first trials bike

[jman0105]

so I have recently purchased my first enduro bike, and fell in love with the riding style. I have been watching a lot of videos to see different ways to do certain things, and a lot of people say practice on a trials bike. so I would like to buy a used trials bike (electric or gas) just to practice some stuff on, but I don't have a ton of money to drop on one. if anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Oakdalebud123]

Lately there's seem to be ton threads about trials, I would like to see others input on this subject though since I'm really interested in trials stuff

[Bron-Yr-Aur]

2 things: 

1) Craigslist 

2) Patience

[bikesandcars]

Check out the trials sub forum here [emoji4]. The consensus seems to be find a club and go to an event to meet folks. A lot of bikes seem to trade within clubs and outside of CL. I got a used Sherco 290 on CL by luck.

What about airing down and practicing trials stuff like figure 8s on your Enduro?

[jman0105]

Thanks, all that has been on cl for the last 3 weeks was a gasgas and the kid wanted 9000 for it

[SenorThumpy]

On 3/11/2017 at 8:00 PM, jman0105 said:

so I have recently purchased my first enduro bike, and fell in love with the riding style. I have been watching a lot of videos to see different ways to do certain things, and a lot of people say practice on a trials bike. so I would like to buy a used trials bike (electric or gas) just to practice some stuff on, but I don't have a ton of money to drop on one. if anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.

I've been in the market for a used trials bike for a while, just been casually looking. While they do pop up on craigslist every now and again, the best place to look is trials clubs. Trials is a small niche market and there aren't alot of the bikes around and new bikes are EXPENSIVE. Because of this they seem to mostly get bought/sold/traded within the trials community. Find local clubs in your area (like 200 mile radius). The bigger clubs have websites and classified sections. You gotta be willing to drive and put some time into the search. Your best bet is to go to some trials events and talk to people there. Now once you find one for sale, i've noticed that they basically come in two flavors.. pretty much brand new or beat to shit. You have the people who bought a bike and just never really took to the sport or maybe didn't realize that its not easy, so they're selling. Then you have the people who are upgrading so they're selling their bike that they've beat the shit out of learning and getting to the point they're at. Regardless of condition, resale is high because where the hell else are you going to get a trials bike from? 

Edited March 21, 2017 by SenorThumpy

[jman0105]

Thank you.

[bikesandcars]

Now once you find one for sale, i've noticed that they basically come in two flavors.. pretty much brand new or beat to shit.

My 2006 Sherco was $2500, which I consider a fair price, has new tires. It's beat to shit. That's OK for me because I'm a semi-pro level bike mechanic. It needs forks and shock done, new bearings everywhere, a complete teardown. The clutch drags too...But..Compression is good and these bikes run forever unless you crack a frame or blow a case up. Parts are reasonable, but used big parts are hard to find. They turn low rpm and live a long life. I could put top of the line new suspension on for $2500 and still be ahead of new because the technology from mid 2000s on has not significantly changed.

[SenorThumpy]

3 minutes ago, bikesandcars said:

My 2006 Sherco was $2500, which I consider a fair price, has new tires. It's beat to shit. That's OK for me because I'm a semi-pro level bike mechanic. It needs forks and shock done, new bearings everywhere, a complete teardown. The clutch drags too...But..Compression is good and these bikes run forever unless you crack a frame or blow a case up. Parts are reasonable, but used big parts are hard to find. They turn low rpm and live a long life. I could put top of the line new suspension on for $2500 and still be ahead of new because the technology from mid 2000s on has not significantly changed.

Yea that seems like a reasonable price. Someone who wasn't able (or willing) to do all that work themselves would be looking at a hefty bill to have all that work done, after they spent some time finding a mechanic. Gotta love the mechanics specials

[bikesandcars]

Yea that seems like a reasonable price. Someone who wasn't able (or willing) to do all that work themselves would be looking at a hefty bill to have all that work done, after they spent some time finding a mechanic. Gotta love the mechanics specials

Very true. I've seen 4k ish bikes out there all ready to go, a better value for someone not wanting to wrench. Check out Ryan young, if you don't know who that is start there [emoji4] Go to the Sherco, beta, gas gas sites and search for local dealers. Most clubs have a forum with a for sale section.

[Bron-Yr-Aur]

Picked my '03 280 up for $2400. But it was in fantastic shape, for the most part. It had a stiff clutch, which I remedied the ghetto way (sanded down the swelled clutch discs), and I still can't figure out why the front brake is soft. It also needed a new back tire. But the piston looks great, and the front seals were just replaced. It also has a new front wheel. The guy did a great job bringing it back to life, but got rid of it in favor of an Ossa, only a couple years old. Oh yeah, it also had the typical hole worn in the ill-positioned silencer (a common problem). I fixed it for $20

[Enduro4]

Cool