In part 3 of our series on starting mountain biking, it's all about skills. Mountain biking requires a lot from your cycling skills, mastering these well can make the difference between a fun day or a nasty crash. It is important to master these well, on or off the trail. What we also definitely recommend is taking a clinic with an instructor. He can help you with the skills to hit the trails with confidence. After all, when you go on your first skiing holiday, you also take lessons first, right? Below we list five skills in order of difficulty that every mountain biker should start with. This is also recommended for the more advanced mountain biker.
Read the trail!
Most importantly, you need to look carefully at what is ahead of you so you can anticipate it. This allows you to quickly identify changes or obstacles in the trail. You do this by not looking directly in front of your wheel but rather far ahead, and if you are riding corners look carefully through the turn. Remember, the bike goes where you look!
The attack stance
On a mountain bike, you have two positions, not only the sitting position but also the standing position. Actually, you want to attack every obstacle in the trail, for this you use the so-called attack position. This is crucial for controlling your bike properly on technical terrain. This position is characterised by coming out of the saddle, bending the knees and elbows slightly and positioning your weight between the front and rear wheel. This gives you room to move around the bike and accommodate bumps or holes in the trail. In short, it allows you to react quickly to changes in terrain. this position is also the basis for the skills that follow. To know more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7_Ob-gYlYM
Balance sheet
Then, once you have seen all those obstacles on the track, and are in the right position on the bike, you need to be able to handle them. For this, it is very important that you learn to balance your weight on and around the bike, this will give you the confidence to easily manoeuvre your bike through and over all kinds of obstacles. A good exercise for this is the track stand where you stay in place for a while, and by bringing your hips all the way to your rear wheel, handlebars and left and right of your saddle while riding slowly or standing still. It is also a fun challenge to put your water bottle down on the ground and pick it up again as you ride by.
Curving
Once you have mastered all this, it is time to work on cornering. Most people fall in corners so that is a good reason to work on this. You can also carry a lot more speed if you can turn well which in turn means you use less energy on the trail or simply go faster. GMBN has a good guide on how to steer on a mountain bike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te9OKLIhWZo&t=7s
Brakes
Being able to ride a trail well starts with being able to control your bike properly. You may have noticed on a road descent that your bike reacts differently to the front and rear brakes. Effective braking is therefore essential for control on the trails. And here you certainly don't just use your rear brake! It is important to use both front and rear brakes simultaneously to slow down or stop. Also, try not to pull the brake levers too abruptly, as this can cause you to slip and lose control of your bike.
Most importantly, just go out on the singletracks, ride them at your own pace and slowly push your limits in terms of difficulty. With the above tips and tricks, you can boost your skills and hit the trails with even more confidence. Good luck and enjoy!
