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Hello everyone,
I have been having trouble getting UP some of technical portions of my local trail. There are sections of 6-12 feet of rock gardens that I just can’t seem to get up. My downhill skills are getting better and I can get through them very clean on my way down, its just ugly on the way up.
If I try to really mash the pedals out of the saddle to keep my momentum up I can’t keep a good line through the garden and end up wedging my front tire into the rocks or hitting something too big to roll.
Today I tried to keep a more balanced stance so I can power the bike and control the front tire. Unsuccessful. I feel like the lack of momentum is my undoing. There is a bit of a turn and once I had to turn that front wheel I couldn’t get enough power to keep going.
These technical sections are pretty much in the middle of the climb so I don’t feel like I can just get my speed up and slam through them. I even have a 29er! During the climb I’m in the granny gear chain ring, I click up a couple cogs once the rocks are in sight to get more power to the dirt.
I would love to get out there on a weekend with a lawn chair and 12 pack and just watch people, but the state park frowns on that, I think.
Ride on,
Hammer -
Nothin like the feelin of masterin a hard climb that’s whupped your ass a bunch. just keep on goin for it. if the front wheel is gettin stuck sometimes you just need to go up and over it. have you tried pulling up the front wheel a bit before the obstacle? i still ride flats (love bein able to bail easy when i screw something up) but spds will let you pull the pedals up and give you that much more power. on something this steep it may not make a difference.
anyway, go get some and keep on tryin!
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I’m no expert by far, but I agree with the "keep tryin" approach. The conditioning alone should help with stamina on the ascent. I find keeping the front end real light by pulling up slightly when your tire encounters an obstacle does wonders. It may seem difficult under the circumstances, but if you are already on a steep ascent it doesn’t take much to lighten that front end and get the tire up and over. Just don’t overdo it, and be ready crank hard to get the rear wheel up and over too. Good luck and keep us posted.
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Try your best to keep the momentum up, lighten the front end and keep pedaling. You will get it. Also look for the line with the least amount of harsh drops/rises. Look where you go down that section and ride up that same way, see what happens
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Have you tried picking up your front wheel as you hit the obstacle? This is what you did all those upright rows in the off-season for, right? Ha ha.
No, seriously, try picking up your front wheel just as you meet the obstacle. Once your front wheel is on top of it, a quick lunge with your hips should get your rear wheel up and over.
Good luck. Sounds like a blast of a trail!
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I would love to get out there on a weekend with a lawn chair and 12 pack and just watch people, but the state park frowns on that, I think
Hammer – agree with the others regarding technique, and keep trying. You will conquer.
As far as the 12 pack, that is what a hydration pack is for 😄
Ride fast, ride safe 😃
FlowAk
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Not sure if you have a full suspension or not but I find riding uphill on techincal, rocky sections is easier when seated with the shock wide open. Let the suspension do the work to move you from rock to rock. It feels easier to keep balance this way and I rarely spin out my rear wheel using this method as all my weight is back over the rear tire.
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Alright,you say you are doing good on the decent but are having problems on the ascent.I am gonna tell you how I conqured a tech section here in colorado called the steps at Dakota Ridge.Big bad dusty and slippery steep square edge steps.hahahahha.At first I was like DAMN how do I get up these steps I’ve only heard some riders can get up…..Then one day I was like,it’s gotta be because I am too calm,I needed my blood boiling like my boss gets me at work when I’m perplexed by somthing and am about to quit.So I came with a plan that involved riding all the way around and up another mountain and back up the side of the mountain where those steps are at.I was pretty worked up by the time I got back to those steps and just rode right up em……..Now I need to figure out how to rde up em whenever I want to,hahahhhahaHope this helps,I felt really good when some hikers were shewing their spouses out of my way when I was came up on em and they all watched like they had paid to see it……
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SUCCESS! Let it be known on July 8th 2011, I cleared the rock garden going up the trail!
It is funny because of all the times I’ve tried, this time seemed the least likely to clean it. It was during the last mile or so of a 20+ mile day. I had bent my derailleur hanger and had to stay in low gears because the chain would shift under heavy torque. Cramps were creeping into my legs. Once I got to that section of trail I pushed all of that out of my mind and starting spinning like crazy. It seemed like my front tire would hardly touch the rocks as I turned between big rocks keeping as smooth of a line as possible. I got up it and alone in the woods I had my fist in the air shouting hell ya!
Thanks for all the good advise! I should be back on Monday, hopefully the confidence and experience will get be back up that damn mess.
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it’s pretty crazy what you can do sometimes when you’re "in the zone". i can’t count the times i’ve demolished some crazy piece of terrain without even thinking about it to realize later that if i had stopped and tried to plan it out before hand i would never have made it without eating dirt.
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"TheHammer" wrote
SUCCESS! Let it be known on July 8th 2011, I cleared the rock garden going up the trail!
It is funny because of all the times I’ve tried, this time seemed the least likely to clean it. It was during the last mile or so of a 20+ mile day. I had bent my derailleur hanger and had to stay in low gears because the chain would shift under heavy torque. Cramps were creeping into my legs. Once I got to that section of trail I pushed all of that out of my mind and starting spinning like crazy. It seemed like my front tire would hardly touch the rocks as I turned between big rocks keeping as smooth of a line as possible. I got up it and alone in the woods I had my fist in the air shouting hell ya!
Thanks for all the good advise! I should be back on Monday, hopefully the confidence and experience will get be back up that damn mess.
That is too funny. That’s what I love about mountain biking–it’s full of challenges and it feels great when you over come obstacles you couldn’t before 😃
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Congrats, man! You’re a champion now! I love that feeling when you nail something you previously couldn’t.
And yeah, when you’re in the zone, you feel like you can fly. I was in NH on Saturday, and I was doing 1.5′ drops while CRUISING down hill – that’s new to me! The adrenaline was flowing like mad! 😼
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"limetownjack" wrote
it’s pretty crazy what you can do sometimes when you’re "in the zone". i can’t count the times i’ve demolished some crazy piece of terrain without even thinking about it to realize later that if i had stopped and tried to plan it out before hand i would never have made it without eating dirt.
Congratulations on the conquer! I really enjoy hearing about others smashing through insane climbs or descents . 1st time I rode a local trail with new friends we ripped up a rockgarden that was 35+ feet long and at a terrifying angle without even thinking . I haven’t been able to do it again without stalling…… The success of that first run keeps me going back even though I get nervous . Downhills with consecutive drops of up to 4 or even 5 feet I like , but the commitment on the climbs through rocks makes me get tunnel vision. Do you guys use "clipless" pedals ? I use them and that commitment almost makes me be a more dedicated rider in the rough stuff , really paying attention to every move.
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Nice work Hammer.
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