Before You Start Bike Trials

Here are some tips or lessons you will need to know before you take on bike trials. You would have probably learnt it as you go along, but there is no harm to know about it now, to get a head start and cut short the leaning curve... :-)


One finger braking is a MUST if you want to take on this sport. Whether you are using hydraulic brakes or cable brakes. It is safer and you will have a better grip on the handlebar. Btw, if you have short index fingers, most "good" brake levers are adjustable to suit your fingers' reach.


Pedals with good grip are also a MUST. Depending on the sole on your shoe, you must feel that when you lightly rest your shoe on the pedal, you will get a good grip. This will prevent your shoe from slipping off during critical moments... :-)


Brake setup is critical, especially the rear wheel brakes. Grind the rim and get a brake booster (if you are using rim brakes). There is no such thing as "too much braking" in trials... LOL.


Depending on the pedals, you can quickly wear down the sole and side of your shoes. So far, I have not found a pair that can last me a year... LOL. So get a pair that you are comfortable with. Personally, I prefer a flexible sole.


I am trying out this new pair of Puma. The sole is flat and slightly hard. I hope the sole will get softer as I ride more.


Without a shin guard? You are asking for major grief! If you are using pedals with metal studs, I seriously suggest you get a nice pair of shin guard.


What can I say? Depending on the type of grips on your handlebar, gloves are essential for extra protection and grip. Some riders do not like gloves... but like I said, it really depends on the grips on your handlebar. Due to my sweaty palms, I need to use it for protection and better grip :-)


You can do without the rest.... BUT you cannot do without a helmet!! Can never say this or hear this enough! Never ride trials without helmet!!!

Most of the time, new riders (including myself during that time) will just jump into learning the basic trial techniques without being aware of how important some of the safety preparations are.

I wish I had started off with knowing some of the above tips, instead of learning while I went along. Would have saved me some grief... LOL.

A Sunday Afternoon Learning the Elusive Pedal Up

Last Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day. To me, a beautiful day is clear blue sky with partial cloud cover... LOL, but not the thunder storm-type of clouds. Just enough to provide more than an occasional shade from the Sun. In other words, it is a perfect day for BikeTrials!

I had not been training the pedal up for a long while now. My plan for that day was to get back to it. Up to now, the consistency in the pedal up is still elusive. The last time I trained the pedal up was back in September 2009.

And so that Sunday, I dedicated my time to the Pedal Up. This time, I up the ante a bit. I added another wooden pallet to make it 3 pallets high. But the wooden pallets kept shifting due to the enormous amount of pressure each time the rear wheel landed. So instead of just 3 pallets, I stacked up 8 pallets, 5 pallets at the back to support and prevent the pallets from moving. Check out the following video.


Relentless!

During the training, I discovered that there were two main things that affected my pedal up; the position of the hand brakes and the position of the handle bar. I will explain the details in a another blog post, but they sure affected my performance.


A Sunday afternoon of fun with BikeTrials.

It was a fun and satisfying afternoon. Looking forward to this coming weekend... LOL.

Related Post:

• The Elusive Pedal Up
• BikeTrials at Putrajaya Bike Park
  

Roller Chain Snapped! Worse Nightmare Came True

After installing the V-brake chain tensioner that I DIY-ed last Thursday, I had been dying to ride my Echo!!! Unfortunately, I had to spend the weekend out of town in Johor Baru.

And so today, as soon as I had gotten back from work, I started my warm-up and practice routine on the 26". After about forty minutes, I decided to start on the pedal kick routine. That was when the roller chain snapped with a loud "crack". Freaked me out!!! One of the roller chain links broke. Thankfully, I managed to get the bike under control without any mishap!


The DIY V-brake chain tensioner. Still very solid and firm.


The broken roller chain. Check out those rust!

Ever since I had had that first experience with the roller chain snapping apart on me, I had been paranoid and wary of it happening again. And sure enough, it happened today.

When I was replacing the derailleur with my DIY chain tensioner, I was more or less aware that the roller chain was pretty rusted. In fact, after the first roller chain snapping apart experience, I had purchased a bottle of bicycle chain oil to lubricate the gears and roller chain. I had attributed the roller chain breaking to the derailleur. Now I think the rust probably played a big part.

It was very likely that I started maintaining the roller chain links way too late. Upon closer look today, certain parts of the chain links were pretty badly rusted.

So... what was the lesson learned? Constantly oil and maintain the roller chain to prevent rust from setting it!!!! Rust will weaken the metal!!! Guess I am going to shop for new bicycle roller chain tomorrow... gonna Google and see what are the best and lightest chain I can afford... LOL.

Btw, I regularly checked and maintained my pedals, brakes, wheels and stem. Mostly, I made sure that the nuts were tightened properly... :-) You should too!