Keeping Young Riders

[bikespace]

There's been loads of discussions about numbers of riders over the past few years, and quite a few comments about the majority of riders being middle aged or more. Not sure whether that's true across the country but seems to be a common theme.

It struck me the other day that 25 years ago when I hit the fatal distractions of beer and the fairer sex, I could chuck my Fantic/Yamaha away in the garage until I felt like dragging it out again, not lose a massive amount of money on it, and not find out that my bike was prehistoric when it came out 10 months later.

These days it doesn't seem like the bikes have really changed that much technically over the past 5 or 6 years, but the manufacturers have managed to make a 2004 model look very old compared to the recent model. I wouldn't ride much better (if at all) on a 2009 model compared to a 2004.

I know the manufacturers have to try to make people buy new bikes every year (or every 6 months if they had the chance) but I'm sure this is contributing to teenage/twenties riders feeling that they just can't keep up with the game now that dad's not footing the bill.

The older bikes look dated not particularly because the newer ones have a great new modern design, but because psychologically you've seen 4 or 5 new (different) designs since that heap sat in your garage was current. It's too old to ride, I'm packing in

Look at the TY175/TY80. I can't even remember when they came out, probably just after the war but nobody really knew whether your bike was 1 year old or 6 years old if you kept it tidy, the dealer generally had to hold one or maybe two versions of a piece of stock, because the 1976 plastics were the same as the 1979 etc. You can still buy parts for a TY175 and be fairly sure it'll fit your year (yeah there were a few versions of tank stickers, but not many over the years.

I'm not being nostalgic, just noting that we tend to lose riders at 16/17/18 because it's too expensive to keep up these days, especially as a sport which you can throw in the garage and pick it up again a month or two later.

The Scorpa seems to have stayed reasonably the same over the years, the problem for me (excuse me Scorpa owners - I'm a well known Scorpa hater) is that it wasn't that good when it was brand new.

I'm not that sure that a "no-bull****" bike that would stay the same for a few years would really drag the people in, but I do think the throw away bike culture has damaged things. Not sure whether it's really the problem, or a contributing factor, and I'm definitely not sure if there's an answer to it? Can the bike manufacturers survive if they don't persuade the fashion victims to buy a new bike every year?

Just a thought anyway

[big john]

From memory the TY80 came out around 1974/75, TY175 a little later.

I agree with most of what you have said in your post bikespace.

I think the word you are looking for is "built in obsolescence" when it comes to trials bikes.

However, with only detailed changes, the Montesa 4RT hasn't changed much from the original 2005 model to present day. The electrics, throttle body has had detailed refinements and the grafics have changed and as a result it is getting a fair bit of 'slagging off' as a has been trials mount on another thread on here. But dolly up a 2006 version by powdering the frame matt black and change the mudguards and apart from the engine and VIN numbers you would swear it was a newer model.

Trials is and always will be, a follower of fashion, as you elude its a shame kids get bored with their bike pretty fast and of course the desire to have the very latest model often means a drain on the resources.

It's become a 'fashion' sport with some and you know what happens in the fashion industry, "here today gone...."

Big John

[bilc0]

16/17/18

This is the stay or go age for sure.

I went,so did many other of my peers at that time,today i reconise just a handfull of name's of the same age as me that i used to ride with when riding schoolboy.

It was the Beer and Fairer sex plus at 16 you could ride a bike on the road,so now we get our buzz of riding a bike everyday,instead of just every sunday.

Even back in the 80's Trials bike's were changing design,probaly more than today.I don't think it's the lack of money keeping the young teens away,there probaly lashing a hundred quid up the wall every friday and saturday night.

The secret behind keeping the youngsters is to make them feel there in a trendy sport,i don't know how the hell we do that,we have our fair share of old stick in the muds in this sport.

Edited September 24, 2009 by bilc0

[kramit]

I think we can all look back to our beginning years of Trials and count the large amount of people who have come and gone. Only a small percentage (AKA diehards) of people stick with anything let alone Trials.

If I was the last person on earth, I would still enjoy riding my Trials Bike where as some people want to belong to a group, club, like the look of the bikes, or just want to try a different form of motorcycling. Its all good, but as time passes,I think turnover rates for riders will only increase for a lot of reasons.

[fivemeister]

The sport loses 16 plus age groups because thats when parents often stop buying thier bikes and they have too many other things to spend thier limited disposable income on- a theme that continues for some time. They don't generally come back until finantially sound - hence so many over 40 riders these days.

[andysv1k]

plus more going away to university than ever. for those that start work, perhaps the sudden inrush of income means that priorities change, all of a sudden they could have money to allow other things to occupy their time, like beer and women!

Andy.

[lee harris]

I think it could also the fashion side of the sport that is urging more people to twin shock or "classic" trials. the question is what is driving the fashion. Do we need new colour schemes or are the sections getting too hard?

It might take this thread off track but hard sections mean lots of crashes and that cost lots to repair....Not sure, but I think the sections in 1980 were much harder than in this years exmoor for example.......at least when I had the beamish. There seamed to be more rocks. So have we gone soft on twin shoch trials?

so is it fashion? sections too hard or the cost to be "competitive???

[douglas_trials]

i think you are hitting on the right lines with fashion. you just have to look where the "young" riders are now, on their biketrials bikes.

i am 21 and at uni and have competed at higher level of trials (ish) and found that it is not the older bike pushing me out but the difficulty of getting to the events/practice and storing the bike whilst at uni. so now i have gone on to bike trials and am finding it a very easy sport to do logistics wise, the bike will go in the back of my car and i can keep it in my room at uni. if i want to ride i go to the end of the road or find a spot in town. there is also a huge trend on creating videos of a very high standard from an editing stand point, plus the modification market is massive to individualizes your bike. i know i am stating what most people already know, i am just trying to link it in.

so i disagree with the money aspect as i know of loads of guys with

[ishy]

As a kid I could only watch trials, I was restricted to two quid

[wri5hty]

your bang on right there ishy i cant agree with you more.

my family were into trials before i was born organizing riding the lot near enough every weekend, so i was brought into it from a very young age, never pushed to be a star though, my dad just let me get on with it which is probably why i was so sh**e. but i still left the sport at the late teens stage not sure why now girls and beer were a major factor, but learning to drive and naffing off to do what i wanted might of been another. it might of been too much too young i don't know. but the sport dragged me back like it does most, it seems to get under your skin. i returned 7 year ago and i am now more involved and enjoying it more than i ever did. being older i don't give a monkeys if i am dead last as long as i enjoy it but i know i did not feel like that when i was younger. and that could be why some leave. i feel sorry for a lad of youth b/a age just coming into the sport there is no way he can do some of the sections in that class (Christ i cant) so he has to ride out of class against lads a lot younger than him and more than likely get beat by them and to some teenage lads that will be too much to take and dissolve his appetite for the sport. i understand there is no way round this it is just the way it has to be, but still does not make a difference to that lad.

and i agree with the atmosphere not seeming to be what it was there seems to be so many people who blast round and bugger off home before i have started my 2nd lap. I think this is why multi day events seem to be so popular, ssdt, reeth, lakes to name just a few as well as being top class trials they have a night life too them also, people staying on to have a laugh and chat which is always a selling point to me.

And i know at my club we could really do with some more helpers preferably younger and not just putting flags in a few to take on the responsibility of CoC would be nice its getting to much for too few. we (as in trials riders) are expecting too much from the older statesmen in our group.

Edited September 24, 2009 by wri5hty

[bilc0]

I would welcome a lunch break at the 1 Day Event's,Infact i don't bother turning up to the 1 Day Event's any longer,there's no worse feeling than going back to the car park half way through the Trial to find half the car park gone.Im eating dried up cheese sandwich whilst the other's are tucking into a roast dinner at home.Then you feel you have to rush the other half of the trial incase they lock the gates on you.

So it's not just the younger one's they need to keep they need to keep the older one's must be a worry aswell.

Anyway the sport has become more expensive for me because i now have to travel and stay somewhere for the night for the decent 2 dayer's.

I would love to stay local and support my local club but no way without a lunch break,chill people.