This Is The Weirdest Bike I've Ever Ridden!
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- 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
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This bike brings back a lot of memories! So awesome to see it back in action, nicely done!
Thought you might like it :)
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.
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,🙂🫡👍🏻🇵🇹🙋🏻♂️.
finally back on 20"
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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
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!
The Akustik of the brakes make me gooseskin.
So much rememberings on IT.
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!
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 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!
O have stark m.o.d. 2008 years. but he just hanging on wall like decoration my room, BUT this? Alive bike 2000s? damn...
I Love your riding and the bike.....but why have you never considered brake boosters? 🥴
If this was a bike I’d seriously be running I’d definitely get a booster for the rear but for this video I wanted to run it as original as possible
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 👍
is that up by cambusbarron?!
Yeah 👍🏻
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 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.... 😁👍
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!
Surely that's quite the accomplishment for any bike😂
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!!.
Love it to See you try my daily trailer😂
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!
You said you were going to ride this bike gently!
Compared to what people could do on them back in the day this was gentle 😂
Haven't watched for a while and just noticed that dude you look so massive! What's your bench press max weight?
I honestly don’t know what’s going on, I don’t do the gym and as I’ve mentioned in a comment below about the same thing I’ve not really done much exercise this last year due to chronic pain, I’m currently the weakest I’ve ever been yet probably the most muscular I’ve ever looked…it’s honestly probably a higher fat percentage making me look bigger or something
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 :)
Ali you should link your old yt video from around that time with you riding one! If its still there. Alastair84 was the account?
Don’t think I’ve got any videos of me riding the 20”? I do on the 26” though
20", tar, Maguras, using the bash and pedals. Never thought I'd see any of this from you!
Is it just my eyes or is the front wheel laced with no spoke crossover...?
Yeah it’s built radially, not that unusual on bikes with rim brakes
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
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!
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!
I remember when these brakes first came out they could supposedly crush your rim if set up incorrectly, very powerful
Great vid Ali!
Cheers :)
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
Your chain snap link (or what you may call it) faces the wrong way. The closed end is supposed to face in the direction of movement.
I don’t think it really matters too much
@Ali Clarkson At the speed that chain is moving I agree with you LOL.
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.😊
Uh, is it just me or does Ali look like he hopped on the sauce? I haven't watched a video in 4-5 months and dude's looking thick.
I’ve had a couple of comments like this over the last year…Its weird because I’ve not changed what I do, I don’t do the gym, I don’t take any supplements yet I look bigger than ever…maybe it’s just a higher fat percentage? I am a bit chunkier lately as I’ve not ridden as much due to chronic pain, or maybe I’m over compensating with my arm muscles because others are not working properly again due to pain?
I certainly don’t feel any stronger!
@@Ali_Clarkson Well, mysterious gains are nothing to complain about. The rest of us mortals have to at least glance in the direction of gym to get bigger. 😂
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! 😆
Seeing you ride that 20" Monty reminds me of Charlie Rolls riding the little kids trials bike. That thing looks tiny!
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 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...
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 :)
Any oldschool mod bikes that would be good to have in a collection? Looking for tips :)
20” was never my thing but if you can find any Megamo models they would be worth having :)
@@Ali_Clarkson awesome! thank you so much for the tips. I currently could buy a Monty 219 x from the 90’s for close to nothing but I don’t know if it’s worth anything at all. Just feel like getting a vintage trials bike.
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.
Hmm
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,🙂👍🏻🇵🇹🙋🏻♂️.
That was so impressive and terrifying, but unbelievable and I’m very entertained so it was worth this subscription just be careful, 😅
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!
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.
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)!
he said “i’m probably gonna be really bad at riding it” *proceeds to absolutely go hard as fuck*
Natural terrain YES! 20" looks weird to me now. 😁 Cheers mate!
I never really watched this discipline before. Part pogo stick, part BMX. Masterful technique, but easy to see why they broke so often.
4:55 You have to pull hard on Magura hydraulics?
You sure there is nothing wrong with them? I had Maguras (first series) on my mountain bike and they were a revelation!
After the first few minutes of riding I knew that I would never go back to wire pull brakes. Not as good as hydraulic discs but very much superior to ordinary rim brakes.
Yeah man, you’re absolutely useless on that bike. I could see it straight away. 😂 Come on. Give us a brake with the over the top modesty. You kick ass on anything! 🥳❤️
I had on old B219 as my first trials bike. Heavy beast and as a bonus, poorly made. I was not impressed at all with the quality compared with other bikes/parts at the time. The Monty riders however were amazing.
I've wanted this bike since the day I saw it, the guys riding it rode it like BMX bikes. This was pre-Inspired and Alias days. Every chance I've had to own one ends up not happening. One day.
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 😂😂
4:01: the clip holding the joining link together is fitted literally backwards. schoolboy error. hopefully i've saved your testicools. you are soooo very welcome
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.
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.
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.
Hey Ali,do you remember the stock 26" monty did,that came with a 25" rear wheel? Would be interesting to see if there's any of those floating about?!
Yeah of course! I had two…The Monty 231 and the Monty Urban, I loved both of them even with the 25” rear wheel :) they’re very rare these days though…there is a 25” Hydra on ebay but I can’t justify getting it
I am actually learning on one of these. I am not sure about the year, mine is a 221-Ti (?) in silver with some red and "fake" carbon fiber motives (stem and some parts on the frame) but the geometry and soldered supports on the frame look the same as this one.
ha I think it's 2007
They were from 2004/5 onwards, if it has a rear rim brake it’s an earlier one…cool bikes, I wasn’t a fan of the curved tubes at first but I really like it now
@@rogermorse_ ohh that’s nice ❤️
The Clean will be quite different but capable of some huge stuff, I hope you like it 👍🏻
Nice riding!! I had a T-219 in the late 80's/early 90's. TONS of fun!!!
Great video Ali
Thank you :)
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.
anyone know the reason to actually have the shorter cranks? i need some new ones for my old mod bike and the longest i can find are 160 with a front Freewheel and a JIS square taper. right now it has a rear freewheel and some trialtech cranks lol
Easy to see why the cranks are short. With those long chain stays the cranks are always exposed. How long is that stem? Have to say, the sound of brake chirps and skid plate grinds combined is almost unbearable.
Not sure how long the stem is…could’ve done with being a bit longer 😂
This is the start of, me getting back at ribble i bought a hybrid shimano al and I love the bike the issue is a integral part of what keeps the back wheel on came out after less than six months obviously not lock tightened on np get in contact with the company (I'm a fair person, so send the part I'll fix it) well 37 emails later one wrong part sent and no apology they are good bikes the company if you do have a issue is bloody awful stay well away.
I remember a friend of mine always sprayed hairspray to the rims of his Monty.
Back in 1997-1998
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...
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.
IT Loks total New,
I loved this Green Monty.
This was my first life.
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🤙🏻
Not familiar with these bikes or style of riding. I cant even hop a curb and im watching you do bike parkour
I’ve got my green one still from ‘back in the day’! I’ve also got the blue 26” version.
It's almost a BMX bike. Only modern 'BMX bikes are used to do tricks in a more urban setting.
Why don’t you go crazy and put some new Magura’s on ?
Because modern ones are half as good as these 😂
@@Ali_Clarkson Well maybe I’m thinking the first HS 33’s, I’ve no idea about the newest ones. I had 22’s on my first gen GT full sus. Then 33’s on the next two gen GT’s. I let the kid try my RTS and told him to use the front carefully and he went over the bars anyway...
I’m on just my 3rd set of Magura discs.
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!
Those brakes might not work so well but the calipers look amazing...
If you want to make it prettier maybe auto paint shops can make you matching paint correction bottle (like nail polish bottle with brush).
Might have to do that
Mad skills and safe compared to mtb full speed acrobatics. But is it riding?
I always wanted a Monty 20 inch but I have a raceline rihno 20 inch instead but I to big and old to ride now keep it on the wall.
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!
we used to get Monty Catalogues at a bike shop I worked in, they were beyond Cringe way before Cringe.
19 inch wheels? I guess you need wheelbarrow tires for those or something.
Hey Ali, is it possible to use a grinded rim with regular deore vbrake and those special pads you showed on another video? Cheers from Brazil \m/
Yep absolutely is 👍🏻 that’s my brake of choice for this type of riding
@@Ali_Clarkson would that setup be good enough for a bigger 26 inch?
@@luizcarvalho4245 yep, again v brakes with a grind and decent pads are my brake of choice and I only really ride 26” these days
@@Ali_Clarkson thx man, that really helps a lot. I'm a beginner and here in Brazil there's pretty much no information about trials stuff
Says he can't get the brakes to work. Then it proceeds to have better breaks than any bike in my life.
Handsome as you may be Ali, I don't want to see the full Monty "skin suit" :p
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
"Nah, mate. What do you mean, wheels are made for rolling?"
Put tar on your rims.
You must’ve missed the bit where I did just that 😋
This video really made want to buy an old school trials bike
tar or angle grinder on the rims makes the brakes work loads better miss the trials days my pal rode for onza
I have one similar 219, with sadde tho. All steel, like it