NoTraction Posted September 30, 2022 Report Share Posted September 30, 2022 I’ll keep this short and sweet. I ride a Beta Evo 200 (2020), have been riding trials around a year and am getting on pretty well I think, at least it’s all coming together and I’m falling off less than I was! Riding Sportsman routes with scores usually around the 20-40 points mark, sometimes better, sometimes worse depending on the venue. At my regular Thursday morning practice I had a go on a new Gas Gas 250 and immediately obstacles/logs on flat and slopes were crossed more smoothly/less jerkily and, weirdly, a tight camber turn on a slope I’ve been struggling with was easier, did it second go! The Beta is less powerful, lighter and has a tighter turn. Yet the Gas Gas immediately seemed smoother to ride after spending ten minutes on it. Certainly surprised me! What would be the logic behind this? One for the experts! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyc21 Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 I find I really like the Montesa and felt great on it but then had cause to wonder after a ride or two on my wife's Gas Gas 125 that made me wonder if I should switch to a 2T. Then after thinking on it I started to I wondered if it was more bike setup that was my problem because the suspension was so different that maybe I should double check all the settings on my Montesa, so I did, and that made all the difference... So maybe just a different setup and other adjustments from the bar position, maybe gearing, even down to the suspension settings might make your current Beta even better for you than the Gas Gas was? On the other hand sometimes the difference in bike brands really can just be so much better for one person over another and in some cases bike setup changes can help but will not make it something it isn't. Good luck! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasgasman280- Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 As you progress in ability and skills so do you requirements as a rider. The stock Beta Evo is a great bike to start on but you have most likely simply outgrown it's capabilities Any Tech fork and Braktec equipped bike is going to make the stock Beta bits look a bit sad, especially once you start hitting higher grade/level stuff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasgasman280- Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 And sometimes you just find one particular brand or model ticks all the boxes and makes riding easier and your ability to gel with it is dead easy. Sometimes it's not a tangible thing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoTraction Posted October 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 Thanks, I better double check the set up on the Beta. It was like I’d stepped on to something plusher and more substantial than the Beta. It just felt ‘solid’. The bit that got me is that there is a half buried log about 4 feet in diameter with probably 3 feet of it projecting out of the ground half way up a slope of about 45 degrees. On the beta, I loft the front wheel and it kind of bounces over it in a fairly jerky fashion yet on the GG it almost cruised over, really smoothly. My approach was the same, if anything gentler because it wasn’t my bike! On the tight camber turn, it just felt like the centre of balance was lower and I felt more planted and able to lean the bike over further than usually works on the Beta, despite the turning circle not being as tight. I’m still very much a novice and it may have been fluke. But it did make me think, is it the bike or the set up? Everyone raves about the Evo 200 which is why I bought one and I love it, but this has made me wonder. It may have been that by luck the GG just happened to be set up right for me and the Beta needs tweaking so I’ll go through it. Thanks for the input guys 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisCH Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 I have a TRS, my wife a Beta. The suspension between the two is quite different. I agree with @gasgasman280 the brakes and suspension are very different. I have fitted braktec front m/c to the Beta and a Galfer disc. It is now as good as the TRS. I find the Beta rear shock to be much less "smooth" than my Reiger. The Beta is a good motor and not by any means a bad bike but I do like the TRS more (this is my second TRS). In fairness the wife's bike is old ('14) and so seen a bit more wear and tear. One of the guys in my club has a wonky right knee and likes the left hand kickstart of the Beta. He is a bit of a bike tart and changes bikes often. His new Beta has CSP everything, Tech forks and Ohlins rear shock. It is nice. I have only ridden it a few minutes but is is easily as good as the TRS (well - to me - I am no Bou) in every respect. The missus would like an EM and so we plan to get a test ride on one at some point. In the meantime I have put off my plan which was to fit an Ohlins rear shock to the old Beta. The Gas Gas as best I understand it is similar to the TRS - Raga went from Gas Gas after all. A mate has a new gasser and rides it very well and loves it. It has the Tech/Reiger set up. Getting the bike set up to suit the rider is important as well, but I think the better suspension is a factor. (FWIW I find the Beta easier to balance) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoTraction Posted October 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 Hi Chris, You may remember we had a few chats when I first got into it so it's good to hear from you. I seem to remember you had a TRS 280? Or is that gone now? I had a Rev 3 250 briefly then moved on to the Evo 200. So now we're down the road apiece and I have a bit of experience under my belt. Still got masses to learn and still making schoolboy mistakes but I can now feel the difference between bikes which was not the case at all when I first started, just staying on was the priority! I'm learning that the TRS and Gas Gas are possibly similar. Two of the guys I have my regular Thursday morning practice with have electric start TRS 250 RR's and love them, although they both think the standard R would have been fine, it was just what was available. But they seem to be far better specced than my standard Beta ( I can't speak for Factory models, don't know anything about them). And the Gas Gas I rode which is a brand new old stock 2020 model is also well specced. I guess studying the differences between the two is called for. I've ridden both but to me there was something about the Gas Gas that I just liked. Apart from starting it which was a pain, especially for a new bike.. I am also a bit of a bike tart in fairness, always looking for the next thing so I need to be a bit careful! But its whether to spend money adding better parts to what I have if required (shock, brakes etc) or sell what is a two year old pretty well sought after bike and move on. You could probably very easily spend several hundreds of English pounds on better shock, brakes, and even forks and never see that back and maybe not end up with what you want I guess. All food for thought, not really confident enough in my own judgement yet to be sure I know what I'm talking about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshock250 Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 I'd suggest the gasgas just suits you better, you can tinker with suspension all you like, but if you rode all the current bikes back to back, one or two would really stand out simply because they suit your style of riding. This is why testing bikes properly is crucial. Having had 3 Beta evos & now a Vertigo the suspension & brakes on the Evo seem really poor compared to more modern bikes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoTraction Posted October 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 I reckon that might be the case - although testing when I first started was tricky because a) I didn’t know anyone and b) I wouldn’t have known the difference due to my lack of experience. I do like the Beta but I found the gruntier gas gas really nice to ride, effortless almost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisCH Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 Yes, the 280 got traded in. The secondhand prices are so good now I hardly lost anything on it after nearly 3 years and got the 2022 at a grand off new price (it looks hardly ridden). I had wanted the 250 from the get go but couldn't find one at the time. The 250 is a bit less of a handful and easier to start, but the main thing I notice is it uses a lot less fuel. The Beta 200 is a good bike I am sure - a guy in the club has the factory one and rides much much better than I can and he is the wrong side of 70. A lot of people told me the 280 was not suitable for a new rider. Slow throttles and flywheel weights and all that stuff were suggested. Like you I found the extra power to be a nice thing - you can climb so much easier at a lower throttle opening. I tackle most everything in first gear. We did a day at Inch Perfect and the instructor suggested second - third even for a long climb. I tried it in first and did it easily. The 280 had all the power you could need. But I thought I would try to see what the difference was so did it in second. To be fair it was a bit easier but not much difference as far as I could see. So try again in third. Now this is the first time I had ridden anything other than the flat between sections in third gear. Near the top of the hill I gave it a bit more gas as I felt the bike sort of struggling a bit. Huge mistake. The front end went up, I paniced and shut off the gas hit the front on the ground with the front brake on and went head over a***. The bike landed on top of me and the header pipe burnt my arm. I flicked the bike off me with my legs and it rolled down the slope and turned the back mudguard inside out. Third gear my ear. I did the rest of the day in familiar first gear. My riding has improved going down to the 250. It still is powerful (it is the RR) and I still like that ability. I still have the fast throttle and have ridden a couple of friends' bikes with slow ones and don't really like them (throttles - not my friends or their bikes) Has it improved enough to justify the extra three grand? Probably not. No, actually. Definately not. If you can get a good deal and fancy the gasser then why not? You need to ride anything for a fair while before you can really say if you like it or not. Two laps of a dealer's car park is not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoTraction Posted October 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 Ouch! That’s just what you want on a day out… not! But you’re right - I don’t think there’s any way of saying right bike or wrong bike until you’ve had a chance to ride one for a decent amount of time. And don’t get me wrong, I do like the Beta. I’ve just checked for the first time properly and the rear suspension wasn’t set up as it should be from what I’ve read. Over 30mm static sag and the sag with me on it was about 110mm! Now I don’t profess to know much about that but the figures are far larger than anything I’ve read on here this afternoon. So I think I will start there and see how it goes whilst keeping one eye open for a deal on Gas Gas if it comes along. By the way, we had a very wet and muddy practice a few weeks back and we were also using third for climbing slippery muddy banks but with much slippage of the clutch. It was all quite noisy but seemed to work quite well…. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marky dee Posted October 1, 2022 Report Share Posted October 1, 2022 I was...a Gas Gas men , till i want try Vertigo for 2 years..., very good bike !!! till i went to TRRS for now ...,Raga replica and 3 Golds !!!, very very good bike for me 💖👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted October 2, 2022 Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 Are you sure it was not a gearing issue. The Gassers usually come geared a little tall in first. Of course the Gas Gas bikes always felt the best in the parking lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoTraction Posted October 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2022 14 minutes ago, lineaway said: Are you sure it was not a gearing issue. The Gassers usually come geared a little tall in first. Of course the Gas Gas bikes always felt the best in the parking lot. That’s a possibility. Would be interesting to see comparisons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianrch Posted October 3, 2022 Report Share Posted October 3, 2022 I would check setup. I went from a 2020 TRS 250RR to a 2019 Beta 200 (Factory suspension). I cant explain why but I feel more comfortable on the Beta. I feel the 200 has plenty of motor and I think I like it a little better. Everyone wants Reiger and Tech so they must be better but I cant tell the difference and like my suspension. I am a solid intermediate/sportsman. Both are great bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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