English Trials

 

All four brothers rode dirt bikes at one time or another.  Some of us rode English trials.  English Trials is a non-timed event where the contestants test their skills against a series of obstacles in an effort to ride through without having to touch a foot to the ground.

 

A person can ride any kind of motorcycle they want, but a specialized Trials bike is a “must” for any of the advanced classes.

 

I didn’t actually have a specialized Trials bike, I rode the lower level classes on an enduro, a more all around dirt bike.  It looked exactly like this, an Ossa Pioneer 250cc.  It was heavy.  It weighed 250 pounds.

 

Brother Bill, he advanced higher in the classes on an Ossa Plonker 250cc.

 

It was configured way better for Trials.  Not something I could have also used as a commuter to get from home to school and back, like I did with the Pioneer.

 

The current iteration of Trials bikes now looks like this.

 

Lightweight.  A small powerful motor.  Big rear sprocket for low end torque.  Lots of clearance.  Not made for sitting at all.  English trials is all done standing on the pegs for maximum control.

 

Well, now there is a new thing in Trials.  There is an “e” class.  The bike looks a lot like a gas powered motorcycle except it has an electric motor and battery (and no exhaust pipe).

 

Here is a test ride of an electric Trials bike.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maZcbqIWYzY

 

The actual riding starts at 7:30.  The video shows the kind of stuff Trials riders do.  They’re a little more sophisticated than what I used to do.  We could start and stop and work our way through without touching the ground back then, but I never got to bounce around and turn in place like they do now.  Getting lined up for a difficult obstacle had to be accomplished during the previous obstacle.  How we attacked one had a lot to do with how we finished the one before it.

 

The electric Trials bike is doing so well now, eBikes will no longer have their own class.  Starting in 2022, all classes will be open to any bike, no matter the method of propulsion.  Head-to-head, electric versus internal combustion.  It’s now an even field.