Riding tips for MTB Noobs

[drubie]

Hmmm - choice of tyres does make a huge difference. I replaced the half worn Maxxis Crossmark on the back of the bike with a Maxxis Ignitor. Not the greatest tyre for muddy conditions but better than the crossmark. Greasy climbs = no more problems and it was far more resistant to sliding down the sides of greasy ruts, although it does load up in that black sticky mud. I'd probably prefer the crossmark on fire roads but the ignitor is much better on single track.

[theClaw]

read everything which is great. dunno if its been mentioned - one finger braking. reposition brake further inwards for this. mtbtips.com has the info u need.

[trailgumby]

It has, but it does bear repeating. Greatly improved bike control and reduced fatigue.

That mtb tips site is pretty good. Cheesy, but good.

[silentbutdeadly]

When you leave the singletarck on a seemingly one way and inverted trip to the scrub (as I did a few too many times on the weekend whilst pretending to race) then there's nothing wrong with a nice piece of cheese to tempt you back....

[trailgumby]

Weeeelll... after my washout in the dark at Kowen a coupla weeks ago when we were checking out the Mont circuit, I've been practicing my turns doing a modified vrsion of the figure-8 drill he recommends. Seems to have helped.

Naturally I managed to find the only pile of sharp rocks to fall on within 20m - the hole in my shin is still healing

[Jean]

When you leave the singletarck on a seemingly one way and inverted trip to the scrub (as I did a few too many times on the weekend whilst pretending to race) then there's nothing wrong with a nice piece of cheese to tempt you back....

Hence the well known MTB term 'get some cheese' They're going to re-shoot 'S#!t mountainbikers say' making use of it - I gather

[mitzikatzi]

Not sure if this has already been posted

Great advice on climbing from BetterRide Head Coach Andy Winohradsky!

[trojam]

It's rather long too, which doesn't help, but I put it up for the back wheel hopping, not the groove.

Thats no excuse, I want my 40 seconds back!

My tip is if you are in control 100% you are doing it wrong. Leave something for you instincts to do.

[trailgumby]

My tip is if you are in control 100% you are doing it wrong. Leave something for you instincts to do.

My tip to you then is to up your private health cover to the maximum available with your provider.

Helicopter rides are expensive. Having to wait weeks for surgery in the public system even more so, except the cost is to your recovery and long term health rather more than your wallet.

Here's a little story about how badly it can go wrong in a flash if you ride too close to your limits: My Convict Miracle Ride http://nobmob.com/node/35908

Read between the lines: my mate almost died.

[mitzikatzi]

Speechless. Glad to hear he is OK now. Great writing.

[Mulger bill]

Jeebers. I aint racin', no way, no how, no negotiation. It makes yer do silly things way too quickly.

Gumby, please pass on my best wishes to Flash for a full recovery and thousands more hours on the trails. Just don't make him laugh.

Shaun


Oh yeah, and a double barrelled mid finger salute to the race organiser for his so called organisation of the event. I'd need a footy teams help to get the correct facepalm ratio happening

[trojam]

My tip is if you are in control 100% you are doing it wrong. Leave something for you instincts to do.

My tip to you then is to up your private health cover to the maximum available with your provider.

Helicopter rides are expensive. Having to wait weeks for surgery in the public system even more so, except the cost is to your recovery and long term health rather more than your wallet.

Here's a little story about how badly it can go wrong in a flash if you ride too close to your limits: My Convict Miracle Ride http://nobmob.com/node/35908

Read between the lines: my mate almost died.

I'm sorry to hear about your mate. It sounds like from his own words he didn't listen to his instincts and let his ego get the better of him. A hard lesson many of us make at some stage of in our lives and not just in biking.

Fact is mate no one is or can be in complete control and imo striving for such is a futile and worthless endeavour.

Cheers

[trailgumby]

I'm sorry to hear about your mate. It sounds like from his own words he didn't listen to his instincts and let his ego get the better of him. A hard lesson many of us make at some stage of in our lives and not just in biking.

Fact is mate no one is or can be in complete control and imo striving for such is a futile and worthless endeavour.

Cheers

What I hear when you say "if you are in control 100% you are doing it wrong. Leave something for you instincts to do" or similar, is "ride at your limits" or "ride at the ragged edge"

The comment about ego is unfair. Heath was riding within his capability, but he made assumptions about the consistency of the signposting that turned out to be seriously unfortunate. He was expecting a warning that didn't come. Very bad expectations management by the organiser. Either sign everything, sign only the worst, or sign nothing. Signing mild waterbars and leaving the worst descent for a nasty surprise is very poor form in my view. Consistent with the personality of the organiser, though, it seems if the reports are accurate.

A dumb mistake by Heath? In hindsight, definitely. And you could make a case that he probably wasn't riding to the limits of the track, becasue when he was surprised by the arrival of the descent he got into serious trouble.

My point is, ride within your limits such that you can cope with the unexpected.

At my local trail, Manly Dam, I treat the first lap as a "sighting in" lap because the place can change so much week-to-week. I save race pace (such as it is at the moment ) for laps 2 and 3 once I've found where the surprises are.

[trailgumby]

Jeebers. I aint racin', no way, no how, no negotiation. It makes yer do silly things way too quickly.

Racing is actually a lot of fun. The track is usually well signed and yo don't have to think too much about where you're going, you just follow the tape/markers. Further, they're usually mild in technicality.

Hard bits almost always have a slower B-line for the gumbies. The guy in front usually gives you a clue about teh correct line. And if you're a midfielder like me, it's about going as fast as you can, within your own limits. For me that's forgetting about everything but seeing the line where the front wheel goes next and getting my weighting, technique and line exactly right, all the time. To get a good time you have to be able to finish. A DNF don't count.

If you make it too hard, people start getting hurt when they're tired, and the event and organiser both get a reputation that hurts revenues.

[jules21]

If you make it too hard, people start getting hurt when they're tired, and the event and organiser both get a reputation that hurts revenues.

this is the danger zone for me. i did the otway 100 this year and i just wasn't holding my concentration by the 2nd half of the race, which led to a few 'learning to fly' moments. luckily no serious injuries.

[Big_Chuck]

One of the things that really improved my riding was elbows out. Thanks Andrei

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14569928@N07/6282539980/

Tip 42 & 43
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/t ... ker-29246/

[trailgumby]

Cornering: Keep your outside elbow up.

[trailgumby]

I had put this on another thread, regarding upgrades to a stock bike, but figured it belongs best here:

The below comes under the general heading of cockpit setup.

Grips
The main issue with grips is whether they move (rotate on the bar).

Makes it hard to control the attitude of the bike in flight over obstacles and drop-offs, which means you can drop a front wheel when in you need to keep it up, which could end ... uncomfortably.

If they're fine and don't rotate, just wait until you wear 'em out. Spend the savings on a decent pair of full finger gloves. These will protect your hands in the event of an 'off' and improve your grip immeasurably. Fox Sidewinder are good. I can't ride without gloves. My hands get wet and slippery from perspiration That's scary enough on the road, let alone off of it.

Tyres
Yeah. Worth upgrading. I'm quite picky. I hate coming off the bike when tires let go. When that happens it's usually at speed and ends painfully.

Most experienced riders run a chunkier tyre on the front and a lower rolling resistance one on the back. Maxis Ignitor 2.350(F) Larsen TT 2.0 or Crossmark 2.1 (R) is extremely popular. I also like Nobby Nic (F) Racing Ralph (R), although the NN needs to be run in reverse direction to that indicated.

Go tubeless or tubeless conversion if you can. This allows pressures of 25- 30psi to be run easily without pinch-flatting. Lower pressures equals better grip, although too low and the tyre starts to squirm, which is disconcerting.

Brake/shifter positioning
The other thing I'd do is move the controls in further. Shops inevitably put them too far out and you end up crunching the levers against your other fingers and you can't get full brakes, or you have to use 2-3 fingers on the lever which then leaves you with less fingers around the bars and the remaining fingers have to work that much harder and you get horrendous arm pump on long descents.

You should have the levers set in from the end so that when your hand is in the middle of the grip your index finger is in the little crook at the end, and the lever bites on the pad when the lever is about parallel with the bar.

Brakes should be angled down such so that when in your natural riding position there is no bend in your wrist, either up or down. I also set the clamp bolt so that it isn't done up all the way. While I don;t want them to move in use, if I have to throw the bike away and the controls take a hit, I want them to move with the blow rather than snap off. It's not fun being stuck in the middle of nowhere with only the front or no brakes.

Hope this helps. :