Skills Lesson 101... the online version

[tkblazer]

With the recent influx of new members and also those new to the sport i thought it would be a good idea to cover the general basics of mountain biking. Now that i have two solid seasons of mountain biking under my belt i can honestly say that i have learned a lot in the past two years. However, i feel i still have a lot to learn in just about every aspect of biking and strive to continue on my forward progression.

After watching some new riders at a local trail i noticed that a big part of riding that new riders have is turning or cornering and the proper and less damaging to the trail ways to corner. Now I am no pro, but i will leave the words and methods up to Lee McCormack (Lee Likes Bikes)

Essentials to Cornering:

1. Low - The lower you are, the farther you can lean your bike.
2. Look - All the way to the next turn.
3. Lean - The more you lean, the tighter and faster you can corner.
4. Turn - Pivot your hips where you want to go.
Most of us — no matter how good we are — don’t do these enough. It pays to drill and exaggerate until they become automatic.



Inside arm straight. Outside elbow up. Loose grip.

The Physics Behind Cornering

The more you lean your bike, the more your tires generate “camber thrust,” which is like rolling an ice cream cone — it turns on its own. This is the safe way to turn a bike, especially on dirt. The less you lean the bike, the more you have to steer. When you steer your front wheel through dirt, you plow it through all those tiny particles like a rudder. That’s so random — better hope your tire deflects where you want it to.

Summary: In most situations, lean your bike more than your body. You’ll corner faster and tighter, with more control.

Body Positioning:

Body position on our bike is a very important variable when it comes to cornering as well. Now no matter what length stem you run, you want center your weight on the bike and proceed to lean the bike into the turn.

When you corner, get off the saddle and find your center: all your weight in your feet, with weightless hands. Your weight will be distributed about 45/55 front/rear, which is pretty much perfect on most bikes and turns.
Aggressive all-mountain, freeride and downhill bikes have even more rearward weight bias. If your front end pushes in the centered position, try weighting your bars just a bit.


Left to right: Sketchy to sweet. It was so hard to get Bobbi to lean her body inside the turn. She knows better.

Switchbacks

Things to Do:

Weight the outside pedal.
I know you guys ride with high seats. Slide the seat sideways under you. Instead of sitting on (or hovering over) the middle of your butt, try to sit on your butt cheek or even your thigh. This few degrees of angulation improves camber thrust as well as control if your tires slide.
The faster and tighter you turn, the more you have to lean!!!

Things NOT to Do

Try to steer. Let the bars turn naturally as you lean your bike. Turn the bars too little and you miss the turn. Turn the bars too much and you plow the front end.
NOTE: Forced steering is pretty safe on climbs, but steering on the descent is just asking for trouble.

As always

Line up very wide and follow a middle or late apex. Middle while climbing. Late while descending.
Slow down so much you have no stress.
Look through the turn.
Keep your upper body relaxed. The more control you attempt, the less control you have.

[icon]

THis is sweet!! I seem to turn corners with out leaning and it gets pretty scary!! im gonna try this!! Thx Nam

[PacMan]

Great idea Nam!! That is a great book as well. I picked it up a few months agoand it was well worth the $$.

[gurp13]

I'll throw in a thing or two that I've learned. It wasn't that long ago that I was a newbie. First, I'll say that three people taught me most of what I know about riding... Epic Mountain Biker, dirttorpedo, and Pain Freak. So, I'm probably saying something I learned from them.

Momentum is your friend. As a newbie, I had a tendency to slow down over rough terrain and rock gardens (there's a good glossary of mtb terms here , but a rock garden is a section of trail that is strewn with rocks.) However, what I've learned is that, while it may be good to slow down some, in general, keeping speed will help you float over rough sections. Momentum will push your tires up and over most baby-heads and similarly sized rocks. Put your weight back and let the bike flow.

If you're gonna fall (and you're gonna), then just go with it. Try to pick a soft landing spot, if possible. But, if you try to stop yourself with your hands, chances are you're gonna break something.

When climbing, many trails will have a very steep section, a bit like a hump, that will then level out for a few feet. Spin hard up the steep part. It will hurt, but you can recover by pedaling lightly over the top and on the level part. This helps with momentum, too, because you need to keep moving to keep the bike upright.

Drag your back brake over slow, narrow portions of trail. It helps with stability. Practice by riding along curbs.

Ignore what the bigots say and get a road bike and ride at least three times a week. Use interval training to get better conditioning. Your strength will increase and then so will your ability to ride tough portions of trail. If you can't get a road bike, then just ride your mtb, hopefully with slicks. Road riding allows you to focus on your pedaling and strength training. Mtbing forces you to focus on the trail so you don't crash. Nearly all professional mountain bikers ride road bikes for conditioning. Engine upgrades always help the most.

Fat tires are your friends on the dirt. I have a 2.5 up front and 2.4 on the back. Aggressive treads and fat tires help you stay stable will make you faster. You'll also have more fun riding stuff that used to stop you.

Use a gear that allows you to keep your cadence consistent and easy. There will be times, of course, when even the granny gear will be hard to push. But, a faster cadence is better than a slower one. Try to pedal in circles and to pedal as fast as you can without bouncing in the saddle.

Always lube your chain and check your tire pressure. Proper maintenance of these two parts of your bike will go farther than anything else to keeping you riding. Tire pressure changes based on the tires you have, obviously, but something around 35 psi should be about right. Too much air on the dirt and your tire will not grip very well. Too little air pressure and you'll be getting pinch flats!

Hope those help! Ride as much as you can and you'll get faster and stronger!

[OMR]

We always tend to overlook the fact that we all started at the same place... some just sooner than others. These are all great tips for newbies and us older riders that fall into bad habits. It's like going to a golf or tennis pro and have them analyze your stroke production. They ALWAYS go back to the basis. Even Tiger Woods and Roger Feder go back to the basis and continue to improve... why should we be any different?

Keep the great tips coming...

Oh and here's a good one from experience: Always double check to be sure that you put the front wheel in the car before leaving home...not at the trail head

OMR

[tkblazer]

all great tips guys, lets keep this thread going with more good info and we all will learn a thing or two.

[guero]

the front brake is your friend, learn it, use it, love it.

[CalEpic]

I think most know not to skid but many have trouble not skidding going downhill. To help, stand up and get your butt back off the seat. This not only helps prevent you going over the bars but helps with braking traction.

[guero]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

I think most know not to skid but many have trouble not skidding going downhill. To help, stand up and get your butt back off the seat. This not only helps prevent you going over the bars but helps with braking traction.

......and modulate the front brake.

[Dino Brown]

Originally Posted by guero

the front brake is your friend, learn it, use it, love it.

Well said!!! Stay thirsty my friend.......

[icon]

SO when going up hill.. is it better to sit straight up or hunch over?

[CalEpic]

Originally Posted by icon

SO when going up hill.. is it better to sit straight up or hunch over?

You only need to hunch over if the front of the bike wants to lift like in a steep climb. Putting the nose of the saddle in your culo is strictly optional.

C

[OMR]

When riding, try to look further down the trail instead just in front of your tire (newbie mistake)... you'll automatically set yourself up for what's coming.

Remind yourself to go through and tighten all the nuts and bolts on your bike every couple of months or so. It's most embarassing when your crank bolt falls off miles from no where...

OMR

[genusmtbkr5]

When climbing those long relentless climbs like Harding, Indian Truck, Maple Springs, granny if you must. Going 3 or 4 miles an hour will get you to the top eventually. If it gets too easy, then shift into the smaller cogs until your in your smallest(11t). As you get stronger, then you can stay in the middle ring and really boogie. It'll take alot more effort, ask the SSers.

On short climbs like Cholla, Mustard, Mathis, sprinting up will get you there quicker but like driving a car, getting to 65mph uses more gas if you floor it, you'll get to there faster but used up alot more fuel, better to just gradually build momentum, you'll have alot more left in the tank.

[okaypatrick]

I consider myself to be a newbie, so I gotta thank everyone for the great advice.

One question though..

I always have difficulty climbing technical terrain with an assortment of rocks and other obstacles. Anybody have tips regarding this?

[Fired Yo Momma]

good stuff

[TooManyTacos]

Bikes are supposed to TURN?

[genusmtbkr5]

Originally Posted by okaypatrick

I consider myself to be a newbie, so I gotta thank everyone for the great advice.

One question though..

I always have difficulty climbing technical terrain with an assortment of rocks and other obstacles. Anybody have tips regarding this?

I find it easiest to go through obstacles like loose rocks, railroad ties, streams, etc.., when you're in an easy gear, a gear like your granny. The key is to keep your forward momentum going. Works going up very steep hills too like Dripping Cave at Aliso.

[gurp13]

Originally Posted by okaypatrick