Getting to and from the club

Whilst they can be and some are, generally trials bikes are often not registered for road use, so you'll need a way of getting it to and from the club.

Even if your bike is road registered, unless you happen to live very close to the club the tiny fuel tanks, low gear ratios and extremely soft tyres (which wear VERY quickly on tarmac) make riding to and from on the roads generally impractical.

So you're going to need a means of transportation...here's a few of the main options with their respective pros and cons.

A van:

Pros:

- discreet/private - nobody knows you have a bike in the back, especially with tinted windows.

- very convenient, room for tools, spares, riding gear

- can provide somewhere private to get changed, shelter from rain, have cups of tea etc and sleep in at a push

- no speed restrictions (like with a trailer)

Cons:

- expensive unless you already have a work van (for example)

- if your van is a camper, putting a potentially muddy bike in the back can be undesirable and mean lots of cleaning, and also means it no longer can be used as a camper (while the bike is in there)

Note: Vans seem to be the most popular choice at the club, but they are by far the most expensive option.

Trailer:

Pros:

- Can be attached to whatever vehicle. Trials bikes aren't heavy so even a small car can easily tow a bike trailer.

- limited to 50mph [ahem].

Cons:

- security: (with an open trailer) it's very obvious that you're towing a bike, trailers themselves can and do get stolen, sometimes also people get followed home and then bikes are later stolen from their house, especially since where there's one bike there's usually others because as everyone knows it's best to have multiple bikes so that they don't get lonely/sad ;-)

- difficult to manouver - for most mere mortals manouvering/reversing with a trailer is a royal pain in the posterior, though small single trailers are often light enough that you can "cheat" i.e take them off and push them around by hand when you need to manouver the car ;)

Note: Look for an Erde PM-310 trailer as a good entry-level single bike open trailer - these can be picked up for around £3-400 if you are patient.

Towbar rack:

Pros:

- Can be fitted to cars or vans

- Fits on most two-bolt towbar flanges, and there are even options which clamp onto the ball for swan-neck type towbars with no flange, though these seem to move around a bit more

- Relatively cheap (£150 for the kit from Dave Cooper racks vs £300+ for the cheapest trailer or ££££ to buy a van)

- no speed restrictions. With a car you can travel at motorway speeds no problem (*larger vans are only allowed to go 60mph anyway)

- Very easy and quick to fit and remove the rack (it literally just slots into place and the straps hold it all together)

Cons:

- security: it's obvious you are carrying a trials bike - same issues as with an open trailer.

Note: These racks are used by quite a few club members and seem to work very well. It takes a bit of faith in the engineering to trust that those two bolts will hold your pride and joy safely at motorway speeds but so far they seem to do just that, and adding an additional ratchet strap or two to your boot hinges or roof rails is probably a good idea anyway in case of a catastrophic failure