James_Porter Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 i have been thinking about this a lot lately and was watching the road racing in spain on euro sport yesturday and it made me think.trails isnt big because no one has put money into it basically... take the british rounds for example... they are nothing special are they to be honest? considering the people the take part in them are mostly the best the country has... yet you get about 2 spectators (slight exageration) but it really is no where near the numbers of dh/xc.i also think that the problem lies in there are no dominante teams wearing separating jerseys. if you look at dh/xc/road, they all have teams, these different teams all wear the team jerseys/kits... this invites companies to the sport cause they could have their name plastered all over the kit and get noticed... true there may not be enough good riders and companies to do something like this... the main teams would be......koxxmontythey are the MAIN big companies in the comp scene... monty are the only company with a noticed jersey really... yes koxx have that jersey but not even hermance/benito wear it nowa days... they wear a t with "try all"/"koxx" on it... no bright colours, striking designs though. what we need are defined teams.we have smaller uk teams...the onza team, slinger/butler wore that axe jersey and that made them stand out and got them noticed as people knew who it was even if they didnt see the face...we got the tartybikes team, stan mainly being the only one in the comp scene... but still, could have a jersey with a nice design.selectbikes team... goddard, wheeler, burton... big names in the comp and street scene... ashton bikes team... gav, ali, ashton and myself... revelle team... doney sort of got a strip.koxx uk team... waynio, savage *world team i know but massive in uk*, hyland * same as ben*, duncan shaw (minds gone blank, thats right int it?)........................... waynio wears the koxx jersey quite often, which is awesome if you ask me, summat you would want froma team rider.these are the only teams i can think of anyways which have riders in the comp scene... if i have forgotten some please say... now, its not to many... 5!!!!!! but if you think, there are on average 3 riders in each team. if you were at a comp, thats deffo going to get noticed if all the riders are going around in the brightly designed team jerseys... surely this is going to bring more sponsors into the sport??? which means more money... inturn means more spectators... in theory means trials gets more noticed.that is just one way of getting it noticed a bit more, but i think i would deffo do the sport some good... i just thought it was worth bringing up, maybe for tarty/select to look into.i know there were talks at ashton about it... hawzie, ashton and myself have had a few convos about it... hawzie is dead on it and thinks team kits are what it needs... its in all other major cycling... and its helping them getting noticed for sure.obviously there is more we could do to get it noticed aswell... better comps for starters, we need more red bull bike battles... comps with man made sections which involve jaw dropping moves (jaw dropping to the non trials rider) but maybe have the comp/sections somewhere where more people are going to notice it more than a wood 30miles down back roads? i know insurance would be a problem there... but maybe the entry fee would have to go up??? an entry fee for dh/road is ALOT more than £20... would be worth it anyways?more things like the onza cycle show thing... a comp in the middle of bristol/london/liverpool, somewhere, anywhere... where the worlds best riders get to ride on invite only... obviously cost shit loads to do... but think of the publicity... surley you could get bbc on it?????????????????????????? i dunno about that though... dont know much about it... but if you got people like akrigg, beleay, hermance, benito, ashton riding some crazy sections in the middle of london, doing things people didnt think were possible on a bike. fair enough there is koxx days etc BUT its again in the middle of no where... london, think how many people are there... and people WILL watch, they allways do.i just think there has got to be summat trials riders and companies can do, and start doing it now????? ashton/chopper/animal are doing a good job, doing them demos... but i dont see anyone else doing it???? interested to see other poeple views on this... i think the team kit thing is where it needs to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 (edited) there are no team jerseys because - at the moment a lot of riders are sponsored by clothing companies - eg ashton with his animal stuff, you were / are engage ? ? ? .. etc infact thats where a lot of the money comes in from . most of the riders would rather get a load more free stuff off a different sponsor and pull more companies into trials(a good thing), than wear a team jersey for their bike manufacturer.Also trials is different to other mountain bike sports (obviously im excluding mods) in that it is very much still classed as an extreme sport, even dh has now got real sport status and was even shown on grandstand.Im not sure where im going with this but lots of people are trying to break trials through to the mainstream, and im sure it will get there (one day) - im not sure how it will happen but it will.PS Porter is that your jerry maguire moment ? Edited May 23, 2006 by manuel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleanbikes Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 these are the only teams i can think of anyways which have riders in the comp scene... if i have forgotten some please say... Ahem ... All comp riders and doing well ... mostly wearing the Monty team kit ... !!!Cleanbikes team:-Chris Walker (British Elite)Chris Boyes (British Cadet)Joe Baxter (British Cadet)Sam Oliver (British Minime)Nadine Staniforth (Local comps)MRS Monty team:-Scott Wilson (British Cadet)Joe Oakley (British Cadet)Lois Morgan (Femina)Griff Morgan (British Cadet)Karl/Kieran Donnelly (not sure which) (British Elite)Scott Robbens (British Elite)Jordan Tagg (British Elite) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 obviously there is more we could do to get it noticed aswell... better comps for starters, we need more red bull bike battles... comps with man made sections which involve jaw dropping moves (jaw dropping to the non trials rider) but maybe have the comp/sections somewhere where more people are going to notice it more than a wood 30miles down back roads? i know insurance would be a problem there... but maybe the entry fee would have to go up??? an entry fee for dh/road is ALOT more than £20... would be worth it anyways? A lot of people like riding tech natural stuff though, and enjoy comps as they are. I don't really see how raising the entry fee and making the competitions so they're appealing to the public would benefit the riders, which is the whole point of comps? If you look a the backlash in BMX at things like the X-Games where now smaller jams like Metro Jam and Backyard Jam are looked upon in way higher regard, maybe making trials comps follow that same thing isn't the best for the RIDERS, which is the important thing of it all? More Bike Battle comps would be cool, but I don't think they should be in place of "real" trials comps. Just as another point too, one of the main points of trials is how accessible it is. You can just get a cheap bike, and ride on whatever's around you and you're doing trials. DH is seen as less accessible because the bikes are so expensive and you need to have a big hill with a nice course on it - integrated with DH is their comp scene though, which is again seen as fairly inaccessible due to the higher entry fee, so why would there need to be a higher one with trials? If you think about most trials comps, they're held on farmers land or land-owner's land, and are marked out on rocks or whatever's there. The costs are the marker tape, etc. etc.. With a DH course, you have to dig it, make it, maintain it, develop the course, alter it, and so on. There's a load more going on with it, basically, plus the timing beams and stuff they have to use bump the price up too, so you can kinda see where they're coming from with it, basically. Paying £20 (then less after membership) to go ride a YMSA comp and just have it as that is way more appealing than if I was a DHer (or other trials comps...) and had to apply for various licenses, then pay a huge entry fee.Anyway, the main part of your post seemed to be about making it all about teams and then getting team strips and stuff - isn't it getting a bit footbally then, which is the opposite to the reason a load of people are attracted to trials in the first place, in that it's just you, out riding? Not having to go and practise with your team, then get picked by said team, then go against other teams? I think I'd rather have a friendlier scene with fewer boundaries than we already have (UCI, 24", BIU, etc.) rather than add more. Oh, and BMX, which is a fairly major sport (probably more so than road racing, I'd have thought?), doesn't really have team strips and so on? Typically the top riders just ride in jeans and maybe a sponsor's T-shirt, which costs a load less for people emulating them? Trying to emulate top riders is part of the reason a lot of people ride, so having to pay out the arse to have "the look" isn't great? A lot of riders are riding without helmets these days, so surely pushing the emphasis onto buying a lid with that £50 they've saved up instead of a pretty coloured top would be better?One last thing - comps aren't the be all and end all, if you see what I mean? To use you as an example - you haven't got to where you are now in the trials scene by riding comps and stuff, have you? You went out, rode, made some videos, got good, made more vids, got ridiculously good, made more videos, got sponsored. People remember you for your incredible riding rather than the blue t-shirt you wore in clothing_vid_2 or whatever, if you see what I mean? Going back to another post I made a while back in a similar thread, a friend of mine had a clip of Danny Holroyd from waaaaaaaaaay back gapping some rails on his Brisa, and they were amazed. Properly shocked that that could be done. On internet "random videos" sites, when trials vids come up people express their amazment at the "impossible" things being done. The fact that trials is such a weird, odd sport that utilises an ordinary item in an extraordinary way is what attracts people to it, not how they look? Equally, if we're going more towards street style comps (e.g. Bike Battle), the more streety style of clothing is jeans and T-shirts, 'cos that's what people think looks cool. Maybe going into the team strip thing would be going against that? Trials still has an image problem with other sports 'cos they think we're a bunch of lycra-wearing tools, so perhaps you're only going to be adding to the backward image if it's all team strips and so on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 i think the main point is where you talk about demos/comps in the middle of some fat cities i think its a great idea, like you said the comps arnt rele advertised well and are to remote .. also they are 99% natural comps and i would love to see more street comps in some poular placesto reqaly promote the sport. i think the other idea of jerseys is great to i think the main problem is, is pushing people to go find out about what we are doing alot of the time at these demos/comps you dont see some big fat dirty sign with a website or like you said no designs that realy jump at you .. this could let people check it out and hopefully get them more interested in the sport and a understanding of the product a person is promoteing.. personally i think trials will explode soon like you said again it just needs some good ideas and money..Pauly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat hudson Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 urban speed trials with cars and pallets and cotton reels and things. that would be amazing in the center of cardiff/london/anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai the Socket Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I'd happily help organise an urban trials event. Sounds like something I'd be okay at doing :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Bleech Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 trials is about to get a fair bit of exposure...coming to a cinema near you ...hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat hudson Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 could organise on ein each capital? that'd be cooool. speedtrials is so much more fun to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I think the reason it's unknown is that it isn't tellivised.And the reason it isn't tellivised is becuase it makes shit TV, people slowy hopping around rocks, compared to people flying down tracks at 50mph, and people at 7f doing backflips.I hardly think having undefined teams will have much to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai the Socket Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I was thinkg about getting one sorted for Millenium Square possibly in Leeds. Obviously you'd need to contact the Council, get sponsors for Pallets, Cars, Wood, etc.It'd need to be in the summer ideally, for the good weather, and most probably organised well in advance. Leeds Council wouldn't take any bull shit about "Lets have trials event next week". You'd need to start thinking about Summer 2007 towards September this year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Maybe doing it in more obscure locations would be good? Think about Red Bull's races, e.g. Downtown in Lisbon, that one in a mine in Germany (I think?), the Gold Run one down that gold mine, and with trials the Fortrezza comp? Looked really cool IMO. Showed a lot of good aspects of trials, plus had the comedy of seeing Spaniards fall into big nets from poles. All good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nick Riviera Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 trials is about to get a fair bit of exposure...coming to a cinema near you ...hahaha have i missed something? also, i dont know whats sadder, the fact that i'm online at 1 AM or the fact that loads of other are aswell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 There was a 2:30am post-rush a few nights ago. GO TF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boon racoon Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 trials tried to reach a peak at the red bull bike battle a few years ago..nottingham square to over 1000 peopledid it grow commercially because of it?noits not successful to the public. for some reasonwe need more than a one off event to make it more mainstream (not that it should become that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Bleech Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 (edited) trials tried to reach a peak at the red bull bike battle a few years ago..nottingham square to over 1000 peopledid it grow commercially because of it?noits not successful to the public. for some reasonwe need more than a one off event to make it more mainstream (not that it should become that)haha good night??thats true, to make it mainstream it would probably need a national series of high profile events or something on the tele.a one off event will only raise a bit of interest in the area its at... Edited May 24, 2006 by leedstrials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modrider666 Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Hmm can see what youre saying JT, watching people bounce on rocks aint gonna be every ones cup of tea, But if it was say an urban course e.g sidehops,drop gaps,ups,bikerails etc i cant see a person not beeing impressed really and i think the majority of people would be quite stunned.Some people may disagree with me there but a NON-trials rider will respect and be more impressed with that type of riding than natural. But when you become a trials rider and go to a comp and watch someone go through an elite course you then respect how hard it is to do that!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Hmm this is going to sound really weird but I think trials doesnt appeal to the public as much because people make it look too easy? I know this sounds strange but were all used to hoping around and can make demo's look like we've done them a million times....I dont think people understand how hard it actually is.Or maybe I should wake up more before posting! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 I personally think it is the competition 'set up' that limits the popularity and viewing. Yes, we all know its fun to ride on rocks, but thats us. In a 'unaware' spectators eyes it could be very boring.Viewers like something to relate to, this is why street riding will always get spectators because they can see the 'wall' and how big it is and how they find it amazing that someone can ride on it.I've been to a lot of downhill events and BMX events, majority of the audience wouldn't want to sit in a freezing cold field watching someone jump all over the place on a bike, its just not 'extreme' enough. Its a slow sport which many people lose interest in very quickly. Unfortunatly to say, if we haven't got the media on us now, I don't think were ever going to. Which, could be for the better, do you want a bunch of blonde haired 20 year olds at competitions shouting 'yeahh!' at everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamtrials Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 The Red bull bike battle was in Nottingham city center,great event, exciting to watch and loads of spectators,I doubt it made trials any bigger though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaXsteri Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 do you want a bunch of blonde haired 20 year olds at competitions shouting 'yeahh!' at everything.Sure would liven up the afterparty though (A) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynio Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 Porter WAIT till you have been to fort william at the weekend THEN you will come back and say "SH!7 THAT was a good event and there was plenty of people and spectators there"its a good atmosphere and a mega buzz to it. most of the sections are along side the DH or XC course and people are easily visible to whats going on, theres even one section RIGHT near the ski lift thing. its done and put their for a reason also next year maybe the first year of a UCI "REAL" world cup including trials in the UK yes i think the monty team are deffinatly promenant in the market with their kit, but the lycra? some people like it some people do not. at the end of the day, i enjoy wearing something flexible to ride in, something like tracksuit bottoms. BUT i think trials looks better when your riding in some casual jeans, i was speaking to hawzee and its an "image" thing. yes team kits and strips have to be done TOTALLY like full kit, not just a jersey etc etc.as riding in something casual,something sleek like for me for example a koxx tee and some nice casual jeans would be pretty sleek. something the general passer by will notice due to the tee-shirt or something.theres alot more to it, BUT i think if it was to be telveised and such forth THEN just THEN companies would make more of a THING about team clothing and teams. Fort William is one of the biggest events of the calendar year!!!! if there isnt enough people up there to watch then your never EVER going to get anyone watching.Waynio........................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 It was disappointing to see a small news thing about the Fort William UCI events in MBUK, with no mention of the trials comp though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-Stop Junkie Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 James, if you went to a National level road race, I bet you'd be surprised what you see. The club/team jerseys are a lot more prevalent because that's the culture. The whole past of road riding - from Tommy Simpson to Indurain, Boardman and Armstrong - is based around shorts and tops while are prime spots for logos. There's also a much bigger industry amongst clothing companies or producing small run kit for cycling clubs. However, unless a whole club turns up, you'd see a rough collection of jerseys and jackets, with only a smattering of spectators. In trials, the idols and history is much more mixed up. Some come from BMX, from mountain biking, from moto-trials. As a result some would want to ride in MX gear, some Hebo, and some jeans and a T shirt.Trials isn't big because it's not promoted. It's not promoted locally where the competitions or riders are based, it's barely promoted in the wider cycling press, and within MBUK there's very little coverage these days outside of Martyn's features and HipHop. It's become a very insular sport with everyone looking in. The general trials population is very knowledgable, outside of that is very unknowledgable except for a very few riders. Most of never heard of Ot Pi, but all have heard of Martyn Ashton or Hans Rey. This isn't though for a lack of interest in trials. I know quite a few people who have been into mountain biking for a long time through XC who love watching trials, because they find it fascinating, but we don't make our competitions widely known. Then, when we get people coming to events, they may not be educated as to the rules or who is taking part, and without that any sport is not enjoyable to watch.We also seem to lack real show case events. I went to the Specialized Enduro 6 XC event, and there were lots of people, gift packs for all the riders taking part, electronic tags for all the riders for timing, a trade area, PA systems, sponsors banners, and lots of people out to just have a good time. I'd encourage anyone in the area to go to the Mountain Mayhem event on the 23rd to 25th of June (http://www.ssmm.co.uk/). This is a 24 hour race, with an entry so big that it was full within hours of entries opening, and several teams were turned away. It's a big festival that attracts a lot of riders, and is put on professionally. It's better attended and turned out than any trials event I've ever been to. It's not cheap, but then it's a big deal.I don't think team kits are the simple answer. What's needed is wider promotion amongst the cycling community, a better platform for promoting the riders and the techniques of trials, and only then will we get more casual interest from the wider cycling community, and that's the stepping stone to a bigger audience generally.If the Ashton team want to turn up in matching kit, spotless bikes and with a branded truck and awning, then it'll certainly look very professional. I think the team helmet is a great concept as it can be worn when street riding, comp riding, anything. If the jerseys, as Martyn's are now, are not available to the public, then that's even more exclusive and cool.It was disappointing to see a small news thing about the Fort William UCI events in MBUK, with no mention of the trials comp though...We had a 1-2 in the Commonwealth Games men's XC event. Coverage in MBUK? About half a page... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzo Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 It was disappointing to see a small news thing about the Fort William UCI events in MBUK, with no mention of the trials comp though...Hell, you got a 'free' allen key Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.