Trials conversion

[xrRider88]

Hi
I was thinking the other day how hard would it be to convert a old Trail bike
E.g ts suzukis
Dt yammys
To a twin shock trials bike
Because to the un trained eye they look very much the same
But one has a seat

[TriCub]

Can and has been done.
Main differences.
Steering geometry- Trails bike have steeper rake
Gearing- Much lower gearing, trials machines have around 30:1 overall gearing in first.
Flywheel mass- Trials motors generaly have heavier flywheels.
Footrests are generaly not far in front of the front edge of the rear tyre.
Trails bike generaly had more ground clearance.

So basicaly if you strip your old clunker move the pegs, gear it down and add a set of trials tyres you would have a very basic trials bike. This is what most pre65 trials machine are. It is quite possible to modify frames to alter steering geometry and ground clearance but you need to know what you are doing to make it better. There are people you could pay to do it but the cost would be more than buying an old trials machine.

[xrRider88]

That's what I was thinking to
How would they go against a ty175 tlr250 or old euro bikes

[TriCub]

At a clubman level you should be ok if you can ride well.
Ty175 is a pretty basic machine but the TLR is a much more capable bike, the early Euro bikes up to about 1970 are only a bit better than the trail bikes of the time but did improve quite quickly.
In trials it's more about the skill of the rider. An expert on a posty bike will beat a beginner on the latest Gas Gas or Sherco.

[xrRider88]

Thanks guys