Trial Biking - Quick guide
Trial Biking - Presentation
Trial Biking is an extreme sport and is a mountain biking discipline where players ride on a test bike and run on a course full of obstacles. The player is not allowed to put his foot or hand on the ground during the race. Compared to mountain biking, trial players need better bike skills as the tracks are filled with more complex obstacles.
In test bikes, players ride on a trail filled with obstacles like rocks, logs , paddles, reels, etc. and try to negotiate each game without putting their feet or hands on the ground. Players are awarded points for placing their feet or hands on the ground. At the end of the race, the player with the least points is declared the winner.
A brief history of Trial Biking
Trial Biking originates from Catalonia, Spain. At first, Eddy Kessler , a motorcycle trials champion, recognized the possibilities of bike trials and tried to develop the game by hosting major events including the US Bicycle National in 1980 and 1981. In 1981 he had published a 12- page book on mountain bike testing.
In 1980, Pedro Pi , a Spanish racer, designed a Montesa 20x20 test bike that evolved into Monty. His son Ot Pi won several world championships and became the main ambassador for cycling trials in the world. In 1987, Ot Pi went to the United States and began to demonstrate bike trials in schools in order to spread the popularity of the game.
Slowly, the popularity of the game began to increase rapidly. and more players started to participate in the game. Many manufacturers started working on different models of bikes, including 26x26, 26x24 and 26x20 models before producing the Ibis Mountain Trial, a 26x24m multi-speed odel.
Participating countries
Extreme bike skills and eye-catching stunts make the trial bike popular among extreme sports enthusiasts Although primarily a European sport, the game has slowly gained popularity in other territories, notably the United States and the United Kingdom.
Some of the countries where the test bike is very popular are France, Great Britain, Spain, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and Hungary.
Trial Biking - Equipment
The equipment used in trial is very similar to mountain bike. The bikes used in the test bike are a little different from those in the mountain bike because in the case of the test bike a better bike control is required. In this chapter we will have a brief deion of the equipment used in Trial Biking.
Riding Equipment
Cycling
A velo specially designed is used in trials for riding on trails. As better control of the bike is needed, bikes should have strong brakes, wider handlebars, light parts, low tire pressure with thicker rear tire, and no seat.
During the competition, the pilot hardly needs to sit down. The lighter the frames, the less they interfere with the player's body movements. Thus, the height of the frame remains as low as possible.
In general, the BB pins are positioned much higher than the line between the axles in the case of test bike frames intended for competition.
Currently in competitions two classes of trial bikes are used -
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Motos Mod - These are 20 ”Wheeled Bikes. They are developed by a company named Montesa and are mainly based on modified BMX bikes. Some bikes mod even have 19 inch rear wh eel in order to leave room for bigger tires.
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Stock Bikes - These are 26 inch wheeled bikes. These are kept in stock and are not modified bikes like mod bikes. Current 26 inch bikes look a lot like 20 inch mod bikes.
Besides mod bikes and stock bikes, 24 inch bikes are also used, which is not allowed in competitions and is only used for street biking.
Trial bike frames
Test bike frames often have holes in the front of the head tube as well as in the BB shell, seat tube and dropouts in order to reduce frame weight.
Disc brakes mounted on test frames are heavily reinforced, often high braking force is required, especially to force the rear brake to act backwards.
Brakes
The brakes on the test bike are designed to provide more braking torque, especially at the rear. Instead of locking the wheels, the brake system tries to stop the bike smoothly in relation to speed. For larger wheeled bikes, hydraulic brakes are applied and act directly on the wheels.
In order for the brake to lock onto the rim as firmly as possible, the braking surface of the rim is roughened using an angle grinder. The grinding of the rim can vary from slightly rough to hard rough. Depending on the weather conditions and the brake pad compounds chosen, different levels of grind are provided on the rim for better braking performance.
Rim Tar
Another effective way to increase braking power is to apply road tar to the braking surface which causes the brake pads to adhere to the surface for the brake.r improved braking performance and excellent pad durability.
Rim brakes can also be improved by using power brakes where horseshoe-shaped plates are bolted between the brake pistons, which increases the force required to spread the brakes apart.
Wheels
Trial bike rims are wider than mountain bike rims, therefore tires with a larger contact patch are used.
In order to increase the resistance of the tires against pinch punctures, tires with thicker walls are used in particular on the rear wheel.
The hubs used in trial bikes are very similar to cross country bikes and have more cutouts to save more weight.
All trial bikes used for competition have a single gear. The gear ratio plays an essential role in deciding how far the wheelss will travel on each pedal revolution.
Some of the famous gear ratios are as follows -
- 6.15pm: The bike goes 2.49m or 98 ”for a lap of complete pedal for a 26 ”bike.
- 6:14 pm: The bike rolls 2.46 m or 97 ”for a full pedal turn for a 24 " bike.
- 6:12 PM: The bike rolls 2.39 m or 94 "for a full pedal revolution for a 20 " bike.
The gear ratio chosen provides power and quick acceleration to the bike to move the bike at low speed.
Protective gear
As an extreme sport, Trial Biking involves high speed and a lot of dangerous stunts. Accidents and injuries are quite common in cycling. In order to avoid these injuries, players use different protective gear and gear. Now let's see a brief deion of these equipments.
Helmets
The players utuse the helmet as a protective measure for the head. Usually two types of helmets are used in the test bike: rounded skateboarder style and full face style . Rounded skateboard helmets are cheaper and simpler and can cover a large area of the head. Full face style helmets have an additional jaw guard placed inside.
Body protectors and protectors
In order to avoid accidents and accidents, players use different body protectors and pads which include hard plastic shells for limb protection and l reinforced plastic plates for the spine.
Some players also use chest and abdomen protectors. Players even use elbow pads, shin guards as well as ankle pads for added protection.
Specially designed gloves are used by cycliststests for better protection. Additional padding near the joints of the hands is provided with the thumb and fingers mostly covered with a heavier construction.
Trial Biking - How to play?
There is no trial bike race. Rather, players try to overcome all sections with perfection in order to avoid points. The rules vary between different governing bodies. But the general rule is to ride on the course with pre-marked sections. To win the competition, the runner must reach the destination within a predefined time frame. The player with the fewest points is the winner.
The number of sections Pre-marked on a trail usually consists of two turns. Each turn has ten sections. If there are three turns, then each turn has seven sections. Usually, the difficulty level in these sections increases to a natural progression in starting par the easiest to the most difficult.
Players are awarded points by placing a foot or hand on the ground, also known as stamping . In each section, a player can earn a maximum of five points and a minimum of zero points considered to be clean .
A game time limit and a section time limit are decided before the start of the race. The section limit time being constant for all sections. The recommeded time to end a section is 180 seconds. The time starts when the front axle of the player's bike goes through the starting gate and ends when the front axle goes through the exit gate. Controllers usually notify players if there is 1 min, 15 or 30 seconds left.
If there is a tie for first place in an event, different rules of tie-breakers are applied in order to decide the winner. Some of them are -
- A runner with a maximum of cleans can be the winner.
- In the event of no cleanups, the rider with most cleanups or two may be declared the winner.
- The rider winning a second lap or winning an unused section by throwing it again.
Sometimes checkers , who are responsible for checking player actions during the game, can help decide the winner.
Trial Biking - Techniques
In order to overcome all obstacles, players must master a lot of techniques. The player must know everything about cycling and have control skills. Some of the cycling techniques are as follows -
Back Hop
One of the basic techniques of the test bike is the back hop. It is mainly performed to get a jump back while the player is still on the bike after a failed attempt at an obstacle. It is performed by the players pTo back up and regain control after a failed attempt to gain control of an obstacle.
Players first lift the handlebars while giving back force on the pedals to lift the front wheel and once the handlebars are lifted they try to control the balance by kicking of foot and hopping on the pedals.
Bunny Hop
Bunny hop is a very essential technique for overcoming obstacles and climbing rocks and walls. To perform this technique, players first bring their chest near the handlebars while bending the knees. Then they should lift the handlebars to the backwa rd position to lift the front wheel to the maximum level by standing on the pedals and pulling the handlebars towards their knees.
Once the front wheel is off the next part is to take the rear wheel off the ground for which the players have to pick up their legs upwards while pointing their magpied back. Once both wheels are off the ground, the player must lower the handlebars while placing their hip part behind the bike for a perfect landing.
Pedal Kicks
The pedal kick or hops pedal is considered to be one of the most versatile and complex techniques of the test bike. It is mainly performed for jumping from a small distance. For this technique, the pedals must first be brought to a horizontal position.
Next, the player has to lift the front wheels by pulling the handlebars back, then suddenly trying to kick the pedal while moving their hips back and forth and standing on the rear wheel. For the next jump after landing, the pedals should again be returned to the original horizontal position.
Lateral jumps
Lateral jumps are mainly performed when mounting on an obstacle that is placed on the sideyou. Initially, the player has to compress their body on the bike and then pull the handlebars to lift the front wheel while pushing the pedals forward, which will cause the bike to jump while jumping in the air.
In flight, the player must lean towards the obstacles, concentrating mainly on placing the front wheel in the air. target position. He / she should push the front wheel towards the target surface, which will cause the rear wheel to rise to the same height level as the front wheel and land safely on the obstacle.
Trial Biking - Rules
In the case of a trial competition, certain basic rules must be observed regarding the game and the trail. Any bike deemed dangerous by the event directors will not be allowed to participate in the event. A bike can be repaired or replaced during the game but it must be replaced by a bike of the same class.
A section must not be of dangerous shape.rse, no one except the rider and the controllers is allowed in the section. The player must follow the proper gate rules ie entering and exiting the appropriate gate, failing which a gate fault will be assessed on the player.
The maximum obstacle jumps should be between 0.8m and 1m depending on the category. The ribbons that are used in the game must be between 4 "and 18 " from the ground. The tape marking system on the left side should be blue in color while the tape markings on the right side should be red.
Street trials
Similar to street skateboarding, street trials are developed as a free version of the trial bike. With more fluidity than the test bike, the street trial also has the same tips and techniques when jumping and balancing over narrow obstacles. Here, players are not limited by the track rules and mainly perform onstreet obstacles in urban areas.
Dabs
There are certain rules for applying penalty points during a section. Depending on the different actions of the player, different penalty points are applied to the player. If a player has exceeded the prescribed time limit, he will get 5 points. Likewise, touching the ground with a foot or a hand earns him a penalty point. A player gets the next number of points for each hit -
- For the first hit, one point
- For the second hit, two points
- For the third key, three points
- For the fourth key, three points
- For five or more keys, five points
Since a player can get a maximum of five dabs in a section, hitting more than five dabs in a section earns him another five points. If a player makes two buffers simultaneously, he gets five points. These keys are as follows -
- Foot and foot
- Foot and hand
- Foot and shoulder
- Knee and hand
- Main and main
There are some major errors for which a player can get big penalty points -
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If the tape or leader lines break, the player earns five points.
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Stamping outside the section earns him a point.
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In the event of a slippage of a foot on the ground, the player gains three points.
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Players cannot relies on pedals continuously for more than 3 seconds, failing which earns him five points.
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Making two stamps on the same side of the cycle earns him five points.
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In case of modification of the section, the player gets ten points.
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Pre-riding the course even before the start of the competition can earn him 100 points, which means a loss of hitting.
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In the event of a door fault, the player earns five points.
At the end of the game, all the points of the different sections as well as the actions are added for the final score.
There are a few general rules which are the same for all event test bikes. But different rules are also applied depending on different organizations and events. Most of the time there are two main organizations to establish specific competition rules in their regulated matches which are the UCI and the BIU.
UCI Rules
Based on UCI rules, if part of the player's cycle is the tires touching any object during the race, buffers will be given to the player . These rules have been changed to avoid the second round after a tie. UCI rules allow riders to compete in both mod and stock categories.
During the race, none of the tires are allowed to ffix the side delimiting strip even if the wheels are on in the air. Before a section begins, a player is allowed to cross it in order to examine lines and obstacles, but entering the section with a bicycle is not allowed.
BIU Rules
As According to BIU rules, parts of a bicycle including the bash guard or bash ring, cranks and pedals may rest on objects during the competition without causing a dab.
Trial Biking - Champions
Trial Biking is mainly governed by two large organizations around the world which are Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and Bike Trial International Union (BIU). These two organizations organize trials events all over the world and are responsible for various rule changes in the game. While the UCI oversees various cycling events around the world, the BIU is responsible for the events.World ents of test bikes.
The UCI and BIU organize various test bike championship events all over the world. These are -
- UCI Trials World Cup
- Czech National Trial Championships
- Trial Bike World Championships
- British Bike Trial Championship
- European Championship
Now on to some of the champions of trials and their careers -
Jeroni Fajardo
Jeroni Fajardo is a trials rider from Spain who was the champion of the FIM European Trials 2002. Fajardo started his career through the FIM European Trials in 2002 and won it. In the same year he also participated in the FIM Trial World Championship. In 2004 he became a member of the team TDN who won the World Cup.
In 2009 he won a World Cup and was also a finalist at the Spanish Trials. In 2012 he came third in the championat the world. From 2006 to 2015 he was a member of the Spanish TDN team which has been a winner for ten years.
Adam Raga
Adam Raga is a Spanish trials rider who has won four indoor and two outdoor championships. In 1999 he participated in the European Championship and got the second place. In 2000 he won the Junior World Championship and the European Championship. In 2001 he became the National World Champion.
From 2003 to 2006, he participated in the Indoor and Outdoor Trial World Championships. He won the Indoor Trial World Championship from 2003 to 2006 but in the case of the Outdoor Trial World Championship he got fourth place in 2003 and third place in 2004. In 2005 and 2006 he won the championship . In 2007, he won second place in both championships.
Antoni Bou
Antoni Bou, also known as Toni Bou, is a trials rider from Spain who won theFIM Outdoor Trial World Championship from 2007 to 2015 From 2007 to 2016, he was the winner of the FIM Indoor Trial World Championship. Bou won his first race in 1999 when he competed in the Catalan Trial Cadet Championship.
In 2001 he was the winner of the Spanish Junior Trial Championship. He started participating in international competitions from 2003 and won European outdoor trials. In 2006, he secured third place in the World Indoor Trials Championship, which was his first victory at the World Trials.
Albert Cabestany
Albert Cabestany is a trial biker from Spain who became Spanish Outdoor Trials Champion in 2002 and Indoor Champion in 2002, 2003 and 2006. He made his debut in international competitions in 1997 when he competed in the FIM European Trial Championship and achieved eighth place.
In 1998 he took part in the same competition and obtainedu second place. In the same season he participated in the FIM Trial World Championship and obtained 14th place. In 2002 he won the title of champion of Spain by beating Adam Raga.
Dougie Lampkin
Dougie Lampkin is an English test rider who won the World Indoor Championship 1997-2001 and the outdoor world championships from 1997-2003. Along with this, he also won the world team championships in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003.
His other victories include two Spanish Adult Championships, six British Adult Championships and four Trial Scott Championships. Lampkin started his career in 1991 and won the British Class B Schoolchildren Championship. In 1992 he won the British Class A Championship. In 1993 , he won the European Championship.
Donna Fox
Donna Fox is a trials rider from Great Britain who started her international career.in 2002. She participated in the FIM Women's Trial World Championship. She also became a member of the FIM Trial Des Nations in 2002. She won her first medal in 2006 as a member of the British TDN team.
In 2009 she competed in the UK and World Championships and was the up runner. In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015, she won third place in both championships. At the same time, she, along with her teammates Emma Bristow and Rebekah Cook, won the FIM Women's World Championship where she got third place and the other two got first and second.
Rebekah Cook
Rebekah Cook is a English trials biker who has won the British Women 's Trials Championship nine times. Along wi She also won the European Women ' s Trials Championship in 2012. She started her career in 2004 and won the British Women's Trials Championship.
Elthe won this championship until 2009. In 2010 she was beaten by Joanne Coles. She won this competition again in 2011, 2012 and 2013, but was beaten in 2014.
At the same time, she participated in the European Women 's Trial Championship and obtained third place in 2005 , 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011, second in 2009 and first in 2012.
Emma Bristow
Emma Bristow is a trial rider from England who won the FIM Women's Trial World Championship and the British Women's title in 2014. At the same time, she won the FIM Women's Trial European Championship in 2013. She started her career in 2006 by competing in the World Championships. World and got ninth place.
In 2011 and 2012 she was a finalist at the World Championships. In 2013 she won the FIM Women 's Trial European Championship. In 2014 she won won the FIM Women's Trial World Championship and the British Women's Titleinin.
Laia Sanz
Laia Sanz is a trials motorcyclist from Spain who has won 13 times the Women 's World Trials Championship and the European Women ' s Championship Ten times. She was also a member of the spanish women 's team and helped them win Her overall ranking was 39 in the event. She started her international career in 1998 by competing in women 's trials. In the same year, she also participated in the European Women ' s Trials Championship and won it although it was not official.
In 2000 she won the Spanish Cadet Championship in which she was the only woman. In the same year she competed in the Women 's Trial Worl d and Championships d ' Europe. She won the world championship and was second in the European championship. From 2000 to 2006, sheShe won the Women's Trial World Championship.
Iris Kramer
Iris Kramer is a trials rider from Germany who won the Championship Women's Trial German Championship six times and the FIM European Trial Championship three times, and once winner of the FIM Women's Trial World Championship. She started her career in 2002 by competing in and winning the German Women's Trials Championship.
She won this championship consecutively for six years. In 1999, 2000 and 2001 she won the FIM European Championships. She was a finalist in the FIM Trial World Championship from 2000 to 2006, but won the competition in 2007.
