting more at an angle means you can easily get a foot down or go to bash. For pre loading it was a case of practicing lots to feel steady on the back wheel and getting the motion smooth. It's full commitment the second you begin to squat and compress to get any sort of height. Adam also explained about dropping the front wheel as you compress like a cantilever movement to powering up on the pedals whilst you kick and lift the front end like a pair of sciccors closing to get the drive. I've also been watching closely how experienced riders roll their ankles at the top of the thrust upward to get the rear wheel unweighted and moving upward, something that needs much more practice. I'm really please with my progress so far, the technique is rough but there and with some polishing I'm hoping and can get up platforms as high as I can drop off before long.

Thanks for the kind words Matt, glad we could help! - Ben

New bike day is a happy day. I’ve been aiming to get my bike license since 2008 so it’s so surreal to finally get the keys to my first proper bike.

Nice job! Really cool looking bike, be interesting to know the exact geo figures if you’re up for sharing ;-)

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@Matt24. Never a truer word spoken in regards to bikes

"You should give Trials a go" (18 years ago) - daft as it sounds. What I wouldn't give to be where I am now with a body 18 years younger. I have no regrets and hindsight is a wonderful thing for procrastination...

I can see how it would work (I think) I suspect gear ratios between the wheels and propeller relative to ground speed plays a big roll. In my head once it hits wind speed the wheels are turning the propeller at speed X so the car is sat in neutral air but the propeller is cutting through it at speed Y creating thrust and propelling the vehicle faster. The faster the wheels go the faster the propeller rotates thus more speed until a tipping point is reached where drag physical and aerodynamic cannot be overcome by thrust from the propeller. It seems more a clever use of gearing and aerodynamics on the propeller to gain the speed from energy taken from the propeller cutting through the air which is turned to forward motion

I’ve been spending a bit of time polishing techniques to increase the size of moves, I think getting confidence with a bigger scale is the next step to levelling up my riding! I’ve been spending a lot of time on the 26 recently, I’m finding it an easier bike to make steady progress, the stability is helping a lot. It’s much heavier than the MOD but that just means a focus on technique rather than muscling up stuff. Really pleased to be getting a feel for side hops, it took a long time to get my head around how to preload properly. Starting on two wheels was a big help here as you have to push hard on the pedals to get the lift and it translates to back wheel side hops. Drops are the other big thing for me and I really like how controlled the 26 is as the front wheel drops. Ali C’s vid on drop technique helped, I have this in mind every time I ride now. I’ve found this the hardest on the MOD, it’s so twitchy I find it hard to control but I’m hoping as I get better I’ll come back to the MOD a much more competent rider. I’m learning that you need a lot of skill to get the most from modern 20” bikes.

Our doe rabbit Ella unfortunately contracted an illness that means she's a bit wobbly - thankfully on the road to a full recovery but she'll always be a bit lop sided now (the one under the tunnel) so aiming for the small opening in the hutch from ground level up a narrow ramp is a bit like going for the bullseye after several pints. A trip to the timber yard and I've made a 'mezzanine' with a wide access ramp and walls to stop unwanted 'rigging' (see Yorkshire dictionary...) and to make it easier for her to get in and out of the hutch. I'm pleased with it, normally the stuff I make is bombproof but seriously flawed cosmetically but this has turned out alright. Should've bought a jigsaw years ago. Yea she's just a rabbit but it's nice to see her being able to enjoy being outside again and running in and out of the hutch like she's used to.

Really nicely shot and edited video, good work!

Nose tap up to that bridge support was pretty tasty. 1st class riding as usual