Do You Cycle Apart From Trials?

[psycholist]

Post your choices here too - I'm curious if there's a link between say mod and BMX riders as a path towards/from trials based on wheel size. Is there a similar link between stock trials and XC/DH. I listed just about all the types of cycling I can think of but feel free to suggest more options - the forum will take up to 30...

Since the same bike can do several of these things - road cycling means cycling on the road without it being for the purpose of getting to off road bits, but you may or may not use a road bike for it, one BMX can do street, flatland and DJ if you can live without perfect geometry for each, for XC you might have a 29er, a 650C, a 69er, a 26" or a 24" bike and I know a guy who commuted to work by unicycle a few years back, so commuter bikes can really be anything...

So what bikes do you have/use for each activity?

I got into trials through XC type riding... Currently all my bikes are 26" and I have a trials bike, a rigid singlespeed MTB for commuting to the shops/work/town, a DMR hardtail with a 5" fork for XC/street/messing around and a 4.1" rear 4.7" front Giant Trance for comfort on the odd deathmarch/Endurance race and for light messing on DH tracks. I recently got a 1989 Specialized rigid to lend out to anyone that says biking was way better back in the day - it's great fun, but only because if you make a mistake at speed it will try to kill you ...

I own a 20" unicycle, but haven't put the time into learning to ride it .

I do the odd road spin and have road wheels (Road rims and 700x23C tyres on disk hubs to drop into the MTB) if I feel like going fast, but to be honest the lack of grip in the corners scares the crap out of me on road tyres, so they've stayed unused for a good while now...

[Bearded Midget]

i ride 20" trials, and i used to do bmx dirt, and occasionally do now....its surprisingly easier to do after riding trials for nearly 2 years. it seems less scary i think.

[BenLeacock™]

26trials, xc racing and non competive, bit of dh

[David20]

20" trials, 26" dirt jump and street. Getting back into all 3 properly now (not so much dirt jump), feels good to be back out riding .

[bikeperson45]

I don't race, just because I'd rather do it for fun.

I do a bit of everything, except the BMX stuff, but would love to give it ago...

[spaceman]

Last year I had my mtb street bike 24'', and an echo lite. It feels weird riding them, as in I would have to "re-adapt" again cos geometry is so different - one's too long, the other too short. Then sometimes when I ride the street bike, I feel like riding trials. And when I ride the trials bike, I feel like riding street.

Now problem solved with the 24uk.

[TheMunn]

I mainly ride 4X now, race at the national series and ranked 10th from last year. Also ride bmx dirt and street. Do abit of velodrome stuff from time to time and ride road occasionally. Of course I ride a 24" trials bike as well...

[psycholist]

Nobody doing flatland or cycle touring yet... Extra points go to anyone who does both ...

[dan_addison]

Manily i do xc/dh dirtjump type of stuff. Just bought my trialsiron so im really into that at the mo. I ride to work. Have done a few xc races in my time, never really bothred racing 4x or DH seems to much of a posers sport

Bikes:

Kona colier: I ride preety much everything on that XC/DH the lot

Saracen xcell: My jump bike thankgod its not the original spec gonna upgrade the frame soon I ride jumps and street on that really

Kona Kula Deluxe: probaly the most modified of my fleet. Only really use it to ride to work on at the monement, i just cant get over how nice my colier feels riding xc at the moment so the kula gets the boot

24seven Holroyd: Im actully in love with this bike

[yoyoyo]

24" trials and road cycling for stamina, also trails.

[Concussion]

I used to be into trails / dirt jumps, but more importantly... digging them! Happy times until the council flattened them to build that stupid path!

[Heatsink]

I used to road cycle everyday since I didn't have a car during University and I'm not a fan of waiting for a bus. Fell in love with XC, then Trials. No time for XC nowadays due to family commitments, but I'll be back when my babies are big enough!

Steve

[esfrost]

I do ride my fixed gear bike...

[Sabiot]

I used to do a fair amount of trails, nothing special. No jumps or anything. I like the trails that are up and down and up and down. Stuff that makes it so you're going fast but doesnt force you to do any switchback turns rather it lets you use that momentum to get up the next little hill only to fire you back down another. I like trails when I don't have to think much and I can enjoy the scenary and just relax you know?

I did a little bit of dirt jumping but it was never with a kicker and a landing, only the kicker. I've tried a couple with kickers and a landing but I was always kinda scared about over shooting the jump and bailing. When you know for sure you're landing flat it seems easier I guess. Again, I never did anything big. Maybe 4 feet at maximum.

Not so much since I moved, but I used to ride every single day for transportation. From riding back and forth to work and getting munchies or meeting friends I logged a solid 90mins a day riding around. I liked riding around cause I can be a bit of a dick on my bike in terms of traffic laws. I can do things on that bike that no other vehical can do (at least get away with it afterwards) I'm just talkin hoping off a curb kinda in front of a car and j riding(yeah I'm coining that phrase) across the street.

But in all seriousness, trials is the most fun. I can't wait until I'm good enough to call myself a trials rider.

[Ross McArthur]

Got a 24" Edd Tongue which I use for riding street trials and park(indoor and out)

A Orange patriot with fox forks for riding trails/downhill/XC/free ride its a gorgoues bike.

A 26" zhi trials bike for street and comps and natural.

A 26" pashley Mhz for dossing around on, going up the old quarry for a smoke or going to tesco for munchies

A trek bruiser built up for jumping and trail riding.

too many bikes

[Pagie]

26" Wheels all the way TBF

26" GU Trials Bike for its own purpose!

26" Specialized P2 for street, dirt, bit of 4X here and there!

26" Intense Uzzi SLX For DH & All Mountain kinda stuff!

[Diz]

26" trials, 26" DH and 24" Dirt jump. Anything that involves going up hill is pretty much out of the question along with anything that involves a bike with tyres thinner than the frame, or lycra.

P.s. Why road ride when you can catch a bus or drive? Makes no sense.

[psycholist]

P.s. Why road ride when you can catch a bus or drive? Makes no sense.

Given that I work 2km from my house, it can easily take 15 mins to half an hour to find a parking space at work unless you turn up at cock fart in the morning (Which I don't) and walking takes 20 minutes, it makes sense to cycle for 5-7 minutes to get there instead...

Also, given that the traffic leaving work at the end of the day can be so bad (Thanks to traffic lights to the main road) that it can take 15-30 minutes to get out to the main road at the end of the day, a car would again be a ridiculous waste of energy and time.

Also given that on a bike I can cycle to the nearest city to me in 15 minutes from my house (Which you will barely match during business hours unless traffic is very light and you still have to park somewhere) and buses are scheduled 20 minutes apart at the very best, I'd be an idiot to drive or take the bus when I could cycle. Playing with the traffic through town is great fun too ...

It cost me something in the region of €50 to keep my commuter bike running last year - and that includes fitting a new fork and stem to it... What will you get for a car with that much money?

Why drive? - Makes no sense...

Edited July 4, 2008 by psycholist

[Sabiot]

Agreed, short distances or traveling in a largely populated city is bike domain

[steve@banbury-trials]

26 trials and 24 trials(even though i dont hop about on it ).

i've always wanted to get into 4x in the future as it looks mint ,i shall see what the future holds though

[dandadude]

Ticked 26" trials and dirtjump 24/26".

I ride a stock trials bike and a 26" rigid jump bike but i don't really do much dirt jumping on it, im much more into park riding. Maybe you should add another category, ' 26" street/park '.

Cool poll by the way, haven't seen a topic like this before.

Dan

[TrialsMan Dan]

24" trials and aggressive XC riding on my Commencal. Heres a link to my Commencal.

My Trail Beast

Another Pic....after the ride!!

Unfortunatly i dont have pics of my trials bike on pinkbike.

Edited July 5, 2008 by TrialsMan Dan