New to MTB
- Apple
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New to MTB
Postby Apple » Sun Mar 25, 2018 8:59 pm
The problem is FEAR, I get so much fear and anxiety when on the MTB. I don't ride it enough and my left tern on a trail, sucks. I have only been riding in Terrey Hills and I seem ok with that as it is not to hard. I have been to Wylde but it is all left turns. does anyone now of easy trails in the North shore area. Thanks Or I am happy to travel.
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
- Mugglechops
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Mugglechops » Mon Mar 26, 2018 1:26 pm
These will help your skill level come along in leaps and bounds.
- nescius
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Re: New to MTB
Postby nescius » Mon Mar 26, 2018 8:15 pm
I also found a lot of youtube tutorials quite helpful, especially those from Skills with Phil
One of the things that really helped me get comfortable was practicing specific skills away from the trails, I do lots of skills stuff in my street and on the local oval, or in the carpark out at the trails. Doing skill work away from the singletrack lets you really concentrate on what you are doing and how the bike handles without the extra stress of trail riding.
It's definitely worth sticking with, mountain biking is really great and can take you to some absolutely stunning places!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:32 am
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Cardy George » Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:56 pm
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Re: New to MTB
Postby bychosis » Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:42 pm
- Apple
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Wed Mar 28, 2018 10:08 am
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Mububban » Wed Mar 28, 2018 11:46 am
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Re: New to MTB
Postby trailgumby » Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:01 pm
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?
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Duck! » Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:54 pm
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Duck! » Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:08 pm
When you're riding on loose stuff the main thing is to initiate the turn sooner than you normally would with the complete expectation that you're going to drift a bit. Only catch is that sometimes you grip when you expect to slip and turn in too soon! Running a fairly low pressure in the front and a fairly high pressure in the rear tends to help; the soft front will bite into the ground while the firmer rear will tend to be a little bit more playful, which by allowing the tail to slip out a little more will have the effect of keeping the front wheel pointing where you want it to go, and a rear drift is a lot easier to control than a front drift.Mububban wrote:My biggest confidence challenge riding on WA pea gravel is the feel of your tyres slipping before they bite in as I lean the bike over into turns. I'm afraid of the bike washing out and me going down hard. I'm having to tell myself over and over "trust your tyres, trust your tyres..." as I lean into corners. But I'm using flat pedals and not clipless so I know I can get my foot down if I need to (like I did on the weekend with a mild pucker moment)
Most riders will have around a 2psi difference between front & rear tyres, which doesn't sound like much, but when you consider the low pressures that MTB tyres are run at, it becomes a fairly big proportional difference. By comparison I run with a 6psi difference, which at 18/24psi F/R is positively massive.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Cardy George » Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:09 pm
^^^^^ this!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.
Even semi-pros learn from others, have a read of this
https://marathonmtb.com/2014/05/01/what ... world-cup/
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Cardy George » Wed Mar 28, 2018 9:11 pm
Oh, and ^^^ that!Duck! wrote:When you're riding on loose stuff the main thing is to initiate the turn sooner than you normally would with the complete expectation that you're going to drift a bit. Only catch is that sometimes you grip when you expect to slip and turn in too soon! Running a fairly low pressure in the front and a fairly high pressure in the rear tends to help; the soft front will bite into the ground while the firmer rear will tend to be a little bit more playful, which by allowing the tail to slip out a little more will have the effect of keeping the front wheel pointing where you want it to go, and a rear drift is a lot easier to control than a front drift.Mububban wrote:My biggest confidence challenge riding on WA pea gravel is the feel of your tyres slipping before they bite in as I lean the bike over into turns. I'm afraid of the bike washing out and me going down hard. I'm having to tell myself over and over "trust your tyres, trust your tyres..." as I lean into corners. But I'm using flat pedals and not clipless so I know I can get my foot down if I need to (like I did on the weekend with a mild pucker moment)
Most riders will have around a 2psi difference between front & rear tyres, which doesn't sound like much, but when you consider the low pressures that MTB tyres are run at, it becomes a fairly big proportional difference. By comparison I run with a 6psi difference, which at 18/24psi F/R is positively massive.
That's enough Duck! fanboy from me
- Apple
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Mon Apr 02, 2018 9:55 pm
There doesn't seem to be any groups like road riding. Even though I like riding solo on my road bike
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Mon Apr 02, 2018 10:02 pm
I forgot to check the forum in time. I sent you a PM. and sure love to ride those when I get back from my MTB clinic at the Snowy.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?
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Mon Apr 02, 2018 10:04 pm
I agree, but it needs to be the right person. I had one guy that just scared me sh*t less. He would take no for an answer, he wanted me to ride where I was very uncomfortable. It is so hard finding people when all my friends are road riders.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.
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby trailgumby » Thu Apr 05, 2018 8:55 pm
That's not good. You need to be stretched a little, but not to breaking point. Getting terrified or, worse, hurt does not move you forward. You need to start with small challenges first where making mistakes won't bite you badly, which you use to learn the techniques and correct those mistakes, before going bigger. Confidence comes from experiencing competence.Apple wrote:I agree, but it needs to be the right person. I had one guy that just scared me sh*t less. He would take no for an answer, he wanted me to ride where I was very uncomfortable. It is so hard finding people when all my friends are road riders.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.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Sparx » Fri Apr 06, 2018 8:51 am
My advice from watching kids learn to ride is this - play on your bike! Muck around, do silly things, practice those little skills like getting your front wheel up etc.
I also find mtb a lot more of a solitary pursuit than road riding, it's harder to maintain a 'bunch' on the trails. But I'm OK with that.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby bychosis » Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:02 am
While it is true that MTB is a lot more solitary while riding, I find that it is a bit more social becuase the groups I ride with tend to stop at the end of a section to re-group and there is time for a chat and a drink until the slowest (occasionally me) is ready to go again.Sparx wrote:I also find mtb a lot more of a solitary pursuit than road riding, it's harder to maintain a 'bunch' on the trails. But I'm OK with that.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Calvin27 » Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:12 am
Huge stretches on the roadie and I forget how choppy a mtb ride really is. Got smashed up which took me out for 2 months and the mountain bike trails feel so foreign now. Just takes a lot of riding.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Inspectorgadget » Fri Apr 06, 2018 4:42 pm
I have fallen off several times but nothing serious.
Lucky yes but I have also flown gliders, have a pilots licence and do scuba diving.
I am still alive.
I have always believed in the ‘there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but no old, bold pilots’.
My advice to anyone is to take it easy and don’t fall off. It is great to have fun but getting seriously injured could end it all. Do it safely and comfortably unless you really enjoy risk taking and have a good tolerance for pain.
I have also seen Mountain Bikers putting others at risk by going way too fast downhill and on a loose surface your braking is limited unless you hit a tree or another biker, walker,dog.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby trailgumby » Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:59 pm
^^^ This. I don't mind being single file on single track. You're fully engaged with the activity anyway - I just don't have any attentional capacity free to focus on anything other than what I'm doing on the bike anyway.bychosis wrote:While it is true that MTB is a lot more solitary while riding, I find that it is a bit more social becuase the groups I ride with tend to stop at the end of a section to re-group and there is time for a chat and a drink until the slowest (occasionally me) is ready to go again.Sparx wrote:I also find mtb a lot more of a solitary pursuit than road riding, it's harder to maintain a 'bunch' on the trails. But I'm OK with that.
That's one of the beauties of mountain biking - it forces you to push everything else out of your mind except what you're doing RIGHT NOW. Picking your line, moving the bike, making the shape of your body on the bike, scanning the trail, thinking about where you need to be to best negotiate the section 20-60 feet ahead, pumping with your body weight to generate speed when you can't pedal, and lofting your tyres over those square-edged hits to maintain your momentum. All the worries of daily life are pushed out of mind in an extended moment of flow.
All of that is stuff you just don't need to consider on a road bike most of the time unless you're a courier on a fixie salmoning through traffic.
Then, when you regroup with your mates you can talk about those things, and the endorphins from the state of flow help you keep them in perspective.
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Apple » Mon Apr 23, 2018 4:14 pm
BTW where are all the emoji things, we used to put smiley and angry ones.
Speak your mind,Those that mind dont matter, Those that matter dont mind!!
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Cardy George » Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:46 pm
We all have our own fears when we're on the dirt. My personal one is double jumps, I came off and smashed my helmet when I was 15(ish) I'm now 38 and I still need to talk myself through them.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.
Don't rush it, it's a practice thing. Go slowly over things at first. Even the professionals walk the track first.
If your posting from your mobile hit the full editor/preview button under the reply box, the emoji are hiding in there
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Re: New to MTB
Postby Inspectorgadget » Tue Apr 24, 2018 3:40 pm
Others see it as motocross or BMX level challenges.
You can expect to get hurt if you want to go fast and do technical tracks.
I could get hurt too but I keep my speeds down and just use the bike for access.
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