This Is The Weirdest Bike I've Ever Ridden!
Vložit
- čas přidán 4. 05. 2023
- Back with some retro action, this time with an early 2000s Monty 221 X-Lite!
It's such an odd little bike, the frame shape really stands out...it's seatless but still pretends it isn't. Drool-worth when it came out but a fairly rare relic these days, especially in this condition!
I hope you enjoy watching me try to tame this springy little thing, it's unlike anything I've ridden in years and I'm sure it shows haha!
Thanks for watching
Sponsors: Inspired Bicycles www.inspiredbicycles.com/
Tartybikes www.tartybikes.com/
Ride Concepts Shoes rideconcepts.com/
Light Bicycle Carbon Rims https:bit.ly/lightbicycle_ac
Pinnd Components www.pinnd.co.uk
Schwalbe Tyres www.schwalbe.com/en/start
Hayes Brakes hayesbicycle.com
Industry Nine industrynine.com/
Rimpacts Tyre Inserts www.rimpactmtb.com/
MIX Hydration mxitup.com/ - Sport
This bike brings back a lot of memories! So awesome to see it back in action, nicely done!
Thought you might like it :)
Fun fact, Monty is short for "Montesita" which was the name given to their early 1980's trials bicycles. The bikes were developed by Pedro Pi, a Montesa engineer and father of Ot Pi so that little Ot could learn to ride trials before moving onto a much larger, heavier motorcycle. The early Montesitas (notably the T-10 and T-15) looked a lot like a BMX, but the development was rather parallel, it's something of a coincidence that look like a BMX, although given BMX's history of imitating motocross bikes, it's probably no surprise. GT had the Ricochet in 1988 which looks suspiciously similar, but by then, various brands were starting to experiment with brakes that actually had a fighting chance of working (U brakes, cantilevers, Maguras even). Fun stuff.
Also, the reason for short cranks on mod bikes was better control, apparently. I remember reading something about it years back when I had an interest in trials bikes. (still never owned one though, or developed the skills necessary) I tried to use Google for a clearer answer to add in here, but Google insisted that the words "trials bike" were irrelevant and gave me a list of unrelated results from greedy capitalists gaming the system instead. I'm finding Google to be increasingly useless for niche searches, especially if you've already got an extensive browsing history in other areas.
Hans Rey rode a Monty with a GT emblem on it which is common in the bike competition industry. My friend got his hands on an old Monty back in the 90s. He met Hans at a demonstration in Vermont. Hans gave him great riding advice and a lesson. My friends bike had stem issues and it was a unique triple clamp rigid fork with a motocross handle bar set up. Hans took his address and a few weeks later a box came from the GT factory with the Monty parts. Unbelievably nice guy
@@mobilewintercamp7515 You're right about the triple clamp fork, and that's an awesome story.
@@Metal-Possum ya same thing with Libor Karas. We saw him by our house doing a demo at Killington Ski Mt. My friend showed up two days in a row with his bike and got to ride with him and get lessons. I think so many people were in to MTB but not specifically trials and these guys were really receptive to a fan making an attempt at the discipline. Libor was super nice too. I remember his video where he played bicycle soccer with his friends on a team , somewhat popular in that region of Europe. Really cool guys
aaahh.. thanks for that!..answered a few questions I was gonna google anyways!! 😊
@@mobilewintercamp7515The 'out of the ordinary nice guy attitude' from Hans Rey may seem just that, in fact it actually propelled the Trail sport category a whole lot in that world region. As the story was spreading, not only the bike owner who received the parts from Rey got an incredible dose of motivation to go out and practice but so did the recipient's group of friends and acquaintances which then passed it onto more people and so on,🙂🫡👍🏻🇵🇹🙋🏻♂️.
I dont ride trials at all, or have really any interest in it.. but the fact that you care about cool old bikes makes this channel for me.
To appreciate the older BIU stuff it's important to remember what these courses were like...In Itadori there was a stadium man made section but most of it was literally through rivers and streams with algae covering the rocks. Even if the rocks were dry our tires were wet from traversing river beds and so the two meeting turned instantly to slime! I remember on wet days the rocks were too slippery to stand on so we had to hook pedals rather than using feet or tires. There was a different skill set for these comps, it didn't look as flashy but it was plenty difficult! Btw, I rode the 231 x-lite (26") from 2000. I had the bike for year and everything held up extremely well except for the forks, which had to replaced twice! In spite of being a comp bike it was great for manuals and some street oriented stuff and on a borrowed 221 like yours I blew all my sidehop records away!
Ali you are an absolute G. You can be humble all you like but for someone like me who doesn't ride trials (and I bet plenty that do) you are a magician.
It's incredible that you can always find a legendary bike or frame... in beautiful condition.
I do stuff like this on my BMX to get my bike control back after a winter of not riding... It's one of my favorite past times on a BMX bike. Great video, Thank you.... 😁👍
The Akustik of the brakes make me gooseskin.
So much rememberings on IT.
20", tar, Maguras, using the bash and pedals. Never thought I'd see any of this from you!
I started on an X-stam. Same bike (nearly), a little heavier and had a seat. Hs33's, no one had started grinding rims, so we used to put Coca-Cola on the rims for the extra bite! I dreamed of owning an X-lite! All my mates rode Pashley or Giant. Eddie Tongue and Martin Ashton were the gods of trials. Thanks for the memories!
Good times...
My first and only trials bike was a Monty 219. I remember seeing this 221 and dreaming about it, at that time it was the best there was. What memories...
I always hard to tar my rims, on / off but worked well! Then they came out with the plazmatic pads, but like you, I whenever had grest luck with HS33s.
When you ran the bike with tar it took me back 10plus years, that noise, made fun manuals noises on busy street sessions :)
finally back on 20"
Hey Ali Clarkson! Love the retro ride vid! Thanks extra piles for riding for us through the finger pain! I have a chronic back pain so I understand the effort! Ride ride ride!
I think back pain trumps my sore finger, I hope you can eventually get it sorted!
Finally, a mod video! I have to say you look very natural on it, especially on the sidehops! I hope you can bring it to the streets some day, would love to see some old skool bunnyhops on this!
Super deep and sharp grind with Tungsten Carbide Tipped Wood Cutting Disc(last forever) + pads from the father of 2 legends Michael Coustellier + occasionally some violin resin and your brakes will have unlimited power😊
I literally did all of that (except tar instead of violin resin)!
Andy in our group from Wakefield was the monty king. He also purchased the 26" when they released it. Beautiful craftsmanship at the time.
I had the 231 26” after this, had a lot of fun on that bike!
Bloody lovely little rig 🫶
I’d love to bring the 231 up for a sesh 😁
I believe the original freewheel would’ve been a shimano with the tool lugs ground off for bb clearance, with 20 points and two pawls, sharing a seeger spring (a bit of .75mm wire).
The idea behind the short crank was for stability, like motorcycle footpegs…
And yeh the rims are low grade alloy, hard to keep a sharp grind 🤷🏻♂️
Supreme riding as always grandmaster!! 🙏👊👊
We should definitely have a retro sesh when you’re up! Good info on the details too…you know your stuff!
Love it to See you try my daily trailer😂
I used to use tar on my rims back in the day, early to late nineties so I’m sure that would have worked wonders for this bike. I used to ride Monty bikes back then but earlier versions to this one. Have some great memories of those years 👍
I traveled to the BIU championships around 2000 as the US rep for rider Mike Steidley. Got picked up at the Barcelona airport by Maria Pi and went to the Monty factory and their house for dinner…trials is a small world! Met Cesar Canas and Ot Pi walking between sections. We got our butts kicked by the Euro riders in pajamas but it was an unforgettable trip.
I thought I was the only one who hated HS-33’s. Never got them to bite without tar. I remember when my coworker at the bike shop got an X-Lite. I was jealous but I got his steel Monty with the square down tube, that bike had the ugliest welds I have ever seen on any bike.
I prefer the old school BIU style where the riding was more like super technical MTB than hopping on a pogo stick.
This makes me want to dig out my 1997 version of this bike (last with a seat) thats been gathering dust for the last 15 years or so.
Oh you totally should!
I think I have the same one, unfortunately I need to put it together first.
I loved watching you ride this bike, really really cool idea. keep them coming! Never thought i would see you aboard a mod bike! I had the X-Lite's little brother, the steel X-Hydra. Still hanging in my shed, cracked.
My pal growing up had the Hydra (and I suspect he still has it now)…really cool too!
Nice riding!! I had a T-219 in the late 80's/early 90's. TONS of fun!!!
Great video, stoked to see you out enjoying the bike again!
Great video! Monty then had the genius idea to make a 25” wheel for their stock bike. If you’re like me and stuck with one there are very few options for rims and tyres.
The frame flex is a massive issue for brake power, plus the fact that the rims were made of cheese so don’t really hold their grind.
Haha yeah I had the 231 after this bike with the 25” wheel, I did see adaptors floating about that let you use a 26” wheel though, I had a lot of fun on that bike :)
I just love how it looks like it came from the 90's. :)
Wow, some awesome sidehops to that brick wall! Great to see some more nostalgia. Love it!
Ali !! You look so smooth on that bike. Nice riding on that Spring. Thanks for filming!
I would like to see a test of the inspired hex bike on 24" wheels
Why do that when ones like the 4Play and Arcade already run 24" wheels?
because inpired hex has the longest frame and I'm thinking about changing wheels to 24", which will make it more fun.
I am also tall (188cm) which makes it difficult to ride short bikes
I did a video making a mullet hex with a 24” in the rear…works pretty well but the long chainstays aren’t as nice as the 24” frames
So cool. I had the blue version back in 1999. Its been over 20 years but I got a modern Jitsie 26 and relearning. Id credit your channel a bit for giving me the bug again. Thanks Ali!
Nice one Ali. Loving it! You got a little beast there.
I remember Dave Marshall turning up at Aberdeen exhibition centre with a monty xlite in the back of his mini van. I couldn't wait to get one after seeing the way they rode. I could only afford the xhydra but totally loved it.
I'm starting to feel old. 😂
I loved these. I wanted the orange yellow x-lite. I love how it sounds. I want one still.
Hi there Ali C.,just saw your video suggested by Yt,think it's a cool looking old school Trial bike, moreover I surely remember the Montys and the Montesas bikes from the late 1990's and 2000's, I always loved to see people hoping around from obstacle 2 obstacle on both indoor and outdoor courses, on bikes and motorbikes overcoming absurdly difficult obstacles,it's such an amazing category to say the least. I never felt compelled to go and try to do Trial though I always wanted to try a trial bike on a normal ground a bit just to see how it feels and behaves🤔🙄. About the short cranks, my guess is that with shorter cranks you can better produce leg burst💥 explosions to help you easily jump from spot 2 spot,🙂👍🏻🇵🇹🙋🏻♂️.
Woooow!! Not seen one of the old montys in a while!! Great to see it being riden well again! What ever happened to Megamos, I remember they were the other trials bikes at the time! Such nostalgia watching this!
I ❤ new modern stuff... but You can't beat a bit of Retro Candy!.. I got a oldskool Cannondale Caad3 thingie that I'm Retro-Modding now..old frame..new components.. Luuuurverly.😊
It was physically exhausted just watching. That's a lot of energy being expended, and I could feel it.
Haha I used to watch Ot Pi riding Montys! I used to have a 20" Megamo made by GasGas I believe. I used to use some stick spray used for belt drives before I got hold of some tar!
Oh man. Loved this video. I had a Brisa Mod 2 with bash plate and Magura rim brakes.
I sold it in 2012 for $300 and I regret that all the time.
Seeing you ride that 20" Monty reminds me of Charlie Rolls riding the little kids trials bike. That thing looks tiny!
3:05 Oh Gosh! When you put your hand on the tyre it I only realized how tiny this bike is! I thought you were sitting much further in front and away from it! 😆
The xlite 221 was such a fun bike to ride, great to see you hopping about on one, Ali 👍 also good that you’re not wearing baggy jeans like me and my mates used to do back in the day and subsequently caught and ripped jeans in the freewheel lol 😂
Thank you :)
them baggy jeans were a death trap!!.. I lost count of the times I nearly lost My life because of them!! lmao
@@mrmagoo.3678 same here lol, but they looked so much better than the monty/megamo style skinsuits so style over practicality 🤣
@@bengray5013 pmsl.. definitely!.. I've never suited Lycra!!.
Such a cool video! Im new to the sport so i never heard of BIU trials, super cool style of riding.
Glad you liked it :)
I have a early 80s monty trail special edition op replica t 219 a 1987 model all original parts and ride it every day and love it a great piece of bicycle history
i wanted a Monty SO BAD back in the day. same with Brisa. impossible to get in Canada. had to ride Echo instead.
The echo is cool too though!
I had the same bike. I loved it so much. The cranks was so that you had a shorter strok for faster pedal featback
That does make sense
True, I've played with shorten cracks, you can hit a higher cadence, but you lose the explosiveness out of stand stills, I'll need to try it again with an even lower gear next time
I remember when these brakes first came out they could supposedly crush your rim if set up incorrectly, very powerful
I never really watched this discipline before. Part pogo stick, part BMX. Masterful technique, but easy to see why they broke so often.
As someone who wanted a monty back in 99, but santa brought me a mission I made do. But great to see you on one, and awesome to see ya on a 20. Those rear tyre do bounce, you advised me with my pinch on back backhops recently.
Natural terrain YES! 20" looks weird to me now. 😁 Cheers mate!
Taking me back to 2001 with this. I used to own a 219 x lite in full chrome as a kid with the pointless little blue plastic seat. Still had it up until about 5 years ago when I had to sell it due to storage problems due to moving house. Wish I still had it even on my wall in my house 😂
4:01, you can hop higher when your legs are closer together, the farther they are apart, the less you can use the same muscle groups in unison.
Makes me so happy that bike, I used to have a Monty and then an Ashton Justice 20 (which I still have). Both had HS 33's. How spoiled we all are with discs now. Wicked vid Ali 🤘🤘👌👌
We’re very spoiled!
I'm looking forward to watching this one tonight! I learned on a Mod. Do you remember Nelson Reis on a Brisa B20 at bike 2000 Ali?
Oh yeah, he left an impression with that backwards gap he did!
I got his autograph that day and still have it. Never found a B20 though. 👍🏻
I saw Nelson and the other Brazilian, forgot his name, at Sea Otter 2000. That was when the trials bug first bit me!.
I have one of these! Got it to try and learn after getting inspired watching your videos. Never really knew what it was cause finding information was a bit difficult. Very cool to know what it is now! Definitely not original spec though cause I snapped the fork and a brake lever. It’s kinda cool tho, it has been signed by a bunch of pros at the 2010 world championships when they were in Canberra.
I remember a friend of mine always sprayed hairspray to the rims of his Monty.
Back in 1997-1998
Great vid! I got my first MTB, hmm, at least 35 years ago. Had fun on that,broke it. Tried a BMX, for a while while walking my dog. I hopped on and off a few things. But I was always about 190lbs even way back. I did kind of recognize that type of trials bike at the start, just from watching other vids though, I've never seen one in the metal.
Finger pain?! Damn! I sympathize! I'm nearly 70 now and starting to get a little bit of arthritis. I still ride my Calibre Dune occasionally though.
Great vid Ali!
Cheers :)
I was once used Dr. Pepper on my rims when I was out of tar back in the day, we were riding a school spot with a stair set and as I approached the edge for the final big hop the break pads stuck to the rim after I released break. Absolutely stacked it.
Wicked Ali, I love that you are riding vintage tech. And riding it well I might say. Well Good Sir. - M
Well done man, great riding on that old horse.
Being a BSH i am not surprised you struggle on 20 inch wheels lol Excellent skill bruv, i just bought a Commencal Clash so love all bikes, Gonna binge on your channel tonight! - New sub for sure!🐦
My right shin looks exactly like yours except that I ride like shit. At least I can do two things; crashes and pretend that I'm a badass.
Chicks dig scars 😂
@@Ali_Clarkson I wish that were true lol. That would make me quite the catch.
I’ve got my green one still from ‘back in the day’! I’ve also got the blue 26” version.
IIRC the crank was shorter bc it allowed your feet to be closer together which was supposed to make balancing, hoping and pump peddling easier.
Not sure what kind of therapeutic support you're receiving for your finger,
but as a rock-climber myself, the rock-climbing community probably knows more than anyone
about the management and recovery of serious finger injuries.
Interesting & informative with great riding!
Thanks very much :)
Surely that's quite the accomplishment for any bike😂
A couple years ago when I was first trying out trials I found an old brisa very similar to the Monty and I couldn’t get the hs33 brakes to work good enough. Not to mention never riding a trials bike before I wasn’t having any fun. Got a street bike and have enjoyed it much more. This video made me want to get some v brakes maybe for it to give her another go.
You should definitely try it again!
Those brakes might not work so well but the calipers look amazing...
10:56 Full Monty skin suit... hmm, not sure I'd want to ride my bike in my full monty skin suit, but-- to each his own, no judgement 😂😂
My first trials bike was a Monty b-219 , then after a year or so I upgraded to a Hanns ray gt team trials , both 20” … not rode for over 25 years , I recently bought an onza blade 👍🏻
Some classics there!
O have stark m.o.d. 2008 years. but he just hanging on wall like decoration my room, BUT this? Alive bike 2000s? damn...
My son has a similar bike called Echo. I've tried to mess with it some. But, I can barely track stand. They are fun!
Great video Ali
Thank you :)
I rode some norba trials In the 90s. It was such fun to do natural trials
Awesome video. You should tune that bike with modern bars and a booster. Modern tires would be also a big plus. The green Coust pads work the best on that rims. Kolofonium ( used for violins) works even better than tar. Even in the rain. Hope to see you again on that bike. Your sidehops were good looking. H.a.n.d.
Great bike and vid, need to see how it is a comp maybe??
I can feel the arm pump already!!
@@Ali_Clarkson be worth it
I used to have the 1999-2000 world motor trials championship at Sheffield arena on vhs (showing my age) 😂 . There was a segment on there of otpi and Caesar canas both riding the xlite in blue, and they were using the bikes bash guard to navigate the course. It’s mad how far the bikes and riding techniques have come on since then.
Yeah, the level (and bike design) is crazy these days!
@@Ali_Clarkson loved the video by the way, and good to see an old school mod back in action (my first actual trials bike was a megamo rookie). I think you should get the brakes working well, fresh bleed and grind maybe? and hit the streets with it in another video, even though it’s not your go to it makes for an entertaining video.
Believe it or not I actually put a fresh grind on before riding! The brakes are bled pretty well too, I totally expected them to work well (especially the front with the stiffer fork) but for sone reason they really didn’t want to
Great to see this bike 👍🏻
the short cranks are so you have less uprise in the pedalstroke for when you're seated.. last BMX I had the stroke was enough I literally couldn't sit and pedal.
Nice.. 😊 my first trial bike was xlite (same back break) 😅
I always thought that bikes with old geometry have bad handling. I've heard that from other riders too. But, seeing you do well using this old mod bike (and the all-silver 24" bike) is just proof that it all boils down to skills.
I am curious however if a modern mod bike could do better gaps or ups because of its fatter rear tire than a stock bike.
I think I’d do better riding this old bike than I would riding a modern 20” bike haha 😂
Cool bike and what a besutiful riding spot.
Nice to see somebody else with a right shin as butchered as mine!
I still have my Monty t-219. My first trials bike!
Finally get to see you on a 20" ! Now you need to try a more modern one to compare. Maybe a colab ride with @TheRolls08 ......
Having had a go on Charlie’s bike and barely even able to ride up a curb I’m not in a huge hurry to try one but never say never (though I’d need to be able to afford one first)
@@Ali_Clarkson maybe something inbetween the two, midschool style!
One a my best mates had one,was sick. So weird to ride for the first time. I was born in 86,I think we’re around the same age🤙🏻
That's a cool bike. You should commit heresy and upgrade it to disc brakes. It's been quite a while since I've watched you do trials and it's refreshing to see you in the outdoors vs city riding.
I use HS22s on my original Heckler and have similar feelings about them, until I really need them and pull hard, in which case they do prove themselves. They don't bite like an inexpensive V brake or disc though.
Side hip to pedal hook. Love it! Take a hike UCI rules.
Don’t know when this video was filmed but thank you mother nature for letting Ali go out for us appreciate it lol wow Fairplay to Ali still riding Injured And a bike he’s not used to Highlight for me was 21:19
This was filmed on Wednesday, it was really windy the next day so I got lucky in that sense 👍🏻
@@Ali_Clarkson Mother nature is a pain in the backside but we have to get out when we can i’ve only been out one day this week so I road my glory and my Alcatraz JB in one day Not something I want to be doing too often that’s for sure lol
@@Ali_Clarkson Good to see you had a look at that other quarry. looks a bit different to when I was last there?
Have you been back to look or ride that impossible down hill line you cleared on the other side?
I took a look at the trail I made, it’s all still there and looking good, just need to build my new bike now and send it
@@Ali_Clarkson good things come to those who wait About time you had your new bike can’t wait to see it lol
I have one similar 219, with sadde tho. All steel, like it
This video really made want to buy an old school trials bike
Never realized you could tar your rims! I have a large soup can full of pine tar, wonder how that would work for this
If its liquid then idea not ideal, it really needs to be a block
@@Ali_Clarkson I've cooked it down, and on top of that it's winter here so it's pretty solid. Summer might be a different story though as I live in a green desert
That was so impressive and terrifying, but unbelievable and I’m very entertained so it was worth this subscription just be careful, 😅
IT Loks total New,
I loved this Green Monty.
This was my first life.
Did you ever use sugary drinks to give your rims more bite?
Yes 😂 I used to mix a special sauce with honey, coke and other stuff to make it as sticky as possible!
Ich habe noch ein Monty Trialbike meines ist noch ein bisschen älter.Als ich 1983 Trialbike gefahren bin gab es noch fast keine Bikes zu kaufen. Wir haben sie aus Bmx bikes gebaut.