neils on wheels

No, not in WTC or TrialGP, or whatever ii is called this week.

I agree this is not how I'd want the results to be influenced, but if it sets up a chase for Toni to recover lost ground after the opening round(s), that might just be the best bet we have for some uncertainty after a decade of world trials domination.

I very much doubt the bike weighs 138lb (62.7Kg). All the manufacturers seem to quote weights 2-3Kg lighter than reality. After all what is the point? FIM have imposed a 70Kg minimum weight, so the manufacturers produce high end bikes for club riders?

Thanks for clarifying that makes sense (as much as any of this makes sense!)

This sounds rather questionable & quite possibly illegal. Under UK law, trading whilst insolvent is not only illegal, but may result in the company directors becoming personally liable for the accrued debt Spanish law may differ in its detail, but the essence will be pretty similar.

Fair comments. I guess all bikes are made equal, but some bikes are more equal than others ;-)

Yes, indeed. I read it this morning, sounds like Woody was impressed. Good for Steve for getting the test published so quickly after getting the bikes.

I would suggest the market is too small & fragile to warrant investment. Would you invest your money in a product where the manufacturers who buy it have a tendency to go bankrupt and default on their debts? Your other route to market is direct to customers buying upgrades. I do not know anyone with a modern bike who has replaced the forks their bike came with.

I agree. But each to their own.

Fair enough comments, what is being questioned is not the time taken, but the reliability of the factory promises. Steve Saunders, the UK importer was one of the first to be signed up, his sponsored rider was expecting a bike back in October. February is in sight, but the bike is not... There is a lot of goodwill towards Steve in the UK trials community, he was not well served by Jotagas, I for one do not want to see that repeated.

This sounds worryingly like the Jotagas school of importer relations.

Interesting figures. Is €80k the cost to TRS of running Pol for the season? As opposed to what Pol stands to earn? Looked at as a business case, Pol's presence on the team would need to generate something in the order of 200 additional bike sales (1) to repay the investment. (1) My estimate is based on ~ €400 margin per bike.

I'm watching the Super Enduro on Motors TV. They have Rob Warner commentating. Rob knows his trials, it would be good to see him commentating on the X-Trial. Remember Rob is responsible for a great commentary moment in describing Danny Hart's world downhill mountain bike win "How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?"

A good starting point for company valuation is a price equal to annual turnover, or 10 x annual profit. You'll then move upwards or downwards based upon the market sector and the company position. This being trials (a small & overcrowded market) & Ossa (a company with recent financial difficulty) you'd want to be much more conservative than a multiple of ten on annual profit. That aside, at an earnings ratio of ten, this valuation would suggest Ossa is a going concern with annual profits of €350k, or ongoing annual sales of €3.5M (about 6-700 bikes per annum). From what I can see, the company currently has no income stream and ten times nothing is nothing.

I've just read the same from a link in an ACU news email. I too was under the impression that for 2016 they had dropped the Pre-65 & twinshock classes to make it an over 40/50/60 championship, which is where most of the entries have been.

With a bit of luck we may have some interest and surprises in WTC results after around a decade of stagnation. There are a number of scenarios that could play out. There are proven riders (Raga & Fajardo) on mostly unproven bikes (TRS & Vertigo). Emerging riders (Casales & Busto) on proven bikes (Beta & Montesa). Will this see some change in the worlds top 5, or will it play into the experienced hands of Cabestany &Fuji riding familiar bikes? Whatever else is happening this plays into Bou's hands, he must be a stronger favourite for his tenth title than he was for the previous nine.

More indecipherable FIM rules, just what trials needs! I think Dibs is over 25, hence Eddie gets the spot if I read the rules correctly.

That still leaves over €33 million of debt that is not paid off.

Scorpa, Sherco & Ossa have all produced variants of the trials bike turned trail bike over recent years. I don't think I've ever seen one in the flesh and certainly don't know anyone that bought one. You could argue the 4RT is a more solid basis than any of the others for such a bike, but to me this feels like a niche within a niche.

That's an easy one. You have too little income to pay for the many top riders.

I think Rossi was lucky not to have been disqualified from the race and to have lost his 16 points. He brought this on himself by creating a situation where he believes Marquez is trying to disrupt him. Well if Marquez wasn't before he certainly will now! I think running Marquez off the track was unacceptable, that said, Rossi still leads the championship and could still win, which personally I would like to see.

On-line "Sources" are suggesting Adam Raga will ride the 2016 SSDT https://www.facebook.com/adamraga67/photos/a.293211370803235.1073741833.293081707482868/323584144432624/?type=3&theater

Has anyone any experience with a Ford Transit Connect? I've been thinking of a SWB low roof one of those and have similar questions. I only ever carry one trials bike, but more than one mountain bike. Can anyone confirm that a modern trials bike fits fine?

I'm not so sure they are going ahead with this two model plan that the brochure from last year described. So far we have only seen the prototype and details of a single bike launch @ £5,750 Interestingly the TMX test listed the weight at 69Kg