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Imperial a good trials bike/?

Bonk

Mike Bloss, Hero
I would have to say no. The head angle is not steep enough, you can't get a big enough tire in there @ the shortest setting (especially with a wide rim), the top tube(s) would be knee bashing fun!, and it weighs too much...not to mention, I wouldn't want that seat where it would sit all the way down.
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,554
it's a great urban trials bike, but certainly not something i'd want to compete on.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
Originally posted by Toshi
it's a great urban trials bike, but certainly not something i'd want to compete on.
what do you mean by this?
how does it handle in trials type moves, espescially for
a beginner?
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,037
7,554
Originally posted by TN_Fred
what do you mean by this?
how does it handle in trials type moves, espescially for
a beginner?
real trials bikes are set up such that they feel really funny to a beginner: very long, very low front end (no suspension fork, a low stem, and usually a flat bar, too), and they just completely disappear under you since the seat, if it exists, is completely out of the way.

with the imperial one can drop the seat enough, but unless you run it with a uncorrected rigid fork and a long xc-ish stem the front end would be too high. given that just about everyone (me excepted with my brief experiment with a rigid planet x knifen/kniffen [sp?] fork) with an imp runs a 30-90mm stem and a suspension fork i'd say that is not an ideal trials setup.

furthermore real competition trials frames are very light, and usually disk brakes are not run on the rear, while you "must" run one on an imperial (quotes since it's really not so bad :D ).

so basically if you're just pedal kicking around and off things the imperial would be great, and would never fail. however, if you plan on competing at the expert level, say, then the imperial would probably not be the best choice.