Comp Standards

[ChrisTrials2012]

I'm going to do some comps in the UK during the summer, and want to know how high an obstacle would there be in the intermediate routes, and what sort of run up can I expect to these, and what would be the most useful move I could learn to get through the sections?

[ogre]

google is f**king amazing page 5... edit: seems thats only drop off heights..

useless waffle answer: height/power alone isn't what wins competition, sound choice of line, confidence and overall ability are needed to well.

Edited January 2, 2013 by ogre

[Ash-Kennard]

going to be things up to around 40" and enough room for a full crank turn i would imagine.

[Mark W]

From my experience of blue route there's nothing particularly big there - it's mainly just tech stuff. I could do relatively big ups when I first entered a comp, but for the most part did shit because it was all just riding over clusters of rocks/roots and stuff. Some venues will be different, but yeah, you don't need to worry about it being too TGS

The most useful thing you can do is just set up little sections, and ride as much natural as possible. Just 'shunting' your bike around on 2 wheels accurately and safely is the main thing really, it helps a lot.

[Blake]

Depends what course I guess.

[Ash-Kennard]

different places of course will have plenty of variety, but when they do have ups they will be reasonable.

[ChrisTrials2012]

Main point, not going up things, but keeping my balance is the main thing, as well as learning to "shunt"

[Jake.]

When I tried it last year, I found hem all no bigger than stock wheel. Hardest thing was going through the sections keeping my feet on. I wasn't used to staying on the bike for so long (tgs), so my hands and arms got really tired quickly. And I could do expert if I don't get tired quickly and I'm not the best of riders

[ChrisTrials2012]

Anything above a stock wheel, I cannot do, but wheel height I can do consistently, so that sounds good.

[Sam T]

Main thing I'd say to focus on is your stamina

[Jake.]

Anything above a stock wheel, I cannot do, but wheel height I can do consistently, so that sounds good.

I can side hop bar height, gap 7ft ish, pedal up bar height etc... I still struggled though, like Mark said. Focus on stamina and getting the lines right, make sure you don't waste any energy because I found that I would hold the brakes too hard (from tgs, again) when I didn't need to pull them as hard as I did.

Most obstacles you can just out the front wheel on and shift the rear wheel up onto it too, look on YouTube for a video made by Paul Turner called Crowthorne trials video. He does red routes which are expert, one above intermediate.

[ChrisTrials2012]

I have plenty of time to improve my ability to get up obstacles, so I suppose the height of obstacles shouldn't be too much of my focus, but keeping loose and balanced,precise too.

[isitafox]

Using your brakes constantly for upto 2.5 minutes is the killer for a lot of people including myself who don't ride natural and comps very often, also being able to pick the right way to tackle a section is a big deal breaker as you can quite easily end up making it a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

[Jake.]

I have plenty of time to improve my ability to get up obstacles, so I suppose the height of obstacles shouldn't be too much of my focus, but keeping loose and balanced,precise too.

That is exactly it. If you're practising in a street place, try continuously riding without stopping for at least 2 minutes . If it's just one wall, go up the wall, go down it, go up again go off it the other way round etc. Practice turning on the back wheel both ways, 360 deg.

[williams]

I know the comps in Sweden differ a bit from the English ones, but it's soooo techy even the "easy" routes. The thing is that you have too look at the section with different eyes since you have too sort of plan where you're going to take a tactical dab etc! It's not the guy who can jump the highest or longest that will win the comp, it's the rider that knows where too put down the foot and can plan his route better:)

[bing]

Tactical dabs, and also places to wedge your wheel to trackstand, in order to give your hands a rest for a few seconds really helps. You can still do this on blue route, its roughly half as big again as green, and you need to be able to drop off stuff in blue, as in some nationals blue and red run the same route on parts of it. Ie a certain obstacle will have blue and red flags on it

[narrowbars]

Fitness is the killer for most riders new to comps, I ride with plenty of street riders etc who can tap/gap higher/further than me but put them in a comp where they need to ride of 2:30 non stop and watch them struggle lol.

Try and ride as much natural as you can and work on your fitness. Make sections and ride them rather than trying one up or one gap etc. At the level your going to enter it'll be more about you two wheel control, general balance and fitness.

Try and watch other riders do the section first as if they have comp experience already you will likely learn a lot from them and how they ride a section.

I honestly wouldn't worry about how high you can get up or gap etc, a lot of the sections at intermediate level (especially local clubs) will be mainly two wheel stuff and small up's.

Go to a comp for the experience with no expectations, have fun and try not to take it to seriously. You'll likely meet new friends and it will probably help with your riding motivation to improve

Edited January 2, 2013 by narrowbars

[ChrisTrials2012]

Thanks for the advice, I will try what ye have recommended

[Kieran Morrison]

I found that I would hold the brakes too hard (from tgs, again) when I didn't need to pull them as hard as I did.

This was a major problem for me in the last comp I did, by the last few sections I literally couldn't pull my brake as much as I needed to and this made me roll out when I landed things. If you're doing intermediate and after a couple of sections find it too hard you can always change to novice.

[dezmtber]

If an obstacle is above bar height I find a good dab to lift your bike with your foot sorts out any problems you get

[N.Wood]

Its also about dealing with slippery surfaces / not having enough room to do what you want / having to do opposite sidehops / uphill or bumpy run ups / avoiding obstacles within run ups / hopping accurately onto a thin root or rock / and the main thing is the endurance.

[customrider-Rhys]

there was a comp local to me last year, opted for expert level which was good, did some rock training to get me ready, but nothing could prepare us for it, the night before it rained and left us with rocks covered in wet moss that was slippery as anything, and mud everywhere, nothing was high it was more about getting around it, it was all tech lines! but you had to be nibble and light as a feather on the moss else you bike was gone! great fun though

[Ross McArthur]

Good practice for comps if you don't have a lot of natural to ride, is to take short run ups on grass, wet or dry, pebbles, loose rock bla bla, just not Tarmac all the time. It'll teach you to find traction by putting the power down at the right time and having your weight in the right place.

[ChrisTrials2012]

Yeah I must learn to get up to my current level on different, more difficult terrain. Is the red route more about high things then being good at technical things.

Edited January 6, 2013 by ChrisTrials2012

[Jake.]

Yeah I must learn to get up to my current level on different, more difficult terrain. Is the red route more about high things then being good at technical things.

It's about both, the harder comp levels are usually the same length just bigger stuff. Still need to be just as tactical as it's usually even more technical and bigger.