The State Of Trials Today

[boon racoon]

are we heading towards a sport which is similar to athletics in that bikes/geometry get leaner and techniques get better, meaning we can add height to every move there is just as pro athletes shave milliseconds off or add millimeters to world records over time?

is there a curve which will flatten out? will the top riders find it harder and harder to improve, whilst in the meantime others come closer to catching them up? where will people hit a brick-wall in terms of height? will anyone ever hook up an 8 ft wall from flat?

what do you think?

discuss.

no arguing. no naming names.

GO!

[Blommah]

are we heading towards a sport which is similar to athletics in that bikes/geometry get leaner and techniques get better, meaning we can add height to every move there is just as pro athletes shave milliseconds off or add millimeters to world records over time?

is there a curve which will flatten out? will the top riders find it harder and harder to improve, whilst in the meantime others come closer to catching them up? where will people hit a brick-wall in terms of height? will anyone ever hook up an 8 ft wall from flat?

what do you think?

discuss.

no arguing. no naming names.

GO!

Interesting, i think there are always going to be improvements in the sports in different ways, but gravity will do it`s job aswell, i think that the curve will flatten out eventually, since the sport has evolved enormously the last couple of years, so has the riders, but now we`re going against a more or less standard in frames etc.

Thats what i think atleast.

[Waynio]

i think as it evolves and gets better and better we may find that other trials moves become more noticed.

so instead of doing the biggest drop or leaping the biggest gap other moves/styles of riding will come more into play.

competition scene will always be about the difficulty in a technical and height ability.

street/natural everyday rides/videos etc would be kool to see more angles, different views, anyone and everyone who does trials does it for a different reason therefore their view on how they ride is displayed in their riding attitude and technique.

Just my 1p view.

Wayne.

maybe more street comps? it needs a company like redbull to go shit or bust with it like they did with the bike battle maybe???

[Ash-Kennard]

maybe more street comps? it needs a company like redbull to go shit or bust with it like they did with the bike battle maybe???

f**k yes

[r2wtrials]

.. if nothing else i can see where the riders that have come from cycle trials have moved the motorcycle trials world forward. There have always been a few riders that crossed over and did well but with Toni Bou you are now seeing biketrials techniques in the outdoor world championship as well as the indoors. If you haven't seen a clip try THIS ONE

20 years ago a good local rider could enter the British round of the world mototrials championship and maybe score some points... perhaps even into the top 10. But now unless you are one of the top riders in each country you would be lucky to complete one section without a 5.

It does seem that the frames are all identical at a quick glance of the cycle trials world now. But if something works and sells few companies are going to put out anything too radical. But it will change again at some point. Wait until the next rider comes along who does or rides something completely different and the copying will begin again.

[trials_pimp]

I dont think it will stop evolving.

Looking back to when I started, it was small XC bikes, Cantilever brakes and bright colors.

As people have improved they have changed design and thinkning and dragged the sport forwards.

There are allways people out there who are looking at new approches and new methods of doing moves ans making things bigger and better.

There will be a point when the highest wall will be reached and the longest gap has been done, as humans are only cappable of so much, but when these points have been reached

attention will be turned on where we can improve in other areas techniques and riding styles.

[ilikeriding]

There will be a point when the highest wall will be reached and the longest gap has been done, as humans are only cappable of so much, but when these points have been reached

How do you know when weve reached those points?

[Ash-Kennard]

How do you know when weve reached those points?

when no one can go any further...

[ZeroMatt]

Well at the minute almost every large company is using very similar frame geos as thats what works best, maybe the prefered angles and lengths will evolve from here as someone tries out a new spec. But i know for sure we will not keep increasing the height of hooks, taps etc as there is allways the constant of gravity acting against you.

Trials on the moon? that would be so awsome, also imagine the future possibility of some sub species of humans forming to compete in sports. 12 foot tall people wheelswapping telephone boxes

Edited November 12, 2007 by ZeroMatt

[Sam Oliver]

.. if nothing else i can see where the riders that have come from cycle trials have moved the motorcycle trials world forward. There have always been a few riders that crossed over and did well but with Toni Bou you are now seeing biketrials techniques in the outdoor world championship as well as the indoors. If you haven't seen a clip try THIS ONE

20 years ago a good local rider could enter the British round of the world mototrials championship and maybe score some points... perhaps even into the top 10. But now unless you are one of the top riders in each country you would be lucky to complete one section without a 5.

It does seem that the frames are all identical at a quick glance of the cycle trials world now. But if something works and sells few companies are going to put out anything too radical. But it will change again at some point. Wait until the next rider comes along who does or rides something completely different and the copying will begin again.

Bou rides that bike like my Monty what a star!

[r2wtrials]

.. he's not bad. think he will go far

[Bionic Balls]

anyone think trials will ever make it into the olympics?

[Josh Greenan!!!!!!!!!!]

Yeah trials has got to be in the there. Its balance strength and fitness.

[ben_travis]

no, i dont think it will ever be in the olympics. i think you need to target commenwealth games first

[ilikeriding]

when no one can go any further...

noone can go any further now?

[Ross McArthur]

Maybe training at altitude would help the top comp riders do better?so wel see vincent kenny benito n all that progress.

In terms of style, people may be into doing big gaps or big side hops or whatever, or other people maybe into the flow adding spins, manuals, lines....

What I see in the future is 40 foot drop gap to fakie nose manuals. A mix of the two.

[Ash-Kennard]

noone can go any further now?

yeah, but they will. damon, tunni can gap similar distances so i imagine both want to be the best

[Waynio]

i was having a conversation with someone the other day about the following:

trials goes through stages, 1 minute its drop gaps, next minute its tap, the next its bunnyhops and it just revolves around and around. and as others have said, it gets bigger and bigger.

it will come to a stage where people will struggle to go "any" bigger as there is limits to "just" what you can do. like a car, if a production model does 100bhp, and you tune it to 180 its hard to make it 1k bhp without changing EVERYTHING on it and still the aerodynamics etc wouldnt be correct etc?

like to go bigger you would need more flexible limbs etc, see who can be the 1st to have an operation that involved making your body more flexible to withstand more impact

Wayne.

[ConnorPowell]

I didnt think that when i started trials it was a competition to get to the top and be the "best" but i though it was for the pure, enjoyment and passion that you have for the sport. Maybe i was wrong. Waking up in the morning feeling pumped to just go ride ride. not seek sidehops to the precise inch but to go and find whats out there and be creative, going out to do something better than some else. Its like said in the tuk thread, you see lines of people queing to do a tap, gap, sidehop etc. its like being a sheep doing what everyon else is doing be a Sheperd, lead the pack.

Edited November 12, 2007 by OnzaTvee23

[Ash-Kennard]

I didnt think that when i started trials it was a competition to get to the top and be the "best" but i though it was for the pure, enjoyment and passion that you have for the sport. Maybe i was wrong. Waking up in the morning feeling pumped to just go ride ride. not seek sidehops to the precise inch but to go and find whats out there and be creative, going out to do something better than some else. Its like said in the tuk thread, you see lines of people queing to do a tap, gap, sidehop etc. its like being a sheep doing what everyon else is doing be a Sheperd, lead the pack.

maybe we like taps?

[ConnorPowell]

maybe we like taps?

Where did i say i dont like taps or taps are crap? i didnt Im saying about the lines that people wait in to do a tap OR sidehop OR gap ETC.

[Ash-Kennard]

Where did i say i dont like taps or taps are crap? i didnt Im saying about the lines that people wait in to do a tap OR sidehop OR gap ETC.

maybe i like queing

[craigjames]

people line up to do a tap, to have a bit of a competition with you mates, its what drives you forwards. the whole bravado thing "im better than you" even if its only meant in jest and to wind each other up. nothing wrong with it. trials will keep progressing and moving forward, the rate at which it does may slow but thats what happens in virtually all sport. trials is a modern sport, its got a long way to go yet.

it is scary how much the sport has progressed in the last few years though

[Mat Smith!]

i dont really see the problem with inch picking or whatever, if people want to do it they do it, nobody is going to stop them, if they dont like the videos they dont have to watch them, ride how YOU want weather its just sitting there sidehopping all day or if gettin dizzy doin 360's all day, or doing comps throughout a year, it doesnt matter.

Matx

[Krisboats]

Where did i say i dont like taps or taps are crap? i didnt Im saying about the lines that people wait in to do a tap OR sidehop OR gap ETC.

Same thing happens at competitions though, people line up ready to ride a particular section and try and beat everyone else through it... doing it on the street is just the same principle, having some healthy competition encourages growth and development so you improve and can use the time in between your go's to take note on what works and what doesn't.

I know where your coming from though, it does get irritating to see a load of people lining up to do a sidehop when they're surrounded by gaps and ups and stuff, but if they're happy leave em be.

I do agree with the point about the sponsored public competitions, that would improve things a great deal.

no, i dont think it will ever be in the olympics. i think you need to target commenwealth games first

I have to disagree with you there ben, i reckon it could easily be an olympic sport, especially if shooting with shotguns is classed as one. Trials is a ridiculously demanding sport and riders at the top work just as hard, if not harder than a lot of other athletes. If it got noticed or someone physically wrote in asking about making it an olympic sport i'm sure the people who sit down to consider it would agree its easily demanding enough.