For me, there is a direct correlation between the steepness of a trail and my level of anxiety when riding. I don’t mind roots or rock gardens but point the trail downhill and my head starts to fill with images of me sailing over my handlebars.
To help myself and others gain confidence going down steeps or slabs, I turned to Dylan Renn with A Singletrack Mind for some tips. Renn has multiple coaching certifications including a mental skills coaching certificate from NASM, BICP Level 1, 2, and 3 certifications, and a NICA head coach and coaches’ trainer.
He also has over 25 years of mountain bike racing experience both at the expert and professional level and over 14 years of professional coaching experience. Renn was happy to share his tips with Singletracks readers.
Brake control and body position are fundamental to riding steeps or slabs
Steeps are something you would slide down if you only used your back brake, says Renn. Thus, riders should have proper brake control, modulation, and coordination before riding them.
Additionally, Renn said riders need to have a good hinge position.
“The hinge position is like [if] you are touching your toes, but you are not super limber, so you have to bend your knees a little to do it.” Renn says the hinge position is super important because the steeper the trail gets, the lower a rider’s shoulders (not hips) need to get to maintain range of motion.
“There will be times where the bike will move so much that you will need to get so low your [butt] touches your tire and your arms get straight.”
Riders should also have an awareness of bike-body separation, both front to back and side to side. The front-to-back bike-body separation is important for transitions, like steep to flat. The side-to-side bike-body separation is important for slower speed riding on steeps and riding steeps that have turns.
How to set your bike up for slab riding
Renn doesn’t normally set up a bike to specifically handle a steep or slab, but he did offer a couple of tips for riders whose favorite trails are filled with them.
“For smaller riders especially, [mixed-wheel] bikes are good for steeps or slabs because they offer more wheel clearance in the back.” Renn also mentioned that dropper posts are great for riding steeps or slabs. Additionally, “if you increase the stack height it’ll put the bike in more of a descending position.”
Renn will also add air pressure to the front fork or put an extra token in it to make the suspension sit a little higher. He will also increase the high speed compression or the low speed compression if that’s all you have to compensate for the transition at the bottom of a steep or slab.
As for brakes, Renn recommends using larger rotors or 4-piston calipers if you ride steeps or slabs regularly, so that your brakes won’t fade out while you’re riding down one, and will require less force or grip strength.
Session small steeps and the pump to increase confidence
Renn said riders can nail down their bike-body separation by putting time in at a pump track or a skate park that allows bikes. When doing so, riders should focus on their heel position. “Think of heels as pulling the hips. Dropping your heels is not a big movement, but it shifts the hips back 2-3 inches. That moves a lot of weight further back on the bike.”
Next, Renn suggested riders find small steeps to session so they can get comfortable with them. During such sessions, riders should also focus on their braking.
“Be consistent with your front and rear braking.” He suggests placing a couple of 2x4s at the bottom of a small steep.
“Go slow toward it [while braking] and then [let off the brakes and] roll over them so you get used to how small changes in terrain can slow you down more than you’d think.”
Approaching transitions
Renn shared some tips for approaching, riding, and exiting a steep or slab. When it comes to the run-in, he said riders should be in the lower hinge position, depending on the terrain. “If it’s a roll-over, you don’t need much movement. Just think about letting the bike fall into or move into the new position [going down the steep].” He also stressed that riders should always think about heavy feet and controlling their steering.
Once riders are on the slope of the steep or slab, Renn said the focus should be on maintaining a balanced body position. “The slower you go, the more you need to focus on side-to-side body position.”
Once riders are near the bottom of a steep or slab, their focus should turn to the transition from the steep or slab to what comes next. “It might be sharper than you expect. You need to focus on absorbing the transition and letting the bike move back into the neutral position.”
A final few tips for dominating slabs and steeps
Regardless of what kind of bike you ride, Renn said that your body will always be the main suspension on the bike. However, with hardtails, the rougher the terrain is on a steep or slab the more absorption your legs need.
Additionally, the looser the terrain, the more you must think about brake control.
It’s important to make sure you are lined up correctly before attempting to ride a steep or slab. “Use triangulation,” said Renn. “You, the feature, and something past it. You don’t want to be changing direction midway down a steep or slab.”
Lastly, Renn stressed the importance of getting comfortable in a basic environment. “If you do a bunch of little stuff, you get focused on it and things come naturally.”
Steeps and slabs aren’t intimidating with the proper technique
While there are no slabs to be found on my local trails, there are some steeps that have always intimidated me. However, applying Renn’s tips and putting in some practice time to learn the correct body position and brake control has improved my confidence when tackling them.
I would say the biggest difference came from learning to drop my heels when riding down steep sections of trail. That one movement provides a lot of body stabilization, especially on steeps that are rough, because it keeps my feet firmly planted on my pedals (I use flats).
There’s no doubt other riders can benefit from these tips as well and confidently attack steeps or slabs on their local trails.
