Bike Trials

Vincent Hermance  ·  Photo: Michael Friddell

Mountain bike trials — also called bike trials, observed trials or biketrial — is a precision cycling sport in which riders cross obstacle courses without ever putting a foot down. Balance, explosive power and nerve matter far more than speed: competitors hop, pivot and launch their bikes over boulders, logs, walls and industrial debris, and are penalised the instant a foot touches the ground.

The sport is ridden on two bike classes — 20-inch ("mod") and 26-inch ("stock") — and is governed internationally by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Biketrial International Union (BIU). Its modern form grew out of motorcycle trials in Catalonia in the late 1970s, and Spanish and French riders have led the world ever since.

BikeTrials.com is an independent archive of the sport: 8,500+ rider profiles, 1,300+ competitions spanning 1982 to the present, full world-championship results and the people and history behind observed trials.

Riders tackle a set of marked sections — short, roped-off obstacle courses, also called zones. Touching the ground with a foot, a "dab", costs penalty points, as do other faults such as going out of bounds or running over the time limit. The rider who clears each section with the fewest faults wins.

The international calendar is built around the UCI Trials World Championships and World Cup, the BIU World Championship, and continental events such as the UEC European Championships — on top of a deep network of national series. Explore them all in the Competitions archive.

The most decorated riders in our records, by world titles across all categories:

• Benito José Ros Charral ESP · 11×
• Jack Carthy GBR · 10×
• Ot Pi ESP · 10×
• Abel Mustieles Garcia ESP · 9×
• Kenny Belaey BEL · 9×
• Karin Moor SUI · 8×
• Marc Vinco FRA · 8×
• Alejandro Montalvo Milla ESP · 7×
• Gilles Coustellier FRA · 7×
• Václav Kolář CZE · 6×
• Nina Reichenbach GER · 6×
• Charlie Rolls GBR · 6×

Browse all 8,500+ riders →

Trials fame was never made on results sheets alone. The sport's most-watched stars came up through viral films, DVDs and the forums — Danny MacAskill, Fabio Wibmer, Martyn Ashton, Chris Akrigg, Hans Rey, Kenny Belaey, Tomomi Nishikubo and the UK's GET, TGS and Trialskings video era.

Meet all 46 famous riders →

• 6è Trial de Girona Fires de St. Narcís 25 Oct 2026 · CAT
• Clean Xperience Caspe 17 Oct 2026 · ESP
• Copa Tarragona Botarell 11 Oct 2026 · CAT
• Süddeutsche Meisterschaft – JOFR Academy 10 Oct 2026 · GER
• Copa Catalana 27 Sep 2026 · CAT
• Copa de España 26 Sep 2026 · ESP

All competitions →  ·  Latest news →

What is Trials?  ·  History of the sport  ·  Rules & scoring  ·  Trials dictionary  ·  Rider index  ·  Famous Riders  ·  Competitions  ·  Calendar  ·  Stock (26") vs Mod (20")  ·  How-to guide