Riding techniques..., Where can I read up on them? Options

[Agent_Trig]

Just wondering if there's a site I can go to which talks about riding techniques.

For example... when about leave a jump, whats the best body position to ensure a smooth and even landing; the best way up steep hills; how to take sweeping bends faster etc

I'm slowly learning just by myself going out quite regularly but would like to read up on it too.

Or if anyone has got any tips on the examples I mentioned earlier, I'm all ears... :-)

[Jarl]

The main site here has a couple of pretty good guides. Also, I HIGHLY recommend the book "mastering mountain bike skills" by brian lopes and Lee McCormack. Also recommended on the main site .

[marcliam]

I am in no way an expert or anything close but there is some stuff on the main mtb website (there's a link at the top left of this page) plus I would recommend getting a copy of the Brian Lopes Mastering Mountain Bike Skills book.

There is nothing like getting out on the bike to learn particularly with other riders with a bit more experience.

EDIT: Must have been having the same thoughts at the same time Jarl

[Jarl]

EDIT: Must have been having the same thoughts at the same time Jarl

Great minds

[mannlamb]

Yep - Its my bed time reading too

[marcliam]

Yep - Its my bed time reading too

Often have a flick through before bed and think YEAH that sounds straightforward enough, pull here, lean there, unweight a bit, BUT then when I actually get out on the bike..............

[bazza]

+1 for Mastering MTB Skills!!

Also, watch just about any MTB DVD. Even the 'cool' ones with the thumping music. Get past the visuals/audio, and you are still left with excellent riders showing off their techniques. Of course, the more specific skills DVD's are more obvious.

And, I've said it many a time, and didn't appreciate this until I'd done it - book a holiday to Morzine. 7-10 days of riding out there will accelerate your riding by years (in UK terms). And, it's not as expensive as you'd think. I think we paid £120/pp for the apartment for 12 days, and similar for the return flight (bikes included). And, you don't need to be on a tricked out DH rig. You get all sorts out there. HT's, XC, AM/freeride. And this year, I saw more French men on Cannondales with Lefty's (all with GPS, and all in one group) than I've ever seen in my life!!

If you can't make it to Morzine. Then think about doing uplift somewhere (e.g. Cwm Down @ Cwm Carn). Start off slowly. Get to know the track. And start winding the speed up. Learning what does/doesn't work.


And to give very quick replies to your questions:

body position when exiting a jump - of course, that depends on the size of the jump. But, you'll hear/read many people mentioning 'the attack position'. Knees bent. Pedals level. Arms bent. Relaxed. Yet ready ready to react. Aim for the front wheel to hit the ground ever so slightly first. Although, both at same time is ok.

best way up steep hills - whatever works for you!! Drop the forx (if you can). Some favour locking out the suspension. Shift @ss to front of saddle. Bring body over bars, keeping low as poss. Don't look too far ahead. But, just enough so that you can plot your line, and hopefully follow it. Try to be smooth, even if you are slow.

fast bends - MTB'ing shares something with snowboarding, here. You can't corner unless you have weight towards the front. Move weight to the rear in a corner, and you will understeer right off the corner!! Use a stance similar to the 'attack position'. But, with pedals at 6:30. The one nearest the bend should be 'up'. Centre-of-gravity low. And use your outside leg to push down through the pedals, through the wheels, and into the dirt, to help find more grip.

There's a lot more to these, e.g. tyres/pressures, suspension setup, geometry of your bike, riding style, etc. But, that gives you the gist.

[*Neb*]

Yep - Its my bed time reading too

Funnily enough, I had a wee read of it last night in bed!

Its an excellent book, really lays things out in a straight forward way, with a bit of humour thrown in. definately worthwhile getting it.

[Nik]

I second mastering mountain bike skills. Good book.

Each night / day you should just get on your bike in your local road and mess around like you are 10 years old again..... jump of kerbs, bunny hopp things, wheelie, manual, endo, skid......... do this for 10 to 20 mins a night and you will be amazed how much your riding comes on! ..... granted the neighbours look at you like an odd ball, but sod them!

Also if your really serious about improving your skills, look at some mountain bike courses. The are pricy, but if you find the right one, it can turn out to be the best mountain bike money you will ever spend!!

The Nigel Page course is excellent and well worth the cash as I am sure a few guys on here will agree!

[SammyC]

Dirt school with Chris Ball is quite excellent too.

[Nik]

Dirt school with Chris Ball is quite excellent too.

There was a bit about Dirt school in Dirt Mag last month. Where abouts is it and how much does it cost?

Wouldnt mind going on the athertons course in Degla, but at 180 quid its pretty damn steep.

[bodger_the_biker]

I think chris ball is based at glentress and innerliethen, I'm pretty sure I recognised some trail sections from a promo for his dvd

[SammyC]

Chris is based as Glentress and Inners like Bodger said but Rowan Sorrel also works for him and is based in Brechfa I think.

[payneib]

Here's a quick question that's related!

On a recent ride at queen Elizabeth country park happily following the novice trail (how embarrasing is this!) I was bombing down the decent through the trees and noticed the marker pointing left for the next turn, bang on the turn which was slippery rutted mud.

As I was hangin off the back for the decent, I understered like crazy, my wet muddy V brakes not really doing much and finally managed to stop in the car park just the other side of the turn!

What should I have done?!

[marcliam]

What should I have done?!

Did you fall off? In my book if you managed to hang on and didn't fall off then it was A-OK (but what do I know?).

May have been able to turn a bit better if you had a tad more weight on the front wheel but its the balance between this and going over the bars. I think I often over compensate and move too far back which comes from going over the bars a few times!

[Nik]

Here's a quick question that's related!

On a recent ride at queen Elizabeth country park happily following the novice trail (how embarrasing is this!) I was bombing down the decent through the trees and noticed the marker pointing left for the next turn, bang on the turn which was slippery rutted mud.

As I was hangin off the back for the decent, I understered like crazy, my wet muddy V brakes not really doing much and finally managed to stop in the car park just the other side of the turn!

What should I have done?!

Control your speed before the coner, THEN Let go of your brakes........ look in the direction you wanted to go, stay loose and turn by leaning into the corner. drop your outside crank if neccessary for my traction by pushing your bike into the ground.

oh and take your weight off the back wheel and attack the corner.

Just my opinion.......

and have a little faith........

Nothing in mtbing is an exact science, you have to react to the situation as you see fit, but generally as long as your wheels are rolling, they gain traction at some point.

[payneib]

I think that the marker should have been a good six feet back, as it was i didn't see it till I was on top of the turn! I managed to hang on, dodged some trees and made a mess of an abandoned mini tent thing. Luckily the car park was empty or it could have been a bit messy for me!

How catious do I need to be on trails I've not ridden before? Could get boring holding back just in case!?

[Jarl]

How catious do I need to be on trails I've not ridden before? Could get boring holding back just in case!?

lol, reminds me of my proudest moment in MTBing to date. Skyline trail at afan, everyone always says "the last couple of descents are the best!". By the time we got to the last couple of descents, it was getting very dark, but I just thought "bollocks if I'm going to let that ruin the ride" (because the rest of skyline is IMO fairly lame), so let off the brakes, hoped the trailbuilders were competent and rolled, following the slightly lighter line down the hill. Finished 3 minutes before my mates who were doing the whole "slowly slowly" thing because it was dark . If there'd been a nasty surprise on the trail, I would've taken a nasty tumble though.

Trails like that, I'd say you can be quite confident that there's not going to be anything stupid. Random elizabeth country park trails, not so much.

If I were in your position I wouldn't have tried to turn, I'd have looked for a berm or similar (as there's normally something you can use when there are ruts), and dropped into it. Never brake whilst cornering- not only does braking rob traction during a turn, greatly increasing the chances of a slide, it plays absolute havoc with the turning of a bike. Careful application of the front brake will increase the tightness of the turn, but too much and the front wheel will just fold on you and you'll drop the bike. The rear brake will bring the bike back upright, so that's also pretty bad for turning. If you're turning and you must stop (i.e, theres someone/something ahead of you as you go round the turn), either straighten up and brake hard, or lock the back, swing it to the outside, keep your weight over the rear wheel and try to modulate the front brake to keep you upright for as long as possible (though this probably won't be very long!). Practising this type of stop is not only an invaluable skill, but it's also great fun, but if done on dirt can erode the trails, and if done on tarmac hurts a lot if you come off and will wear your tyres quickly. Personally I practice it on muddy, leafy trails to try to minimise damage.

V brakes tend to just not work in the wet, so it might be that you'll want to upgrade to discs to get decent stopping power.

[Agent_Trig]

Thanks for all these responses guys - they have been of much help.

Gonna get that book soon I think :-)

[addict]

if u have a track pump and can measure the pressure in your tyres, run your back tyre slightly harder than your front. I run mine at around 30/40 front and rear on my full squidger. This means that your front tyre will grip more and if you start to slide your back tyre will invariably go first, making the bike much easier to control.