How Do I Learn Bike Trials?
If you’re not sure exactly what bike trials is, then you might want to read “what is trials biking?” first, then come back here to find out how to learn about riding trials.
There are a number of resources online to help you get started. While this is not an exhaustive list, hopefully it will get you heading in the right direction. We’ll start with a few pointers, and follow-up with links to some resources.
Tips To Start
Keep the following tips in mind as you begin your trials journey.
- Start with the bike you already have. Yes, a trials-specific bike makes it easier, but you can start on any bike.
- Focus on the basics. There are a handful of basic skills in trials that form the foundation for everything that will follow. I know, we all want to learn how to do a footjam whip drop – and it’s a worthy goal for sure. But start with trackstands, pivots, pedal kicks, etc. One of the best things about trials biking is that you can literally do it anywhere. Even a curb or wooden pallet can provide hours of learning and fun with trials.
- Realize that trials is HARD! It’s REALLY hard. But that’s exactly what makes it so great. The reward and sense of accomplishment with each hard-earned skills is unparalleled. Don’t expect to be riding like Danny MacAskill or Fabio Wibmer after a week of trying. But you will definitely see progress if you’re patient and stick with it.
- Keep it fun! While you should absolutely focus on the basics, you should also make sure that you just ride for fun as well. Don’t only practice basics – play around, experiment, challenge yourself, and have fun. If it feels like a chore or that you ‘have to’, then it’s hard to stay motivated. Keep it fun.
- Connect with the trials community. This can be a bit of a challenge, depending on where you live since trials riders can be few and far between. If you can’t find other riders (reasonably) locally – or even if you can – also join some online bike trials communities. One of the things that really hooked me on trials was the enthusiasm and positive encouragement of other riders in the community. [Note: Like anything else, there will be obnoxious people in trials too, but that’s not the majority. If you encounter those folks, just keep looking.]
Resources
This is by no means a complete list, but should get you started.
- TrashZen – This site is a fantastic resource. Take some time to explore this site and keep going back. The tutorials will make more and more sense the more you ride and gain some experience.
- SuperRider – Aaron Lutze has created a whole series of tutorials, some of which are included in the playlists on this page. Aaron also has a live Twitch stream and Discord server – both are a great place for beginners to engage in discussion with other riders (including Aaron) for coaching support.
- Ryan Bratton has a good introduction to getting started. Ryan also shows that you can ride trials on a mountain bike.
- Buying trials bikes and parts, in no particular order (not sure what type of trials bike to buy?)
- Tartybikes (UK)
- Webcyclery (US)
- Trials Superstore (US)
- Trials Addict (UK)
- Trial Bikes (Spain)
- Bike Trials Direct (Australia)
Trials Tutorials
We’ve created a playlist of some trials biking tutorials below, including some basics as well as some advanced tricks. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but the sample of tutorials is meant to help you get started. These are a collection of some of our favorite tutorials. In some cases there are multiple tutorials by different people for the same moves (or whatever), because sometimes having a variety of different perspectives helps.
