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I spent my last ride focusing on not slowing down on corners by shifting my weight back and over the wheel. My ride last night had me working a lot on crossing logs by not slowing down, kicking up my front wheel, and letting the back wheel bounce over it.
So… what have you been working on? Any and all skill levels are welcome here! Have you been shifting your weight back on DH sections? Maybe changing your pedal position on rock gardens?
What’s the new trick for you?
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I must be getting old — lately what I usually work on is [i:4j7x8l0e]not[/i:4j7x8l0e] falling. 😆 Not joking! My body just can’t take the thrashing anymore! Problem is, I love to go fast, and I have a hard time backing down from techie challenges. Ouch!
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When I do not have a lot of time I work on speed. Hit a local trail and sprint it. When I have 2 or more hours distance without stopping for breaks.
However the most important thing I work on is having FUN!
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I love to climb believe it or not but I really work on the balance between the pressure on my rear wheel and the pressure on my front wheel…I try to find the perfect balance. I also work on coming in and out of corners faster and maintaining a higher avg. speed than my previous ride on the same trail. Also my shifting, good shifting technique can give you faster pace with less leg work and faster climbs but knowing the trails play a big big role in your shifting
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Still working on my DH Switchbacks. I’ve made some improvements, but I got some ways to go before I even come close to "mastering" it.
Also lately I’ve been trying my hardest to utilize the bunny hop in more places. Believe it or not, it can be a lot harder than it seems to use it on the trail rather than just in the middle of an empty parking lot.
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I agree with Asfyxiate. the bunny hop is harder to use on the trail, especially if it is not a trail you know. I have been riding for several yaers and still have to practice that. I guess I need to go back to clip pedals. I also try to work at climbing. Being in the south there is not a lot of opportunity for long climbs and I try to practice them. I want to be able to ride in other areas of the country with being too out of my element…
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Since i just got my Jamis and have not been on a bike in years i’m working on staying up on the bike and off the ground its amazing back in my youngster yeras i could whip a bike all over the trails now i’m all shaky like a 90 yr old without his walker. they say you never forget so i’m guessing it will come back to me after i ride the bike a few times and get use to it.
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"Andrew_Gilbert" wrote
Since i just got my Jamis and have not been on a bike in years i’m working on staying up on the bike and off the ground its amazing back in my youngster yeras i could whip a bike all over the trails now i’m all shaky like a 90 yr old without his walker. they say you never forget so i’m guessing it will come back to me after i ride the bike a few times and get use to it.
So true 😆 . Besides working on the same things as Andrew here, I’m trying to re-master the tail whip and big drops on a MTB. I used to be real good at the tail whip on a 20", but since my recent comeback into mountain biking I seem to have lost my "edge" 😳
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On my ride on Friday I was doing a lot of rock crossing on the larger New England rocks – not like boulders, but the kind that get up in the middle of the trail, 2-3′ long and anywhere between 6" to a foot high.
I have a hardtail and would normally just go around them, but I’ve been working on heading over them instead and hanging way back on the drop coming off it. I was pleasantly surprised with how well that worked out over the course of the ride!
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I’m working on growing a pair. 😳
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i too have been trying my bunny hop and preloading… some days are better then others tho… theres alot of awesome jumps and gaps that im to scared to try cause theres roots but im tryin man im tryin i bike daily with another sepcialized hardrock rider and a bmx rider who holds his own off road theyre helpin me
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for some reason i favor my right side so any drops i tend to land an lean to the right and swerve. i use to do the same thing on my skateboard
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Getting out of the saddle on long/grinding climbs and picking better lines for faster descents.
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Riding smooth, with less effort. Trying to make myself and the bike go forward with as little effort as possible. Not riding slow, just trying to stay off the brakes and keep the momentum I have.
Doing the same metric century as Trek7 (singletracks guru) and have not been riding much distance of late. Going to be interesting this Saturday trying to finish.
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At the start of every gravity season, I have to work on two things: railing corners and relaxing my grip on the bars. Trails are over crowded year round here by Denver so bombing corners isn’t a friendly thing to do. Creeping around corners is simple thing to do, bombing them is a skill that, for me, deteriorates quickly. I still haven’t figured out why, but at the start of every gravity season I put the white knuckle grip on my bars.
My longer agenda for this year came to me as I was reading another "braking for speed" article. Generally, when I enter a corner I ease into the brakes until I find the right speed, then dump and ride through. This article advised the opposite. Brake later and harder to set your speed for the corner, then ease out of the brakes as your ride through. I was able to play with this a bit on the IndyCross course at Diablo this weekend. I definitely felt more control, but I didn’t feel any faster. Braking is something I do from "muscle memorization." It’s damn hard to change that!!
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Keeping a strong cadence, power climbing big hills
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Nice question:
Two things for me:
1. "hammerheading" hills and riding high elevation when I can
2. When I miss a switch back, or can’t crawl a rock nicely, I stop, go back and redo it until I can. I find that being persistent pays off technically, and makes me feel better about my riding -
"Beaker" wrote
I’m working on growing a pair. 😳
😆 nice !
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hey man im feelin better im not quite a noob anymore just a novice… i got my bunny hops over maybe 6 inches not high but consistent so more height im working on and today i jumped a 5 stair… made me happy i like progress do you!
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"Asfyxiate" wrote
Still working on my DH Switchbacks. I’ve made some improvements, but I got some ways to go before I even come close to "mastering" it
Like Asfyxiate, I have been working on downhill switchbacks. Just rode 1 (of 4) on Hi-Dee-Ho at Carvins Cove for the first time Wednesday evening. A lot of em in my area come standard with sharp rocks and sometimes roots too, so the penalty for not making can be tough. Once you commit and then wus out in the middle, thats usually when you go down. Also like Asfyxiate, I have gotten better – but still have a long ways to go for full confidence.
The other thing I have been working on the last 2 years is endurance. I would like to get to where a 30 mile singletrack ride doesn’t bother me. Right now, I bonk after 20-23 miles.
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I am just working on having fun and getting out on the trails when ever I can. Everything else will catch up. Endurance is a huge thing that is getting better and better. Hill climbing is another item on the list that gets better but something I am working on because after all… what goes up must come down and we all love that part.
After 8+ years of not riding that much this season has started out to be a re-birth of sorts. Everything needs a bit of work and I am ok with that.
I just got my wife out on the trails for the first time as well. Bought her a good intro hardtail bike and she did awsome on her first ride. She powered up some hills that surprised me. I was so excited to share this part of my life with her I fell twice because I was a over stimulated goof trying to show off. She didn’t fall so now she thing she is better than me…. as long as it makes her want to ride again… she can think what she wants.
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