What Gear?

[unicronicus]

So I've been riding a trials bike for a short while now and some days I feel good on it and other days I feel like it's the first time I have ridden the damn thing! Recently I have been tackling a small section I built that entails getting on top of a felled tree trunk that is roughly 28inches high, and then turning immediately left to ride down two pallets and back onto the ground. Sometimes I can get on top of the log without putting my foot down, other times I can't get up at all! Now my question is ultimately what gear should I be using for most trials riding to tackle something like what I have set up, and how should I use the throttle and clutch to make it easier for me?

[thats_a_five]

Most sections can be ridden in first or second gear. Big hills can take third or sometimes even 4th. It depends somewhat on what size sprockets are on the bike. I had a '94 JT25 and I think it had 10/42. First gear was very low which was good for very tight turns and slow running. I did find that for many sections it was better to use 2nd because it seemed like first gear would rev out too soon.

Throttle and clutch control could take pages to describe (and I am far from any sort of expert on those). Get to a trials school if you can or take a look at some of the training videos on the Trails Training Center web site.

[unicronicus]

Cheers for the informative reply, I'll try to use 2nd more often because 1st gear does seem to rev out far too easily! Also thanks for the link to that site, loads of decent info on there, especially about hopping the bike around.

One last question though with regards to throttle and controls positioning. I always have the clutch covered with one finger but I have a hard time trying to regulate throttle control and having one finger covering the front brake lever at all times. So when I land after doing something, it takes longer than I hope to grab the front brake! Where should the throttle 'off' position be in relation to the bars, say looking from the right hand side! Maybe someone could draw a quick pic of how their bars are setup? I have a domino throttle by the way. And how much slack should there be in the cable before the throttle starts to open?

[0007]

What do you mean by the throttle off position?

I would say that if that's something you need to think about then just try and get past it, think more about what you are doing and where you are going and the throttle simply disappears, it needs to become organic and automatic

As for slack

You just need a hair of slack in the cable, when you turn the bars one side will snug up the cable and the other will slacken slightly

Adjust it so you have just a slight amount on the snug side

[unicronicus]

Sorry, I just re-read what I posted and it makes no sense! Haha! Yeah, I think I have too much slack in my cable, it must move about 20 degrees before the throttle comes on. It's not that I think too much about the throttle, I feel like I am twisting it too much when tackling an obstacle which in turn puts my fingers too far away from the brake lever. But if I take that slack out I guess I will help eliminate this problem? That, and positioning my arms better?

[0007]

Well, don't forget that you don't need to accelerate and brake at the same time

If you are launching up a step or hill you don't need the brake so don't try to cover it when you don't need it

It only takes a split second to get your finger on the lever

[cactusjack]

Throttle freeplay is an interesting one, and many mechanics have varying ideas of where it should be. I generally run all my bikes, from road to trials at the absolute minimum throttle freeplay allowable. Basicall run the cable as tight as I can until it starts to idle up at full lock, then back it off a microde so that it doesn't rev at all at idle. This usually leaves only a mm or two of movement before the cable is engaged by the throttle. For me this gives the best feel and response from the throttle and minimises that 'ham fisted' feeling you get when trying to take up the looseness before you get response.

[thats_a_five]

Cactusjack is right on about the throttle free play. Just be sure that it does not speed up the idle at full lock turn and you are good.

The other factors are your wrist position and the angle of the brake and clutch levers. You want the wrist to be bent just slightly (wrist joint high) when the throttle is at idle. Any lower and your wrist will not allow you to get full throttle.

Next is lever position. You will get lots of different inputs on this one. Most riders prefer their level to be just above horizontal when looked at from the bar end. I happen to prefer them lower. They can also be mounted far in on the bars so you get good leverage on the lever. You can adjust there they bite with the small screw adjusters on each lever. Again, this is subject to personal preference. The key is to be comfortable for you to reach and use effectively to control the bike.

You just need more time on the pegs to figure out what works best for you. And you can never get too much peg time!

Ride on.

[lotus54]

I don't know much of anything about trials- I only just did my first one.

But I started learning to cover the front brake all the time (and my LHRB) on my KTM 300 enduro bike.

For awhile if felt really uncomfortable and unnatural to me.

But once I got used to it, I found I had better throttle control- the finger on the brake gave me a good reference point to turning the throttle.

My 300 has a LOT more power, and I set it up for loads of bottom end, so delicate control on the throttle is needed if you don't want to end up in the trees.

Give it a try while thinking of reference- see if that makes any difference. I've never heard anyone say anything about that before, so maybe I'm full of it and it's just me.