furse Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Any comments on the Tough One out there? I went and would say not as good as last year im afraid WOR, no big rock pool for the speed trial ! Main race didn't have the same atmosphere either? Hats off to Michael Brown for winning the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgas250 Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I thought it was excellant, every single minute of it, from watching the clubmans struggle up the hill climb, to the point where knighter flew past us with brown right on his mud gaurd, then over take him! One thing to remember about the price of tickets are that the venues arnt free, st johns im sure arnt free, and i know that the quarries insurance is thru the roof, so WOR would need to take all this into account. And i dont think that there is a better venue anywere in the north west to hold such a big event, I also thought it was very organised, plenty of marshalls on hand to get the people away from the edge! my only complaint was that all the food vans ran out of eggs by about 10 o clock, but i ended up walking to the local pub for dinner instead, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neonsurge Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Some good photos on MXTrax. Look for the post titled "Knighter gets his a*** spanked by a kid on a trials bike" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 Parking was a nightmare, and very expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Would have been interesting if Knighter was on a trials bike too!What your opinion?? Not agree if you think Knight would head off Pune if he were on a trials bike, I think it would be the exact opposite.Besides blitzing him even more thoroughly, Knighter would not have the finesse on a trials machine to keep it together for the full race time !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgas250 Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) surely you would need more fitness to do extreme enduros on an enduro bike than a trials bike? think of the weight difference? i think knighter did alot of trials before making it in the enduro world, hence why he makes all the technical stuff look so easy, so i would say it would have made a big difference if knighter was on a trials bike. Edited January 30, 2008 by EDGAS250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo Posted January 30, 2008 Report Share Posted January 30, 2008 I agree you would need more fitness to do long haul enduros, but the key word you missed was finesse. It would be Michaels ability to ride a trials motorcycle at speeds these bikes are not manufactured to perform at and have it finish a course of racing it was not designed for. Michaels fitness levels should not be to far adrift of Knightys for the performance he displayed over the two races. You can be sure Knighty wasnt doing Michael a favour to let him past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubby Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Steveo, Knighter was British Expert Trials Champion before he moved to enduro's, and I know that he can hold his own with whoever regardless of the bike he is on. I don't think that he would have let Browny pull out such a lead if he saw him as a serious contender for the overall win. He knew he was going to pull off after an hour. The only thing that might have slowed knighter down if they were both on trials bikes is the fact the Browny is a little fella, and therefore has less meat to carry around that Squarefoot who is about 6'4 and must be 15 stone (95kg) or thereabouts. Big lad! Unfortunately at his last attempt at the scott trial knighter murdered his bike but was a serious threat for fastest time, so maybe you have a point about finesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Certainly on our section(yes perce our section) Knighter was like a bag of **** compared to the trials boys. I am convinced this is because on an enduro/mx the bike soaks up alot more with the longer travel and requires less imput from the rider, what you're used to rather than any reflection of what you can or can't do. Put browny on an enduro round nantmawr then we might see a different result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perce Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Unfortunately at his last attempt at the scott trial knighter murdered his bike but was a serious threat for fastest time, so maybe you have a point about finesse You consider an hour slower than fastest man a serious threat? He's too big of a bloke to ride a Trials bike at speed for a long time with his crash & bash style. Horses for courses & all that he's top dollar on an Enduro bike but near Browny on a Trials bike you've got to be kidding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Cubby, I was not aware that Knighter was that capable on a trials iron.That makes it more evidence of the magic that was shown by Michael. That sure does say something about all these riders, when you think back to the grounding Stephan Merriman had in his early riding years as a trials champion.His dominance in enduro was soooooo out there and so many storys of his ability to just gap the field with his ability to make light work of obstacles others had to man handle their way around. By what has been shown by Michael, if he was to switch codes, he would be a real hot contender to mix it and have them all looking over their shoulders or more likely eating his dust. Another example of a trials convert is Blaz, he is an immediate front runner on an enduro machine. When Knighter was here late last year in an event the most commented aspect of his riding style was his aggression and the brute strength and authority he showed his bike whenever it kick out of line. Michaels may not be as strong and as physical, but as he has shown, his uncanny riding skills, less energy expended, along with his great weight advantage is being overlooked. The momentum and work he had to put in, to achieve these results on a trials machine, would have be more than if he was on works enduro bike. It would be very interesting match up on equal mounts, thats for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 (edited) Cubby, I was not aware that Knighter was that capable on a trials iron.That makes it more evidence of the magic that was shown by Michael.That sure does say something about all these riders, when you think back to the grounding Stephan Merriman had in his early riding years as a trials champion.His dominance in enduro was soooooo out there and so many storys of his ability to just gap the field with his ability to make light work of obstacles others had to man handle their way around. By what has been shown by Michael, if he was to switch codes, he would be a real hot contender to mix it and have them all looking over their shoulders or more likely eating his dust. Another example of a trials convert is Blaz, he is an immediate front runner on an enduro machine. When Knighter was here late last year in an event the most commented aspect of his riding style was his aggression and the brute strength and authority he showed his bike whenever it kick out of line. Michaels may not be as strong and as physical, but as he has shown, his uncanny riding skills, less energy expended, along with his great weight advantage is being overlooked. The momentum and work he had to put in, to achieve these results on a trials machine, would have be more than if he was on works enduro bike. It would be very interesting match up on equal mounts, thats for sure. Were you at Nantmawr? Punes effort was amazing but its not like for like, he was up against the best trialers in the country and trounced them. Then did the same with knighter. But it is not fair to compare when they were on completely different bikes and pune was tired from the previous race so its just not possible to say this one or that was better, or would do better than whoever in enduros. My opionion is Michael has alot more to give to trials first before he retires into Enduro! Taddy left trials cos he couldn't get decent funding to do the wtc I believe. I don't think he has had any great showing in ordinary enduros, he has excelled at these extreme events because the trials background is a big big advantage. Look at the vegas vids it shows really good trials technique when goin over rocks in a corner when others are struggling. Browny won twice and took home the $$$ nuff said. Edited February 2, 2008 by Nigel Dabster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 But it is not fair to compare when they were on completely different bikes and pune was tired from the previous race so its just not possible to say this one or that was better, or would do better than whoever in enduros. Exactly, I can't understand why comparisons are being made. A trials bike around the tough one course is so much easier to ride than an enduro bike and a better tool for the job. It proves nothing about the bikes or riders. I rode it last year in the clubman morning race and there were 3 obstacles in particular that were really difficult on the KTM, one of which, the log pile, we had to be helped accross each time (so did the pros which is why it wasn't in this year I guess) If I'd have been on a trials bike I wouldn't even have noticed they were there. However, if I entered a normal WOR hare scramble on my trials bike I would be a few laps down after 3 hours than I would on the KTM as the trials bike wouldn't have the speed required on the faster going. So it proves what..?? Taking nothing away from Michael Brown here obviously, he's a tremendously talented rider, but comparisons about anything in that race are pointless really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomant Posted February 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 However, if I entered a normal WOR hare scramble on my trials bike I would be a few laps down after 3 hours than I would on the KTM as the trials bike wouldn't have the speed required on the faster going. So it proves what..?? It proves that if this sport becomes as popular as many people believe it will, there is a market for a competitive hybrid machine . (No I dont mean trials bikes with seats varieties either) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikespace Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 It proves that if this sport becomes as popular as many people believe it will, there is a market for a competitive hybrid machine . (No I dont mean trials bikes with seats varieties either) I considered having a go at the trials race, but thankfully I thought better of it. I'd have a go if there were a few more of my kinda fat bloke fally offy riders Having said that I would have killed my bike over the full race period. My KTM I decided was a little bit chunky even for the clubman race. I've not seen the Scorpa T ride in the flesh, but when I think of the bike I'd like to do the Tough One on, this is it: What other improvements would you look at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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