OlegTinkov Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 Haven't been on a trials bike in about 5-6 years when there was a pretty good following for the sport through out, posting this as I've got my adamant a1 back and keen to get out when possible. I'm just curious as to what the popularity of trials is like now, compared to the days when the big riders like CLS, Neil Tunnicliffe, Damon Watson, Benito Ros, Vincent Hermance and so on, were at the top of the game?? (no that it changes much for me ahaha) On another note, has technology advanced much in bikes(getting lighter?), or anything changed in terms of whats considered 'big', TGS wise? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Dale Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 dude jus go out and ride, i cant get on with any bike made after 2010 but i still enjoy a ride every now and then. the scene has gone up a notch or 2 but its all good x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlegTinkov Posted June 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 thx man, nah intend on getting out whenever possible, yeah cant go wrong with a tough old adamant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aener Posted June 13, 2015 Report Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Yes to all three. There are less riders (or it certainly feels that way, even if there's not!), bikes have gotten lighter (8-8.5kg and 9-9.5kg for an "as-light-as-possible-without-compromising-strength" mod and stock, or 7.something-small-kg and 8-8.5kg for comp-light respectively), and TGS riding has gotten bigger (though is drastically less popular) (Bersha: and Damon Watson are the most recent examples of "big TGS"). Carbon handlebars are a very normal sight now, and carbon forks increasingly so. Monty made a bike with carbon frame, fork and bars (M5: http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/20_inch_trials_bikes/monty_m5_carbon/c10p12105.html). Bottom brackets have gotten ridiculously high, wheelbases are about the same, and people run really, really far-forwards angled handlebars so their bikes are better on the front wheel. Trials-Forum is as full of arguments as it always was, with one of the most frequent topics being the aforementioned handlebar angle, though not so much in recent times, thankfully. Newer features like axle-through bottom brackets and hubs are beginning to trickle into the market, though they're still pretty rare. A few companies are now making splined freewheels/cranks, though there's the laughably predictable cross-compatibility issue of different companies using different splines. Echo are one of those doing splined freewheels, and also now do press-fit BBs and integrated headsets (bearing sits directly in the frame like on BMXes) - no cups and less threads for the win! (Also - their chain tensioners are just fantastic: http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/images/custom/frames/large_pure20114.jpg- allen key in from the front ((BB side)) of the dropout.) It was announced a few months ago that a couple of years back, Deng died. They kept it quiet for a while. There's a memorial bike coming out soon (http://www.echo.bike/2015-echo-control-limited-edition.html). Koxx/Try-All are no more and Jitsie (mototrials company) have moved into biketrials, so that's why you'll see lots of fanboys in full Jitsie branded outfits. All the comp riding big names you're familiar with are still around, but you'll definitely want to check out Jack Carthy and Abel Mustieles. In stead of The Big Divide being between TGS and natural riders, it's now between "trials" and "street trials" riders - to the point where I've been on several rides where I was with a group of one type of riders, and one or a few of the other branch rode past us in a city and didn't even stop to say hello. I really hate that it's this way as I like to ride a bit of everything and don't see the point in any of it, but that's seemingly how it is now. Think they're the biggest changes in that sort of time-frame. Edited June 13, 2015 by aener 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) to the point where I've been on several rides where I was with a group of one type of riders, and one or a few of the other branch rode past us in a city and didn't even stop to say hello. WTF. I thought is was just a trials forum argument but never thought it was gonna reach that point. Edited June 14, 2015 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guillermo Marin Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Think they're the biggest changes in that sort of time-frame. You forgot to mention to yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlegTinkov Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Yep, i had thought there were slightly less about in my area, just wondered if true elsewhere. Interesting that carbon is making its way into things, in the last few years i've done a good bit of road biking where carbon is the gold standard essentially for a quality bike, but i was always under the impression that there was doubt about how it held up on impact, where the was a point stress. I suppose, however, it can be woven on a certain plane to give strength against a knock. Wow!! that's crazy that such a divide exists between the two slightly different disciplines, as you said its good to get a bit of everything into your riding. I'm inclined more towards TGS type stuff as that's how i first got into trials, but still love trying to find a nice line here and there to incorporate some smoother more technical riding. Snobbery like that just winds me up, and its a shame cause used to get on rides with all different styles of riders. Almost every time I've seen someone out in my area they've been on an inspired, so i guess the street trials scene has boomed! Thanks for the detailed reply, as i was needing a good update Edited June 14, 2015 by OlegTinkov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aener Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 I may have said that a little heavy-handedly. That has happened several times, but there is a much larger number of times where people of both types have ridden together. It's just a few that perpetuate it, and I guess they're usually not people worth riding with in any case Haha. It's not a super prevalent issue, but it's definitely there! There has been all the umming-and-ahhing about the suitability of carbon which is maybe why it's introduction into trials has been so slow, but it's getting there. Certainly, I've seen some people with carbon forks (which come in at 5-600g, so they're a good bit sturdier than roadie forks I imagine) with lots of scrapes and scratches up and down the legs and still riding them without issue. It's just the market we're in. We're scared of change, so it comes slowly, if at all. (There's also the money problem Carbon parts are expensive for both the user and the manufacturer, and trials is very small!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stirlingpowers Posted June 14, 2015 Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Hashta.gg claims to have solved the stiffness problem of carbon forks, which is holding them back at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 It's just the market we're in. We're scared of change, so it comes slowly, if at all. Yes and no - it seems that there are a few trendsetters out there who can pretty much do whatever they like and the majority will then copy them. For example, when Gilles ran orange HS33s suddenly everyone wanted them, and it was almost impossible to keep up with demand - it was a similar story with yellow Ribos too. There have been a few other products between Jack (who seems to be taking over that role) and Gilles too that have just flown out the door as soon as people see that they're running them. Obviously those are relatively minor things, but Koxx/Try-All have reached that point with products too. Again, relatively minor but Koxx put a gusset on a frame in a position that was basically pointless and didn't do anything (and sort of seemed to have been done by accident), but then a few other companies copied that style/position of gusset. It's been the same for geometry and so on too. It'd be fair to say that Inspired/Danny have had a similar position in the street trials market to some extent too. Part of the problem is just how stagnant the market is though, which is in part down to companies copying Koxx/Try-All. The Sky frame, same carbon bars, pedals, etc. - very little has really changed for a while because people just do the same old stuff because it's proven to sell, but if you look at threads on here/OTN (and the occasional FB post) people seem to have an appetite for change. Things like splined freewheels and the like are clearly something people are interested in, but not many companies have tried it out. There are clearly flaws/improvements to be made on the 2005-style HS33s as far as rim brakes go but everyone's again just doing slight variations on the HS33 design rather than coming up with something new from the ground up. If companies were more open to trying new things (that weren't just gimmicky and/or poorly thought through) then I can see them working. Echo chanced things with their frames over recent years (such as press-fit BBs) and that's paid off for them, so again I think there's potential but few people really trying to make the most of it. Unrelated to all this, but I was thinking about the rider number thing the other day. I think it's hard to say how many riders there are/aren't because the way riders keep in touch/get info has been changed so much by social media and by the way shops have changed. Back in the day this was the only real way (apart from one or two other forums) to get in touch with riders, organise rides, find out information about products and so on, but now it's all done over Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc. Looking at the past two places I've lived, there have been quite a few riders out there who aren't necessarily active on here (so wouldn't really be that visible to other riders) and generally buy parts either second hand or through more mainstream bike shops like CRC or random far east trials "shops" (so wouldn't be that visible to retailers). If they put any photos/videos out it'll usually be on Instagram or FB so again not really visible to most, yet they're definitely out there. Time for a census Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlegTinkov Posted June 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Indeed. One thing I've certainly noticed is that trials seems to be growing at quite a rate in Eastern Europe compared with elsewhere. I say that, although, based purely from judging how things were on here back in the day, where it seemed that England and the north in particular completely dominated the street tgs scene, leaving just the handful of comp riders like Benito Ros, Comas, Coustellier, Hermance and so on, as those who more or less made up the remainder of the picture, at least in terms of the media that circulated on here. As you are saying, whether or not the activity that appears on here is representative of the majority is fairly unlikely, and i know a lot of my mates who used to ride never bothered coming on here. All of this in contrast with the current day where popularity seems more spread out. I've not followed things too closely in recent year so my interpretation could easily be quite a bit out Edited June 16, 2015 by OlegTinkov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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