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| Basic Riding Techniques |
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| Your Bike Will Folow Your Eyes |
| Always remember to look where you are going. This sounds simple but if your eyes wander off the trail you will find yourself veering off the track, if you look at the tree on a corner, you'll probably clip it. Always concentrate on looking exactly where you want to go and remember to look ahead so you can see obstacles and corners approaching. |
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| Basic Body Positioning |
While riding your bike downhill, the most important thing to remember is body position. The correct body position while riding will become very natural with experience. Ssome riders automatically assume the correct body position, Others will need to focus on positioning themselves correctly until it feels natural. It is important to never forget this most basic part of your riding as it can help you get out of trouble in sections if you’re set on your bike correctly.
The three most important parts of body position are your elbows, knees and feet. Your elbows should always be bent and slightly raised. If you refer back to the setup section for handlebars you will understand why we need to rotate our handlebars slightly forward. This will encourage you to keep your elbows bent and slightly raised. When you ride with your elbows bent and raised you will find that your upper body position will be lowered and you will be ready for the rougher sections on the trail. As I said earlier, your best suspension on the bike is your elbows. This will also take some pressure off your wrists and reduce arm pump (Fatigue).
Your knees should always be bent and your feet should remain at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock, that is, with your crank arms horizontal to the ground. This will also lower your centre of gravity and increase your ability to handle rough sections. Work out which foot feels most comfortable at the front or rear, but it is important to be able to ride at some point with either foot leading. Another handy tip that helps, especially on steep sections, is to open your knees a little and widen your body. This will help you to get over the back of the bike easily in steep sections and increase your stability.
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Body Positioning In Corners.
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| Holding maximum speed in and especially out of corners is one of the best ways to improve your times on the trail. It’s very important to stay low in the corners to lower your centre of gravity. Where possible, try and keep your feet at 9 and 3, but sometimes you will have to hold your inside pedal up. Never ride with your inside pedal down because, as you lean over, you will hit that pedal on the ground. Also try to keep both feet on the pedals as much as possible. In slippery conditions, this can be a challenge but you will find it a smoother way to ride and you should go faster. With flat pedals you have the ability to get your feet off very quickly in times of trouble and with clip in pedals this can be more difficult unless you are very familiar with using clip ins. |
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| Body Positioning In Steep Sections. |
| The steeper the trail the more likely you are to go over the handlebars so it is very important to get your body behind the seat and put more weight over the rear wheel. This will reduce your chances of going over the handlebars and will give you more control in these sections. By taking the weight of the front wheel you will also find it easier to get over rough sections. When you do place your body behind the seat, it’s important to keep your arms as bent as possible to still be able to absorb bumps and pump through sections. In many steep sections you may find lots of obstacles and ruts. You will need to keep your pedals level to give as much clearance as possible. |
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| Braking Techniques |
Having a good set of disc brakes is very helpful in this situation. They don’t have to be hydraulic, but they will need to be well serviced and with decent pads. Having the ability to brake as late as possible into corners and technical sections is very helpful and will make you go faster, giving you more confidence.
Most of your slowing down will be done with your front brake and cornering control will be achieved by using your rear brake. For cornering it is important to get your braking done early and before you start the corner. Washing off the appropriate speed into a corner so you can rail the corner without using too much, if any, brakes will allow you to come out of the corner with maximum speed. When you’re not braking during the corner you’re able to concentrate entirely on the corner itself and put your body weight in the correct position to maximize traction. |
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| Cornering Techniques |
Some of the best DH riders in the world will tell you that cornering speed is your most important asset. Having corner exit speed will give you the ability to maintain flow over any preceding section. This could mean speed over a technical rough section, speed over a flatter section or speed into a jump that you might need speed to clear.
The best way to approach a corner is to control your braking into the corner, then use as little braking as possible in the corner. Thus you can control your traction and weight your bike correctly. For flatter corners keep your body in the middle of the bike with your arms bent and weight low. Try to keep your pedals flat at position 9 and 3 and concentrate on weighting the outside pedal to push the down force into the tread on your tyres.
Also on flat non-bermed corners try to lean the bike, not your body. By this we mean, lean the bike in the direction that you’re cornering and keep your body in a more upright position. This will place more weight down onto your tyres and improve traction.
On solid bermed corners, the technique is very different. Maintain the same braking technique as before. You still don’t want to be touching your braked mid corner, but as you enter the berm you need to get your body down low and compress into your suspension. Then as you exit the berm, pull the bike hard in the direction the track is following. Use your suspension rebound to exit as fast as possible. Depending on the track and your strength, you may find it beneficial to pull out of the berm hard and into a higher line so you’re ready for the next corner or section. Use the solidness of a good berm to push hard into it. Pull hard out of the berm to change your line to your advantage. |
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| Small Jumping And Drops Techniques |
Drops and jumps in a track are great fun and a chance to show some skill and style. But first we need to learn the basics and illustrate some of the associated risks with these obstacles. The first obvious note to make is that your wheels will come off the ground. It is important to realize that when your wheels are off the ground the bike will handle very differently. Never ride a jump or drop that is beyond your ability. You need to build up progressively to big jumps and drops so you understand what it takes to ride these obstacles.
For any jump or drop, make sure you are aware of the landing or any obstacles that you may need to clear before you ride it. There may be things that you don’t know about on the landing or the drop/jump may be much bigger than you think. Get off your bike and check it out on foot so you know exactly what you’re hitting.
As you approach the jump or drop, keep your speed under control. If you require certain speed to clear the jump or obstacle, make sure you have enough. Sometimes it’s useful to sit and watch some more experienced riders hit the jump or drop, to understand how much speed you may need. Just don’t watch for too long or you might talk yourself out of it!
Approach the jump/drop with feet at 9 and 3 and with your arms bent ready for take off. As you hit the lip of the jump, preload your arms and legs by crouching down, this will cause your suspension to preload and as you leave the lip of the jump, the suspension and your arms will be able to launch off the jump and give you better flight to clear the obstacle. When the bike leaves the ground, you need to remain relaxed in your arms and legs and keep your pedals flat. Be prepared for the bike to land as it could be a bit rough and unexpected. Use your arms and legs to absorb the impact of landing as best as you can.
For plain drop offs, approach with the same caution and be ready for the landing impact. As you do the drop, slide your weight backwards slightly so you place more weight over the back of the bike. In doing so your legs absorb more of the impact than your arms and you are less likely to go over the handlebars. Try to land on your back wheel a little which will distribute the impact on landing between your arms and legs.
For any drop or jump make sure you never pull out when it’s too late. The last thing you want to do is roll off the end of the lip and dive straight into the ground. So make sure when you decide to do it, you go all the way! |
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| Skills For Technical Sections And Rock Sections |
Technical rock and root sections can provide some of the most exciting spectator opportunities in mountain biking. They can also pose some significant challenges for riders. Once you learn to master these sections you can really have fun and cut some time from your race runs.
It’s important to approach technical sections with confidence and maintain your basic body position so you are prepared for any situation. It is more likely that the bike will do unexpected things in technical sections because there is so much going on. As a rider, you can only do so much to avoid bad lines.
Again, it’s important to scope lines before you ride a section so you know what you’re about to ride and so you can pick the best lines.
As you approach the technical section, make sure your line is sorted and you know where you’re going. These sections can be very rough so be prepared to move your body around on the bike to accommodate the bumps. Keeps your arms and legs bent and keep your hands relaxed so you don’t fight the bike over bumps. These sections are quite often very steep so you need to be ready to throw your weight behind the seat to avoid going over the handlebars.
Sometimes it is very helpful to be able to jump over these technical sections if possible. Look for lumps or obstacles that you can use to launch over bigger obstacles and use your time in the air to change your line or jump from one line to another. Pick suitable and solid areas of track that you can launch off. |
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