Talent

[spartan]

Like why is it that i have been working on my taps for 2 hours a day everyday for 5 weeks and i get them like 1 outta 40 tries maybe if im lucky and i get help from James Barton and Neil T and my friend has worked on them for like 2 minutes and can already go higher more consistently.

I just get so frustrated when i ride at how remarkably untalented i am and how it takes me so long to learn any moves. It took me all summer last year just to learn how to up to the front wheel and like everyone else i ride with like just get shit there first time.

Is there something im doing wrong or am i just dumb??

[spode@thinkbikes]

Like why is it that i have been working on my taps for 2 hours a day everyday for 5 weeks and i get them like 1 outta 40 tries maybe if im lucky and i get help from James Barton and Neil T and my friend has worked on them for like 2 minutes and can already go higher more consistently.

I just get so frustrated when i ride at how remarkably untalented i am and how it takes me so long to learn any moves. It took me all summer last year just to learn how to up to the front wheel and like everyone else i ride with like just get shit there first time.

Is there something im doing wrong or am i just dumb??

Good technique will only get you so far. If you're not in physically good shape - you'll really struggle to do with your body, what you're thinking with your mind.

[psycholist]

Speaking as a fatass with both poor coordination and very little bottle, I'm well aware that almost anyone who commits themselves to trials riding, especially if they have people to cycle with will be better than I am in no time flat. This does very little to dissuade me from riding though - it's still all about riding trials because I like doing it. It matters very little to me what level other people are at thankfully . It's still amazing to watch the likes of Hermance in action though ...

[spartan]

I like to think im in pretty good shape its not that its just that like it takes me so crazyily long to learn any moves that its hard to really see any progression.

And i can never manage to step away before i get pissed and throwshit. Like just today i was trying this like small tap and just couldnt get it and so rather then just deciding ill come back tomorrow i try anoth 30 times and get pissed and throw my bike and the wheel shifts and i have to walk home.

Im considering just going to the smallest tap ive ever done and doing it like a billion times until i can do it in my sleep then going up like half an inch and do the same because thats the only way i seem to learn.

[mexophilia]

Try to relax dude, you're pushing yourself too much.

Try to download videos and watch them frame by frame. like the ones on Trial online, you can click the next frame button. It really helps dude.

Also, if you can take a video of yourself doing a move and compare your moves from the others.

It also helps to think positively at matters.

You can do it.

Goodluck.

[Jason222]

Hey man, take it easy! Keep the temper at bay! If you don't get it, don't worry! I had a wall that I struggled with a few days ago, I did it twice, then after that, I couldn't seem to get up it for the life of me. I just tried it and tried it, I didn't succeed, but you know what, it gives you better technique, experience, and more exercise.

But tonight I upped something that was 6" higher than that one! LOL You have good days, and you have bad days. I find eating a lot before riding helps too. There are a lot of little things...like foot positioning, shoes, and even socks, that can throw you off!

Just keep at it man, try to find where your weaknesses are, and fix it. And remember, if you can't get it, don't get pissed! You'll get it another day.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Jason222

[Tro dig inte]

Very good tips you got there above

But which I think matters most is how commited you are to trials and how willing you are to learn!

3 words that helping me is: Explosive, Timing and Smoothness.

You can do it!

Cheers

[JonMack]

I've recently started thinking a lot more about moves when I'm off my bike. I think about the techniques I'm gonna need to learn and the movements my body will need to make and it's really paying off. I've never been able to tuck while gapping, so when I'm in bed shutting my eyes drifting off to sleep, I visualised tucking my legs up while gapping, a few days later I got out on my bike in my street, low and behold, I could do it, it wasn't perfect but the basic technique was there, and its going to make it easier in the long run to get it nailed.

Same with sidehopping, I've never been able to do it, I was in the shower one morning thinking about riding and the movement of my body and bike while sidehopping, and a few days later I was doing 26" to back wheel, might not seem like much but that went from not being able to sidehop at all, to being able to hit 20+ inches consistently. All I need to work on now is my preload technique and hopefully I'll start improving it.

So yeah, when you're not riding, visualise yourself doing the move, I've found just with those two things it helps shit loads.

But always remember this...

You can do it!

EDIT: Also, anger never helps, it just makes things worse, I often find myself getting frustrated riding walls that I could nail last summer, but because I've been off the bike for 9 months I haven't lost a lot of the little things like timing, and explosivness (funny how Chrilles advise is all of a sudden making sense to me). When this happens I'll try something else, or try the move on a smaller wall, once I've got it completely dialled, I'll go back to the bigger wall and can usually do it in a few attempts. Don't ever get mad, it's okay to get frustrated, but don't take it out on the bike.

People must look at me on rides and think I'm a spoilt rich kid or something, I've usually some of the best parts, I've always had CK hubs, well looked after bikes, etc. and people are going bigger and better than me on what are, in comparison, pieces of junk. But my mentality is as follows, if I buy the best things I can afford for my bike, then the only thing wrong, is me. I can't say, if only I had this part, or that part, I would be able to do it, it's all down to me, and I've found that if you have confidence in your bike, you will improve, and it will help raise the confidence in yourself.

After reading the thread in Bike Pics about Quackers new Koxx Boxx, the same thought popped into my head, he's riding one of the best bikes in the world, and if Vincent or Gilles or Giacomo got on his bike, they could still win competitions with it, so he knows it's a capable enough bike to with the world championships with, so if he can't land a tap, or a hook, then the only person he has to blame, is himself.

The machine is doing nothing wrong, it's the monkey operating it that can't get the move right. There's no point throwing your bike around because it's just going to end up damaging it and you're gonna have an even worse ride because you've popped a hose, or snapped something.

Just stay positive, stay calm, and spend time off the bike, thinking about things, and I reckon in a few weeks you'll have taps nailed.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Mark King

[PaRtZ]

It is an absolute pain. I dont suffer it as much as you do, but I've been chasing my friend's sidehops (who had a year's hedstart on me) for so long, and then finally I get 44" and I look up and hes on 48"... noooo

I think just riding without pressure is the best way to learn. Like you can't tap that certain wall, but have you tried hooking/sidehopping/frenching (sounds wrong) or other techniques to get up it? I find that by doing it another way first, Im a bit more confident at throwing myself at it another way - usually trying to bunnyhop it and going face first but meh, ill work on that

Some people are stupidly talented. I think its pretty obvious who that refers to, but doesn't mean to say no one else can do it. When you see some people ride for a long time and they can only just gap, it may not seem impressive, but for a person to learn that when their body/mind isn't naturally suited to trials, I find its amazing!

[psycholist]

When you see some people ride for a long time and they can only just gap, it may not seem impressive, but for a person to learn that when their body/mind isn't naturally suited to trials, I find its amazing!

I definitely agree with this. If you've got someone who's crazy enough to go for big stuff and take the crashes they're guaranteed to get a lot better a lot faster. On the other hand I've spent a decade iteratively getting better and better in tiny steps. I'm still amazed to get a sidehop over 30" (Though I discovered last week I could sidehop 26" over a bar in either direction) or when I make a gap more than 4 feet. Crazy people doing crazy stuff isn't as impressive as sane people doing stuff that looks crazy but they've worked out how to do safely through practice. Thanks to all that practice I now have a mean trackstand ...

If things really don't work for you try changing to a bike with different geometry though. I got a new bike last December with more competition style geometry (Low handlebars, highish BB, very short chainstays) and I've progressed a lot more in the past 6 months than I did in the previous year because the bike makes certain things easier (front and sidehops to the back wheel, tapping etc., the previous bike was better on steep downslopes though - I have found a grand total of one line I could do on the last bike that I can't do on the new one and a huge number of lines I couldn't do on the previous bike that I can on the new one)...

[mehukatti]

Some people will always be better at it than the rest of us. They may have bigger amount of fast muscle fibers, better coordination, balance and body control. But I think more important is whether you are having fun on your bike and personal progression. If you are not having fun, then why ride at all? And when talking about personal progression, there are many strategies for overcoming problems. Like if you can't nail those taps, you could forget them for a while and concentrate on other techniques. You could even forget the "must do bigger and bigger stuff every day" attitude for a while and ride some small but tricky stuff.

[rudirudirudirudirudi]

some people just learn/pick things up quicker than others. thats it really.

[HarshRider]

haha

i have been riding since i just turned 15 and im now 21 and im rubbish. i had a year out just because i got so fed up with chasing people and trying to improve. i have just started back up again just for fun this time but im worse than ever

looking back at the old get3large video when james porter was riding his curtis when he was like 15 ish, he was still better then i am now at 21 with 6 years experience

so yeh, best advice i can say is just enjoy it and don't push yourself to hard if your only doing it to improve.

[casualjoe]

Having good balance, like being able to trackstand with no corrections naturally gives you more space to concentrate on the move your doing , also knowing exactly where your wheels are when on the bike helps you beast at stuff knowing your gonna make it. Tis all about the pedlyhop

[manuel]

Crazy people doing crazy stuff isn't as impressive as sane people doing stuff that looks crazy but they've worked out how to do safely through practice.

true to a point - but i find it equally impressive that said crazy person has been able to go for something and not worry about it - unlocking their craziness...

some people are just plain better at some things than others - and there is probably always someone out there better than you - not much point competing against them its competing against yourself that counts.

[ilikeriding]

ye if you get frustrated with riding or a move just don't do it for a while, Latley ive improved alot faster by riding once or twice a week than i ever did when i rode 5x or more

[bitemybutt]

THIS is best advice you could have: http://users.aber.ac.uk/sjs99/bike/index.html Go to 'the Mental battle' on the left handside.

Some very useful stuff, even for advanced riders

(On a less topic-related note, check out the old-skool vids and bikes, AWESOME!)

Edited July 11, 2008 by bitemybutt

[stpatr3k]

Sometimes the quality of practice helps. A buddy of mine practice very smart. His warm up routine basically sums up my entire practice so he gets farther in trials than me.

[Ash-Kennard]

some people are just plain better at some things than others - and there is probably always someone out there better than you - not much point competing against them its competing against yourself that counts.

that sounds like losing talk to me

this method works for me:- just try something, fail, think about it, try again, fail, get annoyed, try again, fail, get more annoyed, leave it for 5 mins, come back and beast up it

[PaRtZ]

(On a less topic-related note, check out the old-skool vids and bikes, AWESOME!)

yeah I love mart's site, wish he'd make a new video though! that would be so sweet!

[Ladd]

If i ride with someone who is alot better than me i pick stuff up really quick. try riding with some different people aswell?

[Krisboats]

I blame your gay avatar picture to be honest.

[spartan]

yo yeah man its weird i went to try to change my avatar and now all i see is like a 1 pixel line where the avatar should be, wtf is up with this??

[monkeyseemonkeydo]

I blame your gay avatar picture to be honest.

I was wondering when that would come up... :worried for spartan:

On topic, I think it mainly comes down to time on the bike. Some people will pick things up quicker than others (Damon Watson springs to mind there) but without the hours on the bike that's of no use. So basically it's all about practice practice practice. And also, as has been mentioned, I guess riding with someone better than you will help too.