Even the best riders can develop bad habits. Complacency often sets in once you reach a certain level in your riding. That, in turn, leads to a reduced focus on technique, which then opens the door for bad habits to develop. Bad body position on the bike or poor line choices are among the bad MTB habits that riders can be susceptible to. Once these habits develop, they can be hard to break.
After I transitioned from riding hardtails to riding full suspension bikes, I developed a bad habit that I recently discovered. I am still working on eradicating it, but I have learned four things that are helping me to break my bad habit.
Identify the bad habit you need to break
I discovered I had a poor riding position on my bike, especially when I hit descents. I was not high enough out of the saddle, and I gripped my seat post with my thighs going downhill. This poor riding position made technical descents harder than they should be because my seat kept slapping my rear end, and my legs were restricting the movement of the bike, making the bumps amplified instead of muted by my legs.
I could tell I was doing something wrong, but I didn’t know what the issue was until my riding partner filmed me descending while riding behind me. He later watched the video and instantly recognized my problem. Now that I knew what I was doing wrong I could begin to break the bad habit I developed.
Have a good rider or MTB skills coach teach you the correct technique
I am fortunate enough to ride with someone who has over 40 years of biking and motocross experience, and he learned the proper techniques very early. He acts as my skills coach, and gladly gives me tips and advice whenever we ride together. Once he figured out what I was doing wrong while descending, he explained the correct body position to me, and demonstrated it for me. Now that I know how to correctly position myself on my bike, I can put it into practice.
Practice, practice, practice
Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to breaking bad habits. Once I learned the correct way to tackle descents, I needed to keep practicing descending over and over again until it was natural for me to use the correct technique every time. I didn’t develop the bad habit overnight, so I couldn’t expect to break it quickly either. It is a slow and frustrating process, but sticking with it will pay off in the long run.
If you use a bike computer regularly, do yourself a favor and quit using it while you go through the process of practicing the correct technique in order to get rid of a bad mountain biking habit. Your speed and ride times are naturally going to be worse during this period because you are focusing on technique, not speed. It’s pointless to obsess over seemingly poor results, and doing so might cause you to quit the process before you’ve succeeded in breaking the bad habit. Once you have the correct technique down you can start using the bike computer again. Chances are you will see some great results in your time and speed.
Use reminders to help you eliminate the bad habit no matter how silly they might seem
Taping a note to yourself on the top tube of your bike, or repeating a phrase while you ride can reinforce the good habits you’ve developed and make sure the bad habits do not come back. I have even seen a video of a rider who sings while riding as a reminder to stay relaxed. These ideas might seem unconventional or even weird, but they work for the riders who use them. I’ve started repeating the phrase “hang loose” to myself while descending so I remember to maintain the correct body position. It works for me, and makes my rides better.
It might take time, but you can break bad MTB habits
Breaking bad MTB habits is a process that involves considerable time and effort. Just be patient. Remember that you developed the bad habit over time, so you can’t get rid of it quickly. However, if you stick to the process, and utilize these tips, you can eliminate the bad habit eventually, and become an even better rider.
How have you broken a bad MTB habit? Please feel free to share your tips in the comments section below.
