‘Ebstorf Bicycle Trials Club’ (1961–1964)

In the second half of the 1950s, motorised trials riding gradually began to take shape in Germany. Inspired by similar activities in nearby Lüneburg, MSC Ebstorf held the first ‘Hellkuhlen Bergtrial’ in 1958, which over time became a traditional event in German motorcycle trials.

One of the driving forces behind MSC Ebstorf was haulage contractor Schulz, whose enthusiasm for motor sports inspired three of his sons and Rudi Munstermann (‘Fourstroke’), the son of a haulage contractor friend, to take up trials riding. The sixth of the Schulz sons, Reinhard Schulz – nicknamed ‘Grille’ – also competed in motorcycle trials in the late 1960s. However, as a young teenager, he was still too small to ride a motorbike and had to content himself with emulating his brothers on his bicycle. ¹

When Grille joined Jürgen Baumann's class at school, he infected Jürgen with the trial virus. Grille witnessed his three brothers' trial activities first-hand and naturally knew when training took place in the so-called Hellkuhlen (sand-pits). Together, Grille and Jürgen would cycle the seven or eight kilometres from Ebstorf to the Hellkuhlen, north of Velgen. If they didn't meet anyone there, they would listen to find out where in the extensive and wooded hilly area the motorcyclists were currently training.

The enthusiasm for trials was also reflected in improvements to the bicycles. Grille was a pioneer in this area too. Initially, he simply shortened the mudguards. Later, he used a 26-inch rear wheel rim for his 28-inch bicycle, which fitted a Victoria Vicky moped tyre!

When Jürgen Baumann's mother bought a new bicycle from Schulenburg Willi in 1961, her twelve-year-old son got his first bicycle, his mother's old 28-inch ladies' bicycle. This was now turned upside down, even if it meant a storm of protest from his father after the mudguards were shortened (the mounting struts were raised for this purpose) and the luggage rack was removed – which was actually supposed to hold his school bag.

But there was no stopping him. He had to have a 26-inch rear wheel with Vicky tyres, just like Grille had. The advantages of the coarser tread, the thicker and more resilient tyre, and the shorter gear ratio provided by the smaller 26-inch wheel – not to mention the psychological significance of the ‘trial look’! – were so decisive that the disadvantage of reduced ground clearance was accepted. The saddle was lowered all the way down and the chain guard disappeared. When one of Grille's brothers started working in a turning shop, they even bent proper trial handlebars! The handles were made from insulating tape – coloured insulating tape, which was hard to come by at the time, was all the rage.

The external conditions were ideal. In the immediate vicinity of the residential area in Ebstorf, there was a shady little forest with numerous pits where clay had once been mined. Ascents and descents as well as spirited riding on the opposite slope with hairpin bends and roots were possible right on the doorstep, so to speak, and there was even a muddy spot available. The infrastructure also included Schulenburg Willi, the bicycle shop on Fischerstraße. The boys were allowed to rummage through the scrap box there from time to time and often found what they were looking for. The village shop Joppich in Stadionstraße, the parental home of one of the bike trialists (who was nicknamed ‘Ronning’ because of the coffee advertisement on the shop), was also right next to the grove and was an important meeting place.

Grille's connection to motorcycle trials also had an impact on the events held in the Ebstorf clay pits. Following the example of the trials in the Hellkuhlen area, four to five bicycle trials were held each year in a more or less internal circle – not exactly a small number! There was no overall ranking for the year, so these were individual events. Once, Grille got hold of a Veedol banner at home, which was hung up in the forest to create a racing atmosphere. And, in reference to MSC Ebstorf, a white sign hung from a tree with the blue letters ‘FTC’ on it: Fahrrad-Trial Club Ebstorf!

About five boys belonged to the hard core of the ‘Fahrrad-Trial Club Ebstorf’ (Ebstorf Bicycle Trial Club) – two of them, Grille and Jürgen Baumann, rode their special bikes, while three others had only shortened their mudguards. But surprisingly, it was Siggi (Siegfried Klass) who, even without a 26-inch rear wheel and balloon tyres, was the only one to ride all the way to the top of a slope known as the ‘toboggan run’ and used for that purpose in winter!

Ten to twelve riders took part in the bicycle trials themselves, some of them on ordinary bicycles. They rode a lap of about four to five kilometres with up to ten sections, which were marked out with the boundary flags (‘Sinalco’) commonly used in trials at the time. These were, of course, provided by Grille, who even wrote certificates at school (none of which have survived, unfortunately)! The riders rated each other according to the 0-1-3-5 scoring system that was standard in trials at the time. Word-of-mouth advertising was used to promote the events at school and in the street where they lived. There was also a rivalry between Mückenkamp (a residential area in Ebstorf) and Hornstraße. At the trials, each of the participants had to donate a prize (whatever they could afford). They competed for chocolate or a bottle of strawberry wine produced by their parents – Jürgen Baumann is sorry today about the donated copies of ‘DAS MOTORRAD’ magazine.

The activities described took place between 1961 and 1964. In 1964, Jürgen Baumann – incidentally from Ronning – bought a moped. That was the end of cycling, and the trial tinkering continued with the moped. Grille was also old enough for a motorbike at this time and, as the fourth Schulz son, rode motorcycle trials for several years. The same was true for Siggi, who still occasionally attends (veteran) motorcycle trials as a spectator. This meant that the most important riders of the ‘Fahrrad-Trial Club Ebstorf’ had switched to the motorcycle camp, and bicycle trial activities in Ebstorf were practically over.

Jürgen Baumann confirms that they were forced to ride bicycle trials at the time because motorised trials were still off limits to them due to their age. However, he also emphasises the seriousness with which they approached trials on bicycles even back then. They trained practically every day and practised standing still for as long as possible. Only moving the wheels sideways was not yet an issue.