Riding/ Skills Tips For
Complete Beginners
Jump to
Body Positioning and stance
Climbing hills
Descending
Cornering
Jumps and
Drops
Introduction
OK I'm not going to try to tell experienced riders how they should
be riding their bike as I'm sure there are A LOT of riders who would
just blow me out of the water when it comes to bike handling skills!
No this is more of a helpful guide to complete beginners to the sport
who have little or no experience of riding a Mountain bike off the
road on challenging terrain! so here goes, hope some people find it
useful?
Riding off road on trails is completely different to riding on a
pavement or road, it is rarely predictable and often throws you off
track when you least expect it! There are many different surfaces
to cope with from hard packed soil that gives good grip, rocks that
can be either very grippy (like Gritstone) or very slippery ( like
Limestone) then there are tree roots and wooden sections, pebbles,
rock gardens, loose shale, mud and clay, soft loamy soil and sand!
Phewww!!!
Each type of surface creates a new challenge and nearly all require
a different technique to riding over, across or through them, add
to this the fact that the ground isn't always flat and you have yet
another problem that needs to be addressed. For instance the trail
can go up/down/left/right and can Camber on a positive or negative
angle or just be flat. When the weather takes a turn for the worst
an easy piece of trail can turn into a riders nightmare! Also if a
hardpack surfaced trail is too dry it can be just as slippery to ride
as a soaking wet trail, this type of trail (i.e firm/ compressed soil
base) is usually at its best when it is damp as this makes to soil
soft enough for the tyre knobbles to cut through the top layer and
bite into the surface creating lots of grip. Cold winter weather also
brings its problems in the form of hard Icey and frozen ground which
rubber tyres really struggle with!
The main thing to remember when riding off road is to stay relaxed
on the bike, if you are stiff then the bike will not react quickly
to your movements and adjustments and will feel awkward and unresponsive
giving you the impression you have been sold a poor handling mountain
bike! And *Always look ahead up the trail and not at the ground
in front of your front wheel when riding* this is very important!!
When you first get out on the bike don't expect to be able to keep
up with more experienced riders even on relatively simple terrian
and don't be put off by having to ride slower than other riders on
the trails or holding them up in sections that you feel uncomfortable
on. If the person you are riding with is experienced, ask them if
they will take it a little easier while you are learning, and if you
do come to a situation where there are more advanced riders who want
to pass either move to the side and let them pass or wait untill it
is safe AND pratical to pull over and let them go past! Its not always
a good thing to stop and just let other riders past you as soon as
you hear them coming up behind you, stop on a narrow, steep or slippery
section of trail and you will find it difficult to get going again,
just use your best judgement and use a little trail manners and you
won't go far wrong! And any experienced rider with an ounce of respect
will keep back untill you get to a safe passing or stopping point
on the trail, They should remember that they to were once a newbie
to!
Stick with flat pedals when you first start riding and if your bike
comes with toe straps and cages, completely remove them before you
go off road! My first outing on a mountain bike was with a set of
cages and straps and it was a horrible feeling of not being able to
just put a foot down, it took a lot of effort to remove you foot from
the cage even when the straps were left loose! They will not aid you
in your riding what so ever, so there is no point in them being on
a bike that has been designed for off road use (something I cannot
understand from bike manufacturers, but hey-ho)
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Body Positioning and Stance
Climbing hills
Your position on the bike when riding is very important, when riding
along the trail and there is no technical section either uphill or
downhill, loose surface etc, then you can please yourself what you
do, either stand up to stretch your legs, cool down or what ever?
or you can stay seated, it really makes no odds! However when climbing
a hill with no technical obsticles, such as loose rocks or tree stumps/
rocks etc then a seated position should be used. Select a gear that
is not too hard as to burn out your leg muscles nor too easy that
you are pedalling at a very high rate, you want to be able to drive
the rear wheel comfortably yet powerfully, try to spin the pedals/
pedal arms in a smooth circular motion around the crank centre, this
gives very smooth power delivery and stops the rear wheel from slipping
or spinning when the power/down stroke of the pedal is being implimented.
(If you have a full suspension bike with a lock out facility for the
rear shock, it is not always best to use the lock out when climbing
on a surface which is bumpy or rutted, this is because the wheel will
tend to skip, much like it does on a hard tail mountain bike on rough
ground when climbing! Full suspension bikes on the other hand tend
to offer more grip and are better at climbing than a hard tail if
the surface is bumpy or rutted, the reason? the rear tyre stays in
contact with the trail more of the time therefore providing drive
constantly)
Try to get your body as low as possible with your weight central
or slightly more forward than usual to counter the front wheel lift
(obviously if its very steep terrain then you will be very far forwards)
try to perch on the front edge of the seat as opposed to the rear
edge if its very steep, and as I say, try to keep your weight as low
as possible! This can be made easier by dropping your elbows and lowering
your profile while still looking ahead at the trail ready for the
next problem area. If the trail is slippery either from mud , loose
stones pebbles etc then you need to shift your weight further back
to the rear of the saddle to put as much weight onto the rear wheel
and therefore make the tyre dig into the surface and provide more
grip, however you should still keep your body very low in profile
to keep your weight as low to the ground as possible (even more so
on very steep hills, as you are further back on the saddle and there
is even more chance of the front end lifting off the ground) it is
a very fine balancing act that only comes with experience, so get
out and practice!!!! Some people say that if you grip the handle bar
grips very tight and twist them backwards i.e forcing your elbows
downwards, that this helps to drive the rear wheel into the ground
and aid in climbing!
Always ride at a steady and sustainable pace when climbing a hill
for the first time, you never know how long it is going to be? if
it is a short sharp climb and you can see a particularly slippery
section coming up i.e a tree root or muddy patch, then try to accelerate
before the obsticle and ease off the power on the slippery section,
it also helps to slightly unweight the rear wheel at the point that
it goes over the slippery section by throwing your body forwards towards
the bar, BUT again keeping
your profile low at the same time! also if there is rocks on the trail
or you are in a gully, you need to get the timing of your pedal strokes
just right to avoid pedal strikes! this is crucial if you don't want
to have to try to get going again half way up a hill!
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Descending
As with all Mountain bike riding you should be relaxed on the bike
when descending on rough ground, If you are tense then the bike will
be doing all the work! Stay relaxed and look ahead at whats coming
up! You want to be in a sort of 'ready for anything' (RFA) stance
on the bike (or as MBR call it, the 'Attack' position) stay lowish
in the frame with your knees slightly bent, weight central or to the
rear if it is steep terrain, arms bent and the elbows sticking out
slightly, head up and looking well ahead ready for any suprises that
may be around the next corner? It is best to keep the pedals at a
3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position (i.e level/horizontal) because when
the suspension compresses (hardtails and full suss) the bottom bkt
height is going to be lower and cause a pedal strike! plus both legs
are at the same height and therefore both will be bent at roughly
the same angle. (see badly drawn piccies below for RFA/ Attack position
) :)
fig 1 (RFA/ Attack position, knees bent head up, elbows out)
fig 2 (and again from the front)
Note: it is really hard for me to accurately draw
this position and it looks kinda awkward, just assume a position as
close to what feels like you are ready to attack the trail and in
control of the bike and you should be somewhere near what I am trying
to show in the pictures.
In this 'ready for anything' (RFA) position you can absorb any obsticle
that arrises on the trail such as a drop-off or rock, jump, tree route
etc. Drop-offs are tackled by leaning forwards slightly to compress
the fork about a foot or so before the drop, then quickly shifting
your weight backwards and extending your arms straight and pulling
up on the bars, at the same time push your pedals forwards (all in
one quick movement) this will lift the front wheel into whats called
a 'Manual' (its a sort of riding along balance on the rear wheel without
pedaling) depending on the speed you are travelling at you may need
to initiate the manual sooner than a foot from the drop (this will
come with experience though as you learn to judge the trail) practise
by dropping off a curb stone at the edge of a pavement/ sidewalk or
other low drop! Aim to be landing both wheels at the same time or
slightly rear wheel first! Once you have mastered the manual you can
take it to the trail and will use it on virtually every obsticle in
your path, Plus whether it is a curb height drop or a two foot drop
the principle is the same it is just the distance that you drop that
is different, and if you can get the bike to manual and land both
wheels at the same time off a curb then you can land both wheels at
the same time off a two foot high drop, all you have to do is learn
to hold the manual until the rear wheel rolls off the end of the drop,
easy!
When descending on loose ground you need to stay relaxed (as always!)
and cover the brakes or lightly feather the brakes to slow the bike
but not to lock the wheels, keep your weight to the rear slightly
or a lot if its really steep and just let the bike shuffle around
underneath you, it will wobble about and feel as though its going
to slide out from underneath you but if you stay relaxed it will just
find its way down the descent! If you encounter any tree roots do
not brake over or on them just scrub off any excess speed before you
get to them then let the brakes off and roll over the roots! If you
are descending and are starting to pick up too much speed you can
bring your speed into check fairly rapidly by applying your brakes
both front and rear sharply, BUT a fraction before you apply the brakes,
drop all your weight downwards forcing all your weight into the pedals
and rear wards slightly this will cause the suspension to squat down
in its travel and also force the tyres into the ground therefore creating
more grip for the braking tyres (also useful on level ground).
When descending rocks or dry roots and pretty much any uneven ground
that has peaks and troughs speed is your friend, instead of riding
over the obsticles causing the bike to buck, with a little more speed
you will just skip over the troughs and ride across the tops of the
peaks or if possible, use the first peak as a take off and jump the
rest (slightly compress the fork by leaning forwards slightly then
lean backwards and upwards and with all your weight pull up and back
to lift the front wheel up off the ground, do this with enough ferosity
to make the rear wheel want to lift up off the ground to by lifting
your legs up to unweight the pedals but not too much as to make your
feet come off the pedals, as the rear wheel hits the peak it should
cause it to bounce up and therefore the bike will jump, or as its
known also 'Bunny Hop'). Also, look for the less obvious routes when
descending, the well worn path may not always be the best route to
take, knock seconds off your best times through sections by taking
a more direct route through a corner or set of corners effectively
taking a straight line through a section you would have previously
slowed for.
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Cornering
Taking corners is always gonna feel unsafe when riding on loose ground,
so the best thing you can do is to try to find something to wedge
your wheel in to, therefore effectively making the corner feel more
like a compression, ridges worn away by other bikers tyres are best,
its like being on rails as your tyre stays planted in the groove and
gives something solid that the wheel can push against! Unfortunately
these are very few and far between out on the trail proper and with
natural berms being very few and far between when you're out on natural
riding terrain you're gonna have to find another way to take corners!
Heres how you can make corners just a little easier.
You need to take up the RFA/ attack position on the bike to load
the front fork and therefore place more weight at the front wheel
to give the tyre more grip, before you enter the start of the corner
you need to scrub off any excess speed! this is because any braking
in the corner is just gonna make the bike stand up straight and cause
you to want to go forwards instead of around the corner you're trying
to take. As you enter the corner you need to be spotting your exit
and also a quick survey of the terrain in the corner (ruts, roots,
rocks etc) look for the straightest line through the corner and try
to imagine the corner as straight as you can! this is the line you
need to take! Now looking ahead at the exit and NOT at the floor,
set up your pedals so that the the pedal on the outside of the corner
is down and the inside pedal is up (i.e if it's a left handed corner,
the pedal on the outside will be the right pedal) this may seem stupid
as you would naturally strike a pedal if the inside pedal was lower
BUT my point is to get you to have the pedals in this position and
NOT in a level position with the pedals at the same height! Ok so
the pedals are inside up to avoid strikes and outside down, now as
you enter the corner tilt the bike underneath you into the turn but
keep your body fairly upright, with your body kept upright all your
weight is on the outside (down) pedal and therefore pushing maximum
pressure on the edge of the tyre to give it grip into the dirt! bend
your outside arm and extend your inside arm to help push the bike
over when you tilt it into the corner! (see badly drawn figs 3 and
4) Start by taking your favourite corners at a slower speed to get
used to the technique I have described, once you feel more confident
with the technique increase your speed and watch yourself taking corners
faster than before!
fig 3 (body position when tilting bike)
fig 4 (more weight is forced downwards throught the tyres edge tread)
Banked corners (called Berms) like those found at lots of Man made
trail centres are much easier to take then a flat corner on level
ground, the angle of the berm helps keep more of the tyres centre
tread in contact with the terrain BUT as speed increases so does the
tendancy for the bike to want to try to go straight forwards! Again
the same principle applies to berms as it does on level ground, outside
pedal down and outside arm bent slightly, inside pedal up and arm
extended slightly (see badly drawn fig 5)
fig 5
For corners that have roots or puddles or any slippery surface on
them, they are best taken at speed, try to pump the ground and compress
into the ground to drive the tyres in to give traction just before
the slippery obsticle thats in your path mid-corner, then unweight
the bike just before to drift over the roots or puddle (whatever)!
this can be done even if the corner is off camber, its takes practice
to get right and doesn't feel safe at first but with more practice
and starting off at slower speeds it will become easier and easier
then you just need to build up your speed as you get more confident,
just get out and ride/session a few tricky sections and you will be
taking corners faster than ever before!
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Jumps and Drops
Drops
Drops are more of a mind over matter really, you wouldn't think twice
about dropping a pavement kerb! Why? because you only have about 4-5
inches to floor if you get it wrong! Ok first of all practice rolling
along to a Kerb at a slightly faster than walking pace, you want to
be standing with you pedals both level, and as you near the lip of
the Kerb with your front wheel, just pull back on the bars slightly
by shifting your weight backwards and downwards and you should naturally
push forwards with your feet on the pedals (both feet at the same
time i.e not spinning the cranks) start off with small movements at
first....it doesn't matter if you land front wheel first because it
is only a small drop, then gradually put more effort into it untill
you can land both or slightly rear wheel first, this is a good way
of finding the balance point of the bike underneath you! (this rolling
on the back wheel is called Manualling)
When you get more confident you can slow your speed even more and
really start to put some effort into the movement, thereby holding
the 'Manual' longer at lower speeds! now when out on the trail bigger
drops will be easier to tackle! REMEMBER a bigger drop to flat is
the same as a drop off a Kerb if you can get the bike to manual off
the lip and land both wheels at the same time or slightly rear wheel
first, it is all just in your mind that it is any different, just
commit to the drop and you will ave no problem!
Drops that don't land to flat are a little trickier, simply because
you don't want to manual quite as much and if it is a drop-in to steep
terrain you need to let the bike roll off the lip so that you land
both wheel at the same time or 'very' slightly front wheel first,
the quicker you can get the front wheel on the ground the quicker
you will be able to steer the bike should you have to avoid an obsticle
in the trail! (remember you will be picking up speed fast due to the
steep terrain and need to gain control ASAP) best advice is to find
a gentle drop-in and practice then build up a little at a time until
you are dropping bigger and bigger drop-ins.
Drops at speed should be approached standing then just before you
get to the drop lower your weight down into the frame then as the
bike drops the lip, push your legs down to extend them and force the
wheels to contact the ground very quickly therefore gaining control
again at the eariest opportunity, if the drop is a drop that isn't
to flat as with the Drop-in style mentioned above then if you know
the drop, try pre-jumping the drop. Basically you carry out a bunny
or moto style hop before the lip so that you are already starting
to descend into the downwards slope after the drop-in's lip, the faster
you are going the earlier you need to bunny hop, if it is a very steep
drop-in you need to scrub more speed before the drop-in and bunny
hop higher before the lip and dive the front end down to meet the
terrain, again just practice this and always check out the drop before
attempting any drop for the first time!
Jumps
As with Drops, start off small and get used to what it feels like
for the bike to be off the ground and out of control, start off at
slow speed......roll up to a small jump of about 4-5 inches high and
time it just right (this will be determined by what speed you are
travelling at) so that you compress all your weight down to drive
the tyres down into the ground just as you are riding up the jump,
then as your front wheel is about to near the end of the lip, pull
up gently like you would for a bunny hop remembering to pull up evenly
(slighty front wheel first then suck up the rear wheel with your pedals
by drawing your legs up/ pulling arms and shoulders) you are aiming
to land slightly front wheel first to get back in control again or
at worst both at the same time! just keep practicing until it feels
safe, then build your ramp slightly bigger and keep practicing.
Once you are confident of how your bike feels in the air you can
start to tackle table top jumps, these are good because the aim is
to land on the downside of the table top but if you don't manage to
make it to the down side you will just land on the top of the jump
and then roll down the landing ramp! the aim is to create an arc so
that you take off front wheel high then perfectly arc over so that
you land on the downside slightly front wheel first in a smooth and
controlled manner, Gap jumps are exactlythe same as a table top except
there is little room for error because the flat (tabletop) section
in the middle of the jump is missing, so if you come up short you
are gonna be in a whole world of pain! these type of jumps take commitment
and lots of practice of easier jumps first, and should probably be
taken by following and matching the speed of another rider who has
hit it many times before then just staying confident and in control,
if it doesn't feel right then don't do it....... just wait till the
time is right, the gap will still be there for another time!
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Page under construction, last updated 11/09/2009
