Trials Riding – What to expect

Trials Riding – What to expect

Trials can be summed up as getting around or over obstacles in the slowest, most controlled manner, without putting your feet down. The motorcycle looks like a cross between a motorcross bike and a mountain bike. In essence it’s an off-road motorcycle without a seat. It’s surprisingly comfortable and designed for you to throw around between your legs to ensure you keep your balance while navigating over obstacles. You can’t sit, pinch your knees against the tank or expect to do any high speeds. However you are guaranteed to have lots of fun with a trials bike!

Balance is key in trials riding. If you can’t ride a bicycle without falling over, I may suggest a four wheeler. But if your balance is not an issue, you are in for learning some excellent off-road skills. One of the things that make trials riding so social and enjoyable is that you can pretty much ride it anywhere. In the back yard where all you have is flat grass. Or you can find an area with some hills, slopes and rocks. The experienced terrain is not for the faint hearted. The difference between the average trials weekend rider and the experts are enormous. Learning to ride is easy. Learning to ride over obstacles are a bit more challenging. Doing expert tricks like some stunt riders can takes years of practice and without a doubt a few painful crashes as part of the learning experience

Trials riding is very popular in South Africa and a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends outdoors. The bikes are light and easy to load onto a trailer, easy to offload and fairly easy to kick start as well. These days we have some electric starters. I would say the only negative point I can think of is the fact that a trials bike is not road worthy. They are not built for speed at all so I suppose it would be a waste to allow them on the road. Also it’s easy to fall over when climbing over obstacles so any flickers will just be in the way. Cornering in slow and tight areas make for interesting riding. Normally you would throw your weight around a little bit, but still have your bum close to the seat. With Trials riding you can end up pushing bike into the turn while leaning your body in the complete opposite direction. Slow and controlled to ensure you don’t fall over, but keep the front wheel turning

When riding any off-road motorcycle, wearing the correct riding gear is imperative. With trails riding you need to invest in a good helmet and specific trials riding boots that protect your ankle against twisting it but still allows for the necessary movement. The helmet take a bit of getting use to. I’ve never been a fan of an open face helmet but I understand the purpose in trials riding. Slow riding as well as technical riding can become extremely hot. You need the open face helmet to breathe comfortably and to see exactly where you need to place the tyre next. If you can’t afford a trials helmet, you can also use an off-road helmet. Here is a link to a site that can help you get started http://www.trials.co.za/

Trials bikes can be considered costly if you are looking to start with the best. Pricing ranges from R20 000 for electric bikes to R75 000 for anything from a 125 up to a 300cc. Some of the popular makes of trials bikes are Beta, Montesa and GasGas. Maintenance on these bikes are considerably low. Tyres are also cost effective and something you might not need to change in the time that you own the specific motorcycle. You may need to invest in levers in case you fall over but even cosmetic damage is minimal. Plastics are designed to bend back into shape after an incident allowing for a really inexpensive hobby or form of motorsport if you feel the need to be competitive

Before going out and just buying a trials bike, I recommend getting some training from someone who’s been riding trials competitively for some time. Even though it’s easy to learn, like any form of motorsport, the risks are there and you can get hurt if you don’t understand the bike and your own limits according to your level of experience.

Trials bikes are also well known for its wheelie and stunt riding capabilities. If this is something you are interested in, I recommend joining the trials federation and participating in some of their calendar events. This is the best way to learn. Everything you will learn from trials riding is guaranteed to improve your skill level on the dirt as well as the tar. There is nothing negative about trials riding. You set your riding level at your own pace and will without a doubt always have a great time. 

For more info a trails bike or how to start, contact Graham Harris on graham@trials.co.za or 084 528 0843

#Learn, Love & Ride Safe

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