Ive been riding since March and while these are far from my best riding, it's still indicative of where I'm at in my skills. How do yall keep from getting discouraged? I feel like I just can't progress and get techniques down.
Some jumps I can send, others I crash and break my rib. Some corners I feel confident on and others scare the shit out of me. And different days I can feel differently about said corners and jumps!
The last two clips are from yesterday. My crash ended in my front tire tearing the side wall and my derailleur is kinda messed up. The jump videos from today I was honestly scared and of the smaller one. Not sure why though. I have noticed I have a nasty habit of turning my wheel in the air. We didn't film it but on some other jumps I'm usually comfortable on I damn near went OTB on one and got super squirrely on the others.
Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated!
How do you keep from getting discouraged? Any progression tips for me?
byu/mercuryhg17 inMTB
by mercuryhg17
39 Comments
I dont think you have anything to worry about I’d you started riding in March. I would’ve guessed a year at least.
You have a good foundation and more experience will only bring your skills and confidence higher
Not bad, you’re just very stiff, loosen up, move the bike around underneath you and try to flow with the terrain a little more.
Just send it.
You might need to get your bike fit for your body.
Looking pretty good for someone riding since March. Keep riding and having fun. In another 6 months, you will hit those features and be amazed at how easy they were. The progression with come. Crashes happen, that’s a part of MTB!
Practice, practice, practice. Progress won’t always seems like it’s there, but it’s gonna be there. Also, watch yt videos on how to do X thing and Y thing. Filming youself and slowing/pausing it to see what you’re doing step by step will help identify where you can do better.
Look up Ben Cathro, How To Bike on YouTube
I started this year. I have about 12 days under my belt and one professional class session. You look further along than me. So if you want validation, there it is.
I sometimes get the front wheel off center on jumps. Make sure your pedals are level and that you are not trying to preload through the bars. You want all preload through the bottom bracket.
Well you’re riding Beacon in the absolute hardest time to ride it. There’s a reason the trail heads aren’t as packed now as they will be here in a few weeks when the rain comes. There is little to no traction sans the rocks. IMO, ride to have fun, if you want to progress, slow down and do the the thing you’re trying to progress up to, slowly, but perfectly. You’re dead sailoring all your jumps, means you probably have a lot to work on with your bunny hop. Watch technique videos and go try them out. Rally a single trail for the entire ride. Honestly I suggest PeterBuilt, it’s a blue that’s really tame but the jumps are precise, the corners require technique to get around and maintain speed, and once you nail them it’s a super fun trail. Oh, and ditch strava or any attemps to get better. Ride to have fun, find the flow, build your base of technique, and then the speed/steeze, whatever will come. It takes time, years of time. Like golf, 99.99% of the people here won’t ever find it but it’s fun trying.
At the start, when you go down that roll your arms are extended. Try starting with your arms bent at the elbows, chest down towards the bars. As you drop in extend the arms down.
I say this to any tip post I see.
Ben Cathros How to bike series on YouTube.
The first “season” specifically. It’s packed full of great ways to gain confidence and skills without risking injury and Ben is very pleasant to listen to.
I think it’s like 10-12 20ish minute episodes, I binge watched them over the last winter and I truly feel like they went hand in hand with my growth this season.
I’ve also recently started watching “The Shred Academy” and I think the content there is good too but more tailored for bigger jumping but good stuff nonetheless.
IMO I agree with others. You look stiff. In other forms of training people will practice exaggerating their body movements to try and force learn body mechanics so maybe try that?
Everyone seems like they keep posting here looking for “how do I get better?” Most need to apply motorcycle logic here before posting. Ride your ride. You will improve by riding.
get coached, hopefully a pmbi certified instructor, you will develop proper tecnique and improve your confidence a lot.
PS: that’s a nice bike (honso esd right?)
PS2: work on your “flow”, flow is smooth, a smooth ride saves energy, a smooth ride gives you a better line choice and less braking, makes you faster in the long run. To summarize, smooth is fast.
Just have fun!!!
Group rides, ride w others, ride more. Time on bike is essential Hell, if you’ve only been riding since march, you’re doing well.
you’re already better than 90% of the videos i see here. you have the ‘flow’ locked in and you move naturally.
you build more confidence by riding more. more as in not just on the trails, but to get milk, or rip around in urban setting up and down kerbs and stairs.
Honestly most of the vids here are of beginners ‘sending it’ and they will eventually find out it’s not just about committing or ‘sending it’.
Chill. It takes time. It’s totally valid not to launch all the things.
Others’ tips are valid but nobody’s going to pay you to ride bikes. You don’t need to be launching and risking breaking your rib. Figure out what this is about for you.
Dude just keep riding you got skills dude!
Climb more hills, go down steeper, longer stuff and just enjoy. You’ll get better naturally and over time
March? I would say your expectations of your progress are high and you should just have fun.
Try to get a tad lower. Your legs and arms are also suspension. Crouch and get ready to pump or drop to absorb the bumps.
Dude, just relax you’re doing fine, just enjoy the ride; progress will come, progress it will go, and it will plateau, but at the end of the day you will have gotten some good rides in.
For me I used to watch a ton of old bike films, one of the things that helped me out immensely was how I positioned my feet on the pedals, I learned to push my heals down, that seemed to put my body in a more central position relative to the bike, the steeper the terrain the more I pushed my heals down.
That allowed me to keep pressure on over the handle bars with my upper body, so I didn’t lose steering, while a lose keeping my ass in a good spot over the back so I didn’t feel like I was going to go over the handle bars.
It translated to my body being lower, but more central, from there I played with my body position while going over jumps etc, but ultimately it was all a trial and error.
Might be times for a full suspension bike
I started May, still haven’t managed any jumps and wee drops scare me, you’re doing well!
Just ride to have fun
If you really want to get encouraged, get professional instruction by a certified coach. You will learn a lot and the coaching skills help with your confidence.
It sounds like you are trying to progress really fast. You are doing really good for only riding since March. No need to go overboard and keep crashing on stuff. Repetition on stuff you can do helps build confidence. Move up to something a bit bigger and do lots of reps on.
Find people to ride with that are faster than you
Everything begins with the feet. Jumping, moving turning, balancing everything is hips and feet first always
🙄
Practice – repetition – ride with others – ride with people with more experience: faster, higher skill – watch bike videos – gear upgrades.
10 Thousand Hours
Stay stoked!
[been doing this 28 years and hopefully I’ll never not MTB]
There is only one way to get better at mountain biking and that is to post about it on Reddit.
It’s quality practice, not quantity that will ingrain the correct techniques. I see you going around and around that track doing the same thing over and over again, the same way over and over again, thinking somehow you’ll get “better”. You’ll certainly become more consistent with your improper technique and that’s about all. If you can’t hire a coach, find professionals online, YouTube, and practice one thing the correct way until you feel confident. Then move to the next. Go back and brush up on old skills, the correct way.
When you ride for fun concentrate on just a couple things and be sure you do them right. Next time out pick two others. Every time out do that while remembering the drills for those which by now should be burned in your brain.
I use Strava as a gauge. I don’t chase KOMs or local legends. I use it to see progression (or lack there of). That PR or 2nd or 3rd medal is great for the self confidence.
Yeah man you’re just trying to do too much too fast. Slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the process. You’re doing fine and you don’t look half bad on the bike m 😉
lol bro da fuq you getting discouraged about? You can ride! Like everyone’s saying, loosen up you’ll be great
Beacon hill!
Hmu next time you are going there. I’ll ride with you. evergreeneast.org also has a bunch of classes out there, if you want actual coaching.
Take a private lesson. Find a certified professional mountain bike coach in your area (ask around at your LBS). Expect to pay $150-300 (depending on the length of the session & the level of the coach). The lower end of that range will get you a Level 1 coach for 2 hours time vs a Level 3 coach for 3 hours at the upper end of that range. Typically you put together a short list of things you want to focus on.
If that’s too much $, then attend a clinic. They’re cheaper ($100-200) but will be with a small group (2-6 student riders) for 2-3 hours of instruction. Usually clinics focus on 1-3 skills. However, it will still be with one of those pro coaches described above but obviously won’t be as personal.
Why get discouraged? That looked fun as shit