In part 3 of our series on starting with mountain biking, it’s all about skills. Mountain biking requires a lot of skill from your bike; mastering these skills can make the difference between a fun day or a frustrating crash. It’s important to master these skills well, whether on or off the trail. What we also highly recommend is taking a clinic with an instructor. This can help you with the skills to confidently tackle the trails. After all, if you’re going on a ski vacation for the first time, you’ll also take lessons first, right? Below we list five skills in order of difficulty that every mountain biker should start working on. This is also recommended for the more advanced mountain biker, so be sure to work on these consciously.
- Starting with Mountain biking Part 2 – Where should you start?
- Five reasons to start mountain biking
Read the trail!
The most important thing is to pay close attention to what lies ahead so that you can anticipate it. This way you can quickly identify changes or obstacles in the trail. You do this by not looking straight ahead but rather far ahead and, when riding through curves, by looking carefully through the curve. Remember, the bike goes where you look!
The attacking attitude
On the mountain bike you have two positions, not only the sitting position but also the standing position. Basically, you want to attack every obstacle in the trail; for this you use the so-called attack position. This is crucial to be able to properly control your bike on technical terrain. This position is characterized by coming out of the saddle, bending your knees and elbows slightly, and positioning your weight between the front and rear wheels. This allows you to move around the bike and absorb bumps or holes in the trail. In short, you can react quickly to changes in the terrain. To learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7_Ob-gYlYM
Balance
Once you’ve seen all those obstacles on the track, and are in the right position on the bike, you also have to be able to handle them. It is very important for this that you learn to balance your weight on and around the bike; this gives you the confidence to maneuver your bike easily through and over all kinds of obstacles. A good exercise for this is the track stand, where you stay in one place for a while, and move your hips all the way to your rear wheel, handlebar, and left and right of your saddle while you drive slowly or stop. It is also a fun challenge to put your water bottle down on the ground and pick it up again while you drive by.
Bending work
Once you have mastered all of this, it’s time to start working on the turns. Most people fall in turns, so that’s a good reason to work on them. You can also take in much more speed when you can turn well, which means you use less energy on the trail or simply go faster. GMBN has a good guide on how to ride a mountain bike:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te9OKLIhWZo&t=7s
Brakes
Being able to ride a trail properly starts with being able to properly control your bike. Perhaps you have noticed on a downhill ride that your bike reacts differently to the front and rear brakes. Effective braking is therefore essential for control on trails. And you definitely don’t just use your rear brake for this! It’s important to use both the front and rear brakes simultaneously to slow down or stop. Also, don’t try to pull on the brake levers too abruptly, as this can cause you to slip and lose control of your bike.
And then the most important thing: just go for it on the singletracks, ride at your own pace and slowly push your limits in terms of difficulty. With the tips and tricks mentioned above, you can give your skills a boost and go on the trails with even more confidence. Good luck and enjoy!
Questions & tips
Do you have any questions about this route, or have you been there yourself? Share them here. We read everything and usually respond within a few days.