h2ojunkie Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Hey there. I work at a bike shop here in Arizona. I don't think there is anyone around here that really does trials. I have a few bikes right now carbon road bike, 6.5" full suspension mtb, and hardtail 26" bike. I like the idea of trials. My mountain bike it not suited to trials due to being almost 35 lbs. A friend that I ride mountain bikes with was looking at a Norco frame. I work at a shop and I basically know nothing about trails bikes. I know there are mod bike and stock. I think the difference is that mod bikes don't have a seat on them.I think that I would be more comfortable on a 26" bike, but I am open to suggestions as to advantages for bikes and sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben John-Hynes Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Hey mate. Welcome to TF! The difference between "Mods" and "Stocks" is the wheel size. Stocks are 26" wheeled bikes. And mods are 20 wheeled ones. All the information you'll ever need on trials is on this forum somewhere so have a browse through. Trialspads.com is an American, online trials shop if ever you should need something.Without other people's trials bikes to try it's harder to decide what size to go for. Just have a look around here and you should find what you're looking for. Ben. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2ojunkie Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 There is an old schoool Ibis frame and fork at another shop here in town that I'm going to look at tomorrow. I think that it is set up for 20" rear and 24" front. Any thoughts on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben John-Hynes Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 That seems very odd. I think you've been ill informed somewhere. You got a link to a picture of it/one like it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jitters Posted April 24, 2009 Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Hey welcome aboard,Fellow yank from SC. I'll send you a PM of stateside suppliers, although I've had great dealings with Tartybikes, so I'll fire their link to you too. Guarantee their shipment will get to your door before anyone else's.Search all kinds of stuff on here. This is, by far, one of the best and friendliest resources to learn about trials.-Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2ojunkie Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 I am going to look at the frame tomorrow. It is at a shop downtown. I know there probably have been discussions about geometry and tube lengths. What sets a trials bike apart from something like a bmx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2ojunkie Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 Here is a picture of the frame that the other shop had. I'm not too impressed. This frame is pretty used and they are still asking $250 USD. It looks like a BMX bike frame to me. I will look at some new frames I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I'm kind of in the same boat. I live in San Diego, CA and I can't find even one trials bike on craigslist near me. There is one 200$ monty in LA, but I'm really not looking to take a whole lot of risks....I'm thinking of just buying one off tartybikes, but I'm not sure what the shipping will be. They have an estimator, but it requires registering and I'm kind of wondering if anyone has a ballpark. Are we looking at 100USA+ 150USA+ any ideas?Also, I'm really not sure whether a 20 or 26 is for me. The advice on the wiki is if you are a mountainbiker go 26 and if you are a bmxer go 20. Most of my riding is done on a fixed gear bike. An 09' Specialized langster. I love the bike. Anyway, I'm not even sure if that should play into what kind of bike I should get...A yaaba 449 is 420$ US and I've budgeted myself to 600$. Throw in shipping at 150 and I could be spending 570$ on that.I was also looking into a specialized P1 http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkM....jsp?spid=39175. It is 940$ MSRP, but i always go to my local specialized shop and talk with them and pretend like I'm in the market for a new bike (usually I say I'm going to get a geared road-bike like an allez) so maybe I can get some kind of deal? I'm not sure if this is really not a good trials bike for some reason (it has front shocks which looking around seems not to be on other trials bikes), but I love specialized and I think they are a really quality bike manufacturers.The bad part though, is that because I live in the US it looks like there isn't much of a second-hand market so if for some reason I really don't want a trials bike it will be VERY difficult to sell back...The P1 is kind of out of my price range, but it has a seat, which I kind of want just because I'd feel weird about riding a bike with absolutely no seat, and I can get one at my local shop and hold them accountable for a lot of maintenance.Anyway, that's where I stand and I'm not sure if I should have made a new post about this (not trying to hijack the thread) but I didn't really want to make a whole new thread about getting a good trials bike in America.I'm also 5'8" if that should factor in to the size of the bike I should get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackC123 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Here is a picture of the frame that the other shop had. I'm not too impressed. This frame is pretty used and they are still asking $250 USD. It looks like a BMX bike frame to me. I will look at some new frames I guess.Mate, thats no bmx frame. Thats a road bike frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h2ojunkie Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 duckwarsThere is a post in the full member chat http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/forum/index....howtopic=134526 that talks about a brand called Because. They are from China, I emailed a shop that carries them. He quoted me 1500HKD for their 26" frame and to ship it to Arizona. 1500HKD is roughly 200USD. That is just the frame you will need to get the rest of the parts. (No seat on there) I'm not sure, but I think you could build out the rest of the bike for around 400USD. There are some companies out of Canada that wouldn't kill you as much on shipping. And you can get a lot of the stuff at your LBS. The tires, tubes, h-bar, maybe a stem but probably not the rise and length you would need, headsets, chains, crank arms. Probably might want to order nice wheels that are more specific to trials. Just some thoughts from a beginner with no bike yet either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I'm not really sure I'm looking to take a risk on some new brand, especially because I'm also new to the type of bike. I'm really not sure if the amount it is cheaper is worth the risk, and I'd like to have a frame I can keep for a while or that will retain some value. Also, a complete would be easier and I think cheaper overall, though I'm not really sure. I'm certainly not ruling out the possibility of a because.I'm really quite curious whether or not the P1 is really a trials bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 The P1 is not a specific trials bike, it's built as a jump bike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 If you were interested, postage prices from tartybikes to US for a bike is around £90-£120 depending on the size of the box.As was mentioned, I would recommend a 20" to either a young/shorter person or to someone who is from a bmx background and a 26" bike to adults and people used to MTBs.If you are just looking into a cheap bike, something from the onza 26" range is a good option. I actually quite like the Spyrogira, its a nice frame, simple (but good) brakes, no mechs and dirt cheap at £300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) If you were interested, postage prices from tartybikes to US for a bike is around £90-£120 depending on the size of the box.As was mentioned, I would recommend a 20" to either a young/shorter person or to someone who is from a bmx background and a 26" bike to adults and people used to MTBs.If you are just looking into a cheap bike, something from the onza 26" range is a good option. I actually quite like the Spyrogira, its a nice frame, simple (but good) brakes, no mechs and dirt cheap at £300What do you mean by "no mechs"?Also, I'm about 5'8" which (at least I hope) is pretty damned average. I'm leaning towards 26" because somehow in my mind the better someone gets better the more they want a bigger bike? It's really unfounded logic.Also, I want to do more hopping onto stuff than anything else. I'm not sure if the bouncier wheels on a 26" or the lighter frame on a 20" would be better for hopping around. Also to do the a trick where you pop onto the front wheel and then spin the frame of the bike around 360 degrees (can anyone school me on the name of this trick) you'd need a front brake thet goes into the fork or something? Are having brakes like that a function of a very expensive bike/frame or can it be done to any bike?Anyway, I'm leaning toward a 26" because my university campus is on a big hill with a lot of dirt around so I can cut through, and I think 26" would be better for this. I'm also leaning toward a spyrogyra because I'm not sure what each incremental cost increase really gets me. I'm trying to max my marginal utility here...Thank you very much Ali C Edited April 25, 2009 by duckwars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 the Spyrogira has horizontal dropouts and it singlespeed, there are no gears and no mechs to break, but this does mean your stuck in a fairly easy gear. If you want gears then the more expensive Onzas and Phase bikes have them.I am 5ft 10 and really dislike 20" bikes, I find them totally unsatisfying to ride. if you are wanting to get up stuff, the bigger 26" wheels means your higher to start with and makes objects look smaller and easier to get up.As for spinning the frame around (footjam tailwhip) then it doesn't matter if the brake is on the front or back of the fork, you can either run a longer cable (like you would have to do for the rear brake anyway) or put the cable down the steerer tube so its not effected by the frame spinning around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Cool, I think I'm pretty much sold on 26.I'm thinking about the phase 1.1 or phase 1.2 because they are on sale, I feel like i'd get more bang for my buck...Also, the hitman looks really cool, and so does the cleaner. Probably not the best reason to get a bike... but hey I come from a fixed-gear background, you can't blame me On the topic of gears though. Are they there because doing different tricks in different gears is useful, or is it for getting around? On the topic of getting around, I'd like to be able to bike around campus or basically go like 1-2 miles... I feel this would be very difficult without a seat.Basically, I'm very unsure about what positive impacts gears have and what positive impacts a seat (or not having a seat) has. Clarification would be much appreciated on those points.Also, I always wanted to do a trick video to the song "La Breeze". Right when I heard "whoooaaa ohhh ohhh ohh" in your movie little hairs on my next tickled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 In an average ride for me I ride maybe a couple of miles to get to places, I don't think not having a seat is that bad. But I have gears, but mainly stay in the one gear anyway. So I don't think I'd see much of a difference being single speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 In an average ride for me I ride maybe a couple of miles to get to places, I don't think not having a seat is that bad. But I have gears, but mainly stay in the one gear anyway. So I don't think I'd see much of a difference being single speedIs the amount of less weight on a single speed at all beneficial? Seems like people who are good at trials on the youtube all have gears, so I figure there must be some advantage to them besides actual travel. I've been wrong before though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Trials is a lot smaller in the USA than it is in the UK. I was just lucky enough to end up in a city where there is quite a lot of trials riders due to a lot of mototrials comps being held here.Best thing to do is if you're looking for a bike is go onto www.observedtrials.net which is a USA version of trials-forum. Check out what's for sale on there.Even with the exchange rate in the favor of an american buying from the UK (tarybikes) it still costs a lot to buy a bike from there. You've looking at more than $150 to have it shipped out which in most cases makes it too expensive to be doing which is a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Is the amount of less weight on a single speed at all beneficial? Seems like people who are good at trials on the youtube all have gears, so I figure there must be some advantage to them besides actual travel. I've been wrong before though.who have you been watching? I can only think of Ryan Leach who uses gears and he's not as good as most singlespeed comp guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 (edited) Is the amount of less weight on a single speed at all beneficial? Seems like people who are good at trials on the youtube all have gears, so I figure there must be some advantage to them besides actual travel. I've been wrong before though.I suppose it'd be nice to change gears depending on what type of riding you're doing. But i've been riding trials on a mod for 5 years and i've never wished i could change gear. Like Ali said there aren't many people these days who ride with gears - even more so now that comp rules have changed from making it compulsory to have gears (3 years later than they should have).There is a significant wight loss, not only is there less weight from all the extra cogs and crap, but from leaver that changes the gear too, and from the derailleur. Also, the weight is all off the back wheel. Loosing 300gs from the back wheel makes the bike feel lighter than loosing 300grs from, say, the frame. Edited April 26, 2009 by JT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Powell Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Welcome to the forum, incase you didnt know theres a forum for America (Not that we dont want you hear it wil be easier to buy second hadn parts from there) Www.Observedtrials.net, you will probably be able to find a well spec'd second hand bike there fairly cheap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckwars Posted April 26, 2009 Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 Aha! Thank you for observedtrials.net link guys! I'll be scoping them out for used bikes. Awesome!Also, does tartybikes have a physical location? My grandma lives in England (Swindon) and I'm going to visit her this summer and was thinking of waiting until then to get my bike, but I don't know if I can wait.Not having to pay shipping costs to the US would be good, but not having to pay shipping costs at all... that'd be sweet.Anyway, thanks for the help guys and thanks for not being like 90% of other forums who just yell "SEARCH YOU b*****d" whenever a new guy asks dumb questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Also, does tartybikes have a physical location?They do but it's not like a shop or anything, just a warehouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 your welcome to come in, but we are a good 3 hours drive from swindon (give us a call before you come up first to check we are not super busy!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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