Drop The Hammer 5 Riding Tips
That Will Make You A Better Mountain Biker Starting Today
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
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5 Ways To Get Back Into Peak Riding Shape Fast
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
Whether you are just getting back into the season or have had a short time off the bike, getting back into that peak riding shape that lets you drop the hammer on fresh singletrack can be a difficult thing to accomplish. The trainer in the corner started with all good intentions, but let’s face it…it became a towel rack. So…what do we do with out of shape legs and a gut as we get into crunch time? We find a way to get back into peak riding shape… and quickly.
Top 5 Ways To Get Back Into Peak Riding Shape Here are the top 5 ways you can get back into peak riding shape quickly. Word of warning… some of these might hurt a little…
Miles With Elevation The fastest way to get back into shape on your mountain bike is to start putting in the miles. When you combine miles with an area that has pretty significant elevation change, you are forcing yourself into pain that drastically increases your fitness in a short period of time. A couple of things to consider while taking this journey. Bring plenty of water and nutrition. It is going to be somewhat of a culture shock to your body so you want to have reinforcements. That same hill that you killed in the fall is going to feel like a brick wall if your legs and lungs are not ready for it. Take it easy. Get in a good warm up and tackle the time slowly at first and then start building up. If you go out to the hill and hit it full blast, you are going to cramp…or even worse…hurt something and you could be out for the season.
Road Biking I know the trainer collected dust on the portions that were covered by the towel, but at least with road biking you are outside ripping up the blacktop. While road biking is a great way to get in spin time when the trails are wet, it is also one of the best ways to become a stronger mountain biker. The constant, repetitive spinning will do incredible things for your mountain biking endurance even when you are not trying to work off the winter.
Workout Program I started the Ultimate MTB Workout Program to get my body in better technical riding shape. While improving your core strength is always a good thing, it also keeps and improves your riding endurance. When it comes time to put in weekend epics, your body is ready to handle Bike198.com | 3
the abuse and you prevent injury through correct strength conditioning. The best part…even if you do not belong to a gym..there is a way to do it at home.
Running There is nothing I hate more than running, but it works when there is no other option available. Running is the oldest way in history to get into shape and when done correctly can drastically improve your fitness. A byproduct of running is increased bone density for those hard hits on the bike.
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
Healthy Diet I am as guilty as the next guy for eating like crap and expecting my body to feel and look the same. When I am off the bike, the bad food seems to call me by name. During this time of year, I take a close look at my diet and start to eat healthier again to shed the winter warmth. It’s back to lighter, more natural foods that my body can actually use rather than the waste that is mostly processed. How you eat can effect every pedal stroke on the trail, so try to keep the gas station food at a minimum. Ideally…we would be doing these things all year long, but reality is that we can’t. By looking hard at our choices and preparing for the season, we can capitalize on those first couple of rides out in perfection and let the bike flow like it really wants to. Nothing kills a first ride stoke like leaving your lungs and legs at the car. But still…it beats a day of not riding at all! Image by jmdgolfman
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5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
How To Conquer The Toughest Of Climbs This past weekend, I came to a fork in the trail. After slugging it out in the mountains for miles with friends, there was a decision to be made. It was time to either head back to the car or go for bonus miles on a steep, long climb with little payoff on the other side. We are hit with this decision a lot in our rides. The truth…the only way to get back into peak riding shape is to do some things that stretch our abilities. Just sitting back and hoping the power comes back to our legs is not going to cut it. I sucked it up…tried to muster what was left of my legs forward…and hit the climb knowing it was going to hurt like hell.
Conquering the Climb Even When It Hurts These kind of climbs serve two distint purposes. 1. You are on a mission to get to a killer downhill. 2. You are trying to get into better shape. 3. You are a freak and love climbing.? Ok…I know…that was actually 3 reasons but I don’t consider the 3rd one to be real…or human for that matter…so it doesn’t really count in my book. When I hit the trailhead on Saturday, I didn’t have much left in the tank. Being a rider of heavier, longer travel rigs, there is an amount of power you need to have to get through the longer rides with mountain bikers on light bikes. To get this power back (or get in better climbing/overall shape), you have to start to push your limits and extend your fitness. What this creates is a painful experience that pays off huge dividends in the long run. When you go to start one of these climbs, mind and body management is key. Most of the time, it will be the concentration on the task at hand and managing what power you have left that will get you over the hill. With cramps and mental breakdown looming on the horizon, what can you do to insure that you will get to the other side without falling on the side of the trail gripping your CamelBak crying for your mommy?
Tackle Your Climb 50 Feet At A Time If I look all the way forward to see how much I really have left to muscle through, my mind will want to quit. Part of the trick I play on myself is tackling the climb in sections instead of worrying about the entire process. “Just get over that next steep pitch.” “You can make it that next 50 feet.” Bike198.com | 5
By sectioning off the climb and mentally preparing myself for each section, the climb seems to go by quicker and it keeps me on the bike not thinking about the miles ahead.
Stay On The Bike and Smooth
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
One of the biggest mistakes riders make when trying to make it through a grueling climb is getting off the bike. 99 times out of a 100, you are better off gearing down, slowing down, focusing on smooth pedal strokes and lowering your heart rate. When you get off the bike, you are making your legs cool down again causing lactic acid build up and the need to warm back up again. Unless your completely locked up with cramps, do everything you can to stay on the bike and moving forward.
Think About Anything Other Than Your Burning Legs While I am tackling these climbs on my mountain bike, I do everything in my power to try to block out that insane burning sensation that is coming from the muscles in my legs. I’ll put on music, count the rocks I am passing, argue with myself, sing an annoying song…anything other than think about that pain. If you focus on how much it hurts, you will just end up giving in and giving up (unless you are the freak that applies to #3 in the list above).
You Can Do It…You Just Have To Try While it absolutely sucks while you are in the process, it is very satisfying to finish a painful climb victorious. On top of that, the next time around will be easier because you bit the bullet and made it happen. If you are wanting to become a faster and stronger rider, you can only achieve that through extending what you consider normal riding. If you plan on doing the same thing day in and day out…you are just going to get the same results. If you are ready to push your mind and body even just a little bit, the results will be mind blowing. You just have to mentally prepare yourself and apply a little bit of riding technique. The rest will be just dirt under rubber.
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5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
The Trick To Getting More Aggressive
The question seems like a simple one, but nerves can start to get the best of you as you look at obstacles and covers of Bike Magazine. So how does a rider that wants to get into more drops, jumps, rock gardens and other freeride and downhill riding but still conquer the nerves and fear at the same time. There is a secret to the madness and I’ll share that now.
Riding More Aggressively Is A Progression Before you go find the first 10 foot to flat drop you see and try to huck off of it, just know that you are probably going to chicken out or break something. You have to condition your skills and your mind to accept a more aggressive riding style over time. Those guys that you see doing massive drops and jumps did not start out with the biggest thing to land them on magazine covers. They started with smaller drops and technical features to grow the skill set and confidence that eventually led to the build up and larger stunts. If you are looking to start getting in to more aggressive riding. Find smaller drop and TTF’s that you can start off with. If your mountain bike tires have never left the ground, this might be a 6″ lip off the ground. It literally does not matter how big or small your first attempt it…it just matters that you did it, so pick something you are comfortable with. As you start to get more confident, move up the scale. Go from 6″ to a foot…a foot to 2 feet… Eventually, you will hit a limit that you are comfortable achieving and you can start to make that height harder with more difficult lead ins and landings (rocks, roots, etc.).
What Gear Do You Need? Luckily for you, today’s 5.5″ trail bike can handle a pretty good amount of abuse. As long as you are not dropping off the roof of a house, you should be able to ride just about anything you put your mind to. Granted, you are not going to take full DH runs at the speed you could on a real DH bike, but there are guys that rock that stuff on a hard tail, so anything is possible. 661 Kyle Strait Knee PadsTo help with the confidence level, I would pick up a set of pads like Bike198.com | 7
the 661 Kyle Straits knee pad and some elbow pads. This keeps your joints protected and gives you a little bit more confidence as you hit the hill. I would also recommend picking up a full face helmet to keep your brain in tact in case the worst should happen. A full face helmet can take some getting used to…so make sure you are comfortable with it before you hit anything big.
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
As you progress in your new aggressive FR/DH riding style, you are going to want to get more dedicated equipment for the cause as there are things like a specific DH rig that will make your riding faster and more controlled with bigger suspension, but…in the meantime…feel out your tolerance level and start to stretch what you consider normal. It always starts with smaller to bigger in your quest to hit the bigger stuff. By conditioning your mind and body to take on more aggressive riding, you will prevent injury or equipment failure from trying to hit something you weren’t ready for. Original Image of Ethan Taken by RegularJoe
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5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
Pumping For More Speed And Control When you are out on the trail enjoying your favorite section of downhill, pumping your mountain bike will greatly increase your speed and control on the trail. By using the bikes suspension and the weight of your body, you will be able to control the bike with greater force and grip as you blast in between trees, through bermed turns and off small drops. For those of us that are used to this motion, there is a term coined “arm pump” when your forearms and upper arms are just tired as hell when you get to the bottom of the hill. It is from that pumping motion coming down that increased every last bit of speed and control out of the mountain bike. Controlled pumping is a necessary skill for conquering technical trail. As you pump the suspension with your arms and body weight, you keep traction through technical mountain bike trail terrain preventing bouncing off and around obstacles on the trail. By making your movements on the bike more fluid, you increase both speed and control on your mountain bike.
So How Do I Pump My Mountain Bike On The Trail? Ideally, you want to plan your line. As you hit sections of the trail, watch for smoother areas before techical sections. Push your bike into the traila and unload your weight over the tech to squeeze out more speed and control. A common misconception with some mountain bikers is that the suspension is faster in a plowing method. In all reality, you are much faster and more controlled by using the suspension to smooth out the ride by weighting and unweighting the bike. If you watch pro mountain bikers (both xc and dh), they are using the weight of their body and the suspension of their arms and legs to move the bike instead of relying solely on the bikes suspension to do the work. By working with the bike, you are able to rocket down most sections of trail.
Bike Suspension And It’s Role In Your Riding I think there is a common misconception out there that suspension is on your bike to soak up all of the hits and that makes you faster. In reality, that is not true as you pedal through the rough stuff on your local trail. If you watch Steve Peat, Sam Hill or any other pro (this includes the XC racers), the fastest line and technique is up and over the rough sections of trail instead of plowing through it. This is independent of how much travel your mountain bike has. The trick is to use your suspension to gain necessary grip and pop to create flow on the trail. If you watch the video below from Seasons, you can see that Steve Peat is looking for the fastest line up and over obstacles instead of plowing his 10″ travel V10 through them. Bike198.com | 9
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
By pumping your bike and unweighting through sections, you can increase speed and exert less abuse on your body. I see a lot of riders take the technique of plowing when compressing the suspension before the rough section, unweighting the bike and gliding over the rough sections would be faster, safer and conserve more energy for the rest of the trail.
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Conquering Switchbacks On The Trail
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
Switchbacks are a great technical aspect of the trail. These hairpin turns test your balance and general trail use knowledge as you navigate attempt not to dab throughout the course of the turn. Switchbacks add a unique feature to steep terrain as they test your technical riding ability during times of increased speed‌or decreased endurance. Every trail in the country has at least one tight turn you have to ride through, so how do we conquer these turns on our mountain bike both uphill and downhill?
What Is A Switchback Turn? Before we get into the how of riding switchbacks, what are they and how can you find them on your trail? Wikipedia: A hairpin turn (or switchback), named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy with switchback railways. Hairpin turns are often built when a route climbs up or down a steep slope, so that it can travel mostly across the slope with only moderate steepness, and are often arrayed in a zigzag pattern. Highways with repeating hairpin turns allow easier, safer ascents and descents of mountainous terrain than a direct, steep climb and descent, at the price of greater distances of travel. Highways of this style are also generally less costly to build and maintain than highways with tunnels. Switchback turns on your mountain bike trail are pretty easy to find. Any turn that is extremely tight and guides you to riding in the opposite direction you were heading can be called a switchback. On new trails, switchbacks can take you by surprise as you were unaware of the sharp turn ahead.
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Riding Switchbacks On Your Mountain Bike When you come up against that switchback on your trail, there are certain things you need to remember and practice to conquer these tight, hairpin turns.
Your Line Is Everything
5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
The line you pick to go through the turn will determine your outcome. The video below will show you how to chose that line, but also look for any rocks or roots that are looking to kick you off of that line. There is a preferred method of attacking switchbacks, but if that line is covered up with harder terrain…you might have to improvise.
Keep Your Balance This is one of those situations where practicing your trackstanding really pays off. Typically (especially when riding uphill), switchbacks are taken at a very low speed. You need to be able to keep the bike upright and moving forward throughout the entire turn. In really extreme switchback situations, it may even be necessary to stop the bike completely without getting off (trackstanding) to readjust.
Move Your Weight When riding a switchback both up and down the trail, you need to be completely aware of where you have your weight on the bike. For steep, downhill switchbacks, your weight needs to be back as you navigate the turn. For uphill, steep hairpin turns…you need to have your weight centered and ready to put forward to get through. Moving your body weight independently of the bike will be a key factor in a dab free switchback turn.
Look Where You Are Going…Not Where You Are I see a lot of riders dab and get stuck in switchbacks because they are too focused on where they are…instead of where they are going. Riding switchbacks (like most riding) requires you to plan ahead and keep your head up. If you are looking two inches in front of your tire, you are already stuck. Plan your turn and look several feet out. As you are navigating the turn… look where you need to go. As you get tired on climbs, this can get harder as it is a natural progression to hold you head down. It’s not right…but it is what your body wants to do.
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5 Riding Tips from Bike198.com
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