Mountain Bike Riding Tips and Techniques
Improving your mountain bike riding techniques may not be the most exciting training, but it's the most important part of biking outside of nailing gnarly downhills. Improving how you ride isn't just your personal performance, but getting the most out of your bike both while on the trail and the longevity of your bike.
First my universal tip, stand up on downhills and sit down on uphills. At first, this counters your instincts.
Sitting while climbing is one of the first mountain biking tips to follow. When you were a kid riding a one-speed and you got to a hill, you stood up to apply more force to the pedals. That was OK on your Huffy, but mountain bikes do not need the extra force when you're in the right gear. In fact, the extra force is torques the chain and strains the components and eventually breakdown your bike. Additionally, you want most of your weight to fall on your back wheel. Remember spinning the back tire when you stood up as a kid? You were wasting energy. Keep your center of gravity over the back wheel by keeping your butt in the seat.
On a downhill, it's important to stand and stand properly. You want to be balanced, and if you hit a rock, you want your body to be prepared to make adjustments so that you don't fall. Keep your feet even on the pedals leading with the more comfortable foot. Stay loose, so as you bounce around, you absorb the bumps and jostling of your bike. If you're rigid, your bike is likely buck you off.
My second universal tip, the right gear at the right time. Always have the right gear selected before you hit the climb. If you're a beginner, downshift early and downshift more gears than you expect. You want to keep your momentum going forward and keep up pedal cadence. The best way to do this is to drop to granny gear early, then go back up with momentum.
As a beginner, be in the lowest front gear for 95%+ of your ride. You won't really need the middle and certainly not need the top gears. This will prevent you from having to think about gear shifting both front and the back, just the back. With 7 - 9 gears, you'll have enough of a selection for just about anything you are tackling. As for an intermediate or advanced, stay in the middle front gear. I keep it in the middle unless I know I'm climbing 200 - 300 ft then there's no shame in granny gear.
When you're climbing, it's important to keep your heart rate down. One of the earliest tips someone recommended me was to keep your eyes down on the climb. When you look at the top of the hill, you raise your anxiety levels and subsequently your heart rate. Keep your eyes on your line and 10 feet in front of you, and only sparingly glance to the top. You'll get there soon enough, so you don't need to add stress.
Your bike goes where you look, and mountain biking is like driving a car. You don't look at the ground you're driving over, but look ahead. Do the same with mountain biking. Choose where you want to go by looking 15 feet - 20 feet ahead of you. Choose your line and trust your instincts. If you see an obstacle, choose how you're going around or over it, but don't fixate on the obstacle as you approach it. Otherwise, you'll hit it.
If you're hitting some really steep downhill, lean back over your back wheel with your belly over the seat. This gives you added stability as you hit 60 degree downhills and not flipping over your handle bars. Typically, you will not need to do this unless you're on a very steep downhill. This riding technique takes a lot of practice to nail.
So those are some general mountain bike riding with my universal tips. As always, good luck and have fun! It's not worth it if you're not having fun, and if it's fun, it's worth doing twice! You can read more of my tips and articles at Better Mountain Biking.
Chris K, mountain bike guru from http://bettermountainbiking.com/
First my universal tip, stand up on downhills and sit down on uphills. At first, this counters your instincts.
Sitting while climbing is one of the first mountain biking tips to follow. When you were a kid riding a one-speed and you got to a hill, you stood up to apply more force to the pedals. That was OK on your Huffy, but mountain bikes do not need the extra force when you're in the right gear. In fact, the extra force is torques the chain and strains the components and eventually breakdown your bike. Additionally, you want most of your weight to fall on your back wheel. Remember spinning the back tire when you stood up as a kid? You were wasting energy. Keep your center of gravity over the back wheel by keeping your butt in the seat.
On a downhill, it's important to stand and stand properly. You want to be balanced, and if you hit a rock, you want your body to be prepared to make adjustments so that you don't fall. Keep your feet even on the pedals leading with the more comfortable foot. Stay loose, so as you bounce around, you absorb the bumps and jostling of your bike. If you're rigid, your bike is likely buck you off.
My second universal tip, the right gear at the right time. Always have the right gear selected before you hit the climb. If you're a beginner, downshift early and downshift more gears than you expect. You want to keep your momentum going forward and keep up pedal cadence. The best way to do this is to drop to granny gear early, then go back up with momentum.
As a beginner, be in the lowest front gear for 95%+ of your ride. You won't really need the middle and certainly not need the top gears. This will prevent you from having to think about gear shifting both front and the back, just the back. With 7 - 9 gears, you'll have enough of a selection for just about anything you are tackling. As for an intermediate or advanced, stay in the middle front gear. I keep it in the middle unless I know I'm climbing 200 - 300 ft then there's no shame in granny gear.
When you're climbing, it's important to keep your heart rate down. One of the earliest tips someone recommended me was to keep your eyes down on the climb. When you look at the top of the hill, you raise your anxiety levels and subsequently your heart rate. Keep your eyes on your line and 10 feet in front of you, and only sparingly glance to the top. You'll get there soon enough, so you don't need to add stress.
Your bike goes where you look, and mountain biking is like driving a car. You don't look at the ground you're driving over, but look ahead. Do the same with mountain biking. Choose where you want to go by looking 15 feet - 20 feet ahead of you. Choose your line and trust your instincts. If you see an obstacle, choose how you're going around or over it, but don't fixate on the obstacle as you approach it. Otherwise, you'll hit it.
If you're hitting some really steep downhill, lean back over your back wheel with your belly over the seat. This gives you added stability as you hit 60 degree downhills and not flipping over your handle bars. Typically, you will not need to do this unless you're on a very steep downhill. This riding technique takes a lot of practice to nail.
So those are some general mountain bike riding with my universal tips. As always, good luck and have fun! It's not worth it if you're not having fun, and if it's fun, it's worth doing twice! You can read more of my tips and articles at Better Mountain Biking.
Chris K, mountain bike guru from http://bettermountainbiking.com/
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