As the title suggest I would like to discuss when things started to go in a wrong direction.
I would love to hear what you think, why I gave a high-five to the tree?
Here is some background and my thoughts on the situation:
I've been to this trail a couple of times, but I have never done this line before. Also it was in super dry conditions. I rode the part over the stone for the second time in this video. The first time was right before the video, but I stopped on the plateau. I did good risk management for the first part, asked myself, if I am able to do it, what will be the line, visulised me doing it and also did a run in. I hindsight I should have done that for the part after the plateau as well…
I have been there with a friend and my girlfriend. I remember her saying "Don't you think you will be too fast?' and I was like "Nah, should be allright". Should have listened to her concerns! She actually also wasn't to happy about me doing the section over the stone.
I think if I did better braking on the plateau I would have been fine. But because I went in to the second section a bit hot I kind of skidded into the steep and bumpy trail, which is also pretty washed out. I got tossed around, lost my center of balance, realised I might crash and all I could see in front of me was the tree, instead the turn, which would have been to the right side.
Honestly I feel like I was overconfident, because I've managed the first section pretty well and the second part just didn't look so intimidating, more like just another piece of trail.
Any suggestions on how to handle those kind of situations in the future are welcome.
Also feel free to give feedback on my technique.
What went wrong? How to prevent those kind of crashes?
byu/CompHarisonJunky inMTB
by CompHarisonJunky
28 Comments
Looks like you have no control or maybe riding over your technical ability. Once you felt the danger you locked in on the tree and that is where you went
I think you’re either going too fast/overcommitted for you confidence level or you’re a little too tight on the bike.
I’m far from a riding coach, but.. you sort of had that look of someone about to crash… If that makes sense? 🤣
The trails and your bike looked sick, if that’s any consolation đź’Ş
You should have continued on the trail instead of going for the tree đź‘Ť hope this helps
Pretty gnarly trail so its not easy. Maybe concentrate on braking in the compressions for better grip and speed control? Really easy to wash out on steep and loose.
More front brake
Zigged when you should have zagged.
Where were you looking? Maybe just need to loosen up and commit to staring down the trail.
What happened the second before your backtire hit a rock and bounced right? That’s the moment everything turns to shit, but it doesn’t look like that wheel deflection was enough to do that.
Did you brake 2-3 secs before you veered off path ?
Modulate your brakes better instead of locking them up
More vertical, less horizontal.
Breaking a bit earlier would have prevented it. You had to much speed for that kind of steepness and those curves and considering the sand.
Steep sections are all about control. Control of your weight, control of your momentum, control of your bike.
Technically you are unable to stay of the track because you lock your wheels (you can only steer when your front wheel is moving), however this isn’t really much help to getting better.
What you need to work on is your entry control. Slow down when you enter the feature. Pick your line. Make sure you have enough control over your bike that if you need to you can change your line.
Brake when you have traction (Any change of speed or direction requires good grip to work). You slam the rear brake when your center of gravity is off while on a steep, low-traction surface because you’re over your comfortable speed. If you brake before that on the plateau you’ll cruise it. Good for you getting after it, working on progression, and learning from mistakes
Your assessment looks correct. You had an opportunity to brake and slow down before you dropped into the final section but you barreled through instead.
Never rush into a technical downhill. When the natural flow of the trail gives you a spot to slow down and realign you should always take it.
Get lower go slower
Looked kinda stiff on the bike and lost your left footing after a bump?Â
Nice bike, got the exact same one in the exact same spec! How do you like it?
Based on the first few seconds you saw the future. Why didn’t you avoid it the second time /s
You were looking at the tree…
Looks like you grabbed a handful of rear break and your riding position was so stiff you counter steered into the tree. Less speed and a more relaxed riding style is the key.
You need to slow down every once in a while and not plow loose sections
Looked like you grabbed the back brake meaning instead of staying in control and keeping right/straight, the bike kicked out. You then took your foot off the pedal pitching the bike to the left which made it worse. If you’d feet had stayed on and you’d been able to release the brake quick enough and got your weight over to the right, you may have recovered from this.
from what i can tell it looks like you panicked. rear tire started bouncing a bit because you came in a little hot like you said. 9/10 times you will ride things out if you stick to them. save the panic movements for real danger oh shit moments.
What I see from the video: roughly at this point you are too far back, with your arms almost straight. (The trigger for that was probably the bumpy terrain earlier, and overall gradient)
https://preview.redd.it/hz79pfu9tg3h1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a5a5a117b57851df419f2d0b576e404e397c7c3e
So then you hit a round hole (almost a slight depression) in a trail with your front wheel, you don’t push down with your arms. This slows down the bike, the fork compresses and your body moves forward.
I’ll add another image in the next comment, but I encourage you to play the video on the low speed – there is clearly a moment when bike stops moving for a fraction of second, but your body moves.
This thrown you too far forward, you lost the control and your left leg contact.
So the attack position and more accented processing/absorption of terrain is the way to improve the skills here
Use your hips for steering. Always point your hips an knees to the direction you are aiming for, especially in off-camber turns.I hope this helps✌️
Don’t block your wheels in the steep, you’ll lose traction quickly. Also, those big hits you were taking shook you up so bad, that you lost control. If you can’t power through, go slower.
1. You were going too fast for your ability level
2. You are not weighting the front tire enough. When riding steep and loose terrain, you really need to push your weight forward to get proper traction.