7 Bikes in The House Now

Yup... there are seven bikes in my house now... LOL.

Back in 2005, we had one bike in the family and the bike belonged to my son, Joel. Then in 2007, I decided to go MTB cross-country cycling and bought myself an el cheapo Exitway. Then I got interested in BikeTrials and bought myself two trial bikes, a 26" Echo Pure and a second-hand 20" Monty 221PR, all for a couple of thousand dollars.



And then Joe had a "kiddy" bike that had outgrown his sons' use and he asked me if I wanted it. I said sure and with that bike I taught Joel, Jordan and Jodene how to ride bikes... LOL.

About a month back, I rented out my apartment to a very enterprising young man studying law. He had two bikes that were given to him by his other landlord. The bikes were VERY old and he heard me talking about cycling, thus he offered to give them to me.



The bikes were not in riding condition when I took them home. I managed to clean and get one of them working. I told Joel that he could have it, the Montana bike... LOL.

You should have seen how happy the nine year old were. He felt he was now riding an "adult" bike... LOL. Quickly, he called his younger brother, Jordan and told him that he could have the old bike... and likewise, Jordan told his younger sister, Jodene, that she can now have the "Uncle Joe" bike... LOL.

See how something that's old and considered junk by others, can have such a profound effect on other? (This gave me an idea for something I am currently planning to do but will only reveal later.)

The Lerun was in quite a sad shape. The rear tire had cracks and when I remove the tire, I noticed that the inner tube had melted and glued to the rim. I replaced the whole rear wheel with my old Exitway's spare wheel.

Then I tried to remove the front wheel from the Lerun. The quick release would not budge. I use some WD40 and still it would not budge. And so I decided to use the hammer on it and the following was the result.







I broke the quick release lever. Lucky for me, I still had the old Exitway's spare front wheel, but it was fitted with a disc brake. I tried installing the wheel on the Lerun anyway. But as you can see in the following photos... the disc was jammed up with the front absorbers!







I had some major problem removing the disc from the wheel. First the screw on the disc required a special screw-driver. Secondly, two screw's head were damaged and there were no way the screw driver's head could fit in. In the end, I took my old reliable hammer and whacked a flat head screw driver into the screw making a dent deep enough for me to unscrew the damn thing.



In the end, I managed to install the front wheel nicely onto the bike. Then I took it for a ride, that was when noticed that there was something wrong with the chain. Crap!



The chain was all badly rusted and could break anytime.



Since I did not have any spare chain at home, I decided to pack up the bike in my truck and took it to a bike shop in Bangi. Thirty minutes later, I was home with a pretty ride-able bike.





Finally, I got a bike for my wife to use. The hard part was to convince her to ride. After much much cajoling, yesterday evening, my wife and the whole family went cycling in our neighborhood.

Lets see if I can get everyone to go again tonight.

From a Mountain Bike to a Fixed-gear Bike

Sean Yeap has been talking about converting his old mountain bike into a fixed-gear bike for a while now. Two weeks ago, he got it done. Here are some photos of the bike. On a RM500 budget, he managed to put together this really cool looking bike. Salute!













I wonder how it will ride like. The last time I rode a fixed-gear bike was way back in 1970s. I remembered I borrowed someone dad's fixed gear bike and struggled with it... LOL.

What is a Fixed-gear Bike?

To put it very simply, it is a bike with pedals that will always move or rotate in the direction you are going... forward or backward. Depending on your preference, you can choose to install a brake or use the pedals or tires for braking. For a full history of fixed-gear bike, go here.

BikeTrials on a Fixed-gear Bike?

Here is a video of Chris Akrigg (a very famous biketrial rider, famous for his brake-less biketrials... :-) riding a Mongoose Maurice fixed-gear for the first time.



More information:

• http://www.myfixedgear.net/ - Photos of fixed-gear bikes from all over the world posted up by riders.
• http://www.fixedgearrepublic.com/ - Very popular fixed-gear social network.
• Youtube Fixed Gear Playlist
  

The Elusive Pedal Up

There is just no easy way to learn the Pedal Up. I have watched countless videos and read various tutorials from forums around the net. This has gotta be one of the most difficult technique for me to learn in BikeTrial.

I was quite methodical about it. I had surmised that in order to learn the Pedal Up, one must start with the Zap Tap, then the Touch Up (on a 20"... LOL) and then progress to the Pedal Up. They all required one common thing... proper foot positioning on the pedals.

Proper Pedal Footing

I am a right-footer, which meant my right foot is the fore foot on the pedal. And so the starting position for my right foot pedal would be at the 4 o'clock position and my left foot would be at the 10 o'clock position.

Here is a video of a Pedal Up shown to me by Wong Xu (from China). We were riding at the Putrajaya Bike Park two weekends ago and I took the opportunity to ask him to execute the move as slowly as he possible could.... LOL. See the following video, he just made it look so easy!!! LOL.

-----

Since Wong Xu was a right-footer as well, it was easy for me to see how it was done.

Dood! You Gotta be Dynamic

Later that week, I tried to follow the steps shown in the video. I could bring up the front wheel, but I just could not commit totally to pedal kick with my right foot when the time came. It required a very dynamic pedal kick on the right foot to bring the rear wheel onto the wooden pallet's edge.

Chicken Shit and Then Some

I chickened out always at the last moments... LOL. In fact, I had decided to forgo learning the Pedal Up altogether.

Yesterday, I was learning the pedal hops, pedal kicks and basically riding the home-made sections for an hour or so. I did not know what made me do it (I was dead tired and ready to call it a night)... without thinking, I decided to just try the Pedal Up. I managed to bring the front wheel up and committed to pedal hard on my right foot. To my surprise, I managed to bring the bike up and land two wheels on the double stacked wooden pallets.

Stoking the Adrenalin

The lack of sleep (woke up at 6:00am that day), tiredness and whatever fatigues went away that moment... LOL. I had already taken off my shirt and ready to pack it in... and now... I was totally stoked!!! Wow! I felt the motion and the "groove" of the move. I just had to continue. I wanted my body to remember the move!!!! HAhahaha.

And so, I called Joel to bring out the video camera to document my Pedal Up learning progress... LOL. The following video showed only the successful attempts out of probably a hundred failed or pathetic attempts... HAhah.


A 2 minutes video of a few hours of learning. The still elusive Pedal Up.

Today, I was supposed to go riding with Wong Xu, Syarul and Aris in the Shah Alam Lake Park. But the rain got the better of us and I decided to cancel it. Instead, I went looking for a pair of screws long enough to install the Echo brake booster for my 26" (which had major brake problems).

Anyway, after that I decided to continue learning the Pedal Ups as shown in the video above. Now, I have a bruised buttock, injured elbow and a fistful of blisters and callouses.

Almost got a cramp on my left thigh while writing this blog... need a break. Gonna skip riding tomorrow.... I hope... LOL.

BikeTrials at Putrajaya Bike Park

Last Saturday, I went riding trials in the Putrajaya Bike Park with Wong Xu of China. He had only been in Malaysia for about a month. He found my phone number from the BikeTrial Malaysia website and called 2 weekends before. I could only arrange for us to ride last Saturday.

We met up at the Cyberia Condos next to MMU and headed to the Putrajaya Bike Park. He told me that he was expecting to find a lot of BikeTrial riders in Malaysia. He was quite surprised when I told him that I know of less than 10 riders. Anyway, Wong Xu had been riding for more than 5 years in China. So, I took this opportunity to ask him to coach me on some of the skills.

Rulong Trial Bike. Made in China. Wong Xu has modified his hydraulic brakes to use water instead of hydraulic fluid. Cool!

The Pedal Up

I have been trying to get this right for the longest time, stacking up the wooden pallets, viewing all the related videos, and still not getting anywhere. And so I decided to put off learning and try later. But now I have Wong Xu to explain and show me, I am stoked again... Hahahah.

Wong Xu doing the pedal up as slow as he can to show me the technique.


Here in this video, Wong Xu explained to me how and where my foot should be placed.

The Pedal Hop

I had never really taken this technique seriously as I never had any problem learning it. That is, until riding on undulating or rocky sections... LOL. All this while, I had been learning and practicing on flat and level ground. Now I have a new respect for it!


Wong Xu showing me how I should practice the pedal hop. He said that this would be a very useful technique, especially when used in combination with other techniques. Useful for riding many different types of terrain, especially rocky sections.

Gapping on Rear Wheel

I have been practicing minor "gapping" on stacks of wooden pallets. But my goal was never to see how far I could gap. I was still trying to get comfortable with balancing on the rear wheel and pedal kicking across pallets. Until Wong Xu told me, I had not realised that for long distance gap, you do not actually use the pedal drive train to gain the distance, but rather just simply compressing the rear tire just as you make the jump. I gotta keep that in mind when I decide to try it... LOL.


Wong Xu demonstrating the long distance gapping technique.

All said and done, since that day, I simply did not have the time to ride. This whole week had been super rushed and busy. Anyway, Wong Xu called me up today and asked if we would be going riding this Saturday. I have decided to take him to Bukit Komanwel to ride some rocks... :-)



If anyone of you are interested, please let me know.

Btw, the Putrajaya Bike Park is still under construction. They are still working on the dirt jumps and ramps overlooking the skate park area. We were riding at the skate park area. Quite a nice place to practice.

Some BikeTrial Progress and Video Editing... LOL

It has been hard. After trying to learn the "zap tap" and "pedal kick" for a while now, I decided to up the ante a bit. And so I decided to move the stacks of pallets wider apart and try pedal kicking over the gaps.





Felt very scary at first, but after doing it for a few times, I became more confident. And then I got the idea of playing with different camera angles to try make a video "movie" of me trying to ride a section. Check out the edited and the unedited videos below... hilarious!


This video is made from a few videos I took from different angles and then composite together. This is the first time I tried doing something like this. Lots of fun!


This video shows the four videos before being edited and combined into a "movie".... LOL.

Learning Pedal Kick and Pedal Up Zap Tap

Last Saturday I decided to reward myself by getting a new pair of 661 shin guards from TTDI's KSH Bike shop. My old shin guards (which I have repaired many times over) have saved me from much agony and I felt that aside from the helmet, they were the most important equipment for learning BikeTrial... :-)


My old shin guards, which I have repaired many times.


Yeah, the new shin guards. Easy to wear and remove.

Anyway, while waiting for my kids to finish their replacement classes, I took some time off to practice what I thought was two of the most important biketrial skills after the three basics skills (track-stand, hopping and pivoting). They are the pedal kick and the pedal up zap tap.

Pedal Kicking down the Wooden Pallet

For pedal kick, I was trying to get my arm and shoulder muscles to toughen up... LOL. Then I tried learning to control the pedal kicks to be more precise. At first I tried just pedal kicking on a flat level ground. Then I decided to do it from a stack of pallets. I figured that if I could get use to the height and small gaps, I will be able to handle higher and wider gaps later... without the fear of height... LOL.

Maybe wishful thinking.... but my current goal is to train myself to be able to pedal kick and land anywhere I want just like in those videos I watched on YouTube... Hahaha. The following video shows me struggling with the pedal kicks down the wooden pallets.


I set up the wooden pallets from high to low, allowing me to start from the top and work myself down.



So tired! Learning to balance and pedal kicking down the wooden pallets.

Pedal Up Zap Tap Onto an Obstacle

The pedal up zap tap is one of the more useful skill needed to ride a section. It is necessary for climbing onto an obstacles. To me, it is one of the most difficult techniques to learn. I have been trying this for a month now and I seemed to be getting nowhere. The following video shows me attempting to pedal up zap tap a 2 feet stack of wooden pallet.


A stack of 4 wooden pallets, which I used to practice and learn the "pedal up zap tap".



My noobie step to "pedal up zap tap". I could only do it this way, until I can learn to fully commit, to "fly" up the pallets... which will lead me to learn the "touch up" and the "pedal up" LOL.

From here on until I really get it, I will be learning and training myself to master these two techniques. Hopefully, it will be soon.

Note: Got my terminology wrong... it's not a "pedal up" but a "zap tap" that I was learning. But my direction is to learn the "touch up" and "pedal up" after this... LOL.

Last night, managed to successfully execute the "touch up" a number of times... exhilarating!!! Unfortunately, one failed attempt injured my right knee, right toe and left calf went into a cramp!!! And now I am miserably on the bench!!!! Hate this! - Last updated July 10, 2009.

Forget Natural or Urban, Learn the Techniques First

In my previous blog post I have been talking about setting up a semi permanent BikeTrial training ground using wooden pallets or any other suitable materials. I have been trying to convey this idea to various friends and riders. Unfortunately, most of them do not feel the same way... LOL. But some of the responses were very supportive... :-)

The most common responses I received were that they prefer "natural" obstacles over "man-made" obstacles. I can see where they are coming from. They feel that natural were more demanding and challenging, and I totally agreed with them.

What is Natural?

For the BikeTrial uninitiated, when we say "natural", we are actually referring to naturally occurring obstacles such as tree roots, rock formations, boulders or fallen logs, etc. So basically, a natural section is made up of combination of these "natural" obstacles that a rider needs to overcome to ride and complete the section.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make here is that in Malaysia, we do not have any really experienced BikeTrial riders. There are still a lot of techniques or skills that we do not know (at least based on the number of riders I know of and have ridden with). And I can really see that as being a major hurdle to progress... LOL. We rely a lot on videos from YouTube or BikeTrial forums, etc. and occasionally tips from fellow riders in Singapore to learn the many BikeTrial techniques... LOL.

And so... I strongly advocate having a semi-permanent area setup for BikeTrial, which I think will expedite the training and improve the steep learning curve of the various techniques or skills. I think this is the fastest way for us to learn, where we meet, share and learn from each other as we progressed... hahah.

Only after learning the many skills and techniques to a consistent level, do I think that we can progress to decide if we like "natural" or "urban" sections... LOL. So please dun tell me you like "natural" when I say, lets set up a BikeTrial training area with wooden pallets and such... and I will buy you a teh tarik... LOL.

How many BikeTrial Riders in Malaysia?

Based on my last count, I think there are about 9 proper trial bikes (with 8 riders) that I know of in Malaysia. Kind of pathetic if you ask me... LOL. But nevertheless, in 2007, there was only 1 trial bike (Syarul's bike... LOL). So this is progress indeed.

1. Syarul (Neon Bike 20") - bought from Singapore
2. Sean (Echo Pure 26") - bought from Singapore
3. Helmi (Adamant 20") - bought from Singapore
4. Aris (Monty 218 20") - bought from Shah Alam, Malaysia
5. Nico (Yaaba 20") - bought from UK
6. Shawn (Monty 20") - bought from UK
7. Jack (Monty 221PR 20") - bought from Singapore
8. Jack (Echo Pure 26") - bought from Singapore
9. Henry (Echo Lite 20") - bought from Singapore

A big milestone this year is that, there is actually a bicycle supplier in Malaysia with the foresight (at least that's what I would like to think... LOL) to import Monty Trial bike from Taiwan. The Monty 218 20". Hopefully, this will play a part to spur the growth of BikeTrial in Malaysia.

BikeTrial is a perfect Spectator Sport?

Another reason for setting up a semi-permanent BikeTrial training ground is that it will aid in the promotion of the sport. BikeTrial is the perfect spectator sport, where anyone watching will be mesmerized by the riders riding the obstacles in the man-made sections. Even the design of the trial bikes will get so much attention... "Eh... what happened to the seat?" LOL

BikeTrial Malaysia has Future?

Anyway, here is a video of how the BikeTrial Champion (Dani Comas) of the World trains with his friends... LOL. Check out the training ground specifically designed for BikeTrial. Maybe one day, we will have a training ground like those shown in the videos below... :-)


Dani Comas and friends

And another...


Nóra Tavasi from Hungary.

Singapore 09 National BikeTrial Championship - Round 2

Believe it or not, I planned this trip for the Round 2 of the Singapore 09 National BikeTrial Championship since March, when I participated in Round 1.

This time around the competition was held in Toa Payoh Town Park. A beautifully design park right smack in the heart of Singapore. Unlike in Round 1, which was held in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the Toa Payoh Town Park was free of mosquitoes, flies, snakes and other critters... LOL.











Unfortunately, I was not able to participate. About a month ago, my family and I had been stricken with tonsil infections. It was brutal. I was still recovering... man... at this age, it really took a while to recover! (Hence, no update on my blog.)

In any case, I was adamant not to miss the competition. If I was not able to ride, at least I was able to document the tournament via videos and photos... LOL.

Similar to Round 1, there were altogether 5 sections. All riders had to ride all the sections, 3 times. The scores and times would be tabulated accordingly by the Observers. The competition only started at about 10:00am and finished at 1:00pm. I had to leave early and was not able to stay for the final results and prize giving. In fact, I am still waiting for the official result to be published... :-)

The BikeTrial Sections


Section 1. A few of the riders walking through Section 1 trying to determine the best line to take according to their category (Elite, J. Senior or Open).


Section 2.


Section 3.


Section 4.


Section 5.

There's this saying, "It is not the destination that counts, but the journey." Well... I must say that in this case, both the journey and destination was fantastic. Although, I had to leave early, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

After 4 weeks of no riding, it is time to get back to it again, by this weekend!


Matthew riding the sections.


Walton riding the sections.


Yang Ming riding the sections.


Ben Loh riding the sections.


Here is a video of Yang Ming, Walton, Hor Fun and Ben 14 fooling around after the competition.

Btw, now I am planning to attend the BIU World BikeTrial Championship to be held in Ping Tang, China, in August. Really looking forward to it!

More Stuff

• Some videos of the riders.
• Tons of photos here.
• Round 2 Results.

The Insomniac and The Race Boy Rode BikeTrials In Shah Alam

Last Saturday, we spent some time riding at Shah Alam Taman Tasik (Lake Garden). Since 6:00am that morning, Wyatt (aka "The Insomniac") had been riding around his house in Sungai Long, practicing track-stand and hopping. Later he joined Syarul (aka "The Race Boy") in Shah Alam.

I joined them later at about 1:30pm. By then, I could see that Wyatt was extremely tired. Man... I had thought that he was either nuts or just plain crazy about and/or addicted to BikeTrial... LOL.

Anyway, since the last time I saw Wyatt, which was about 2 weeks ago, he has improved his track-stand tremendously! He has also picked up hopping. Cool! The man is DRIVEN!!! LOL.

Here are some photos of our ride in Shah Alam Taman Tasik (Lake Garden).


These steps were perfect for climbing. I used to just admire them and often wondered when I could actually climb them... LOL. It was good to be back!


The perfect setting for learning and practicing "extension", pedal-up and pedal-kick down.


Syarul pedal-kicking along the walkway! Nice to watch!


Wyatt ready to call it quits at about 4:00pm... LOL. He looked like he was going to collapse anytime. Almost 9 hours of riding... Phew! Tough guy... LOL.


Wyatt and Syarul together for a pix!

By 4:30pm, the rain came and everyone had to leave. Syarul and I went over to the Burger King at the Shah Alam Extreme park for some refillable soft drinks. Wyatt had to rush off and shopped for some supplies for his cafe or his staff will serve his head to the customers that night... that guy is tough... gonna work till 1:00am... LOL.

Setting Up a Semi-permanent Place for BikeTrials Training

For the longest time, I have been repetitively watching a lot of competition videos from BikeTrials.com and one of my favourites was the Bar-H Bash Competition, where they rode man-made sections. That gave me the idea and the yearning to want to set up a mock section similar to that at home.

And so I began collecting wooden pallets, starting with those, which I took from the BikeTrials demo by Walton, Ben and Nelwin; organised by Syarul. I managed to collect enough to set up a section that allowed me to train and hone the basic skill sets of BikeTrial.


The section set up in my house.

Ever since then, I have been thinking about finding a public place that is more accessible to all, to set up a semi-permanent location for training BikeTrials. I have benefited so much from practicing on it, and I think others will too.

I mooted the idea to Syarul earlier this month (March 8th) and ever since then, we have been looking for the ideal location. My plan was to use wooden pallets, logs, tyres and other man-made objects to create mock sections, designed to be ridden using the various BikeTrials skills and techniques.

Having a training location like this will enable newbies to fast-track their learning, guided by more experienced riders. Riders with any type of bikes will be able to test their mettle on these sections.

The following are images I have captured from the videos I downloaded from BikeTrials.com, an American BikeTrial site although outdated, still has a lot of resources promoting trials. Check out the following man-made sections in the Bar-H Bash Competition held in 2006.











Now imagine, if we were to have a permanent place to set up BikeTrials sections like those shown in the above images... Wow!!! LOL...

The plan would be to have a wide variety of sections set up with the intention of challenging riders to pit their skills against the obstacles. And if the BikeTrial community grows big enough, we can have our own little competition where we can invite riders from other places or countries to participate... :-)

So if you have any ideas to contribute or empty land (accessible and not too far... LOL) you want to loan to us to set up a BikeTrial training ground, please let us know... LOL. The ideal location would be the grounds around an old abandoned warehouse, an abandoned car park or a park where they will allow the set up of all these "obstacles".... LOL

Until we find the perfect location... lets keep on riding... :-)

Things I learned from participating in a BikeTrial Competition

First off, why did I participate in a BikeTrial competition? Firstly, I want to see what it feels like to ride a section other than the ones I setup myself... LOL. Secondly, I can learn so much from so many riders by just watching them ride a section, and then trying myself. Thirdly and most importantly, it is just so much fun!!!!

Here is a list of things I learned from participating in the Round 1 of Singapore National BikeTrials Competition this year:

1. Favourite or "chocolate" foot

When first starting to learn track-stand, you have to determine which of your feet is your "favourite" or "chocolate" foot. This is the foot that you place on the fore pedal. My favourite foot is my right foot. I was only able to track-stand consistently with my favourite foot in front. After training for a while, I managed to get comfortable with having the left foot in front, albeit inconsistently.

What I learned during the competition was that being consistent with track-stand using either foot was critical to riding the sections. Because sometimes, you cannot control which foot you need to use for a dab, especially when you loose your balance.

If you are not comfortable with the foot on the pedal, recovering from the dab could be very expensive... LOL. That is, utilising an extra dab to get your favourite foot on the pedal to get back to riding.

During a dab, the position of your bike could be in all kind of weird positions, which may be difficult to adjust, maneuver or recover from. So train yourself to recover from a dab with your trial bike in as many varied positions as possible.

In conclusion, it is important to train yourself to recover from a dab using either foot on the pedal and with the trial bike in any position.

2. Walk The Section Before Riding

I learn from watching the more experienced riders that walking through the section before riding is very important. Half the battle is already won if you can determine the perfect riding line prior to starting on the section. It will also enable you to fully utilise the 2 minutes allocated to finish riding the section.

When walking through the sections try to do the following:

• Identify possible difficult parts of the sections that will require extra effort and energy to ride.
  
• Identify when to use a dab if necessary.
  
• Identify rest points along the sections. Use your tires or pedals to rest if necessary.
  
• Identify and evaluate the techniques to be used for riding the section.
• If possible, see how other riders ride the sections and adapt it to your style and skill level.
  

3. Slow down and Don't Panic

I have a big problem with this. Maybe it is the adrenalin... LOL. You just have to tell yourself to do it. I suppose more competition experience will help here. But I doubt it... LOL.

4. Rest

Take the time to rest while riding a section. Relax, 2 minutes is longer than you think... Hahaha.... yeah right! This is why when walking the section, you need to identify the rest points, where you can use the least amount of energy to rest by using the pedals or tires. (For UCI competition rules, you can't use the pedals to rest.)

5. Breathe

I always see the experienced riders taking hard and deep breaths before they ride a difficult part of a section. The correct way to breath would be in through the mouth and out through the mouth? (Can someone confirm this?)

Anyway, my problem is that I forget to breath when I ride... LOL. This affects my stamina and I am usually exhausted by the time I reach one third of a section... LOL. Som good news is that since then, I have improved quite significantly... LOL. So learn to breath... Hahah.

6. Understanding Bike setup

Understanding how to setup a bike properly for a section is critical. What I learned during this particular competition was that when riding "natural" (natural means sections built from the natural terrains - grass, moss, logs, roots, rocks, etc.) deflate your tires reasonably according to your weight. This will enable you to get more tire surface area contact with the ground, thus giving you more grip.

In my case, I deflated my tire too much and received a puncture on the front wheel when I missed an extend and landed on the edge of a rock as I slipped... LOL.

Another tip I learned was to loosen the screws on the brake lever brackets holding it to the handlebar. This is just in case when you crash your bike, having a loose bracket will prevent your aluminum brake lever from breaking off (and thus ending your competition if you dun have a spare).

7. Understand the Rules

Knowing the BikeTrial rules is definitely important for any rider intending on competing. I definitely need to have better understanding of the rules. Maybe after I get myself trained as a Observer... LOL.

I still need a lot of training in all the above areas. There are probably a lot of other things which I am not aware of, but this is a start.

The competition really made me realised how much more things I needed to learn and I am only referring to the basic stuff. Forget the rest, balancing on "natural" terrains is a big challenge for me. Mostly, I trained on hard concrete and tarmac ground. I was totally not used to the varied combination of loose, wet, slippery and soft ground.

In any case, if you are a beginner like me, I hope that the above points will help you ride better... If you have more points to contribute, please feel free to post your comments. Cheers... :-)

BikeTrials History in Bukit Komanwel Park?

Today, 4 Malaysians (Syarul, Helmi, Wyatt and me) got together to share, learn and ride trials. This has got to be the largest gathering of Malaysian BikeTrials riders (with three trial bikes - Echo Pure, Neonbike and Adamant) in the history of Malaysia ever!!! LOL.

This is indeed a great start to BikeTrial in Malaysia. Lets hope the community will grow from 4 to the hundreds!!!!

Wyatt currently rides a brand new Da Bomb's Tora Bora. Now he wants to sell the XC bike to buy a second-hand trial bike... LOL. He is really stoked and is determined to focus all his energy on learning BikeTrials... :-)

Helmi is the proud owner of the Adamant, which he bought from Syarul a few months back. He is a quick learner. From what I heard from Syarul, Helmi could climb steps almost immediately... LOL.

Syarul explaining to Wyatt about the finer points of track-stand on his Neonbike.

Wyatt getting ready to take a ride on a trial bike for the first time ever.

Wyatt took the Neonbike for a spin. He tried the hydraulic brakes and was shocked at how sticky the brake was... LOL.

We are planning to ride again next Saturday, but yet to decide on the location. Will update later... :-)