Beginner

[Lommen]

Hey.

First of all i'm going to say sorry for my english.. it might not be the best.

My name is Fredrik and i'm 18 years from Sweden (place called Varberg).

In 2-3 days I will get my very first trial bike with the small tires (mod, 20 or whats it called).. The reason why I'm getting a trial bike is that when I was 15-16 I had this little bike (no trial or anything though) that I ride a lot with and enjoyed trixing with, I stopped doing that later on because of school. Now I got time again!

Now my question is what would be best to start practice? I don't mean what place or so most what kind of tricks/balance and stuff somehow. If it's necessary for you to know I will mostly ride street, in the town or so.

Please don't see this as one of those "unnecessary" topics like you've said to some other in the newbie forum. I really would like some mature answers.

And again, sorry for my english don't know if it's good or bad but don't blame me, i'm doing my best

[Lawnmowerman]

Probably the best post ever im new members Well done mate, you'll be validated in no time

[Dan6061]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

First of all, your English is better than the majority of people's on the forum.

And good things to start off learning: Trackstands. - Gets you used to balancing the bike, and gives you good control.

Pedal hops - Hard to get at first, but is the key to trials.

Backhops - Not really needed, but they're fun.

Backwheeling - Like pedal hops, but onto objects.

http://www.trashzen.com

Probably the best place to learn stuff.

[Danny Kearns]

Thats a great post there matey, to be honest i think you english is better than mine and live in the bloody place .

Yeah great post dude, by far the best in (NMC).

Cheers !

Validation please for this guy.?

[Barbara Logan-Price]

Probably the best post ever im new members Well done mate, you'll be validated in no time

^^^^^^^^^^^^

not such a good post

hi mate i think you should get the basics dialled first eg trackstands and kikhops first then you can progress onto gaps drops backwheels etc yea so learn the basic and youll learn in no time

and look at this site for tips trashzen

edit : been beaten to it

Edited May 29, 2006 by alex!beastytrials

[Lawnmowerman]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

not such a good post

Shut it

[yoyoyo]

Welcome to the forum.

Good choice in getting a trials bike. Which one did you get?

Dan's advice is good so i would follow that, and Trashzen is a good site, and can help you learn loads.

Like it's already been said, your english so far is good. If you keep it up you will be validated soon.

And good luck with the riding.

[Nuke Bowel]

Sounded good buddy.

I agree, someone validate this guy

[Danny Kearns]

Oh my lord he is validated after one post.!!!!!!!

Thats beats me i did it in two.

Cheers !

Keep it up dude.

[Lommen]

Wow thanks for all the nice answers!!

It's a Monty 219. I hope it will work fine as a beginners bike!! I will follow those tips Dan. That site is by the way really really nice!

Again, Thanks!

Edited May 29, 2006 by Lommen

[Lommen]

Hey again boys n girls..

Well, got my very first trial bike today and been biking for like 6 hours!! I've managed to just jump up 40cm when I jump at speed.. trying to "stay" standing on my back wheel like you guys do on the movies but god, it's hard!!

Do you got any tips on how to do that? If you even get what I mean.. just standing on the back wheel.. xD

Anyway.. here's a pic of me trying ... something!!

And here's a pic of me... !!

Please no bad comments on the pictures.. You see.. I had to take this little camera.. set it on a 10 second countdown and then run to my bike.. do some trick at the exact same time as the countdown hits 0.. and i'm telling you it wasnt easy!!

So.. well.. you gave me the tip to do pedal kick and so but it is hard without being able yet to stand on back wheel ^^

Anyway, im moving to Bulgaria for 8 days tomorrow so wont be able to bike , it will be fun though gonna go there together with 13 friends with only two things in our heads... girls and PAARTY!!!

Bye guys!

[Lee Cable]

It helps if you would of got a proper sized bike! naa, just practise. thats all i can really say,

this websitealso helps, as it has some goood tutorials!!

[sunn_bmixx]

Oh my lord he is validated after one post.!!!!!!!

Thats beats me i did it in two.

Cheers !

Keep it up dude.

lol, how did this happen! oh well i will keep trying

good post though, keep riding

[fruitbat]

lol, how did this happen! oh well i will keep trying

good post though, keep riding

It happened because it was a well thought out, clear and precise post with very good information and more importantly, pretty damn good english to say the lad aint from England.

Welcome to TF and congrats on such a fast validation

Keep it up with the riding, getting up 40cm when you only just got your bike aint bad at all

Frooty

[Krisboats]

If you're wanting to learn how to bounce on the back wheel then your most likely gonna have to do it the same way 90% of riders first manage it and start with the backhops.

You need to ride along at walking speed and pull the front brake to do a nose endo (lift the back wheel off the floor), do this just enough to get your rear wheel of the floor but not enough to flick you over the bars. This will help give you enough momentum to get on the back wheel.

As you start to fall back down and your rear wheel hits the floor you want to lean back and pull the bars towards you. It helps to keep your elbows slightly bent as having them straight can lead to shoulder and lower back pains. You will feel the bike start to reach its balance point as the front wheel lifts higher and this is about the point you want to be getting comfortable with in order to hop without falling everywhere. Its also helpful to pull the bike right up and past the balance point in order to get yourself used to how far you can go with it and to remove any worries about falling off the back of the bike, you'll find you can literally just step off

So basically as you're at the balance point just jump with your legs... its not really important to do anything with your arms so long as you manage to get the back wheel off the floor, and like i said all it really requires is for you to jump a little bit in the air using your legs... the bike will follow you up.

You'll most likely also find that when you're first starting this your hops will be quite big and fairly uncontrolled but stick with it and eventually, with practice, it'll become second nature and you won't even have to think about doing it.

Once you've got the backhops sorted you'll need to focus on getting pedal hops learnt.. these are pretty much the most essential move in trials so will open up many different things when you get them done. This is practically the same as the backhop only as you're hopping on the rear wheel you want to lower the front wheel a bit and simultaneously pull the bars towards you, let go of the brake and stamp on the peddles with little jump to help with the forward motion. Don't forget to pull the brake again before the rear wheel hits the floor or you might be walking home with a sore arse cheek after falling off the bike.

Sorry about it being such a monstrous post but i'm pretty sure it'll help and i hope it was what you were after.

[Lommen]

Thanks for all the answers!!!

I think I got the idea of how it's gonna work now, gonna practice loads when I get home from Bulgaria.

Again THANKS!! All help is so appreciated!

[ashby-trials]

hey thats very good english for a foreign member keep it up

[yoyoyo]

Try to get confident on your back wheel before you start kicking. I tried to get around 20 backhops so i knew i was confident. Don't rush, it will all come to you.

[Lommen]

Hey guys!!

Been a long time now since I posted my progress here... soo..

I've got big confident on my backweel now, really!! I can do alot of jumps and still keep the balance. I've managed to do pedal kicks etc to jump from 1 object to another. Let's just say that i've progressed alot, I guess a movie will come in place in some months... dont wanna embaress myself yet.

Now.. there is this thing, I think I could do better with another bike. I know someone joked about that I should get a proper sized bike but I'm actually starting to believe that my bike is to small for my lenght... I'm 183cm.

So, I dont know if this might sound foolish or not.. But im thinking of the Trial 26"BT Ninja 365.

I know it's not a 20" that i've been riding before but I actually think that I might be more ... hmm... 'home' or 'confident' on a 26"... hard to explain but I think it would fit me better.

Please give me all your comments regarding this change and some ideas and tips, everything!!

I guess there's no use anymore to excuse for my english since you all say it's fine

That's all for me by now, Thanks in advance!!

[A!!]

I guess a movie will come in place in some months... dont wanna embaress myself yet.

Now.. there is this thing, I think I could do better with another bike. I know someone joked about that I should get a proper sized bike but I'm actually starting to believe that my bike is to small for my lenght... I'm 183cm.

You shouldn't be worried about embarrassing yourself, everyone starts somewhere, and it's good to make a first video because then people can help you with tips by watching the way you ride, in order to help you improve. Also when you make a first video, after another year or so, you can look back at it and see how much you have improved, so i would say it's a good idea

I can understand where you are coming from, if you feel to big for the bike you are riding, then it probably is a wise idea to try some others. If you don't really want to get a stock (26") bike then you could always look at some of the more longer mod frames (20"), like the zona zip: Zona zip

But if it is a stock you are looking at then there are a lot more varied choices about. I can't say i have ever rode a BT Ninja, but from what i have read and seen, then it looks like it has a fairly extreme geometry with short chainstays, so you will either love it or hate it. So it would probably be a good idea to see if you can have a ride on one before you look into and buying one, but correct me if i'm wrong but the BT Ninja frames are very rare, and there were only nine made(i think). If you need a few more ideas on frame choices then take a look here Tarty bikes

I have to agree as well you English is very good, and easier to read then some of the posts in here so

If you are stuck on on moves or want ideas then the best place istrashzen

Edited September 1, 2006 by huck_it

[poopipe]

Now.. there is this thing, I think I could do better with another bike. I know someone joked about that I should get a proper sized bike but I'm actually starting to believe that my bike is to small for my lenght... I'm 183cm.

nooo. big wheels are gay

that monty you've been riding is extremely short so I'm not surprised it feels a bit small.

perhaps consider a longer frame. the long Koxx and echo frames are probably about the right sort of size as they have a 1030mm wheelbase compared to the <1000mm of the monty. The zona and python are even longer frames

a cheaper option might be to think about a different (longer) stem or even just rearranging your bars a bit.

[Lommen]

Thanks for the fast replies!!

I think I will be able to try it before I buy it but do you think it's a nice bike in general? You think the size of it and so will fit me better?

[Gilman]

Hey man,

The BT Ninja is a very extreme geometry, the main thing that I would worry about with the ninja is the chainstay length.

The chainstays are very short, they are the shortest stock/26 chainstays on any bike.

The usual chainstay length is between 375mm to 385mm and the ninja is 365mm.

Stock bikes are more challenging then mod, meaning when learning the same moves on a mod vs. a stock you will learn it much quicker on the mod then the stock.

Also mod is much easier to throw around then stock. If you want more of a challenge then go with stock, but if your still learning the basics then I would probably stick with mod.

Though stock is my prefered choice for trials, so if you decide to go with stock, just about any frame out there will be a good choice just ask people what they think about the choices that you have narrowed down.

As for the BT, if you like that bike , I would look at the 6.0 frame. That is what I ride and love it and it's the best ride I have had yet, and I have had about 7 trials bikes.

So good luck on your hunt,

Matt.

[Lommen]

Hey again guys, updating a little of my progress and so..

I ended up selling my old bike and buying the BT Ninja 365.

I've been riding for around 5 hours today and I really really love the bike, so much different then my old but still everything is soo much smoother now!!

I wonder if you guys could help me find some movies with this bike in it?, would be cool to watch it in action by amateurs or pros!!

I could also need some more help on my trial progress, as posted earlier in this post i've managed to stand on the back weel, do pedal kicks and just some beginner stuff and so.. can jump from one thing to another (with a small distance though).. The question I got now is, what should I practice? Is it jumping from one thing to another with pedal kick or what do you suggest?

I must say I really appreciate all the people that answered me so far, your all so... so... uhm.. kind!! ^^

I will also show a small movie of my progress soon, it wont be edited to well or anything like that, just wanna show you how things is going and maybe as huck_it said I will get some replies with tips of how to improve.

Thanks again guys n girls!!

// Happy swede Lommen

[tom 20]

yh trashzens a ace syt 4 learnin mooves nd tricks..even though i dent use it lol.. heard of it ater i learned the stuff