raytracer Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Hello guys, I'm riding XC and DH, however 2 years ago I fell on my hip (while wheeling with clips in the park) and couldn't feel my legs for 3 days. Since then I lost my confidence and every time I lift the front wheel I feel damn scary. Trial riding is something that I wanted to do from quite some time. The boring questions is where to start from? There is nobody around with trial bike, so I hove no idea how it feels. I'm 183cm 88kg and from what I read 20" is the way to go for absolute beginners. To be honest I don't want to be able to do big moves, just the basics. Kind regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskimo Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 SPDs will do that to you, just watch the downhill pros even. Where to start? Get a budget. Decide on second hand or new given positives/ negatives. Buy 20" Ride 20" Done. A trials bike will feel like absolute dirt to you. Wonky, long, unstable and just plain dumb. If you don't dare fall off again, don't bother with the sport. Honestly falling off is all part of the fun, as long as it's not on your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch-119 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 What 'eskimo' said, and LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of practise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Thanks for the fast response! Regarding the budget ~ £500. What about wheel size? Isn't 20" too small for me? Will a non hydraulic v-brakes hold my weight? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch-119 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Check this place for your bikes: http://www.tartybikes.co.uk. Easily the best place in the UK to buy the gear from. (If you're from here) £500 budget is a good place to start, I got my first 20" for about £400 new, and it was a belter, so have a look around on Tarty. Obviously it'll make a huge difference if you go second hand as well. In regards to brakes, there is a massive argument as to which is better but a good set-up is key to most of it. I've personally run hydraulics for all of my bikes and I've never had a single problem, but other people run into loads of problems and go to vee's. And vice-versa. If you're used to one more than the other then I'd stay with them. But if you like the idea of going for a different setup then do it. Obviously I can't comment on what vee's are like trials-wise so I'll leave that up to someone else, but hydraulic Magura/Echo and the likes are brilliant... oh and brake pads can make or break it (no pun intended). Hight wise, it might be worth trying one out (if you can). Where abouts are you from? There's loads of members on here so I'm sure one will be near you? Other than that I've ridden with/seen loads of guys/girls riding 20" wheel's and they've been +10-15cm taller than me. I'm 173cm. Sorry if this has confused you more. :$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williams Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 As mentioned, a trials bike will feel like shit a first! But you get used to it Regarding the brake question, I think that the brake pads and the rim grind plays a MUCH bigger role in the V-brake vs Hydralic rim brake arguments. I've ridden both and both are well good enough And, your confidence will grow after some riding. I've had the same problems after some crashes but when you ride again and start pushing yourself, it's going to get better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HippY Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 get drunk, it really helps at parties! (bad) joke apart, first, I would do some kind of balance stuffs ( staying with the bike at one place, moving around while holding the brakes) and after you can do that and get the feeling of the bike, I would go to the backwheel hops. I think it will be scary for you, but as soon as you will feel where is the balance point, you will feel much better. Personally with these types of things ( I had a huge ski crash on a jump) I did one thing: Start from the very beginning, to know the basics. I had my crash on a medium jump (forgot to brake) and after that I started to start jumping on really small jumps, learning the basics how to move at jumps. I reckon trials bike will be the best thing to overcome your fear. As a mod has small rear wheel, really low, it is very easy to jump off and to control it, and with backwheel hops being a static thing, you do not need to be very quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 What a great community! You have convince me to buy a 20" (initially I was thinking about 24 or 26) I've come to these two models: Onza Comp http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/20_inch_trials_bikes/onza_comp/c10p11229.html Onza Pro http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/20_inch_trials_bikes/onza_pro/c10p11661.html From what I can see the Comp is older model with better parts and rim brakes, Pro is with cheap mechanical disk brakes. Can those two brakes compare, which is more suitable for trials, considering my weight? // I have hope v4 which are quite strong, especially with organic pads. Thanks again for your feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valk Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Considering your weight I'd go for the comp as I don't really trust the brakes of the pro with your weight on it. However if you do decide to go for the Comp, then buy new pads for the brakes and grind your rim. It'll help you getting used to magura rim brakes from the very beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janjan Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) [...] Since then I lost my confidence and every time I lift the front wheel I feel damn scary. Unfortunately I am in a similar situation as you A few years ago I had two accidents while riding trials. In the first incident I was doing backwheelhops on an old MTB and the brake cable snapped. I fell off backwards and smashed head first into the floor. I was really really lucky since I only had a slight concussion although I did not wear a helmet. In the second incident I was training pedalkicks on the lawn when something happend to the rear brake (I think the cable slipped a little bit because it was not tightened enough). This time I wore a helmet, but I had severe upper back pain for a few weeks. Right now I am trying to learn to manual but it is f**king hard because my brain just shuts down when I reach the balance points. I am totally scared of this moment when you feel that the back wheel is passing below you and I end up hitting the break although I know it is not dangerous at all... I don't really know how to overcome this except getting really really drunk... Edited March 6, 2014 by janjan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Banks Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 The beauty of trials is that you can build up slowly to it. As an example, learning to hop a gap, doesn’t even need to be a ‘physical gap’, it can be to two chalk lines on the floor. Also, the nature of trials, is you rarely travel at any speed, so crashes are (generally) quite mundane things. Obviously, if you’re trying to hop a gap with a 10 foot drop, then yes you’re going to hurt, but as I said before, you can build up to these things and with that your confidence will grow. I would (personally) say the majority of trials riding is skill based, it’s the terrain you start doing it on that turns it into ‘adrenalin’ sport.* *sorry, I hate that phrase, but it’s the only way I could describe myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 To put a spanner in the works, I would highly recommend a bigger bike. The fact your'e used to riding 26" wheels means that they won't feel quite so alien as a weird seatless 20" bike with a massive stem that makes it feel like it pivots in the middle. I'd also recommend starting on a "more conventional" bike without as extreme geometry as pure comp bikes. This means you'll actually have to put the work in (rather than letting the bike do the work) which will teach you better skills and overall bike handling (which would cross over better to the MTBs). I know this may not go down well with some of the newer riders but I really believe getting straight onto a high bb, long, seatless bike will hinder rather than help in the start. The downside is that bigger bikes tend to cost a little more, if you could pick up an Inspired Element 26" (or even Hex!) that would be ideal, but you may struggle to buy new. Confidence is tricky, everyone feels shaky after a fall (I've had my share, coming back after breaking my foot took the best part of a year and I'm in my 4th month of recovery after breaking my collarbone so my confidence is a little knocked right now too). The less you stiffen up the better, so try and stay relaxed, stay within your limits for a bit but occasionally try something scary to get your brain used to staying relaxed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsalot Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Ali nailed the advice. Comp bikes just feel horrible unless they are in the right situation and half of them a beginner wont do. Where are you based? Us trials riders are never more than a stones throw away from each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Hi again, I'm in Bulgaria, we have some kind of trial community but they don't even have a forum... You are right that I'm used to 26" and my main goal is to translate the skill. Now what should I do? I've tried some moves with my race xc, as you can imagine the geometry is terrible for learning, the other bike is 16kg with big suspension, no luck as well. What about 24" is it possible to ride them around the city and really have fun on small jumps etc? I was feeling the same way when I had to choose my first mtb without ever been in the mountain Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 24" will be closer to your MTBs than a 20" would plus there's a bit more choice. 24" is an excellent choice for riding around a city, doing jump and trials, they are great combination of BMX, Trials and MTB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valk Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Dobro utro! Kak si? ... that's all bulgarian I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 update: Just ordered Hex Pro 26" from Tarty ) Cheers Everyone! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 After first ride I can say that this bike is superb! At the beginning it felt like I'm staying on top of the front tire but I got used to it very fast. So easy to manouver and rotate, every single movement afects the bike ) However the rear brake is very weak (HS11 with black pads), any tips how to improve its performance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake. Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Just looked at the model on tartybikes, if you didn't ask them to grind the rear wheel then get some heatsink yellows. That should be enough. If there's a grind, get tnn adms or heatsink cousts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raytracer Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have a pair of RockMan Green, will they work fine with ungrinded rim? (are these magura pads so bad?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake. Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I have a pair of RockMan Green, will they work fine with ungrinded rim? (are these magura pads so bad?) They will work too. Yes they're f**king awful haha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HippY Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 They will work too. Yes they're f**king awful haha. I had them as well, and with a fresh grind they were deadly there were two option for the brake: no brake Bite and you are off the bike over the bars They bite awesomely and hold really good, i would grind that rim Or get some pads that are designed to work a on a smooth rim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake. Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I had them as well, and with a fresh grind they were deadly there were two option for the brake: no brake Bite and you are off the bike over the bars They bite awesomely and hold really good, i would grind that rim Or get some pads that are designed to work a on a smooth rim You're the first person in my life to ever say that magura blacks are "deadly". You sure they were magura blacks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HippY Posted March 17, 2014 Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 I was talking about the rocky greens I had the black ones as well, and they are deadly in a bad way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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