Bike Riding Techniques Essay

706 Words3 Pages

Improving your mountain bike riding techniques may not be the most exciting training, but it's the most important part of biking outside of nailing gnarly downhills. Improving how you ride isn't just your personal performance, but getting the most out of your bike both while on the trail and the longevity of your bike.

First my universal tip, stand up on downhills and sit down on uphills. At first, this counters your instincts.

Sitting while climbing is one of the first mountain biking tips to follow. When you were a kid riding a one-speed and you got to a hill, you stood up to apply more force to the pedals. That was OK on your Huffy, but mountain bikes do not need the extra force when you're in the right gear. In fact, the extra force is torques the chain and strains the components and eventually breakdown your bike. Additionally, you want most of your weight to fall on your back wheel. Remember spinning the back tire when you stood up …show more content…

You don't look at the ground you're driving over, but look ahead. Do the same with mountain biking. Choose where you want to go by looking 15 feet - 20 feet ahead of you. Choose your line and trust your instincts. If you see an obstacle, choose how you're going around or over it, but don't fixate on the obstacle as you approach it. Otherwise, you'll hit it.

If you're hitting some really steep downhill, lean back over your back wheel with your belly over the seat. This gives you added stability as you hit 60 degree downhills and not flipping over your handle bars. Typically, you will not need to do this unless you're on a very steep downhill. This riding technique takes a lot of practice to nail.

So those are some general mountain bike riding with my universal tips. As always, good luck and have fun! It's not worth it if you're not having fun, and if it's fun, it's worth doing twice! You can read more of my tips and articles at Better Mountain

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