Mountain Bike Technique
The Trade off
Having just witnessed many disciplines at the 2023 World Cycling Championships I thought it fitting to delve into that classic British idiomatic phrase that is thrown around at such times and hopefully inspire some of you to take a moment to review your approach to your riding regime, the equipment you use and the cycling endeavours you choose. I hope...
Crags and Slabs
Bedrock, boulders, and slick slabs of stone are some of the key elements that make up the quintessential mountain bike experience. For those of you who are lucky enough to live in such areas, these staple trail elements are less demanding. But as many riders live miles away from the mountains, some of you may find yourself getting in above...
Riding Ruts
Love or hate them, ruts and deep-scoured sections of the trail are something that we are likely to encounter at some point in our mountain bike experience. If you ride fall-line wild trails on soft ground or lap race courses in the wet then that narrow groove cut in the dirt will be a familiar nemesis that can end a...
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Manual Labour
Lifting Without Shifting Manuals and ‘proper’ manual bunny hops are closely knit companions in your skill arsenal, alongside dropping and jumping they are often considered as the ‘holy grail’ skills. When we look at them performed effortlessly by the likes of Danny (that guy that hops around Edinburgh and Glasgow) MacAskill and other notable mountain bike celebrities it can become...
The Learning Curve
Discover Victory in Failure We've all done it and in all walks of life, yup… we have gone and fudged up! This is just a fact of life and one of the hardest learning curves to conquer, the process of not making mistakes and the art of recovering from them. Whether you are bouncing back from broken bones or merely...
Conquering Camber
We often think of trail as up or down, ascent or descent. The reality is we live in a far more three-dimensional world where often the fall line of the terrain is crossed rather than followed. The cross fall of the trail can challenge a rider and present a problem that pushes them to places either they don't want to...
Stall
This issue you we will look at the “Stall” - what it is, what can cause it, and how to deal with it. Verb: Stop or cause to stop making progress Synonyms: obstruct, impede, interfere with, hinder, hamper, block, interrupt, hold up, hold back, frustrate, thwart, inhibit, sabotage, encumber, restrain, slow, slow down… There are many ways to describe it...
Just get over it
Be bold and live life beyond the crest There is a famous saying in the climbing world, there are old climbers and bold climbers, but there are no old bold climbers. On one hand, this doesn’t apply to mountain biking but on the other, it may apply to some. if you arrived late into the sports or reached a point...
Slip N Slide
“You know the nearer your destination. The more you're slip-slidin' away.” Well so say Simon & Garfunkel, but here at IMB, we see the slip-slidin' as a sign of life and vitality and not the end of days as the song may suggest. Winter riding is all about letting it hang out as we desperately try and get some grip,...