iron_panda Posted August 27, 2016 Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 (edited) Hey guys so I picked up my onza zoot a few weeks back and just started to take it out to learn the track stand now (been quite busy so haven't really had the time ) but I'm just wondering a few things. I'm just starting to get a good idea of how to accomplish the track stand but what comes next? I saw some videos from think bike on YouTube and it's very much do this, then this and then that. Just wondered how you guys learnt, what you learnt and in what order Also, I'm ashamed to say but I don't really have any cycling background so it's all VERY new to me, I mean I had a bike for getting from A to B but rarely used it and one thing that's quite apparent on my zoot are the squeaky breaks. Seen on videos that this is quite common but is it a good idea to get them fixed? Thanks in advance for any info and help! Edited August 27, 2016 by iron_panda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMatt Posted August 27, 2016 Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 squeaky breaks are a good thing. the track stand is something you need to perfect, then move on to keeping control on the back wheel then moving into pedal kicks. I'm going to be putting out tutorials for the essentials soon on my youtube 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron_panda Posted August 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 3 hours ago, ItsMatt said: squeaky breaks are a good thing. the track stand is something you need to perfect, then move on to keeping control on the back wheel then moving into pedal kicks. I'm going to be putting out tutorials for the essentials soon on my youtube How come squeaky brakes are a good thing? Is it a case of less squeaky means more lubrication, less friction which i guess is bad if you need very responsive brake? I keep finding myself slowly pedaling and then using my brakes, I can't seem to get my head round to feather the brakes and let gravity roll you back. Got any tips? cool cheers for the link, will keep an eye out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle88 Posted August 27, 2016 Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 Useful bit starts about 11 minutes in but before that is worth watching. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron_panda Posted August 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2016 38 minutes ago, Dayle88 said: Useful bit starts about 11 minutes in but before that is worth watching. Ahh thanks for that! Only just discovered Martyn Ashton with his road bike stuff, pretty crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviesdt Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 @iron_panda I kinda started similar to you, just decided one day I wanted to start trials and that was that, picked up a second hand bike off ebay and went for it. I ended getting hold of a copy of the trash zen book and kinda used that as a guide for what to do and when as he has a getting started section in the book. Looking at it now, and in my opinion then areas to focus on if you are getting going are; -trackstand (obviously) - progression hops and repositioning hops http://www.trashzen.com/biketrial-bouncing.php - turning and crawling around (spent a lot of time on this, as much as trackstanding) http://www.trashzen.com/biketrial-control.php - lifting the front wheel http://www.trashzen.com/lifting-the-front-wheel.php - lifting back wheel http://www.trashzen.com/lifting-the-front-wheel.php - fakies (again for repositioning) - pedal kick basics (will then extend to other areas such as side hops etc) -rolling up obstacles (unweighting rear wheel) http://www.trashzen.com/rolling-up-a-kerb.php (this looks simple but is the basis for a few other things so worth getting timing and pedal motion right). You'll probably find you'll get bored rigid doing some of the basics time and time again but for me you will struggle doing trials if you cant do some essentials such as trackstanding and repositioning so its worth spending the time on these. I spent more than a few hours just rolling round a car park with ear phones in just trackstanding and crawling round sideways and doing turns on the spot. Still not perfect but enough to allow me to move onto other things to keep the interest up. Then depending on which way you want to go, either traditional trials or street trial will determine what you should be doing next. Seeing as you have a zoot, guessing its more street stuff so I'd put the effort into learning manuals, wheelies and bunny hops but you could do anything you feel like really as its all good. If you figure out pedal kicks and back wheel hops you'll find a lot of other techniques such as side hops, rolling pedal kicks, pedal ups, rolling up obstacles etc start making sense off the back of these. Oh, don't get discouraged, trials don't come overnight. I still consider myself a beginner and been at it 18 months now but lack of practice due to kids etc is my excuse! @ItsMattLooking forward to the tutorials, just subscribed to your youtube channel. Nice one. Can you do some up to front tutorials first, both from bunny hops and pedal kicks? Working on these at the moment so struggling a bit with the timing, weight shift etc especialy from the pedal kick. Trying it on both my inspired 24 and my echo trials but its not working out for me yet as the weight shift while kicking the pedal doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Cheers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niconj Posted August 28, 2016 Report Share Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) You could browse through my blog if you're interested. I already knew how to track stand when I started trials but other than that I started from scratch. I took videos of myself trying new things and sometimes you have to learn one thing to be able to do another. Trashzen.com is a better page even though I saw the think bike tutorials in the beginning as well. Klick. Edited August 28, 2016 by niconj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron_panda Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2016 @Daviesdt Thanks for the treasure trove of info there! Will be getting the Trashzen book on payday! If I'm honest I don't really know the difference between traditional and street. I thought it was all street based? Yeah I every time I try the track stand and ride off I tend to try other little bits like a mini front wheel pivot, english bunny hops etc. Feel myself already getting my balance, took it round the local park yesterday and on tight paths with a lot of people I managed to get through at a very slow pace @niconj Awesome! Thanks for the blog, I'll have good look through it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daviesdt Posted September 2, 2016 Report Share Posted September 2, 2016 Traditional I guess is a bit more of the no seat bikes. Hopping around rocks and tricky obstacles. Think alot of the moves start from a static position. Street trials stuff stems from rolling moves. Don't get to hung up on it if you are just starting, you'll prob find what suits you better and I've seen a good few vids of no seated bikes being used for Street stuff and vice versa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hewlejr Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Daviesdt's list is really good and I really don't have much to add. Practice trackstands, hops, and pivots with your bad foot forward too. It is awkward at first, but in a matter of days you'll find yourself pivoting and trackstanding with your bad foot forward and you won't even notice. Definitely do not rush the pedal kick. It is an iconic technique and it looks cool, but you'll be a better trials rider if you have a solid grasp of the basics. Also, one of the mistakes that I made early on was focusing too much on static techniques like trackstands, corrective and progression hops, and pedal kicks. Any time I encountered an obstacle that required any sort of speed and coordination to climb, I just chickened out and didn't know how to tackle it. You need to spend as much time actually pedaling the bike and trying to ride (not hop) up and over obstacles as you do trackstanding and bouncing around. This will make techniques like the pedal-up and roll-up easier to learn and you'll be a much smoother rider as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron_panda Posted October 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2016 @hewlejr Using my good foot constantly is one thing I'm concerned about. I feel like after perfecting stuff with my good foot, using my bad foot will just be like starting over! Yeah the static stuff is going well, trackstands are getting better and I've started to get the front wheel up to hop around on (by doing little endo's first though). But in my other topic I'm finding it hard to get the front wheel up whilst moving. Technique is definitely a factor but I'm thinking that slightly modding the wheel base / stem can. help. But will start to try and ride up and over things now so thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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