I’m fairly new to mountain biking and I have been having fun exploring the trails in my local park recently. The place also has a pump track and I’m not entirely sure how to make the most of it. Any tips? Or skip it and stick to the trails?
Crakkerz79 on
Most important thing is pump tracks are not for pedalling. You “pump” the rollers and corners to generate the speed. This is a very useful skill to take out to the trails.
Pump tracks are also a place to practice your berms.
Jhco022 on
Plenty of trails have sections where pumping is more efficient than pedaling both on the way down and up. Practice on the pump track until you’re able to comfortably lap it with little to no pedaling.
gwarwars on
You’re going a little slow which is why you’re having to pedal so much. Try going into the track with a good medium speed, and you should be standing on your pedals with your seat down. When going up a roller(bump) bend your knees and pull the bike into your body, then as you’re going down the other side you want to push your legs down into your pedals and generate as much force downward as you can. This pumping motion will generate speed for you without having to pedal, and is one of the most fun things in the world IMO when you get it down. You can also learn to manual between them or jump them as doubles as your skill progresses.
Edited to add: if you watch bmx racing videos it’ll give you a good idea of what to do, and you can see how a lot of the riders heads and body’s don’t move much as they pump over stuff but their bikes will go up and down like 3 feet
Src248 on
Are you sitting down? Hard to tell from the video but you need to be standing if you aren’t already. Can’t pump a pump track if you’re seated
5 Comments
I’m fairly new to mountain biking and I have been having fun exploring the trails in my local park recently. The place also has a pump track and I’m not entirely sure how to make the most of it. Any tips? Or skip it and stick to the trails?
Most important thing is pump tracks are not for pedalling. You “pump” the rollers and corners to generate the speed. This is a very useful skill to take out to the trails.
Pump tracks are also a place to practice your berms.
Plenty of trails have sections where pumping is more efficient than pedaling both on the way down and up. Practice on the pump track until you’re able to comfortably lap it with little to no pedaling.
You’re going a little slow which is why you’re having to pedal so much. Try going into the track with a good medium speed, and you should be standing on your pedals with your seat down. When going up a roller(bump) bend your knees and pull the bike into your body, then as you’re going down the other side you want to push your legs down into your pedals and generate as much force downward as you can. This pumping motion will generate speed for you without having to pedal, and is one of the most fun things in the world IMO when you get it down. You can also learn to manual between them or jump them as doubles as your skill progresses.
Edited to add: if you watch bmx racing videos it’ll give you a good idea of what to do, and you can see how a lot of the riders heads and body’s don’t move much as they pump over stuff but their bikes will go up and down like 3 feet
Are you sitting down? Hard to tell from the video but you need to be standing if you aren’t already. Can’t pump a pump track if you’re seated