While we want to include interviews with riders of every age and skill level here on This Is Bike Trials!, I also really look forward to opportunities for interviewing professional trials riders. I think it’s important to highlight riders who do this for a living (I assume most of us just do this for fun). Probably like many of us, Chris Clark discovered bike trials completely by accident. Since learning trials as a teenager, he has made trials a career – not only as a performing athlete, but also as a partner at Dialed Action Sports. They perform for all types of audiences, but also have programs specifically for kids – not only providing a positive inspiration, but also getting kids hooked on bikes. I’m excited to introduce you to Chris!
Tell us a little about yourself
Chris Clark – I grew up riding mountain bike trials in Northern New Jersey and New York City. After more than 20 years of competing and doing solo performances, I teamed up with Dialed Action Sports, a sports-entertainment company, where I’m now a partner.
How long have you been riding bike trials? What is your riding level?
It’s been a while, so this takes some calculation… I started riding Pro Stock (26″) at 15, which would have been 1996 or 1997. I’d already been riding for about four years before turning pro, so I likely started with bike trials around 1993.
How did you discover bike trials and how did you get started? What age were you when you started?
This is a great question because trials is definitely something that’s “discovered.”
To start at the very beginning, I found biking through my love of airplanes and helicopters. As kids, my best friend and I would draw chalk runways at the bottom of big hills and “fly” our bikes in for landings. Eventually, after spending so much time “piloting” our bikes around town, we got pretty good and entered a local XC race.
I loved riding… but all that pedaling? Brutal!
I finished toward the back of the race, and someone told me, “You’re hardly racing out there. If you like hitting jibs and jumping all the logs so much, you ought to try a trials event.” I had no idea what they meant.
Later, I told the story at my local bike shop, and they ordered me a copy of Hans Rey’s Level Vibes VHS. That tape changed everything.
How would you define/describe “bike trials” in your own words to someone who never heard of it?
My go-to non-technical description is: Parkour on a bike.
What type of bike trials riding do you prefer and where do you like to ride?
I’ve always leaned more toward street-style trials than contest riding. It started with Hans Rey and Libor Karas and has evolved into the wild styles of riders like Danny MacAskill and Fabio Wibmer.
Why do you ride bike trials and what keeps you motivated to keep riding?
These days, most of my riding happens during shows across the country, but my all-time favorite place to ride is Central Park, NYC. The park is packed with natural features, and the energy of the city makes it the most exciting place to ride on earth.
What other styles of cycling do you do? How has trials helped you improve your skills in those other biking disciplines (and vice versa)?
After years of doing only trials, I got into dirt jumping. Funny enough, I think having a foundation in trials actually made dirt jumping harder to learn.
Trials trains you to overuse your brakes, adopt an upright stance, and always land back-wheel first—all habits that you have to unlearn to ride jumps properly.
But once you adapt and get comfortable with speed and flow, those jumping skills add real depth to your trials riding.
How often do you ride trials? What sort of routine do you have for practice versus riding for fun versus making edits, etc. – how much time is dedicated to each?
With so many shows booked, I rarely have to carve out dedicated practice time. But whenever I travel to a new city for a show, I always make time to ride around, explore, and scout new lines.
In fact, I often remember cities by the lines I found there…
The riverfront parks in Omaha? The rocks by the Sheraton Hotel at O’Hare? Somebody out there knows what I’m talking about.
What’s the bike trials scene like near you? How many other riders are there? Do you have regular group rides? Comps?
I’m not active in the contest or group ride scene these days, but Dialed Action Sports could definitely use a new crop of riders!
How do you manage fear when doing new/bigger moves or lines?
Trials riders don’t really face the same kind of fear BMX or dirt jump riders do. Trials is super progressive – the learning curve is long, so you usually know exactly how likely you are to pull a move and already have a bailout plan if things start going south.
What are your personal goals with respect to trials (near-term and long-term)?
At this point, my goals are more about continuing to promote the sport (and bike riding broadly) to as many kids and teens as I possibly can through our Dialed Action demos.
Who are your bike trials ‘heroes’ and/or influences? Favorite trials video(s)?
Hans Rey’s Level Vibes is 100% the reason I got into trials.
For people who aren’t familiar with Dialed Action Sports, tell me briefly about the company, it’s mission, and the role that trials plays in achieving the company’s mission.
Dialed Action Sports is an entertainment production company, specializing in 2-wheeled entertainment. We produce everything from school assembly programs, all the way up to sideline entertainment programs and halftime shows for Major League sporting events. Our “Get Out + Play Tour” is all about getting kids off their screens in favor of outdoor play.
How did you connect with Brian (Cunningham) and wind up a co-owner at Dialed Action Sports?
As my career grew, I found myself booked for more performances than I could handle on my own. I was constantly turning down gigs because I only had my solo MTB trials show to offer.
Teaming up with Dialed Action was a no-brainer. They had a great client base, a different style of show (they were BMX-only at the time), and multiple teams – so I could now double or triple book busy weekends.
What is your most memorable or rewarding experience doing shows as a professional trials rider?
When I started, I only cared about riding at the biggest, flashiest events. I thought school assemblies were kind of silly.
But now, especially since having a kid of my own, I’ve realized how meaningful and impactful school programs can be. They’ve become some of my favorite events to perform at.
Dialed Action Sports offers youth events to address a number of topics such as anti-bullying and responsible choices with a positive message. Can you share any stories about some of the experiences you or other Dialed Action Sports athletes have had in providing the youth events?
One of the best parts of what we do is launching the careers of young riders.
Guys like Christian Arehart and Brady Baker (last I checked, Brady had six X Games gold medals) got their first paying cycling jobs with us. I love knowing that we’re not only inspiring students to get active, but we’re also helping the next generation of riders go pro.
What characteristics make athletes most successful in delivering bike stunt shows?
It all comes down to attitude and crowd engagement.
Riding skills are great, but the number one trait of a great performer is personality. Skill probably ranks third.
Are you looking for athletes to join your team? How can they get in touch with you?
ABSOLUTELY! Anybody with trials, street trials, BMX or flatland skills, hit us up on Instagram!
What are your perspectives on the trials biking scene in general and in North America in particular?
The separation of Observed Trials from the NORBA National Series was a major turning point – and not in a good way. Up until then, both trials and mountain biking were growing fast, even getting national TV coverage.
Although trials didn’t draw many competitors, NORBA placed the pro trials events in the infield of the XC races, which made them a great spectator event.
When NORBA dropped trials, they lost one of the most exciting and watchable parts of their races. I think they shot themselves in the foot.
Event organizers today should look to places like Mammoth Mountain in the early 2000s as a blueprint for integrating small trials events into bigger festivals.
Today, Bentonville BikeFest is one of the few American events that really gets it right.
What would you like to see happening in North America with respect to bike trials?
I’d love to see “normal” bikes make their way back into competitive trials.
I give tons of credit to today’s riders – what they can do on modern trials bikes is absolutely insane. But trials has become a victim of its own success. The bikes now look more like gymnastic apparatuses than bikes, and the obstacles barely resemble anything found on an actual mountain bike trail.
I’d like to see courses built for standard bikes, or more speed trials events where everyday riders and street trials athletes could get involved in competition.
Any interesting / funny / crazy bike trials stories or experiences you can share?
“You’re going to cause a car accident riding like that!” People would say that during our demos for years… and then it actually happened.
During a show at Spoke-N-Sport in Sioux Falls, SD, a driver got distracted watching the demo and rear-ended several cars stopped at a red light. Luckily, everyone was okay.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start bike trials or has just started?
I would tell an aspiring rider that he/she might want to start on a street trials bike that will give them a sense of what trials is all about while still allowing them to build “regular” bike riding and handling skills.
How do people find you online? (i.e., YouTube, web, social media, etc.)
Dialed Action Sports on IG
Who is the one North American bike trials rider (any skills level) that you think I should interview?
Find Libor Karas and see what he has been up to!
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