How do I get started in Trials without joining a club for now?

[dirtrider86]

Hey all, so I come from a background of enduro riding and rmec racing, so nothing super tough. Im not a skilled rider, just your basic trail, single track and "rougher" enduro rider. Many times, I still sit on rocky terrain and obstacles (to give you an idea of my riding level). As some of you know I am starting off with a trials 300 txt gasgas, and I have no idea where to begin or do ha ha. so here are some questions. Yes I know youtube has a lot of videos, but I still feel like I need to build up to get there. Im hoping one day I can meet a trials rider in Colorado so they can show me how to start. As of now, I dont think many events are taking place since its winter. However I still have that canyon to ride near by.

1. Should I start off using my trials to trail ride on harder single track/enduro type of terrain and learn the balance and riding skills there? I took my trials on some harder single track and noticed I take my feet off a lot and dab a lot. This shows me, I rely too much on sitting now. Should I just start riding the harder trails till I get used to standing and not dabbing all the time? Is this part of learning trials? simple as just taking it to tough trails?

2. What drills, practice skills should I start off with, either on the trails or open fields? I honestly have no idea what I am doing or what to practice. pretty much I am just static balancing, I ride off, then static balance and been practicing that. I also been practicing popping front tires over little logs and such

3. How do you work to bigger obstacles without being intimidated? there are some ledges and tough obstacles where you require to splatter, talking about 4ft - 6ft ledges with a kicker. I stare at that and I feel like I will never be able to do that. Just looking at it is super intimidating and I know it is do-able because ive seen normal enduro bikes do it. But how do they work up to it without being terrified of something like that?

[b40rt]

It's just fun, go out and get familiar with the bike. Standing up doesn't always come naturally. Make an effort to relax your body when riding. There is no instant gratification in trials, it takes time. Personally I wouldn't worry/practice static balance or big steps just yet.

[turbofurball]

If you look on youtube at trials cross training (an old Australian channel) there's a lot of helpful stuff there it's no longer updated, but still super useful - by the same guy who does the "enduro cross training" channel now .

One of the big things for me early on was simply changing directions on slopes while going slowly, I can still spend hours on that having fun and just increasing the angle depending on how I'm feeling.  Also, weaving through tight turns between trees, getting over logs of gradually increasing size, etc etc.  Don't worry about doing the big stuff to begin with, spend time getting used to full lock and going as slow as possible!

[billyt]

Dirt Rider 86.  It would help a lot if we knew your location.  

 

[dirtrider86]

Thanks for all of the feedback! I am located by Canon City, Colorado. I think I will start off as many say, just have fun and trail ride with the trials. There are some pretty tough technical single tracks out by Canon City so I might start riding them and let the natural ways of trials force me to stand and get my balance right. Hopefully when it warms up, trials events start happing so I can join some! I would just like some coaching on what to practice and how to start, but heard many do just that, just trail ride some tougher enduro trails. Either way tons of fun! And I feel good that I cant get stuck like a traditional enduro bike since they are so easy to push up things

Edited December 23, 2022 by dirtrider86

[bikerpet]

If you want to really build skills you really need to spend some time on focused practice - that goes for anything you want to learn, not just trials.

Figure 8's are a key to developing good slow speed balance and control. Arms pretty much straight, bike tipped into the turn against your inside leg, outside knee out wide and weight well back and to the outside. Hours of fun getting that dialled!
Another one is just dropping rocks, cones, whatever randomly on the ground and ride turning through them without running them over.

All the fancy techniques rely on good basic balance and accuracy positioning the bike, so you can never go wrong working on the basics of turning and balancing.

I am a huge fan of Neil Price's online coaching (neilprice.com). It's not free, but a year's subscription is probably just a few hours of face-to-face coaching. He will guide you through the basics, answer questions, give super accurate feedback on what you're doing (you post videos and he posts reply videos). You can also do internet calls with him and discuss what you're doing. You also get to discuss stuff with others in the coaching group, if nothing else that can help your motivation when things aren't progressing as well as you'd like. It's absolute gold for anyone trying to build skills without a handy local club nearby.

Yes, I'm a fan. And no I've got no commercial affiliation, just a super impressed user of his platform.

[trailmeisterjoe]

Dirtrider86: I am in WA state and a few weeks ago my local trials club offered a beginners course for new to trials riders. It was SO good and informative. Everyone was focused on making sure you left with the basics and can continue on your own. I would look for a class like that offered by any Colorado trials club.

Joe

[markbxr400]

Find a few experienced local trials riders and see if you can hook up with them.  There are more than a few in your area.  I come out a ride with a couple every year in Salida, Montrose and Moab.  Trials riders are super friendly and helpful in my experience.

Here in lower Alabama, there are not many of us.  I bought a trials bike and then bought 34 acres to build stuff on and ride it on.  Through word of mouth I met another newer trials rider who started coming out.  We built obstacles from dirt, tires, landscape timbers, etc.  I posted a few pics on a forum, and then the real help came.  A nationals rider with over 40 years of experience who had a winter place a couple of hours away started coming over weekly during the winter.  He started laying out sections and training and coaching us.  We now have 6-10 riders that show up weekly.  I bought a new 40 acre place a couple of years ago and have a great trials playground.  This past year, my experienced trials friend introduced me to (now) 84 year old Wiltz Wagner (lives very close), who helped start the RMTA and NATC.  He's in the NATC and AMA hall of fames.  He has started coming out and coaching us as well - he focuses on the details of the basics, which has progressed all of our riding significantly.

I also go to Trials Training Days every year in Tennessee.  Top riders put on more than a dozen classes.  You get a lot of practice on a lot of skills.

Point is - I watched the videos and tried to do it on my own. It was fun riding, but I wasn't really learning to ride trials.  Being around experienced riders who have the skills and desires to help coach you will take you much further and more quickly.

[Cota300rr]

We found a really cool spot in the woods just off our local trails and just had fun going over logs, learning to turn tight circles on hills/over small rocks/logs etc, and just messing around. The bikes are so fun for that type of thing. YouTube tutorials are great, but have a look online for any clinics being put on near you because it's good to have someone watch you and correct your bad habits if you can. Challenge yourself by setting up tape or cones to stay within the lines in a yard or wooded area etc, that really helps you learn balance/turning faster than anything I find. If you can ride a trial do so, it's really great to watch and learn from other riders. 

[mmcnailer]

Join a club