Okay, so trials biking? Honestly, I kinda stumbled into this whole thing. Saw some mind-blowing videos online – guys hopping bikes onto park benches, balancing impossibly on rocks, climbing crazy steep stuff without pedaling. Looked completely impossible and totally cool. Had to know more about this “trials competition” stuff myself.
The “Oh, That Sounds Simple” Phase… (Spoiler: It Wasn’t)
Started digging. Watched more videos, read some forum posts. My first thought was basically: “So, it’s like an obstacle course on a bike? And you gotta get through without putting your feet down? Sounds straightforward enough.” Boy, was I clueless. Grabbed my trusty old mountain bike – yeah, the heavy one with the big squishy suspension – and headed to the local park, eyeing up some innocent-looking curbs and logs. Thought it was gonna be a piece of cake.
First log I tried? Total wipeout. Like, feet flying, bike tipping, pure chaos. Didn’t even lift the front wheel properly. Tried hopping onto a picnic table? Nope. Felt completely uncoordinated. My bike felt like a giant, clumsy tank. Started realizing this “just don’t put your feet down” rule was WAY harder than it sounded. Felt super awkward. Every little bump threw me off balance.
Actually Figuring Out What Competitions Are Like
So, feeling pretty humbled, I dove deeper. Realized competitions aren’t just random obstacles. They set up specific, tough sections:
- Massive logs or rocks you gotta bunnyhop or backhop onto.
- Piles of huge boulders you need to carefully balance and hop between.
- Skinnies – crazy narrow beams (think telephone poles!) where you ride or balance along the top.
- Vertical walls you ride up and then somehow stop on without flipping over backwards.
- Often built with natural stuff like rocks, wood, and dirt. Felt way more raw than a skate park.
Here’s the kicker that blew my mind: You don’t pedal through these sections! Like, at all! You might give one hard pedal before entering, but then it’s all about balance, controlled hops (front wheel, back wheel, or both), pivots, and precise weight shifts. Judging? Turns out it’s strict:
- One foot down? Penalty point (“dab”).
- Two feet down? More points lost.
- Falling off the obstacle? Even more points.
- Going outside the marked boundaries? Boom, penalty.
- You get timed per section too, but mostly it’s about staying clean.
Judges? Weird. They literally follow each rider through the section, watching every foot placement like hawks. Super intense! Different skill levels have different sections – makes sense, nobody expects a beginner to tackle the Expert wall-of-death. But across the board, it’s all about smooth control and keeping those feet up.
My “Attempt” at Grasping the Basics
Armed with slightly more knowledge (but still mostly ignorance), I knew my heavy mountain bike wasn’t cutting it. Borrowed a friend’s actual trials bike for an afternoon. Wow, what a difference! Thing weighed nothing, felt glued to my hips, and the brakes were insanely strong.
Started tiny. Like, ridiculously tiny:
- Practiced trackstands: Just standing dead still on the bike. Sounds dumb? Try holding it for 10 seconds on flat ground. Harder than it looks! Legs burning.
- Front wheel lifts: Trying to pop just the front wheel onto a curb maybe 4 inches high. Took ages just to get the timing right without catapulting myself or slamming back down.
- Back wheel hops: Trying to get the back wheel to hop even a fraction off the ground. Felt totally unnatural. More slams.
- Rolling over a single, low log: Trying to absorb the bump with my arms and legs without getting bucked. Still kinda jarring.
It was frustrating, sweaty, and involved way more falling over (safely!) than I expected. But that moment when you finally nail a tiny hop onto a curb without dabbing? Pure magic. Instantly addictive.
Seeing It Differently Now
After struggling myself – even just with beginner stuff – watching competition videos now is a whole new experience. I flinch when I see someone nearly dab. I understand the sheer physical effort behind every hop and pivot. I appreciate the insane bike control and split-second decisions. What looked impossible before? Now it looks like a lifetime of dedication, practice, and serious core strength. It’s less about speed, way more about ridiculous precision and guts. Total respect to those riders. Might keep messing with the borrowed bike… very, very slowly! My curbs now look like personal challenges.
