Maciej_Max

I've only been riding trials regularly for about 1,5 years so I find anything with a level surface way easier to balance on than on natural stuff (sloping rocks, trees etc.). But because I live in the countryside in Ireland there isn't much street riding available so I ride mostly on self built obstacles at my house or whatever else I can find locally. So like others said it's mostly down to availability and what's you're used to. Also my 24inch bike is not ideal for natural riding. Another thing for me is that I'm still learning a lot and rarely get things on first try so end up bashing into obstacles a lot. Most local benches are made by my neighbors in a Men's Shed and I would be mortified if I left any bash guard gouges or tyre marks on them so that's another reason to ride self build or natural for me. Kinda no choice really! I'm actually thinking of building my own 'fake park bench' so I can practice on that and get it off the bucket list :)

Hi there This caught my eye as I'm also quite new to trials and very new to this forum! I've raced MTB since I was 17 (43 this year) which occupied most of my free time and mental space. Only when I 'retired' from racing at a serious level I decided to focus on a new challenge and something I wanted to try for a long time - trials! I had a good base of MTB skills already, track stands, bunny hops, pivots etc. and fitness. Everything else has been a very steep but super fun learning curve. I only dabbed at it at first, practicing every few weeks but this year I've been practicing every day and that made a massive difference in progression. I'm still only scratching the surface but can back hop, kick, pedal up, bunny hop, small gaps etc. which I'm delighted with. If I was to give someone stating late like myself those would be: - be patient, progress will be slow but if you look back after a few months of consistent practice you will be amazed how much you've progressed - resist the temptation to try advanced moves too soon, get the basics right and build on that - practice lots in small amounts rather than infrequent long sessions, I found this key to prevent injury. I do 15-20min sessions daily after work - alternate muscle groups (like in the gym), I do rear wheel practice every 2nd day and break it up with things like rolling endos, going backwards etc. - get the right tool for the job (which you have already!), I started learning on a full suspension MTB and although doable it was too hard on the body and bike also was getting a hammering. Good luck and have fun!