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Riding In Tights


duncshaw

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Just because it's always sort of interested me - people keep talking about needing to 'boost the image of the sport' and 'make it more accessible'. I've never really understood it too well, so what do people a) feel that trials will gain from it, and b) think they will gain from it?

it'll be flooded with cheap bikes, and as sales and demand rises, more companies will enter the trials market, deflating the costs for the consumer and bring innovation and money to the sport. along with striping every small wall of it's corners and leaving them bashed and abused with the flood of trials newbs :rolleyes:

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Ever seen the Hans Rey story? It's why he went from mod to mountain bike in the early nineties, and from lycra to proper clothing, because he just looked weird & it alienated people, people can relate to something alot easier if it looks more "normal" His profile went through the roof because people could relate to what they saw now, a normal looking bloke on a gt mountain bike.

Generally people will look at someone on a deformed bmx with a fat back tyre wearing lycra and think jesus what a weirdo and walk the other way, because be honest, no matter how good they are, or how much it benefits the rider, it just looks cringeworthy. I can't see ryan leech/jeff lenosky getting the same treatment.

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Ever seen the Hans Rey story? It's why he went from mod to mountain bike in the early nineties, and from lycra to proper clothing, because he just looked weird & it alienated people, people can relate to something alot easier if it looks more "normal" His profile went through the roof because people could relate to what they saw now, a normal looking bloke on a gt mountain bike.

Generally people will look at someone on a deformed bmx with a fat back tyre wearing lycra and think jesus what a weirdo and walk the other way, because be honest, no matter how good they are, or how much it benefits the rider, it just looks cringeworthy. I can't see ryan leech/jeff lenosky getting the same treatment.

you joking me ? i get loads of people asking me about the sport, and i where lycra when its cold. and im shit at biking, so someone with some skills is defo guna get asked about the sport etc.

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Ever seen the Hans Rey story? It's why he went from mod to mountain bike in the early nineties, and from lycra to proper clothing, because he just looked weird & it alienated people, people can relate to something alot easier if it looks more "normal" His profile went through the roof because people could relate to what they saw now, a normal looking bloke on a gt mountain bike.

Generally people will look at someone on a deformed bmx with a fat back tyre wearing lycra and think jesus what a weirdo and walk the other way, because be honest, no matter how good they are, or how much it benefits the rider, it just looks cringeworthy. I can't see ryan leech/jeff lenosky getting the same treatment.

+100000000000000000000000000

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it'll be flooded with cheap bikes, and as sales and demand rises, more companies will enter the trials market, deflating the costs for the consumer and bring innovation and money to the sport.

I notice this hasn't happened with either BMX or skateboarding...

Ever seen the Hans Rey story? It's why he went from mod to mountain bike in the early nineties, and from lycra to proper clothing, because he just looked weird & it alienated people, people can relate to something alot easier if it looks more "normal" His profile went through the roof because people could relate to what they saw now, a normal looking bloke on a gt mountain bike.

So the reason for making trials more 'relatable' to the public is so you can try and make more money?

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I notice this hasn't happened with either BMX or skateboarding...

So the reason for making trials more 'relatable' to the public is so you can try and make more money?

Me? lol, I think every big company wants the sport as big as possible so they can cash in as more & more people can see themselves doing it & give it a go.

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team we prefer trials small so we can be smug? hoooo

There's nothing to be smug about :P But nah, it just seems to be one of these things that everyone latches onto and then just repeats as some kind of mantra (along with "We all ride bikes so we should all get along") that I just didn't really understand the root of.

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the skins are worn for a reason

the lycra keeps the muscles warm and also aids the body in recovery. there is a significant difference between some skins and a pair of you mothers laddered derniers haha

some athletes sleep in them also as it maintains a core temperature around the muscles and prevents cramping so aids recovery.

i have both the skins shorts and top for rugby and it does work, you warm up quicker and stay warm

they work on the same principle as a wet suite, ironically skins make wetsuits also oh what a coincidence

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surely its the same as any sport getting bigger? id explain but its all pretty straight forward...but the end result is ultimately a faster progression, with a far greater range of styles and riders / moves to inspire us all....which then progresses the sport etc etc

It just doesn't really seem to work in MTBing (in almost all of it's disciplines) and BMX. For people who are already in a sport, and 'serious' about it (as in you have a big interest in it, spend a lot of time doing it, etc.) there doesn't seem to be all that much of a difference. Like with BMX, beginner completes have come down in price so you can buy a shitter BMX from Motorworld for £50, but for people buying top end stuff it's still pretty much the price it's always been, if not more. The people who are creating new styles and setting trends are still also the same people it's ever been.

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or they could just allow you to have shorts and bare skin, then every one would have to have tights, thats the only reason most people wore them as it was to hot for long pants... untill peope started to find skins and stuff...

i personally would just ride in shorts...

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It just doesn't really seem to work in MTBing (in almost all of it's disciplines) and BMX. For people who are already in a sport, and 'serious' about it (as in you have a big interest in it, spend a lot of time doing it, etc.) there doesn't seem to be all that much of a difference. Like with BMX, beginner completes have come down in price so you can buy a shitter BMX from Motorworld for £50, but for people buying top end stuff it's still pretty much the price it's always been, if not more. The people who are creating new styles and setting trends are still also the same people it's ever been.

im talking more along the lines of longer term...it probably takes a generation or so, where a sport has recieved enough coverage to attract a young lad/lass with huge potential who may not have got into the sport anyway?! though thats as much about oppurtunity as it is about raising public awareness and image...

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I don't think its the Lycra shorts that's holding trials back, Its more the fact of the endless videos on Youtube of riders doing pretty much the same thing. I mean when Damon Watson released a video of him doing a drop gap to front we were all pretty amazed, but Joe Public just saw it as another seatless bike bouncing around.

However when Danny Mac released his video which was innovative and extremely well edited we loved it and average Joe loved it because it was DIFFERENT and had that wow factor (flair out of tree, 360 down huge stair set and dropping off of bridges to name a few).

I'll probably get burned for saying this, but i wonder if Danny's fame would of been hindered if he had been wearing tights.

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Been thinking about while trials isn't popular. Apart from it not being the best spectator sport in the world I think one of the reasons is that it has an image problem. It just isn't very cool. Got me thinking about tights and how they must be having a detrimental effect on the sport. How can we expect the public to embrace the sport when most of the top riders wear tights with skimpy shorts on top. If the uci banned them in competition people wouldn't see there favourite riders wearing them and would be less inclined to wear them themselves. I know they are supposed to have positive effects on performance but banning them would provide a level playing field.

What you reckon?

Have you seen a premiership footballer or any rugby league players NOT playing in tights or compression shorts or whetever they're called. No one thinks they are bad for their image. Wear what you like,no one really cares. This year i'm going for the borat mankini/shinpad combo,maybe a feather or two,who knows. (Y)

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For a sport to get properly popular it needs a lot of parents getting their children into it from an early age. This is what happens with soccer and rugby for example - these sports are also more socially acceptable, so you'll see an average soccer player get way more attention and kudos from society than an exceptional trials rider.

If parents don't support getting their children into a sport from an early age, then the sport depends on later converts to it before it can get big - this means that most people are well into their teens before they're getting the hang of the basics of trials.

But then again I'm learning to swim properly for the first time now and I'm 30... It's not like I'll be world champion at it, but its nice to learn new things...

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