Mountain Bike Terrain Technique
Carving Corners
Having looked at the fundamentals of cornering in an earlier issue it is time to add some meat to the bones and offer up some additional advice that will take you from 'getting by' to cooking on gas. There are 5 key ingredients in our recipe for success. Those ingredients don't change from corner to corner although the ratio in…
Climbing
Uppers Will Improve your Downers Having been around the scene for over three decades I'm well aware that climbing is not everyone's cuppa tea, but when push comes to shove, we have to face the reality that in order to go down first we must go up. All too often the topic is taboo for the recreational rider, and it…
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…
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…
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…
Strava Be In The Pub
When the cycling press describes something as the 'technical innovation of the year,' you might expect them to be referring to electronic shifting, belt drive, 11 speed, clutch derailleur or perhaps another life-changing adaptation to wheel size. In this case however, the focus of such high praise was something as simple as an App. Strava itself is not vastly different…
Switchbacks
Switchbacks are a trail feature that has been long forgotten in the new world order of trail centres and cultured MTB parks. Old school riders and those who enjoy getting out into the back country will know them all too well, but the new breed of riders born and bred at the trail centre will find them to be a…
The Golden Thread
Much has been written about ‘line choice’ as an important aspect of taming the trail that lies ahead. This issue we put our usual spin on the subject with the ultimate goal of making you a better, faster rider. Line choice is indeed an important skill to develop, but from experience we know that when you are out on the…
Featured
Up and Overs
We all love the flowing feel of gliding down trails, effortlessly zipping along, experiencing Mother Nature at high speed. 'Flow' is not a given and you'll often hear riders praising a trails flow or bemoaning its lack of it. The reality is that, although 'flow' can be engineered into a trail - with swooping smooth transitions and bermed corners all…
The Golden Thread
Much has been written about ‘line choice’ as an important aspect of taming the trail that lies ahead. This issue we put our usual spin on the subject with the ultimate goal of making you a better, faster rider. Line choice is indeed an important skill to develop, but from experience we know that when you are out on the…
Get a Grip
If like the ageing rocker Mick Jagger you ‘can’t get no off-road traction’ this issue’s article is for you. As is de rigeuer with mastering all trail conditions, your kit will play its part but there are a host of other physical and indeed psychological factors that will contribute in being able to ride where others slide, and find grip…
Re Vision
In every article we have written, covering all manner of riding scenarios and areas of skills development, we’ve referred to the core physical skill of looking. Again and again we have highlighted its importance in achieving improved riding performance. The art of 'looking' is one of the easiest for riders to identify and know how to address, but mastering it…
Lost in Translation
Whether you are taking advice from a better rider, a friend, an instructor or coach (qualified or not), an article or a book there is a danger that the written or spoken word can be misinterpreted, misapplied or was simply bad advice from the start. In an attempt to keep things simple, sound advice can often be reduced to soundbites.…
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…