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Ed. note: In this writeup, semi-regular contributor Adrian Howard gives us the lowdown on balance, how it influences your riding, and how you can work on balance training to improve your bike-handling skills.
I want to give you a little more insight into the key elements that influence an individual’s ability to balance, something that is an ‘under trained’ and misunderstood area of performance. And it’s also something that’s very relevant for the mountain biker.
Balance is the ability to maintain your centre of gravity over a base of support. If this base of support grows it should be easier to balance and, if the base of support decreases, balance becomes more difficult. This is a very basic definition of balance and as we explore the elements of balance you will understand why.
The original model of balance suggested that balance was purely a reflex-based system, which meant that if you lost you balance your body would react and you would regain your balance. If you were unable to regain balance you would fall. This model required little input from the individual, as automatic reactions were taking care of keeping you upright. Recent research has shown that balance is not, in fact, a reflex-based system and is instead an extremely complex interaction involving many of the body’s systems. Read the rest of this entry »
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When most people think about sprints or leadouts, most people associate the terms with road cycling.
While typical amateur mountain bike races are so spread out that it’s rare to see a race end in a sprint — in all my years of racing sport I’ve had one sprint finish (for 6th place) — at the pro level you tend to see groups stay together until the end.
Even though most of you will rarely experience a true sprint finish, sprint and leadout training are extremely beneficial techniques for mountain bikers. And it’s not useful only for racers either — any technical riding can benefit greatly from this type of training. Read the rest of this entry »
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Now that we’ve made it through the first few skills sessions we’ve finally arrived at the good stuff. This article focuses on the bench press of the mountain bike world: the bunny hop. The bunny hop is one of the most important skills for an cross country rider and it’s the skill that really will take your riding to another level.
Imagine that you are approaching a rock or a log and without hesitation or slowing down at all, you hop right over and continue on your way. Your buddy behind you locks up the brakes and either picks his way over it one wheel at a time or dismounts as you fade away into the distance.
But wait! There’s more! Call now and, in addition to learning to bunny hop, you will also get rock hard abs and a Ginsu Knife set. Ok, so I’m just kidding, but once you start to bunny hop, you will feel like a new rider. Read the rest of this entry »
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Most mountain bike rides include obstacles — logs, root ledges, rocks — that, one way or another, you’ll need to get over. Sometimes you can just continue pedalling right over these things, although there are times when the edge of the obstacle (like a root) can cause your rear tire spin out. If you can’t pedal over it than you either need enough speed to jump it completely or you need another method to get over it otherwise you are walking.
This article talks about two methods of getting over an obstacle when you don’t have enough speed to bunny hop it completely. As always, comments and correction are welcome from the advanced riders out there. Read the rest of this entry »
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Editor’s note: This is the fourth in Ashwin’s series of cross country biking skills. The first entry explored some basic basic concepts about bike handling, the second discussed the trackstand, and the third looked into rear wheel tracking.
Lifting your front and rear wheels off the ground is a good skill to have in your arsenal when you’re trying to ride over logs and ledges or attempting to perform the infamous bunny hop. Before we look at those specific skills I’m going to break down the movements associated with getting each individual wheel airborne.
Again, these write up are written from an xc perspective, but they are applicable skills for riders from any discipline. Read the rest of this entry »
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Editor’s note: This is the third in Ashwin’s series of cross country biking skills. The second discussed the trackstand, and the first introduced some basic concepts about bike handling. These pieces have a cool, old-school feel to them — I hope you’re enjoying them as much as I am.
The Problem
Tell me if you have every experienced this? Huffing and puffing up a single track hill, at your limit. You spy a rock in the trail. Deftly, you steer around it, pleased with yourself for missing it. Then your rear wheel hits the rock and you stall because you have so little speed and momentum, and you unclip. Read the rest of this entry »
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Editor’s note: Ashwin’s first entry in this series was pretty popular so I thought I’d follow it up right away with the first tip dedicated to a particular skill — the trackstand. After this one, you’ll get a piece describing a new skill once per week for the next little while.
Ashwin’s note: Before you start practicing trackstands, you may want to switch over to flat pedals because you might find yourself falling over a bit when you first start. Also, if you have a suspension fork with platform valving, it’s a good idea to lower the platform pressure. I’ve noticed that a high platform causes a real ’sticky’ point when trackstanding and, like clipless pedals, it can throw you off when you’re first learning.
The trackstand is not just a stupid bike trick that riders can use to wow and impress people. Rather, it is a fundamental part of a mountain biker’s basic skill set.
It’s important to the cross country rider on climbs, where speeds are low and it’s sometimes necessary to stop, get your balance, and then move your bike around an obstacle in order to move forward. On descents, the relatively small amount of travel found on xc bikes means that you must pick your way through rock gardens instead of blasting through them like you can on a longer travel ride.
And while the trackstand is sort of counter intuitive — most riders want to charge through things instead of working slowly around them — I’ve found that practicing track stands also helps my stability at higher speeds. Read the rest of this entry »
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In order for mountain biking to continue to thrive, it needs new riders. However, mountain biking is one of those sports that has a high learning curve, and I’ve seen a lot of people quit out of frustration — not because of a lack of fitness but, rather, because of a lack of technical skills. Depending on the level of technical difficulty on your local trails, you’ll need to spend the time learning some basic skill if you want to have fun and enjoy yourself when you get out in the hills.
This series of ‘how to’ articles is geared towards the beginner / intermediate xc rider, as I am certainly not an expert when it comes to bombing down trail at places like Whistler or at some of the other gnarly spots out there. But, you know what They say, “You teach best what you need to learn most”.
This introductory post highlights some basic skills that have helped me become a better rider; future posts will take more detailed looks at specific skills that you can use while out on the trail. Read the rest of this entry »
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