Physical requirements

[BSWIFT]

I've had just a few riding hours on my SY and I've discovered the huge physical requirement differences between trials, moto, and off road riding.
Moto riding is intense strength and concentration for short periods of time. Many times I've experienced arm pump within a half lap of a start. Trying to relax is purt-near impossible in the adrinaline charge of the moment.
Off road (enduro and cross country) riding is much more stamina oriented. Keeping your physical strength up to a sustainable level over an extended period of time is key to being competitive and safe. The time to relax is there and learning to relax when you can makes the overall experince more fun and challenging.
Trials is strength, endurance, and flexability rolled up into one. Utilizing your balance, strength, and coordination intensly for short periods of time drains me. Most noticeably in my hands. Making my wrists and fingers work the controls while holding on is very challenging.
I'm confident that I will adapt but this is proving to be a greater challenge than I expected. Fun non the less but more challenging.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Brian - I found as I got more comfortable on the bike I used less and less energy riding. A big help for me was getting Ryan Young's training video. Patman told me about it, and it helped a ton.

https://secure.rypusa.com/prodpage.cfm?cat_selected=84&product_selected=84&startrow=1

 

[BSWIFT]

Looks like I know what I want for Christmas. ;)

 

[Rich Rohrich]

NAH, you want to buy that one now and then let your wife buy the Advanced Training video for christmas. ;)

 

[Patman]

Here's your problem, I speak from personal experience ;)

Quit trying to do everything with your hands! Just stop it!!! Much easier said than done ;)

Brian use your lower body to steer the bike. Load the pegs thru your feet keeping your butt centered over the bike and you'll use your hands a lot less. Some of the most amazing proof of this trials concept is when you see a skilled rider (you'll never see me doing it) old the throttle between two fingers and do figure 8's. Just so you know most of use that started out MX/off road generally use speed and force to ride this genetally means using more upper body. Learning to ride the trials way will make a positive experience on any other type of ridiing.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Learning to ride the trials way will make a positive experience on any other type of ridiing.

Just the lessons I've learned on my trials bike about peg weighting, and how your legs steer the bike has made me a much better street rider.

Ole Ruben Xaus is proof positive that our hands aren't as necessary for steering as we probably think. :whoa:

 

[BSWIFT]

Wicked photo!

 

[blackduc98]

Bike setup is easy to overlook, but made a huge difference for me. Ryan Young's DVD starts with bike setup, and I was saying to myself "yeah yeah nothing really radical here" as I was watching that part of the DVD. Shortly after that I attended a 2-day trials-for-newbies school put on by one of the local trials experts. He convinced me to try handlebar and lever positions which he found to work really well over the years. Wow! What a difference! The setup is actually very close to Ryan Young's. The key factors are:

1) Brake and clutch lever position should be almost horizontal, maybe angled down just a little.

2) If you look from the side, handlebar position should be such that crossbrace lines up vertically with bottom part of the bar. This brings your wrists forward and improves ergonomics for the front-wheel-high(er) position, which is more important than front-wheel-low(er) position. This adjustment controls your entire body's CG, so not surprisingly it had the greatest impact for me personally, even on level ground and on cambered turns.

3) Clutch and brake levers are operated with only the index finger. This is your index finger's permanent home. I never take my index fingers off the levers even when I'm riding the loop trail. When you pull the clutch lever and it stops against the other 3 fingers, the clutch should be disengaged, but just barely. So the friction zone starts immediately as the clutch lever comes off the 3 fingers gripping the bar. This not only improves intimate knowledge of the friction zone, but also is much less fatiguing in the long run.

And as others said, steer with your feet. Try riding up and down your street on top of the curb stones. As you get better, try going around the corner on top of the curb.

 

[Wolf]

Brian,
Ryan's video has helped us a ton. We still watch it before we go out and ride, just to remind ourselves of stuff. Don't wait, get it ASAP.
I had the same problem as you when I started, my hands were sore...I was very skilled at the "death grip". I am getting better at this, but there are times, when it gets a little "hairy"...you know..."sphinkter tightening"...where my hands just end up taking over, simply because of fear, and the results are usually never good.

 

[BSWIFT]

The video got swiped in the mail. I'll order one soon.

 

[Yz250JdT250]

The guy in the picture must be pushing down on that right peg a lot lot lot.

I read that a while ago and its helped me alot. I use that technique all the time, i was able to ride on an extremely muddy mx track with intermediate tires and dumped the bike only three times, and it was all when i would relax for 2 seconds and take my weight off the pegs, and the ground would just yank the bike tires right out from under me :)

 

[Yz250JdT250]

Plus i did roughly 20- 30 laps on the track, it was Thunder Ridge out in NY.

 

[wardy]

nothing like throttle control!

 

[Yz250JdT250]

What do you mean?

 

[tcuda499]

everybody talks about arm pump. my opinion is that you're riding to hard or fast that your comfortable with.Like everybody else stated,trials,enduro,or mx you need to ride with your lower body more. easier said than done but once you figure it out, no more arm pump.