I’m just a beginner speaking here (been on it for about a month now), but I really like the 10 skill levels. It’s given me a direction to go in.
I’ve filled my desktop with videos of people doing insane stuff on their unis, and really, if I didn’t have anything to go on, I’d never know how to get to their level. It’s really excellent to have that roadmap so I know what to work on next for the most effective learning.
In addition, I think that even the extension of your balance envelope caused by all the practice you have to do to get to, say, level 6 or 7, is a great aid in doing things like MUni and Trials. Even now, it’s incredibly useful to be able to choose the best mount for the job when I’m trying to ride uphill to get home
I’m doing the skill levels now because I know once I can master those skills, the ones required to tackle technical terrain or really weird urban objects, or whatever I decide to ride on, will be easier to learn given what I already know.
So I’m all for them! Here’s to feeling like a level 5 (noone around here to certify me :)) by the end of summer!
I’d be interested in some more opinions on the new U-System rating spreadsheet. Basically it’s a list of dimensions of simple (read: possible to describe) obstacles at different skill levels. As described in the rules intro, these simple obstacles provide a reference to get a sense for difficulty on other obstacles that wouldn’t be possible to describe in words.
Although it was meant as a reference to describe section difficulty, it also could potentially be used as a training aid.
Andy Cotter had the opinion that any statement of distance in the spreadsheet (ie “ride 5 m along a 5cm wide beam”) could be replaced with some number of pedal rotations, which I thought was a good idea.
Download the freetrials rules at www.krisholm.com/freetrials and tell me what you think of the U-System spreadsheet (located at the bottom of the rules).
I think bigger drops demonstrate a completely different skillset than smaller ones. For example, I’ve done 3.5 foot drops without anything even resembling technique. But once you get above 4 feet, it becomes really difficult to land without proper extension/compression and rollout. I think for the mid levels, proper “big drop” technique should be a must.
Carol Mclean is bringing the trials draft to NAUCC this week for review, maybe field testing, and more input. I have been helping her with the trials levels.
it would add an element of timing, yes, but it would be very challenging (say w/ the basketballs) to get a consistent test for everyone, it would be almost unfair
