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.

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.

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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.

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.

Learning the Side Hop

I have been trying to learn the "side hop" for the longest time. Ever since Oct 23 last year, I have been trying and trying and trying... to learn this elusive skill.

During that time, I basically did what I called the "chicken" side hop... LOL. Basically, I just pulled the handlebar up and backward to pivot back, and then hopped onto the wooden pallet. It looked nothing like the Ryan Leech's Side Hop video. I did not have the guts to pedal down to bring up the front wheel... which is why I called it my "chicken" side hop... Hahah.

Anyway, early this month, I decided to try learn the skill again. This time, I concentrated on just pedaling down to bring up the front wheel before extending my arms to bring up the rear wheel, similar to a bunny hop... but as stationary as I could possibly managed.


This video showed me trying to learn by pedaling down to bring up the front wheel before extending my arms to bring up the rear wheel.

I practiced that for about a week, but could only managed to side hop onto a single level of the wooden pallet and rather inconsistently at that. Today, I decided to try a different way to do the side hop. I started in a rear wheel hop position and then side hop onto the wooden pallets. On the first try, I could managed it beautifully!!!

You could imagine how happy I was... Hahahah. I was stoked! I did it a couple more times and decided that I must take a video of this new milestone... LOL.


Joel had to stop doing his homework to help me take this video... I dun think he minded at all... LOL


Far from being perfect, the side hop from another camera angle.

It is quite obvious that I still have a long way to go to master this new skill. From the Ryan Leech video, one could discern how useful this skill would be when riding a rock section. I just cannot wait to be able to side hop consistently and doing the many variations of the side hop.

The day will come when I will be able to put all these BikeTrial skills together in a symphony of synchronized movements to conquer a section!

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... :-)

10 Reasons To Start BikeTrials

It has been more than a year since I started taking an interest in BikeTrials. Personally, I know of less than 10 persons in Malaysia, whom are interested in BikeTrials, and even less if I count those who ride trials. BikeTrials has been around for so many years the World over.

It is also a cycling sport that is sanctioned by UCI (International Cycling Union). Our neighbours bordering us, Singapore and Thailand, have a much bigger BikeTrial following, with Singapore leading the way. Why is it that out of a population of 27 millions, I know less than 10 Malaysian trial riders?

Here are 10 reasons why I think cyclists in Malaysia should take up BikeTrials:

1. It is a great way to excercise and stay healthy; body, mind and soul!
2. It is the ultimate individual sport on two wheels. Some event organisers are calling it a great spectator sport, because all eyes will be on the rider and machine.
3. You will learn and master the art of riding and controlling a bike like never before.
4. You can ride trials anywhere and anytime, rain or shine! 5 square feet will give you so much fun!
5. You will be part of a select group of people that will help to spread and propel BikeTrials to the rest of Malaysia.
6. You will be able to make so many friends.
7. You will capture the imagination of all your non-cyclist as well as cyclist friends, whom will look at you in a totally new light... possibly "shock and awe"... LOL.
8. Your seat-less bike will always be the center of attention where ever you go.
9. You will never get tired of explaining what BikeTrial is... LOL.
10. You will be so so so filled with personal satisfaction whenever you can achieve a new move or technique.

I am sure there are more than 10 reasons. But I will leave that to your imagination.

If you have decided that you wanna give BikeTrials a try, I gotta let you know that it is not going to happen over night. You should be prepared to dedicate time and effort to it. Watch BikeTrial videos over and over, again and again and again. Train, practice and train... :-)

So where to start... how about here? Btw, learning trials with friends is much faster and more fun!

Ok I am interested in BikeTrial. So how do I start?

First off, I am a newbie in BikeTrial. Secondly, I welcome all who want to venture out into this brave new world of BikeTrials.

It is not easy. It is a lot of hard work. Once you have mastered the basics, I swear to you on all things good and great in this world that you will not regret one bit of it... LOL. To top it off, I am more than 45 years old and I only started BikeTrial August last year. I only managed to get a trial bike in March this year.

I am living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.... LOL.

So how does one start?

There are 3 basic skills that a BikeTrial rider must learn and master. They are:

1. Track stand
2. Pivoting/rocking
3. Hopping

The underlying key skill for the above is BALANCING. All the above 3 basic skills rely on you controlling your bike and adjusting your body in a balancing act. This constant struggle for balance will get easier as you practice.

I have struggled with all these 3 skills. I am struggling LESS now... LOL. Hopefully, it will be effortless for me one day.. :-)

1. Track Stand

Track stand simply means, your two feet on the pedals and the bike is in a stationary position. You have to master this most fundamental skill! This is the technique that will lead you to the other two. I will not go into the technique here. There are plenty of information on the Internet and YouTube on how to learn the track stand.

• http://www.teamestrogen.com/articles/asa_trackstand.asp
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ4oIchtkts (Ryan Leech)

2. Pivoting or Rocking

Pivoting/rocking is the act of shifting your weight on the bike to the front to the extend that you can easily lift up your rear wheel and vice versa as you lift up the front wheel. Your bike is stationary. Both front and back brakes are applied in full.

• https://youtu.be/RN7gK-56XhE (Ryan Leech)

3. Hopping

Hopping is the act of lifting both wheels up in the air. It is easy to do while your bike is rolling along, but difficult when your bike is stationary.

• https://youtu.be/F4GCpUz_LJE (Ryan Leech)

When you have mastered the above skills, you can choose to venture into the world of riding biketrial sections or urban trials, both achieving different sets of objectives and requires different combination of skills.

I hope this article is enough to start you off in learning BikeTrials. Btw, you can use any bike to practice the above skills.

If you wanna practice together (it is more fun that way), just drop me an email.

(Originally published on BikeTrial Malaysia.)

Learning BikeTrial Basics

After months of training, I am still at square one. Sigh. There is a slight improvement in track-stand, pivoting and hopping. But it is just so so so tiring! Sometimes, I just forget to breath when training. Had to keep telling myself to breath, breath and breath, to get oxygen into my system!

The weight of my current bike is 15kg. Is it too heavy for bike trials? I have no idea. But the Echo Pure bike I will be getting next month weighs less than 10kg. I hope the weight will make a huge difference in my training.

My 7 year son, Joel, was helping me capture some of the training on video. The video helped me to spot any mistakes I was making while practicing.


Still trying very hard to learn track-stand, pivoting and hopping.

Right now I am trying to learn to track-stand on my rear wheel while resting my front wheel two feet above the ground on a ledge. Hopefully after learning that, I can easily transition to the rear wheel hop.


Trying to get comfortable with the rear wheel track-stand.

So far, I tried to transition to the rear wheel hop without any success. My body position and pose just do not feel right for hopping on the rear wheel while hugging the handle bar so close to my navel. I guess it will have to be a long trial and error learning process. I wonder if the bike geometry has anything to do with this? I guess, I will have to wait until I get my new bike and see.