new to mtn biking

[hurt_again]

Hey everyone!! My name is Robert and just got into mountain biking a couple of months ago.

I bought a bike, Cannondale F9, and found some nice trails here in S. Florida parks. I am starting to go more often and enjoying every minute of it. Look forward to sharing stories and laughs at my expense as me and my bike have become very well acquainted with the floor (hard learning curve 😃 ). But as they say, NO pain NO gain!!

By the way, any and all help on how to learn the technical aspects of the trails is welcomed. I often find myself leaning hard on the handlebars making it difficult to control the bike.

Peace
Rob

[Jared13 ✓ supporter]

Welcome to the site and the sport!

There is a beginners section here as well as a ton of "How-to" videos on youtube. You could browse those to learn some general knowledge, or if you have specific questions, search for those.

The four words I keep running across in Mastering Mountain Bike Skills is "Heavy feet, light hands." It sounds like those words could help you also. What it means is keep your weight on your feet, not on your hands. Your bike will handle much better than way, you won’t get as tired as quickly, and you’ll have a smaller chance of going over the bars 😃

You should also learn the "attack position," it’ll help with the your heavy hands problem and it’s the position you’ll start in for pretty much all situations you’ll run across on the trails.

[Bonsai-CP]

"Jared13" wrote

………. What it means is keep your weight on your feet, not on your hands. Your bike will handle much better than way, you won’t get as tired as quickly, and you’ll have a smaller chance of going over the bars 😃

You should also learn the "attack position," it’ll help with the your heavy hands problem and it’s the position you’ll start in for pretty much all situations you’ll run across on the trails.

^^^^^^ +1

First….Welcome from a fellow Floridian, but from the Space Coast, though I do ride Markham Park any chance I can get except during wet season.

Anyways, keep your hands relaxed at all times (no white knuckle or stiff arms) and your weight centered in and around the cockpit of your bike, as this will neutralize your weight and place it more centered than forward. When going DH (even if short rollers), slide backwards toward your rear tire and always keep your arms bent a little and hands relaxed, no white knuckled (hard grip & stiff arms). Always keep your head position no more further than the stem holding your bars. Always keep a line of sight on your line and obstacles ahead of yourself instead of right in front of you. This way you can choose what line to take and what you are approaching so to be ready for it.

If you are ever up this way in the Melbourne/Palm Bay area, give me a shout and we can make a ride at our local GFT (grapefruit trail) or at Turkey Creek. Have a blast bro and On-On!

[hurt_again]

Thanks for the welcome guys!! I will definitely try and put all that into practice the next time around.

Jared, thanks for the link to the beginner section, I must have overlooked it while checking out the site. And Bonsai, when I work my way up the coast I will let you know I wont turn down that invitation.

[kyroush]

I found that the proper breaking technique actually lightened the load I put on my hands. When I started, I ALWAYS had two fingers on the break levers, but you only need one to apply the needed amount of breaking pressure. When I made the switch, the added control from the third finger on the grip actually allowed me to lighten up my death grip 😆 (I had previously had a problem with my hands falling asleep, now no prob). Don’t know if this is new to ya, but it was to me, and helped a lot.

Kentucky Roush 😎

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