danrobinson Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 turn the screw out abit on the back of the caliper only about 1-2mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OAP Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Been having a go on the bike this afternoon, practicing track stands, endos, turns. Not as easy as it looks is it ! I'm fairly fit, although a big lump, but 1/2 an hour on the bike certainly tests me. I definitely need the longer stem though, it feels a bit cramped. There's an annoying noise from the front disc as well, like the rotor is hitting something, any ideas ? Email the chaps at Tarty regarding your stem. They will point you in the right direction. It depends on what you like, but also the geometry of your bike. Adam at Tarty will know. He seems to be the Yoda of all things trial. As far as your front brake is concerned, it could be your rotor is slightly bent or a pad out of line/catching. You will get the feel of the bike soon enough. Then things will come a bit easier. Just keep working on your balance for now. If it p!%%ing down you can practice in a garage or kitchen. When trying to get to grips with balancing with my bad foot forward and high, i had the bike on an old mat in the living room, while watching a film with the missus. She thinks i'm a nut job at the best of times, but I think the eccentricity of this activity had her genuinely worried!!! But i'm short on time, I was watching her film with her and i got my practice in. So everyones happy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danrobinson Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Email the chaps at Tarty regarding your stem. They will point you in the right direction. It depends on what you like, but also the geometry of your bike. Adam at Tarty will know. He seems to be the Yoda of all things trial. As far as your front brake is concerned, it could be your rotor is slightly bent or a pad out of line/catching. You will get the feel of the bike soon enough. Then things will come a bit easier. Just keep working on your balance for now. If it p!%%ing down you can practice in a garage or kitchen. When trying to get to grips with balancing with my bad foot forward and high, i had the bike on an old mat in the living room, while watching a film with the missus. She thinks i'm a nut job at the best of times, but I think the eccentricity of this activity had her genuinely worried!!! But i'm short on time, I was watching her film with her and i got my practice in. So everyones happy. LOL watching a film with your wife while balancing on your bike thats commitment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bing Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 that's top class dude. I do house trials when it's raining, hop on to the sofa and 180 off it. the arms do creak a bit though. also hopping forwards up the stairs is a good one 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz4004 Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 im 43 and just started trials riding1 week ago with my 8 year old you can teach an old dog new tricks it just hurts more ive got an 2009 onza t pro20 inch great fun, so far only managed wheeles and swinging rear round 90 degrees and a short time balancing not on one wheel though ive been told your to old but istill fell like a kid and im having fun and so is my 8 year old and miles better than a play station except for our shinns now have a few holes. go for it on trial i am new to old to have fun 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk2 Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Yes riding with the kids rules... 43 its no age, you got plenty of mileage left )... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danrobinson Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 im 43 and just started trials riding1 week ago with my 8 year old you can teach an old dog new tricks it just hurts more ive got an 2009 onza t pro20 inch great fun, so far only managed wheeles and swinging rear round 90 degrees and a short time balancing not on one wheel though ive been told your to old but istill fell like a kid and im having fun and so is my 8 year old and miles better than a play station except for our shinns now have a few holes. go for it on trial i am new to old to have fun who said you carnt teach an old dog new tricks?! this guy is inspirational watch all of his videos on trials riding hes 51 on his last video 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazu Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 I'm well into the 40's range, & just starting out, bike not delivered yet, that's a fantastico deluxe Diamond Back Wozzer! What a sweet looking machine. I'm picking up that book too... Track stand front wheel not turned... Gonna have to practice that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogre Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 with regards to setting up your vee brake... loosen a pad, clamp the brake lever, tighten the pad back up. repeat for the other side. this will square your pads to the rim. there will be a small bolt/screw near the base of each vee arm, this adjusts the tension on the spring for each arm, so if one pad is closer to the rim that the other, adjust the tension to center the wheel/pads. be sure to check the bolts holding the calipers are tight as they can occasionally waggle loose. on your brake levers there will be a bolt that can adjust the lever blade angle, as you tighten it it will push the lever closer to the bars, it's worth playing with it and finding a comfy point so you can happily rest your finger on it all day long. also there will be a barrel adjuster that lets you tension the cable to reduce the amount of pull you have. try and learn to use 1 finger on each lever, not 2! as you will have better grip on the bars and more control main thing is to buy some performance pads, heatsinks, TNN and Phatpads are all excellent; as you learn to do rear wheel moves you'll find the standard pads will slip and slide a bit, these pro pads will hold and help your confidence... you can also buy a brake booster, which is a metal horse-shoe shaped device that is clamped onto the brake to reduce flex and improve performance. while i'm at it, you might wanna consider a trials freewheel if your rig doesn't already have one.. if you spin your cranks backwards you'll either hear an agressive and frequent click, or a quiet, less frequent click (hard to explain sounds with words...) you really want a trials specific freewheel, as they deal with the strain of trials far better to generic freewheels that are sometimes shipped with some bikes... it'll make your riding alot more enjoyable and help your progression massively... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wozzerwozzee Posted July 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Good advice , thanks, I'll have a go . The front disc is still making a noise, the wheel seems loose as well, bit of tinkering tomorrow to find the problem. I'm well into the 40's range, & just starting out, bike not delivered yet, that's a fantastico deluxe Diamond Back Wozzer! What a sweet looking machine. I'm picking up that book too... Track stand front wheel not turned... Gonna have to practice that. Seems like 40 is the new 20 ) Edited July 17, 2012 by Wozzerwozzee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogre Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 make sure everything is tight, the rotor bolts, the disc brake caliper, and the hub, if your not fantastic or familiar with bike maintenance it could be worth going to an lbs and asking them to service it and talk you through what they are doing as they go... while trials bikes are relatively simple it's important to make sure everything is running right or you'll be breaking stuff all the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeymoped Posted July 17, 2012 Report Share Posted July 17, 2012 i'm 38 in a week and i didn't start trials till i was 32 and yes i did get frustrated at the start, but thats what makes it more satisfying when you nail something but the sport is addictable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypermobilty Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 i thought i was getting on a bit to start taking trials up again and im 25 lol i rode a lot in my teens and wanting to get back into it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wozzerwozzee Posted August 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 Been out today practising, can manage about 4 ish pedal kicks at a time now and track stands, absolutely knackererd ! ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bing Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 only downside to being an old git, is that injuries take longer to get over now. my foot had just about freed off now after a bale yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkeHutchison Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 (edited) Well my Dad 47 years old had a shot of my bike yesterday, i was trying to teach him the basics e.g. lifting the front up and kicking. My dad took it differently and in a few minutes was trying to fling the bike about randomly thinking he was danny mackaskill before overdoing a wheely and landing flat on his arse on the concrete. But no this has not put him off this morning before a i got out of my bed i could here the breaks squeking away. Edited August 12, 2012 by ClarkeHutchison 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazu Posted August 12, 2012 Report Share Posted August 12, 2012 (edited) Wazzer, encouraging to hear how fast you have progressed. I'm still working on getting on to the rear wheel reliably. About that noise from your front, what was solution/are your spokes tensioned okay? I heard a sound from my front & found that most of my radial side spokes were 4+ turns loose somehow! Had to re-true the wheel. Have you found that you are actually losing weight, I seem to be. Edited August 14, 2012 by Pazu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knave Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 I’ve just started at 34. Apart from the obvious issues of maybe healing slower (which I haven’t noticed in my other riding) I’ve wondered about the fact that there’s a deterioration in balance after your mid 20s - you can test it by trying to balance on one leg with your eyes closed and timing how long you can hold it, if you compare the results of someone in their mid 30’s compared to someone in their early 20s, it’s amusing for the young person and depressing for the 30 something!! I wouldn’t have thought it makes a huge difference other than maybe certain things may need more practice for us oldies. I was shocked how physical practising really basic trials stuff is – I ride cross country/trail MTB a lot and ride motorbikes all the time so I was cocky and thought “yeah, physically, this trials riding is going to be a piece of piss” but it’s not, I’m knackered after half an hour of basic bimbling and I consider myself quite fit. You also need to be really strong, again, I thought “yeah, my Fazer is 200kg, this trials riding is going to be a piece of piss” but it really works your core to balance the trials bike, it takes a lot of strength. On that note, and the “starting older” note, I’m fitter now than I have ever been and most of my mates are the same – I think that you are conscious of your body turning to shit when you hit 30 so make more of an effort to keep in shape. I couldn’t be arsed in my 20’s because I never put any weight on, etc so I was never as fit as I am these days. Also, I had a slow puncture in the back wheel over the weekend so I thought “Yeah, I can change a tube in a couple of minutes on the trail with no tools, this is going to be a piece of piss” oh no way – no QR, no derailleur to automatically loosen and then tension the chain properly, no automatic wheel alignment – snail cam? SNAIL CAM? What? That sounds like Brian from the Magic Roundabout with a GoPro fitted!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Trials Posted August 13, 2012 Report Share Posted August 13, 2012 Yeah trials riding uses a lot of muscles that you don't normally use. On the balance thing... my understanding is that balance is an instinct, the more you practice the more instinctive it becomes as you train your extra-sensory perception. Then you can concentrate on moving the bike around instead of having to concentrate on balancing too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knave Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Balance, I suppose, is an instinct because we naturally balance all the time but my understanding is that the basis of our "sense of balance" is a function of the inner ear - this function does deteriorate over time. Balance on a bike, lets say trackstanding for instance, will improve with practice as your body gets used to the process and your brain reacts better to the visual and physcial cues you are receiving, however, the basis of your balance (the function of the inner ear) will not be as effective when you are older, therefore, older people are relying more heavily on the visual and physical cues they are receiving to maintain balance. This has to mean that the same person learning to trackstand at 20 years old would learn quicker than they would if they decided to learn at 30 years old. I'm 34 and have about 2 hours total practice on a trials bike, I'm currently solely working on trackstanding but I know my progress is slower than if I decided to learn this 14 years ago. It's depressing really - lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Trials Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Yeah I see what you are saying. Would generally having to balance more often (compared to not trials riding etc) 'exercise' the inner ear to slow the deterioration or does everything else get better to compensate for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knave Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I don't know the answer to that but my gut feeling is no, the inner ear thing just happens with the onset of age and I'm not sure if "everything else get better to compensate for it" as such, I think the older you are, the worse your balance will be generally. There's probably varying degrees between individuals like there is in almost everything. I think visual cues probably play a huge part in fine balance (like track standing) on a bike though - can you track stand with your eyes closed for as long as with them open? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Trials Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I doubt I can but will give it a shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wozzerwozzee Posted August 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) Wazzer, encouraging to hear how fast you have progressed. I'm still working on getting on to the rear wheel reliably. About that noise from your front, what was solution/are your spokes tensioned okay? I heard a sound from my front & found that most of my radial side spokes were 4+ turns loose somehow! Had to re-true the wheel. Have you found that you are actually losing weight, I seem to be. The noise from the disc was the disc rubbing against the caliper, a bit of movement on the blocks that hold it to the forks and it was sorted. I have lost about two stone recently, some trials and mostly doing the Insanity workout DVD ! Edited August 15, 2012 by Wozzerwozzee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pazu Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 I have lost about two stone recently, some trials and mostly doing the Insanity workout DVD ! Insanity workout eh, I checked that, looks like the "muscle confusion" principle. No wonder you're kicking A. I am confused enough just trying to remember Pedal up, brake, pull bike to body, hop/crash. I can get 2 respectable hops but not yet reliably. I am close enough to know, I'll definitely get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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