Weight and aerodynamics are the determining factors for most bikes, but mountain biking differs. With the proper techniques for handling your bike on the track, you’ll ride faster and have a more enjoyable time. Just like following a proper training program to build fitness, you need to follow the proper framework to improve your technique. We found the most effective mountain biking skills in our efforts to become faster mountain bikers.
Mountain biking skill essentials
Stand with your knees above or behind the center pivot, but never in front of it.
By placing your knees over the five passes, You can increase the amount of hinge in your hips to adjust your body position so that you can maintain a robust and engaged core.
After establishing a base of support and adjusting your body position, you can respond to obstacles by adjusting your weight distribution.
Combined with weight distribution, you can tackle most obstacles on the course by rowing, counter-rowing, or a combination of both.
You can effectively increase your weight during braking and reduce the distance required to come to a complete stop by synchronizing your braking time with the movement of your body toward the bike.
You can turn faster by entering wide turns and using high lines on the berm to maintain speed and arrange Row, Anti-Row patterns to match the shape of the turn.
- Establishing a support base
First, everything we talk about in mountain biking technique refers to a standing rider. Standing allows you to distance your body from the saddle of the bike., allowing you to control and increase your speed potential. In short, if you descend or go through the technical sections, you should stand. Remember, standing doesn’t require standing in a straight position; it is more dynamic than that. Let’s dig deeper.
Just like when you stand on the ground, it all starts with your feet. If your feet and legs aren’t positioned correctly in your body, you’ll become unstable – This is one of the critical skills of mountain biking. Although your feet are staggered on the bike, the center of your support base is located at the mid-axis between your feet. When standing on the bike, you want your knees to be above or behind the center axis but never in front of it. When your knees are before that point, your weight moves forward quickly, and a bump on the trail can send you over the crossbar.
Get the proper technique for handling your bike on the trails, and you’ll ride faster and have a more enjoyable time. Like a proper training program to build fitness, you must follow the proper framework to improve your technique.
- Adaptive Training
Get the right workout every time with the proper training for you.
When people stand on a bike, they usually put most of their weight on their arms. This can make the bike jerky and unstable. You’ll know you’re in the center of the bottom of the support when you feel your weight moving backward through your legs instead of through your hands.
- Articulate your hips
Increasing the amount of hinge at the hips allows the body to be positioned above the support base and maintain a robust and jointed core. This can be tricky while remembering to stop your knees from going to the front of the five passes, but you’ll get the hang of it. When it comes to strength training, squat less and pull more hard.
When standing on a bike on non-technical terrain, you will see the rider in this position with little to no knee flexion. This relaxed position allows you to loosen up your limbs to regain strength while also maintaining better bike control. This position changes as you move into technical territory on a mountain bike. The hinge at the hip increases, and the knees bend without being in front of the bottom bracket, allowing you to reduce weight.
- Distribute your weight
Once you are in the correct articulated position on the base of your support, you are ready to tackle the obstacles in your path. Your body instinctively wants to lean back and away from the danger. You think this will stop the crash, but you might be wrong. This usually causes you to move away from the hinge position for which you worked so hard. Worse, when you let your instincts take over, Your torso and center of gravity will follow your head and shoulders, thus making you more unstable.
Ironically, what helps you traverse that terrain is one of the most challenging mountain biking skills to develop – staying firm in your articulated position. This will give you a lower center of mass, excellent stability, and more traction on the front wheel. While you won’t be in danger, you may feel it at first. Over time, you will reshape these instincts, leading to more excellent stability and the ability to maintain higher speeds.
- Braking counterweights
An unexpected benefit of mastering mountain bike rowing and counter-rowing techniques is improving your braking ability. The power of your brakes depends on traction. While more knobby tires may help you get more traction, increasing weight is the most significant help in increasing traction.
Your bike will follow a weight gain and loss pattern as you row and counter-row over obstacles. If you can grasp the timing of the brakes, you can let your body follow the rhythm of the bike’s descent to coincide. You can effectively add weight and reduce the distance needed to come to a complete stop when braking.
This makes a big difference to your control and composure. You won’t feel like you’re turning too fast anymore, your ability to choose your line will improve, and your overall speed will be higher because you’ll be braking at a shorter distance.
- Maintain speed while turning
While we usually think of rock gardens, jumps, and drops as obstacles requiring expert mountain biking skills, The paddle and counter-paddle movement patterns work well in turns. If you’ve seen a professional rider ride, you’ll notice that they gain speed by turning, not losing it.
You will want to use Anti-Row as you enter the turn, allowing you to paddle at the apex and use Anti-Row as you exit the turn, providing maximum traction when it matters most and using the curvature of the berm to add power.
- Choose the correct route
Choosing the best route is an essential mountain biking skill that requires repeated practice and experience… When you choose a line, ask yourself, when you see that line, look where you want to go and hold that line. When riding, feel free to follow the athlete in front of you. Remember, just because it’s a familiar or popular line doesn’t mean it’s the fastest.
The key to bringing enough speed into a section is to downshift to a more complex gear and pedal hard once or twice before entering the technical zone. It’s better to shift into a gear that’s too hard than to shift into an easier gear. A lower cadence will also help you adjust your drivetrain to avoid pedaling on rocks. Ratcheting is when you depress the pedal from the 1 to 4 o’clock position and then depress the pedal again.
You can make many improvements to improve your mountain biking skills, but these principles apply no matter what situation you are in. If you want to become a faster mountain biker, build a good base of support, maintain a deep hinge to keep your chest down and stay stable, and constantly refine the smooth connection between rowing and counter-rowing motions to maintain momentum. These skills together will make you a faster and more capable mountain biker.
Mountain biking doesn’t just demand your skills – physical fitness and strength are constantly being challenged. Mountain biking requires a powerful aerobic engine and specialized physical training. To take your bike handling to the next level, buy a good mountain bike. Feel free to contact bike tech to inquire about buying the latest mountain bike.