New to MTB

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Duck!
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Duck! » Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:55 pm

Cardy George wrote:
Apple wrote:well I am riding it , but the fear is no better. I will try H20 soon. I am also going to duck hole with a friend who fell off a cliff on her MTB( SHOCK.) she now has an electric bike because her legs are not strong. OMGosh, no wonder I have fear.
BTW where are all the emoji things, we used to put smiley and angry ones.
We all have our own fears when we're on the dirt. My personal one is double jumps...
Yep, for me it's drop-offs and lumpy descents. As a XC rider and still with some remnant roadie heritage, coupled with my body proportions, I have a very front-heavy bike setup. Add to that my bike's very steep XC race-oriented geometry and thanks to the roadie heritage, a low desire to leave the ground, I'm pretty paranoid about going OTB and getting a very close look at the ground.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Apple
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Apple » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:28 pm

trailgumby wrote:Hey Apple, happy to catch up with you and rehearse some of the drills Fi would have taught you at Chocolate Foot's skills clinics. I have a collection of soccer cones we can use for things like cornering practice. There are some beginner friendly sections of trail adjacent to Manly Dam (not Manly Dam itself) we can then go run them on.

It will help me too, as I'm just getting back to riding on the dirt after messing up my ankle Christmas Eve and need to get my head back in the space after pretty much no MTB since last June. Are you around over Easter?
happy to catch up , I do need drills , drills drills
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Apple
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Apple » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:29 pm

Duck! wrote:Riding with other people will go a long way to helping overcome the fear that comes with doing something new. When you can see how they do things, it takes some of the perceived difficulty off the task, and you'll often tend to follow without having the time to overthink it.
No, I can't even watch them. Scares me to death.
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Apple
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Apple » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:30 pm

Maybe I have also the wrong bike. It is a very fast Carbon Era specialized for pros. it is so fast and out of control. well it is in control but I am not
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Re: New to MTB

Postby trailgumby » Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:47 am

Apple wrote:Maybe I have also the wrong bike. It is a very fast Carbon Era specialized for pros. it is so fast and out of control. well it is in control but I am not
Nah, don't think so. For the trails you are riding the bike is well capable.

We could look at suspension setup. Maybe soften it off a bit with a bit more sag. Does it have the Brain shocks at both ends? You could also back that off all the way so that it doesn't stiffen up when riding smooth surfaces and the suspension is more accommodating over choppy surfaces. They are known to be a bit pernickety with setup on the higher end bikes if you're looking to get the best efficiency out of them. - it might serve you better to sacrifice that for more suspension compliance.

Tyre pressures make a big difference to grip and therefore confidence as well, so we can look at that. From what I remember, your position on the bike looked quite reasonable - bars were about level with the saddle, so reasonably descending friendly for an XC bike.

Does yours have a dropper seatpost?

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Apple
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Apple » Fri May 25, 2018 8:45 pm

yep, I got a dropper seat now. I also did a course with Momentum is your friend. they were great.
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Re: New to MTB

Postby caneye » Tue Aug 07, 2018 4:48 pm

trying to find the best thread to post this and this looks to be the most appropriate one.
recently, i swopped over to flat pedals after riding a couple of years with SPD. (coming from a road background).

last week, i had a stack going through my favourite section of the trail - a fast flowing descent with small jumps. No big drops.

this week, when going through the same course again, i realised that - in taking the jumps aggressively, both feet lost contact with the pedals and when i landed, it was an oh-sht moment before i face-planted. [i had my winter gear on so i had no lacerations anywhere apart from looking like i spent 15 seconds in the ring with conor mcgregor. also attracted unwanted attention at work!]

my questions ..

1. what's the best way to ensure continuous foot contact with pedal when taking jumps?
some say pedals & shoes come into the equation. (i had DMR V8 pedals with shimano commuting SPDs)

2. is it possible to even land the bike without feet on pedals?

TIA

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andrewjcw
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Re: New to MTB

Postby andrewjcw » Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:26 pm

No, you should never land without feet on the pedals. Your legs are basically a $10,000 suspension system, your butt and seat are really not designed or capable of taking the force of landing. Controlling the bike through the pedals is an essential skill and it is harder without clipless pedals but still very possible with just flats.

Take it easy and start small. Get used to bunny hopping on the flat and jumping off the gutter and being in control of the pedals. Don't rush into the same trails/speed you're used to with clipless. The exact technique is pretty complicated, you have to get used to riding heels down, preloading, moving your body weight and controlling the bike position through the bars. It sounds like a lot but start small and easy and practice and you'll get there. With good technique you can jump your back wheel 1 metre straight up on the flat with flat pedals.

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Cardy George
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Cardy George » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:19 pm

For me there's too many years being clipped in to even contemplate flats.

Now I know there's many advantages of not being stuck to your pedals, but I need to ask if you have a reason to use flats?

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Re: New to MTB

Postby trailgumby » Tue Aug 07, 2018 11:33 pm

Cardy George wrote:For me there's too many years being clipped in to even contemplate flats.

Now I know there's many advantages of not being stuck to your pedals, but I need to ask if you have a reason to use flats?
Chicks dig scars. Apparently. Flats make a nice mess of your shins.

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Re: New to MTB

Postby piledhigher » Wed Aug 08, 2018 12:02 am

trailgumby wrote:
Cardy George wrote:For me there's too many years being clipped in to even contemplate flats.

Now I know there's many advantages of not being stuck to your pedals, but I need to ask if you have a reason to use flats?
Chicks dig scars. Apparently. Flats make a nice mess of your shins.
I smashed my shin with an spd at school drop off two years ago, scar is still there..

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Re: New to MTB

Postby caneye » Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:07 pm

andrewjcw wrote:No, you should never land without feet on the pedals. Your legs are basically a $10,000 suspension system, your butt and seat are really not designed or capable of taking the force of landing. Controlling the bike through the pedals is an essential skill and it is harder without clipless pedals but still very possible with just flats.

Take it easy and start small. Get used to bunny hopping on the flat and jumping off the gutter and being in control of the pedals. Don't rush into the same trails/speed you're used to with clipless. The exact technique is pretty complicated, you have to get used to riding heels down, preloading, moving your body weight and controlling the bike position through the bars. It sounds like a lot but start small and easy and practice and you'll get there. With good technique you can jump your back wheel 1 metre straight up on the flat with flat pedals.

cheers mate. thanks for reaffirming using feet on pedals to for a safe landing. i used my feet and arms extensive on the pump sections. glad that is not unusual!

why flat pedals?
have encountered far too many moments when i've been unable to bail out and unclip on time. it often happens when i'm on an unfamiliar trail or trying the A/black line for the first time. it just doesn't inspire confidence (in me) and i find that it's holding me back when i'm on the trails. or going through rock-gardens. a nagging thought at the back of my mind.

also .. i find that SPDs had allowed me to transition very easily to MTB. so effective that i end up cheating in jumps and never really learned the proper balance and technique that are highlighted above.

whenever i tried practising bunny hops and manuals, i have to change to sneakers. Sneakers on XTR pedals = no fun.

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Cardy George
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Re: New to MTB

Postby Cardy George » Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:39 am

^^^ I hear ya!

If you were tossing up options I would add my other 5 cents, but you have your plan and it sounds like a good one to me!

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Re: New to MTB

Postby trailgumby » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:26 pm

piledhigher wrote:
trailgumby wrote:
Cardy George wrote:For me there's too many years being clipped in to even contemplate flats.

Now I know there's many advantages of not being stuck to your pedals, but I need to ask if you have a reason to use flats?
Chicks dig scars. Apparently. Flats make a nice mess of your shins.
I smashed my shin with an spd at school drop off two years ago, scar is still there..
As have I, at a skills class. I am forever grateful they weren't flats.

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