Mountain Bike Equipment Technique
Getting Fully Sussed
Each issue we refer to it. It’s one of the single most expensive elements to our bikes. It is fundamental to the way your bike works & feels. It can be pivotal (quite literally) to our performance and a major factor in our overall riding experience. For the vast majority of us, it is probably the least understood element of...
The Workman's Tools
All too often what you are riding is seen as the biggest limiting factor to the trails you can tame and the speed you can carry. Magazines and videos are filled with highly skilled riders on super pimped steeds riding super technical terrain, descending at speeds only previously considered achievable with the aid of a zip wire. Technology clearly plays...
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Driving Force
Even with the best technique in the world, if your bike lets you down you are going to lose speed and there is a danger it will have a knock on effect on your riding ability. The power transfer between you and the bike is perhaps the most important one when looking to tackle steep climbs. Skipping gears and a...
Rock Stars
Rocks come in all shapes and sizes from solitary lumps and outcrops to collectives forming gardens of granite. Although for some of us 'home' might mean 'loam,' no matter where you live your journeys on two wheels will eventually ensure that you encounter trails that are made of sterner stuff. Whether the trail ahead is impregnated with igneous, scattered with...
Roll on Summer
With the clocks having sprung forward and the mercury rising (albeit not steadily), longer drier days herald the start of another summer season on the trails. After two seasons of decline in both weather and trail conditions you may find that your own riding is also a bit weather beaten and in need of a little TLC. Firmer trails will...
New Years Resolutions
Traditionally the New Year is a time to reflect but also look forward. Resolutions are made, and probably by now broken, so what better time to have a second crack at committing to some changes. These resolutions are not ones that only involve abstinence and depriving yourself, but ones you might just keep! This issue we have a bakers dozen...
Crank it Up - Dial in that fancy footwork
In the last issue we looked at our contact patches on the bike and gave you some insight into the micro techniques used to get that bike just where you want, and that got me thinking, specifically about crank position, crank timing, and just how important they are for all areas of skills and techniques. Having observed many things related...
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...