hey r/MTB! i picked up my first mtb about a week and a half ago! its a giant stance 29 2 and i’ve been having so much fun riding the local trails around me in Vernon, BC!
my question to you more advanced riders is how do you gain more confidence traversing technical terrain? is it just a time on the trail thing? technique? i’m highly motivated so will definitely be out there riding lots and perhaps that confidence will come with time, but also any tips would be highly appreciated! i also want to pick up more speed and improve my cornering. i find im riding the brakes pretty hard for most of my downhill – is this pretty common?
anyways, any help would be much appreciated! happy riding 🙂
by robertslamp
23 Comments
Thats a great Trail to learn the Basics! You will see, that spending time riding is the best Teacher. Maybe join some intermediate riders to learn some stuff too. I can imagine, that there are many riding groups and local Clubs in BC. Once you get used to mountainbiking you will ease of the brakes. Dont stress yourself, you are doing it for fun
Shorter stem and higher rise bars really help imo.
We’re you sitting down?
There’s always a tendency to want to take tech very slowly like at a crawling pace but that can make it the most difficult and likely to stop and throw you. In fact it often helps to have momentum going through little rock and root patches because today’s bikes can often roll right over these with even a little speed. You’ll need to adjust your body position to push the bike through these so you don’t go over the bars but basically body position and a little more speed will help you tackle this section in your vid
Have fun! Ride bikes!
Just keep doing it. The best way to figure out what works and what doesn’t is repetition
neutral pedals. otherwise keep up the good work!
you are waaaay too slow and that makes it much more likely to fall
Lean further forward than you think is comfortable – it will allow you to force more traction through the front wheel and stop you washing out. Once you learn the trail take it faster and it’ll be easier, less death grip on the brakes too! 3 goes on the trail to learn it = PRF – PreRide – ReRide – FreeRide.
Go faster
This is not quite advice. I am 47, started riding this season with friends. Trusting the bike has been the hardest for me. My buddy, who has ridden a lot is constantly telling me to get off my brakes. It’s scary af, but modern bikes just eat the trail.
Besides that, the lookin ahead thing is the one I struggle with the most. On days when I tide mentally tired I struggle with this and the ampunra I have to put a food down maybe ten folds.
Keep your pedals level, stay centred on the bike and keep loose, avoid grabbing too much brake on janky/looser sections to avoid breaking traction. Get low on the bike, google ‘mtb attack position’. Also, don’t overthink it and just practice!
There’s probably more advice but someone else will give it to you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MTB/s/31lFH0YC6n
Don’t touch the front brake when going over bumps or around corners.
Look further ahead.
Generally don’t brake unless you need to slow down for a sharp corner or very steep section.
I could ride a hybrid bike down that trail at that speed. A mountain bike is designed to go over rocks and roots fast with no damage. Many of those rocks you rode over carefully are opportunities to jump.
You wouldn’t go skiing without having lessons. Mountain biking has a lot of technique which makes it a lot more fun and a lot safer. Get some tuition, or at least watch some videos.
Some tips: Let go on the breaks on technical stuff and brake where you have control, on smoother patches in between. Try to be as loose as you can and let the bike do the work – you’re the chicken head and the bike is the rest of the chicken. As said, breaking and going slow on steep tech is the best way to get stuck and fall. Practice on easier stuff and gradually increase difficulty. Have fun riding!
Keep doing that thing you’re doing! Look ahead and keep your weight on your feet.
Brake dragging is super normal when you’re new, you’ll naturally feather them less as you trust your tires and the bike more, and yeah momentum through tech rocks way harder than creeping through them which sounds weird but your bike wants to roll over stuff.
Don’t keep looking down at your front wheel. Keep your head and eyes up, stay loose and trust that your bike will roll over the rough stuff. Focus on looking at where you want to go rather than what you think might be in your way.
Momentum is your friend. Riding slowly is much harder than riding fast. Get in the right riding position, double your speed, be light on your pedals and you will sail over obstacles and not around them.
First of all, this is well done for a beginner, but you’re here to improve and there’s room for that. As others have said, learn how to feather brakes (YouTube) and try to brake before you need to be on an obstacle or turn. Brake when you have traction.
It’s a bit hard to tell where your eyes are, but you seem to react to oncoming obstacles very late suggesting you’re looking down and are surprised by them. Eyes up ahead which allows you to go faster and set up for future obstacles more easily. That speed will also carry you over obstacles and smooth them out with suspension.
Remember one last thing: weight on your feet, light on your hands so you can easily move the bike around your center of gravity on obstacles
Pick your chin up and look ahead. Look where you want to go. If you’re looking in front of your wheel, things come at you too quick. Looking further ahead slows everything down. Also, don’t stare at obstacles. If you do, you’ll steer towards them.
If a section is too much to process at once, get off the bike, take look, spot your line and plan it. Then execute.
Are you braking with your whole hand? It looks like you are using more than 1 finger to break.
Easy, but hard to grasp, advice: Practice more and have fun with it!