hrmad

I haven't got the toni bou one for the same reasons others have stated. Dan Thorpes dvd I found quite entertaining, I've watched it several times. It's the only training dvd I've found where there are a group of beginners and some experienced riders attempting sections, making mistakes, then being corrected. It doesn't go into depth about techniques (only the double blip really) but is really good for showing line selection in sections. As you know, Ryan Young is awesome, I've bought his dvd even though someone is posting most of it on youtube- it's better to watch on dvd. Haven't looked at his 'advanced' dvd yet, but will do when I get better at the basics. 'Trials for everybody' is really let down by the music, they play it over everything and you can't hear what is going on with the motor. Good for studying body positioning as there is some slow mo stuff in there and most of the modern techniques are covered. Not the best. Just bought 'Learning trial' Jordi Pascuet, excellent, really covers the basics and includes stuff not mentioned or thought about in the other dvds. Haven't got all the way through it yet, but it's really good. I'll probably go over this a lot. Hope that helped club trials or twinshock trials are entertaining to watch on youtube, you can learn a lot from good classic riders. Also, go to watch or observe at a trial

That was a proper face plant, looked like it hurt! I did a bit of light green laning before I got the trials bike, but I think it did more harm than good. It was on an xr 125 with road tyres, I lost a lot of confidence coming off a lot and having no grip. I think that has carried over a bit. I suppose I can't expect miracles, I've only been riding a road bike for just over a year, trials 4 months or so. It's going to take a long time to get the hang of it, the slow stuff is coming along well though. What I meant by speed on the trials bike was more about getting momentum on big hills and confidence on descents rather than high speed cornering like your friend attempted The best option does seem to be to make a long range kit for the beta, time to search the forum. No way I can afford the official beta one!

Thanks for the responses guys. My biggest problem is lack of confidence, and it's affecting every aspect of my riding.

I suppose I could get the bike an M.O.T, find a way to make a seat and carry extra fuel. I could do some trail riding on it within an hour from home, load it in the van and just minimize road work. Plus do some fast work during practice. Lineaway, sorry, got a habit of doing that If it boosted your daughters confidence it sounds like it's worth trying.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I should mix up slow practice with some higher speed stuff too when out on the bike. I just feel frustrated, I'm not a naturally gifted rider by any stretch of the imagination and some of the other riders make it look so easy. But I'll keep trying, I'll have to save up for Steve Saunders

Went to a trial today, ridiculous between sections, 5 mile lap, mud, rocks, roots no grip steep banks, hills and off cambers where if you fell off you'd fall off big time. The sections weren't too bad, but ended up being too shaken up and tired to make a decent go of it. Did most of one lap then went off for a practice elsewhere. Some of the sections were not sportsman level, sportsman was more like clubman. Doubt I'll go again, will try a different club trial next sunday. I'm no where near moving up, pity I can't move down EDIT: Despite the difficulty of the trial, I still had a pretty good day in that the competitors, spectators and observers were really friendly. A lot of the guys out riding helped me out when I was in a spot of bother and it made the experience worthwhile

Hi, sorry the title should say 'trail' Debating whether or not to swap my road bike for a road legal enduro or trail bike. I went to a trial today and it was way too hard for me, mainly because of the terrain getting between sections. Steep muddy hills, 5 mile lap, very steep drops too. I lack aggression in my riding if that makes sense, I want to get comfortable with throwing the bike around and learn to use momentum more. I don't want to wear the trials bike out hence maybe getting something more suitable for longer distances. I have no intentions of giving up, though I don't have much talent or hope I want to keep learning. I know people say getting a trials bike improves their enduro riding, but is the opposite true? When you guys have gotten into trials has a enduro background helped? thanks, Heather

I think I will probably go to 11/44 as I have the 11 sprocket and only just bought the 44. Not a million miles away from standard. As people have said, 10/44 is a bit too low in practice. Second gear was a good section gear today, I didn't do so well in 1st. Didn't do so well in general to be honest but that doesn't have much to do with the gearing! Might try a quick action just to see what is it like when I get paid this month, can always go back to slow or do the mod joeninety suggested.

That's true about between the sections. Last trial I went to on new years eve between the sections was as hard as the sections themselves! Deep muddy paths with lots of bends and little traction haha. Some people were motocrossing it through sliding the back wheel

A few clubs in my neck of the woods do easy and dead easy trials for beginners. I'm going to my first one on 25th this month, I'm glad there are clubs locally who offer these types of trials. Maybe if it's not stepping on anyone's toes ask the club local to you Mags if they offer such trials? I think the problem with some club trials is that the course is set up by a former expert or championship rider who thinks what they are setting out is easy for them, forgetting that some lines can be intimidating for beginners without realising it. I think if you're starting at a much younger age too these routes are much less intimidating, I wish I had started when I was a teen. Breagh, your club sounds great, if I ever move to that part of Scotland...

awesome, you've got a bike The clutch is a common problem with betas, should be a relatively easy fix

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll leave the throttle and the gearing as is for this weekend, see how it goes at the trial on Sunday and then make a decision.

Maybe I should just learn how to ride and use the clutch, haha, thought I'd say it before anyone else did. The guy who suggested lowering the gearing tried it in a section in first and said 'the bike is too fast' he offered me a 9t front, but I didn't want the chain to wear on the swingarm so I thought I'd try a 44 on the back. He also recommended not using the clutch in sections. Riding styles and approaches seem to differ a lot between folks is all I can say

Thanks for replying. In practice so far the gearing is working out well, my turns in first gear have improved greatly and the bike doesn't run away as much when I slip the clutch. I've been using 1st and 2nd generally, third and fourth on big hills. I took the gearing down on recommendation by a local twin shock rider who won the first trial I went to. I'll keep it at 10/44 and see how it goes at a trial this sunday- only real way to tell I suppose. The thing is I can always change up a gear if I want to, first gear is dead slow. Agreed on not opening the throttle up soon enough, probably a confidence thing on my part Beta and Sirdabalot- thanks, I guess it wouldn't cost me much to try one out

Hi, I've got a slow action throttle on my 200 at the moment, it's ok but if I haven't got much of a run up to a bank or hill I find the power is a bit delayed, it's not the most comfortable position for the wrist right back either. I have changed the gearing from 11t front 41t rear to 10t front 44t rear which has helped make the bike more usable in the first three gears in tight places. Some people have told me to keep the slow action throttle, other people prefer a quick action throttle- so I'm not sure what to do. Has anyone else tried both on their 125 or 200? If so how did you find it?

Did you get the bike?

The first club trial I've gone to is similar to what you've described. Two out of ten sections I scored a 5 every time, managed to clean 2 sections 4 times though. And got a nice high score of 93 to boot, although it was rather wet and muddy in my defense! At any rate it seems that no matter where you are in the world there are problems with the beginner route not being for beginners but guys stepping down from the higher classes due to health etc. As for verticals, if they're only about 2ft high you can get away with a good blip of the throttle when the front wheel is touching, weight well back, throttle off again and you should be able to sail over it.Works for me. I made the mistake in practice of hitting it at speed, keeping the throttle on, wheeling too much at the top and dropping the bike, hehe Don't give up on comps, ride what you can and just 5 what you don't fancy, it's for fun after all. I've got my second club trial this Sunday, I suspect it's going to be hard but it's a good way of practicing my hill climbs and roll up techniques, as there is bound to be loads of those! Keep trying mags

Maybe after an event has finished stay behind for a bit and have a go on the route above the one you took, see how it goes. If you feel confident it's within your abilities to do that route and still enjoy yourself, go for it

Haven't tried the evo version, but the rev 3 200 and I can compare that with a gg txt 290 a friend let me ride and a sy 250. The main difference is the 200 feels a lot lighter, you have to use more revs on a 200 though probably not as much as a 125. Lightness is the main thing. A couple of years down the line I would consider a 200 evo- totally different to riding a 300. On my friends 290 it feels like you can do everything at 1/4 throttle in third gear. I've been using mainly 1st and 2nd on the 200.

Good for you, check to see if the engine is warm when you arrive. If she starts first or second kick cold that's a good sign. Let us know if you decide to buy her or not

Modern world rounds and indoor rounds seem to suit bous style of riding too. If the sections changed or demanded a different riding style that could cost him a few more points, though in the long run he'd probably adapt. I've been watching the old world rounds on youtube, the 1988 British round was particularly entertaining- this sort of trials is more entertaining to watch than modern rounds- at least I think so

Looks pretty clean, check for any play in the bearings, fork seals leaking, any loose spokes, dents in the frame/ rims can indicate a hard life. As the others say, casing corrosion and the clutch sticking are the main issues with these bikes- plenty of fixes on the forum. Can't really go too far wrong with one of these, though I've spend a bit on mine the bike is running nice now

I ride a 200 beta, you have to rev it more than the bigger bikes to get over things and use the gears differently. You can't go wrong with a 250. I've heard from a few sources Shercos are good from 2011 onwards. Can't really go wrong with a beta either, avoid the first years of a line of models though. All the modern bikes are pretty good, you'll have to try out a few different ones to find out what suits you. The Montesa 4rt and the old school 315r bikes get good reports. Though the 4rt doesn't suit everybody.

Not a good idea to dab on a climb though, going up hill bothers me a lot more than going down, hehe

haha I use air bars too, must look like a right loon. Don't really talk to myself during the section/ maneuver though as too busy concentrating. It's funny how you forget about all the people watching and the observer when you're actually in the section and focused. Problem is panic inducing situations tend to disconnect your brain from any motor functions, haha