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comp trials is dead?


kevind

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A lot more than just putting into back into trials. Even just lifting the section markers at the end, help count the punch cards at the end, sorting out the flags into colours, coming along on Saturday for a few hours if the trial is local to set out advise on sections. The list is endless but much appreciated by certainly me and I am sure all the other organisers. Up here somebody always gives me that little hand which just makes all the difference at the end of along two days work.

60k would do nicely but I know I could run it for a lot less but lack the experience to do some of it. (UCI event I havn't looked into so not sure on that one). The general bodies BIU and UCI I know would love the UK to run something, the BIU took a step closer with BTF taking control. UCI maybe a problem as it would have to go through the British cycling and they don't care about trials. Its not about one sponsor now, its about many wee sponsors putting enough in with maybe one bigger sponsor. I know that I can get up to a decent figure up here that would cover the main sponsor, but as we havn't asked properly then nothing is fixed. Did someone not try to get something going down south last year?

This doesn't sort out the decline in our sport, maybe it cycles (pun intended) up and down and we are just on a low at the moment but I do think travel cost is a very big issue, but as I have stated before when I were a lad we had less money than people have now and we just all piled into one van and split the cost, slept in the van, drunk beer and rode the trial the next day. I was 15 and the older riders with vans just chucked me and my motor bike in the back for nothing until I had a job.

Keep the views/ points going it is what maybe is needed to see if we all can get comp trials going again.

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Even just lifting the section markers at the end, help count the punch cards at the end, sorting out the flags into colours, coming along on Saturday for a few hours if the trial is local to set out advise on sections. The list is endless but much appreciated by certainly me and I am sure all the other organisers. Up here somebody always gives me that little hand which just makes all the difference at the end of along two days work.

This is more of what I was alluding too. It doesn't take much for peeps to grab a newspaper bag and go for a walk to collect the flags and tape, (one moto club round here uses the incentive of a 2nd free burger ticket if you're the observer and come back with your flags in hand) but it's one less job for someone else to do.

My barrier against doing biketrial comps, as has been said, is always location - little if anything up this way crosses the border over from yorkshire to my knowledge, and to me that is a shame. I am aware it is probs cos no one has put their hand up, but if landowners are willing to let 100ish loud, smokey motorbikes scare the sheep & scar their field or fell for weeks in the name of fun, I'm sure they'd let pushbikes that do less than a tenth of the damage have a play? Just a thought.

If I actually ever manage to get some form of 4 wheeled transport, this will be less of a problem obviously, but for now if there was a comp that was accessible by train (blackpool was effectively my local because of this) id be all over it.

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You do know the acu rules of moto trials states there is an imaginary line in between each of the flags and if you go outside this it is a 5.

The observer was correct.

Pretty sure the wording re intended line of the flags was removed from the ACU handbook some time ago

One major rule change I'd make is that "one foot must be kept on a pedal at all times". If not its a 5. That would stop all the cheat dabbing straight away. Something fundamental needs to be done in the UK as the comp scene is on its arse

Good in principle Dan but not as easy as you think to enforce. How would you observe someone who puts there foot down and takes the other foot off the pedal to rotate the crank back to the top to set off again?

Edited by Robin M S/c
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My barrier against doing biketrial comps, as has been said, is always location - little if anything up this way crosses the border over from yorkshire to my knowledge, and to me that is a shame. I am aware it is probs cos no one has put their hand up, but if landowners are willing to let 100ish loud, smokey motorbikes scare the sheep & scar their field or fell for weeks in the name of fun, I'm sure they'd let pushbikes that do less than a tenth of the damage have a play? Just a thought.

They might do, but the few motorbike comps I've been to have generally not really been on ground that would be particularly suitable for running a biketrials comp on too.

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CLEATS! all riders must use cleated shoes and pedals. Problem solved.


Good point Robin, I think the lift the bike type dab is here to stay and as stated ok with me as one is better than a five, but the dabing around gates when you are above them is hopefully a thing of the past with the new rules and better taping.

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They might do, but the few motorbike comps I've been to have generally not really been on ground that would be particularly suitable for running a biketrials comp on too.

I do understand that we cant ride PBs up f**k off hillclimbs, or use river sections, that is not what i mean.

There has to be a few places with crossover potential - I reckon Addingham Moorside over Silsden way would be the best known one but I can think of maybe 2, possiblly three locations within 15/20miles as the crow flies from where I'm sat, which I believe are owned by the respective club committees. One has even had a tyketrial run on it donkeys back - I went to it - but they never came back for whatever reason.

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We just need more Radfest/ Tarty days events, that aren't at the same location :blink:

Also group rides coming back. Didn't we used to have a Member Organised Rides forum?

Comps aren't going to get popular any time soon with people just enjoying hanging out, having a laugh, power wheelies/ silly tricks and doing sidehops/ tgs. The comp scene just doesn't suit these people. Can appreciate the lack of money being available, but the majority here just don't give a shit about riding over moss in the rain with no shower after.

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My meaningless opinion on the comp scene is that competition trials is boring. The formula needs to change and Tarty are coming up with some great ideas which others should implement on a local scale (I'll definitely be trying to do this over here). Perhaps if such "unorthodox" sections become more popular locally they will make their way into the nationals and eventually a new standard will be born. Year later, perhaps comp trials will change and more riders will want to participate.

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Its the distance to travel that always did it for me, I've maybe done 2/3 comps since i started riding 5/6 years ago.

Living in the midlands and not being old enough to drive just made it so difficult to get to them even when i was interested in riding comps due to there not being a venue within about a hundred mile radius. It just made much more sense to get the train to Leicester/Cov/Brum for a group street ride and spend less than a tenner all in.

However there were a load more riders around back then and the scene in general has definitely dwindled in the past few years

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This is an interesting topic for discussion.

When I first got into trials (1999) my parents offered to take me to some competitions, but there weren't many near me. Combined with that, I didn't really know much about competition trials. It's not like tennis or football where the game is more or less the same. My only exposure to bike trials was MBUK and meeting other riders in the towns. Initially I did want to ride some competitions, but then it just didn't matter as much.

Later I spectated at a few BIU national rounds and was pretty shocked by the attitudes of some of the riders and parents. I have to say though that I got fed-up with more than a few people at the last motorbike trial I went to, which was a classic/twinshock one. Blatant queue jumping, tricked-up bikes that are basically modern ones in disguise... for some people winning is the main objective, and then it just sours the fun atmosphere. Most of us ride bikes for fun.

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tony, I go to bike trials with my old muckers and we just ride round together for the toffee crisp trophy (don't ask) but just ignore the must win at all cost brigade. We support the trial organisers and have a great day out taking the piss out of each other all day. Maybe that's the attitude needed to have fun and let the must win riders get on with there fun. I open my mouth with the queue jumpers and tell them there is a queue and that includes the top riders. That gives us another reason to laugh and mock them. Attitude re adjustment is required.

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Tyke trial Sunday. Lots of new young faces and decent numbers in the lower classes. Lots of older!!!! riders retired to pastures new. New rules seemed to work well if you paid attention and will need as always with everything new a bit of tweaking by both section setters and riders. We had a great day out as I have posted else where, its maybe just an British Attitude (East enders syndrome) that you have to moan and complain all the time. it was simple and easier just to have great day out.

Edited by kevind
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