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Technique: Just ride better! pt 1

By Doddy, Mountain Biking UK

Bikes these days are so good, and so much fun to ride, that it’s easy to overlook the things that make you a better rider. It’s also easy to let suspension camouflage bad technique and poorly set up bikes, and easy to let trail centres lead you along without you having to really test yourself on the rollercoaster effect they offer.

Instead of heading out for a ride without thinking, consider the finer – yet surprisingly simple – techniques that make you a better rider. Bike setup can also help – a correctly sprung and set up bike will do your technique wonders, whereas a bike that’s not right could be a hindrance.

This month, we’re looking at all-mountain and freeride bikes. They share many similarities in their appearances and the way they can be ridden. And there are a few things you can do with both that will really make you a better rider, both faster and more capable when the going gets steep and technical.

1. Attack off-camber

It's easy to shy away from off-camber sections, but if you hunt out a section and ride it till you find your limits, you’ll be astonished at the traction you can find. Get your outside pedal down and put your weight on it heavily to cut the shoulder tread of your tyre into the ground to find more grip.

2. Attack berms

Berms aren't there to make cornering easier – they're there to make it faster. Longer berms need to be railed, and tighter berms should be attacked. Come in with less speed and push your weight into the berm through your feet – this pushes you out ready to get back on the gas.

Attack berms: attack berms

3. Gap jumps

Even a small gap that you need to jump can be a real mental block for some people. The only way to get over it is by getting out there and trying it. Start small and build up – you’ll soon work out how fast you need to go in order to clear a gap, and will be able to apply it to any riding out on the trails. Being able to guess a gap is essential to being able to ride uneven and challenging terrain fast.

Gap jumps: gap jumps

4. Drifting

Sliding on mud is inevitable – so don't fight it. Instead, stay relaxed and nine times out of 10 your wheel will find traction again, as long as you're on a good line. Find a slippery patch and practise getting loose.

Drifting: drifting

5. Drops

At first the sensation of dropping can feel odd, but you should make an effort to get used to it because it comes in handy in extreme situations. Gauge your speed, lean back and pull up. Try to land both wheels together and use your whole body to absorb the shock when you touch down.

Drop: drop

6. Pre jumping

For fast trail riding, you need to be able to put the bike where you want it and prevent accidental airtime, and pre-jumping is a good way to do this. Over-jumping a big bank could spell catastrophe, so pull a decent sized bunnyhop before a transition and aim to land in the transition. This will also boost your speed exiting the bank.

Prejump: prejump

7. Get air

Head to a play spot and practise jumping. Drop your seat a little, focus on your landing and run-out areas, and stay relaxed and go with the flow. Learn how your bike feels when you jump it – and learn how it feels when you get airborne accidentally – that way you’ll be able to deal with it on the trail.

Get air: get air

8. Nosedive

The best way to gain speed from a trail is to pump your bike into a transition when landing. Your front end falls naturally when airborne, so the key is not to fight it – extend your arms and aim to meet with the landing. Mimic the shape a dolphin makes as it crests a wave. It will feel scary at first, but once you get used to it it’ll be fine.

Nosedive: nosedive

9. North Shore

North Shore riding is very good for building balance and increasing confidence. Find the nearest spot to you and practise riding it – it’ll make you more aware of the length of your bike, its turning circle and where vitals like your rear mech and pedals are.

North shore: north shore

10. Weight the bike into turns

Big bikes need an extra push top get the best out of them. The extra suspension and weight combined with the attack geometry allow you to really fire them through turns. When you hit berms, compress the bike as hard as you can and ricochet off down the trail.

Weight the bike into turns: weight the bike into turns

11. Looking ahead

Whatever you're doing, always look ahead – up to 50ft down the trail – not at obstacles immediately ahead of you. That way, by the time you hit that dodgy patch you spotted, you should already be looking way down the trail and trusting your body language to push you through.

Look ahead: look ahead

12. Ride big terrain

Seek out a good scree slope. Test your nerve, your brakes and your judgment. Finding your comfort zone will make you a better rider in all situations – on steep scree slopes you can always get off the back of the bike if it's not going well.

Ride big terrain: ride big terrain

Bike setup

Setting your bike up correctly is essential. Your local bike shop will be able to help you make the finer adjustments to suit your riding needs, but our guide will point out what you need to do to get ready to shred – fast.

All-mountain

All-mountain bikes typically have 120-150mm of suspension travel front and rear, and need to be set up to allow efficient climbing and unhindered descending.

13. Stem length

Shortening your stem increases steering response and control. Between 60 and 80mm will be best, depending on your height and top tube length. The shorter you go the quicker the handling – but climbing suffers because this reduces the weight on the front of your bike.

14. Brake lever position

As a rule of thumb, your brake levers should line up with your arms when you’re seated. Any lower and they’ll become difficult to reach when descending steep terrain. Too high can strain your wrist. To improve your descending, raise your levers a touch.

15. Front bolt-through

A bolt-through fork will increase your stability and handling on aggressive terrain. If your bike doesn’t use a bolt-through front end with a long-travel fork, you could be missing out on hammertime.

16. Suspension setup

Aim for 25-30 percent of the available travel as sag. Less sag will increase your performance uphill and in smoother situations. More than that offers a plusher ride, but will slow you down unless it's rough out there.

17. Saddle position

Avoid putting your saddle too far back, because this can put your weight too close to the rear wheel axle, which makes climbing hard work, and tires your legs quicker. If you feel you need to put your saddle far back on the rails, it's possible your frame is too short for you.

18. Tyre combos

Grip and rolling resistance are key on all-mountain bikes. A slightly gnarlier front tyre will improve control in turns and when braking on descents. Go for a rear tyre with less central tread, but with a shoulder that will dig in – 2.10-2.4in tyres are the best size options for a fast ride on varied terrain.

19. SPD pedals and shoes

Choose SPD-type pedals. You can pull up on the pedals to get uphill more efficiently. Downhill they help you loft the bike over rough patches.

20. Disc size

On lighter bikes, most of the braking is done on the front end, so choose a bigger disc up front, such as a 185mm disc. This works well with a 160mm outb ack, and gives even braking power.

All-mountain bike:

A classic all-mountain bike – Turner's 5 Spot

Freeride

Freeride bikes are essentially longer-travel versions of all-mountainbikes. They’re stronger, heavier and have slacker geometry to increase control in steep and technical scenarios

21. Nose up on saddle and low position

For more control on steep downhills, pop the nose of the saddle up to pinch between your knees. It’ll help you feel more confident too.

22. Bar width

A wider handlebar can improve your performance in demanding conditions because your weight is spread more evenly across your bike – but don’t go too wide for your height. Shorter riders will benefit from bars between 711 and 750mm wide, whereas riders over 6ft can make the most of bars up to 800mm wide. If the trail is tight and tree-infested, narrower bars will help.

23. Bashring

Ditch your outer chainring in favour of a bashring. You’ll be able to climb easily with the inner and middlering, and the bashring will fend off logs and rocks.

24. Flat pedals

Flat pedals give the benefit of not being attached to the bike, so if you need to jump ship because of a particularly nasty obstacle, you can. They also make dabbing a foot on turns easier.

25. Sticky rubber

If you ride flat pedals, invest in some decent shoes, such as a pair of FiveTens that use their Stealth sticky rubber soles. Their leech like surface gives surefooted grip and is predictably safe in rough conditions.

26. Burly tyres

Look for big volume tyres with a deep tread and pronounced shoulder to give you maximum control. If you’re riding more gravity-based trails, look for soft compound rubber to increase grip even more. Harder rubber rolls faster, but has less grip.

Freeride bike:

A typical freeride bike – the Beefcake from German brand Rose

Off the bike

Much of being good on a bike is preparing off the bike. You should eat well and look after your body. For all-mountain and freeride riding, you need good endurance strength too.

27. Eating

Carbohydrates are a great fuel for riding, and proteins really help replenish your muscles afterwards. Look for carbs in jacket potatoes, pasta and rice, and protein in lean steak and eggs. Fatty acids like Omega 3, found in oily fish such as mackerel are also good for you.

28. Drinking

Water is the most important thing for keeping you hydrated and can resist cramping and the dreaded ‘bonk’. Keep plenty of water on board but also try some isotonic drinks – they’re filled with essential salts and sugar to replenish what you use when riding.

29. Stretching

Keeping your body flexible is a must – avoid muscle knots and tightness by stretching fully before and after you ride. When you’ve been riding for long distances, pay particular attention to stretching your hamstrings, quads, calf muscles and lower back.

30. Resting

Allowing the body to recuperate is often overlooked yet one of the most important elements that should be included into any exercise regime. It allows muscle tissue to repair and should never be considered a waste of time.

Next installment: Downhill bikes and short-travel 4X rigs.

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Technique: How to become a hill climbing star

By Dave Lloyd & Andy Cook, Cycling Plus

Whether you're racing against other riders or the clock, being a good hill climber is essential. Races are often won in the hills, and you can dramatically improve your climbing by doing the right training and improving your technique.

How to train for shorter climbs

a) Hill repeats

Find a hill that isn't too steep and is split into three distinct phases. The ideal is one that starts reasonably steep, say 8-10%, and then in the middle third flattens slightly and then in the final third rears up to its steepest, say 10-12%. The length of the climb should be about two to three minutes.

Start with eight hill repeats and have a landmark at the bottom of the hill to start your computer and another at the top to stop your computer. Sprint at the start of the hill, sit down and change down on the flatter part, and then have an all-out sprint out of the saddle to the top.

Recover from the effort until you can breathe normally again and repeat. Try to get all eight repeats out at the same times. If you fade badly, stop the exercise, warm down and try again the next week. Record the times for each climb and make a note of the weather and wind direction, so you can compare sessions.

b) Change of pace

On longer hills that are reasonably steep, practise change of pace exercises. Start the hill at a moderate pace and then pick out a landmark about 250 metres ahead and sprint for it out of the saddle as hard as you can. Go back to a moderate pace and repeat as many times on each hill as the distance will allow.

If you can do this, it's a wonderful way to crack the opposition in a race as the 'stop go' of the pace wrecks their rhythm and breaks their morale quicker than any other attack.

c) Brow sprints

How many times have you seen riders get to the top of a climb and stop pedalling to freewheel before they change into the big chainring? What a waste of time! Try practising brow sprints. This is where, on reaching the summit of the hill, you immediately get into your big ring and sprint over the brow into full speed for the descent.

This is a great place to attack in a race because you'll notice that most riders will do this freewheeling lull after a tough climb, and you can create a gap really quickly. You can also be sure that others will hesitate to take up the chase and you can be away.

Even in time trials we've seen riders freewheeling over brows; that's valuable seconds lost. Don't hesitate – get into that big ring and sprint! You'll have time to recover on the descent and can still be moving away from the others with the initial increase in momentum.

 

Technique tips for longer climbs

a) Sit down

Sitting in the saddle for as much of a long climb as possible is the most aerobically efficient way to the top. Sitting back in the saddle will recruit your glutes, giving the large muscles at the back of your thighs more leverage to pedal. Standing up on the pedals out of the saddle is more powerful but will use vital glycogen stores faster.

Even so, getting out of the saddle occasionally is essential to give your bum a rest, get circulation flowing again, and varying the muscle groups that are doing all the work. When you're out of the saddle, try to resist rocking the bike too much, as exaggerated ‘honking’ is inefficient and can waste energy.

b) Relax

It’s a waste of energy and tiring to grip the bar tightly and consequently tense your upper body as you climb. Relax! Work on climbing with your back straight and shoulders back, with your hands resting on the bar tops. This will open up your diaphragm, making more space for your lungs to expand into and improve your aerobic efficiency.

Changing your hand positions on the bar will help avoid any pressure or repetitive strain injuries such as ulnar neuropathy. When standing on the pedals, it's best to position the hands on the hoods for maximum stability.

c) Steady cadence

A steady cadence of about 90rpm is ideal. Don’t let a gear get too far ‘on top’ of you before you change into an easier one. This will sap your precious glycogen reserves, and changing down with too slow a crank speed puts a lot of pressure on mechanicals.

Just before you stand on the pedals, change up to a bigger gear to compensate for your lower cadence and to keep your power consistent. Change back into an easier gear when you sit down again.

If the gradient backs off or a tailwind gives you a helping hand, change up a gear to pick up your pace and keep your cadence and power output steady. If you consistently find yourself struggling or walking, fit easier gears.

d) Pace, don’t race

Pacing is crucial to deliver your best effort on a long climb. Some big UK sportives and most mountainous European events have several climbs that can take up to an hour to ascend. So if you go too hard, too early, there’s a good chance you could blow before the top – and even if you don’t, going into oxygen debt and digging too deep into your muscle glycogen reserves may irreparably damage your whole ride performance.

The key is to stay aerobic as much as possible until you’re ready to give it your all – perhaps in the last few miles of the event’s summit finish. If you’re using a heart rate monitor, this threshold figure will typically be at about 65 percent of your maximum heart rate. If you’re riding on perceived exertion alone, you need to back off when holding a normal conversation is no longer possible.

e) Positioning in a group

Positioning on a climb is really important when you're racing. If you aren't a strong climber (that's before you become one by following the advice above) make sure you start every hill at the font of the group. You then have plenty of wheels to hold if you start to go backwards.

Always stay close to the rear wheel of the rider in front, but not directly on the wheel, this gives you an 'escape route' should he/she brake or 'come back' at you. Be aware of the wind direction and tuck into the lee side of the rider. Stay really close to the wheel and take as much shelter as you possibly can.

If there's a lull on the climb, make an effort to move up again, preferably on the sheltered side of the bunch. Use your head and think about saving energy. If you're a strong climber, try to split the bunch up by using the change of pace I have explained, or attack on the brow when they inevitably sit up!

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When we ride

Our main ride time is a Sunday. Depending on what we did the weekend before, we decide where to go some time the following week and advertise this on the web site. The new club will set out to include one major ride every 4 to 5 weeks, or more if the demand is there. These rides can be anywhere from South Wales  to Ashton court or the Quantocks.

The weekends between major rides are normally spent on local rides, Ashton court, Leigh woods or even Cheddar. The longer rides start around 8.00am to 9.00am and usually finish plan to arrive home around 3.00pm.

This year our midweek ride is normally on a Wendesday or Friday night around 6.00pm - 7:00pm to give everyone a chance to get home from work and climb into bike gear. These rides, because of the obvious time restrictions, are usually concentrated around the Ashton court and Leigh woods area. We don't set targets for ride times but do try to get back home for about 9.00pm in the lighter summer nights. We cover anything from 5 to 20 miles, depending on the mood of the group. The slowest man always dictates the pace and we never leave anyone behind.

Occasionally we interrupt these rides with practice or fun "test" sessions over a particularly difficult or unique obstacle for a short period.

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What you might need

You might want to consider this list of "desirable" items for our rides:

Hardware

Pump - Allen Keys - Tyre Levers - Puncture Outfit - Spanner if you need one - String - Tape - Inner Tube - Chain Tool - Screwdriver - Blade - Cable (zip) ties -

All this stuff is probably carried anyway by us "Old hands", because we learned as we went along. Chances are you'll survive without all or most of it if you ride with us, but one day ... The current trend in Mountain Bikes is for them not to need any spanners - they only use Allen keys for most adjustable parts. If your bike still has it's nuts, you'd better find a spanner that fits them and carry it with you - just in case one of us old bods doesn't, coz we don't need them.

Software

Waterproof Jacket - Waterproof Socks - Gloves - Thin Ski Hat under your helmet for winter - Ear Warmers - Change of Clothes for wet rides (keep in the car) - Overtrousers - Elastoplasts -

Notes on Above

Clothing. If you're out with us somewhere bleak, things can become tricky if the weather turns either cold, wet or both, and it can happen suddenly without warning. On higher ground it can be extremely cold in winter, so you have to be prepared. This means either wearing plenty of clothes - many thin layers are better than two thick ones, and you can add or remove them and carry them easily if necessary - or taking extra with you in your backpack or rackpack. Wet feet can make you feel horrible if they get cold, so think about investing in some waterproof socks, such as SealSkinz. Even if the water gets inside, your tootsies shouldn't freeze. If you are 20 miles out into the wilds of Northumberland, that means you have to do 20 miles to get back out, and you can't do that easily with Hypothermia setting in, so try to avoid getting cold and wet.

Human skin is waterproof, we know, but if you can pedal wearing waterproof overtrousers, they can keep you feeling comfortable in the wet stuff. Spare a thought for your car driver if you're sharing - she or he may not appreciate your muddy arse all over their car seats, or muddy boots all over their carpets and seatbacks. I've suffered this for years because I'm different, but not everyone can cope with imbeciles, and why should they?

Sustenance. The human body uses energy to produce output, like pedalling a bike. That energy has to come from somewhere. It also has to be replenished at regular intervals to maintain peak performance. That means you have to EAT stuff. This is extremely important always, but even more so in winter. So feed up before you go off on a ride, and snack while you're out. We always have a lunch stop, sometimes short maybe, but we'll have one. And probably a few more food breaks on longer rides. In winter it isn't good to stop for too long anyway as you cool quickly, and you can damage muscles and ligaments if you push too hard when restarting. If you get hungry or thirsty on a ride, SHOUT IT OUT! We'll certainly agree with you that we need another break!

A Thermos Flask with a hot drink is a great idea for winter rides. Unbreakable stainless steel ones are quite cheap now. You can either carry it with you during the ride, or take it to drink after you finish, but DO NOT stand your flask or your helmet - or anything, in fact - on the roof of someone's car. This is common sense but some Mountain Bikers treasure their few hundred quid bikes more than your 15 grand car. Or they're just thoughtless bastards. This I know.

Don't want hot drinks? That's fine, but you must take some liquid, and preferably plain water, as it's by far the best way to stay safely hydrated. Being dehydrated really hurts, and can do so in some strange ways. Most MTBers wear a Camelbak or similar backpack with a rubber water bag inside and a tube to drink through, as it's more convenient than a frame-mounted water bottle and a lot bigger for long rides. You should take a heavy swig every 15 minutes or so. After a while you'll discover how long your water will last on a long ride.

If you think some of this sounds like Survival Tactics, you'd be dead right. Don't become a victim.

More useless, uninformative stuff coming later.

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