jonnyc21 Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 I can't tell are the boots your using trials boots or MX boots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricarvar Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 MX boots... no money for the trials ones :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricarvar Posted December 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks lineaway... it seems I should keep my upper body straight... I'll try that ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyc21 Posted December 30, 2015 Report Share Posted December 30, 2015 MX boots... no money for the trials ones :-( The MX boots are going to make balancing extra difficult, I would see if you can do some practice with engine off using some other boots or shoes for comparison. I am not an advocate of riding without boots so please don't do that, but dead bike balance practice I myself am willing to do without them. If you by chance have a pare of more flexible adventure boots or maybe just a pair of broken in hiking or work boots to do engine off practice with? At the least loosen or unbuckle everything you can on the MX boots to get as much play as possible... My trials exp was so much better after getting a pair of true trials boots I can't advocate strongly enough how much they will help. Best of luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 No, your knees are suckin` in a so are your elbows!. Proper stance is the most important thing for a new rider. You never ever stand straight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybond700 Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Total brake and clutch control helps a lot with standing still. You should not have to think about using the brakes and the clutch, its should go naturally at some point. For the rest the before mentioned body position is important, and offcoarse practise. Also practise while driving, uphill, downhill, before small obstacles etc. You combine balancing with usefull other practice and it keeps it fun. Edited January 4, 2016 by crazybond700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlh Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 Sorry to jump in on this thread but my question doesn't seem worthy of a whole thread lol. I've been riding road bikes years and mx for a short while but just been practising on my trials bike on the drive so far. Managed to get my turns down to literally .5mph now. My question is should I be slipping the clutch in a bit when stopped trying to balance? Because I do and if I pull it in any more I struggle to balance. It definitely helps me to keep it just biting but I don't know if it's a bad habit I should try and break now? Going to try some engine off balancing in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyc21 Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 I do several ways, with clutch slip no rear brake, rear brake no clutch, front end up a slight hill rocking back and forth clutch no front brake, down hill front brake only, etc. Keep at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlh Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Thanks for the reply! I'll try and get the hang of using the back brake and no clutch then! Surprising how much I've come on and I've only had probably an hour in total on the bike on my drive so far. I could trackstand really well on all my pushbikes though so that probably plays a part. Need to work on loosening my grip on the bars I think. When I start losing balance I find my grip is stupidly tight. Just need to relax maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybond700 Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Sorry to jump in on this thread but my question doesn't seem worthy of a whole thread lol. I've been riding road bikes years and mx for a short while but just been practising on my trials bike on the drive so far. Managed to get my turns down to literally .5mph now. My question is should I be slipping the clutch in a bit when stopped trying to balance? Because I do and if I pull it in any more I struggle to balance. It definitely helps me to keep it just biting but I don't know if it's a bad habit I should try and break now? Going to try some engine off balancing in the morning. Having the clutch near its gripping point, using the brakes, helps realy much. Reving the bike also can help to get a small save. Dont use the bars, use your legs! Edited January 25, 2016 by crazybond700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc_d Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 I'm new to trials and am just learning to balance on the bike. I'm a mountain biker and road cyclist and I thought it would be easy for me since I can balance on a bicycle pretty easily but it's completely different and I'm struggling a bit. I think I'm doing something fundamentally wrong. I recognize when the bike moves too far to one side an needs to be corrected. However when I try to shift my weight to the opposite side it actually moves the bike further in the direction it was already going. It's Netwon's third law in practice. So for example, if the bike starts to move right, I'll try to shift my weight left. To move my weight left, the only thing I have to push against is the bike, so that pushes the bike further right and it falls over. So how exactly do you shift your weight left without shifting the bike further to the right? Thanks! Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazybond700 Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) That probably is because to move to the right, you press right, makes the bike go right. When the bike goes right, you should push on your left bar and footrest in order to get it upright again (mainly legs!). Also stand wide, so you have more leverage and are less stuck to the bikes frame (makes you fall in the same direction). Practise with a friend, engine shut off, wheel between his legs, him holding the handlebars. Try to move the bike with feet and hips. Mind two triangles, your outer leg, and your elbow. Also look towards where you want to go, and twist the torso with it. Do not steer with your arms, but with the body. Whenever the helper does not get tired anymore trying to hold you, start the engine and try yourself. Cant find a decent picture, but this one shows it a small bit (it was not a very tight corner). Notice the angles in green (I should make a picture with it exaggerated. Edited March 9, 2016 by crazybond700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trial bike Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Hi, I am relatively new to balancing so am still concentrating on improving and techniques. I can't hop the wheels more than once yet, but I can lower my butt to the mudguard and stand bolt upright numerous times and can also bounce the bike on its suspension whilst maintaining balance, well, a few times anyway. I can also balance for a short while with one hand off the bars. What helped me in the beginning was holding on to the shed wall with one arm whilst I worked out what to do with my feet, what effect they had on the bike and where to put them. I find standing towards the outside edge of the pegs instead of squarely on them helps, it has a greater effect on the bike. Also, whilst supporting yourself on the wall you can get a feel for how tippy the bikes is and how body position and especially your head position affects the balance point. Get used to pushing on the pegs to correct the tipping over of the bike. This is where the balancing act comes from. More so than levering with the bars if you can get the hang of it. I find turning the bars helps if things get to tippy for the feet to deal with. like a catcher almost. But using the feet takes less effort and is kinder to your forearms. Then, to start with, you don't really want your tyres on a slippy surface, you floor looks very smooth. There is more friction and therefore more bar leverage if your tyre is "in the rough". You could try putting the front tyre up against a wall and using that for support. Again, like holding the wall, the tyre against the wall will make balancing easier while you get a feel for body position and how your head weight affects the balance point. I find keeping centred over the bike is a must, keeping back helps, although I do practise balancing leaning forwards and backwards and transitioning form one to the other. (You never know when you'll need to balance for real, uphill or down etc.) I also find bending your knees well, to lower your height, helps tremendously. It lowers the centre of gravity I guess. I find staying relaxed is the most important thing. It very easy when concentrating hard on balancing to tense up, grip the bars far too hard and to lean forwards with your weight on the bars. As soon as realise you are doing this, take in a long steady breath, release slowly and tell yourself, aloud, r e l a x . It helps me to recompose. Stay back with your weight on the pegs, nice loose grips on the bars. Somethings you may or may not have noticed... Balancing with the wheel straight ahead is very hard. Full lock is easier. (Try to to do it on half lock, I find it more satisfying) Balancing with the front wheel higher than the rear is harder than on a level surface. Balancing with the front wheel lower than the back is easier than on a level surface. And finally, from me, as others have said, don't just stop riding and put your feet down, try to balance for a few seconds in all sorts of situations and positions, it all helps your mind to get a grip and will become easier. Every little helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trial bike Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 I'm new to trials and am just learning to balance on the bike. I'm a mountain biker and road cyclist and I thought it would be easy for me since I can balance on a bicycle pretty easily but it's completely different and I'm struggling a bit. I think I'm doing something fundamentally wrong. I recognize when the bike moves too far to one side an needs to be corrected. However when I try to shift my weight to the opposite side it actually moves the bike further in the direction it was already going. It's Netwon's third law in practice. So for example, if the bike starts to move right, I'll try to shift my weight left. To move my weight left, the only thing I have to push against is the bike, so that pushes the bike further right and it falls over. So how exactly do you shift your weight left without shifting the bike further to the right? Thanks! Doc It took me a while to discover, but rather than trying to "shift your weight to the other side" which seems the obvious thing to do, push with your legs on the pegs. Keep your weight centred rather than shifting it about. With your legs bent it is easy to push one leg more than the other. Try it standing on the floor! You could practise pushing quickly, strongly, gently, swapping from one leg to the other etc whilst standing on the floor. I find this, with practise, is THE way to correct a tipping bike. Tipping right, push on the left peg. Tipping left, push on the right peg. Sounds easy. The hard part is pushing early enough and with the right amount of pressure. The other thing that this technique will lead to..and is something I am desperate to learn...is steering the bike during wheelies. I lift the front for a prolonged wheelie and inevitably turn left or right. I have never been able to do it. Road bike, trail bike or trials bike. But I think it is all about peg pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc_d Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Great advice. I think that's my fundamental flaw. I'm trying to move my body instead of using pressure on the pegs. I haven't been able to practice the last couple of days but I'm going to try to start working on it tomorrow. Thanks! Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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