Learning to Reduce the Impact of Some Mountain Bike Crashes, Part 1: Sliding out Sideways
I saw this 2013 video of mountain bikers crashing (mostly on downhill runs) on a couple of Facebook pages in recent weeks: Most of the crashes in the video seem to happen in such a way that there’s little the riders could do to mitigate the impact because of the speed or type of motion that …
Screen Cast Video: The Skill Mountain Bikers Must Learn to Avoid Crashing into Trees
While watching mountain bike crash videos recently, I noticed something in a few of the clips that showed crashes with trees: riders panicking by trying to turn their bars/front wheels to avoid a last-second collision instead of more pronounced and reflexive leaning of the bike. And then it occurred to me that learning side-to-side bike/body …
The Jumping Dismount: 10 Drills to Make You Safer When Bailing Off High Skinnies
It was by accident that I learned the advantages of a jumping dismount back when I was trying to ride this bridge railing skinny in my hometown of Northfield, MN. I crashed hard before and after I did that dismount, and it wasn’t until I looked at the video again many months later that I …
Why Lowering Your Seatpost for Skinnies and Other Technical Terrain Reduces Your Odds of Getting Injured
Much has been written about the benefits of lowering your seatpost for some of mountain biking’s terrain challenges, especially since the advent of dropper seatposts. Better maneuverability on technical descents seems to be mentioned most often. But lowering your seatpost has another advantage, and it can come into play when you’re riding skinnies, holding a line through a …
How To Prepare Your Eyes to Ignore Your Survival Instincts When Riding Skinnies
There are many elements to successfully riding a difficult technical obstacle like a high skinny, but one that doesn’t get much attention is when and where to focus your eyes. I’ve found that vague reminders like, “Eyes ahead!” or “Don’t stare at what you’re trying to avoid!” are nearly useless. My brain is just not wired …
11 Drills for Holding a Line: Gain Confidence on Skinnies and Narrow, Exposed Terrain
The skill of riding straight–holding a line, as it’s commonly called–is one of the most fundamental mountain bike skills. It’s not just used for riding skinnies, like the length of logs, planks, and elevated boardwalks, but staying on your line through rock gardens or along a section of narrow singletrack where precision matters. But just like the …
17 Mountain Bike Drills to Develop Light Hands, Heavy Feet
Try these 17 mountain bike drills to develop light hands, heavy feet. Because light hands, heavy feet will help make your riding more stable no matter what the terrain.
