I was recently in Portsmouth which seems to be a biking haven. It has a massive BMX track by the coast and kids out on bikes everywhere. 

 Walking back from the pub late at night I got to glimpse a kid do a bunnyhop over a railing maybe 3-4 foot high (although in a court of law this claim would not stand up but it was truly awesome). 

More relevant to this article I saw along the coast a group of kids do the most amazing trial stunts up and along rocks on just one wheel up along the coast edge with a pretty petrifying drop on one side.

They would balance their bike on their back wheel and hop from rock to rock. I had seen something similar in the streets of Maidenhead along office walls and at the World Champs (see video inside) I saw amazing action. Anyways I thought it is time to do a little research on this amazing mostly unsung technical mtb art form.

OK lets start at the fountain on all assumed and alleged knowledge. What does our friend Wikipedia say....

"Bike trials is a form of mountain biking derived from motorcycle trials. The rider negotiates man-made and natural obstacles without their feet touching the ground. It originated in Spain and is said to have been invented by Ot Pi’s father (a world champion motorcycle trials rider). As it is hard for small children to control motorcycle trials bikes, he had wanted his son to learn and to practice motorcycle trials on an ordinary push bike instead of a motorbike.

At the most basic level, trials riding can be summed up as bicycle handling skills. It evolved from motorcycle trial riding (riding up, over obstacles, man-made or natural) into an off-season bicycle pastime. It now has a strong — though small — following, and can be seen worldwide. Skills taken from trials riding can be used practically on any bicycle for balance, for example controlled braking and track standing, or balancing on the bike without putting a foot down. Trial bike characteristics include, but are not limited to: powerful brakes, wide handlebars, light parts, low gearing, and a thick rear tire that provides grip and a heavy emphasis on frame geometry and no seat"

...sounds good to me, but then who am I to say it is right! I may be able to do a trackstand (well just) but I don't think I would pretend to say I can do what these guys and girls do. 

Right the Rules  (I found these at http://www.mtbtrialsuk.isonfire.com/ , loads of useful stuff so check them out)

• Trials courses are made up of different sections.  Each of these sections contain obstacles of which the rider must clear. 

• Each section has a start and a finish gate in which the rider must pass through to complete the section, they also have boundary edges in which the rider must not cross. (sounds a bit like Sumo wrestling but cooler).

• Most trials courses will have different routes in each section which have varying levels of difficulty,

• All sections have a two-minute time limit on them. Most courses have 10-15 sections in them.

• In trials scoring less points is better, this is because you get awarded points for mistakes you make. The rider with the least points at the end of the course is the winner of that trial.

• There are different penalties the can be given to a rider during a section. They range from 1 point to 5 points, getting 5 points in a section means that the rider has failed that section and must move onto the next one. The main way of scoring points is by dabbing. A dab is when the rider puts their foot on the ground. They score a point for each dab and they can do this 4 times, on the 5^th time they get a five and are out of that section.

One thing that is clear is that it is growing. As I say I keep seeing it on the streets. It is also acknowledged in the World Champs and is awesome to watch. Although when flicking through the MBR UK section on the World Champs this month I saw no section on it which is a dissapointment., At the end of the day many of these skills are key to shore, downhill, trails whatever your passion. It's nice to see a mtb discipline not obsessed with speed but instead technique, style, control and ultimately mental discipline. Respect. Lots.

Does anyone know anyone that does this stuff? If so say hi and get them onto the site to share..

some links if your appetite is wetted:

http://www.mtbtrialsuk.isonfire.com/ 

http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/

http://www.dirtbikerider.co.uk/website_content/bikes/trials/index.html

Comments (1)

rosie_08 said:

I was out tonight cycling with two of my friends that do trials riding actually - one of them is just awesome. He is like jumping onto things the height of me (I amn't anywhere near tall but it is still awesome), then doing 180s off them.. I hate him. Nnot really he is cool.

December 26, 2007