Although most people can ride a bike, mountain biking is a slightly different beast. A combination of loose surfaces, rocks, roots, and trail features can make it easy to loose control when you’re first starting out; and can even catch out a more experienced rider! Neil and Blake show you some common mistakes and how you can avoid them.
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Learning to modulate your brakes to avoid skidding or washing out, keeping your weight central and dropping your heels, and staying loose and relaxed on the bike are all core skills tha provide a solid foundation to build on and become a better rider🤘
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28 Comments
Have you made any of these mistakes?
Biggest mistake I made when I first started mountain biking was starting out with clipless pedals. (Took a few nasty spills in the beginning) Now that I am more experienced I can fully appreciate the locked in feeling and the confidence I gain from riding clipless.
My biggest mistake starting mountain biking is I use a bmx bike with no breaks and no bucket for my canelope 🪖
I had no idea how much confidence i would gain simply from buying the right shoes, and some pads. Bought the 510 trailcross mids, and they are outstanding. Crazy how something so simple can make riding that much more enjoyable. Tackling way steeper downhills and riding tight trails way better and faster than before. Also, is it wrong that i pretty much never use my front brake? Im 38, dont plan on jumping anything anytime soon, hit some moderate drops here and there. I never find a need to use the front brakes, ever. Just curious.
I went to a trail that I have been to a couple of years before. Even tho I had a better bike and was just as strong, I was surprised to have so much trouble going in but it was hot and mostly uphill. So I turned around early and found myself really hot 🔥🥵🔥 in the az heat. I'm now starting to go a little faster than I would like to, but in order to keep from stalling I needed to keep moving and dodge rocks and boulders of various sizes at the same time. Only by some really dumb and🤞🤞🤞 rare luck, am I here able to walk and think and re-live those terrifying moments as I cashed in on years of bad luck (at a very high interest rate) to survive for several minutes.
The problem was that in a couple of years it had 🌧️☔☔🌧️🌧️ like hell a few times and made the trail much more difficult for 67+ yrs plus like me to navigate. Great exercise if you live!!!
Great information and instruction
Thank you for your advice
i was once about half a second away from having my rear wheel hit by a car as i sped across a road crossing it stupidly fast without looking and thankfully i hit the front brakes without thinking as thats all i could do at the time and it lifted the rear of the bike over this utes bonnet like a ms before impact and i assume saved my life before slamming into the back of my head as i faceplanted the footpath on the other side
Biden's skill method.
heh the first and hopefully only time I over did the front brake I went over the handle bars and busted my elbow. the armpit to fingertip cast sucked.
what is the Seat post size
How long does it take to get a decent level of MTB riding. Starting from total newbie, to intermediate level, and eventually advanced (not speaking bout pro riding)? Thanks
Thanks for the tips guys 👌
After only a year of mountain biking, I went full superman and broke my collarbone at the distal end. During recovery my bike was stolen and haven't returned. That was a few years ago. I'm using these videos to help me get back into it but have to admit, just the intro of these guys blasting down the trail makes me sweat. Thanks for the video.
Great product, easy to clean -worked out great !
OMG I don't go anywhere near as fast as you guys I'm just a cruiser jeepers. Not sure my bike will even allow me to jump like that but awesome guys
One of the best tips when i was starting was to bend your knees and elbows and keep loose only use force on your hands to hold the bars and keep control but legs and arms always loose
Are you Australian?
Excellent instruction!
Pretty new here, I found my most awkward thing is navigating sharp turns on narrow paths on loose substrate. Surely there's some techniques to doing this with slowing to crawl or face wiping out?
Just wanted to say, gyroscropic effect isn't what's keeping the bike upright. It's the cantering back wheel. It essentially "pushes" against the way the front wheel is wanting to go, so it tries to counter out any turning.
You can see this happening even at very slow speeds if you get off your bike, hold it by the seat and push it forward. If you lean the bike slightly to the right AND push straight forwards, the front tyre will automatically correct back to the middle. As soon as you stop pushing, it won't.
Thx a lot guys! From an excited newbie!
Speed is your freind
Good
ur talking about the front brake… but i never use that.. always back brake cause im scared of falling over haha.
Just started mountain biking in Colorado and it is so much scarier than I thought it would be. Will definitely be taking it slow until I get an ounce of confidence lol
I don't mountain bike, but it's interesting how most of the advice to body and angle position is similar to riding a horse.
when I was a teen we ramped and rolled along the sidewalks at breakneck speeds and went everywhere on a simple western flyer… now people need lessons on how to ride intuitively. the best tip for beginners would be – just ride as hard as you feel comfortable. biking is supposed to be fun. as you progress and gain experience you will push your limits and move into more exciting terrain. and if you never do and just enjoy riding your bike… well good on you.