Technique: Just Ride Better! Pt 3

Don't think the lack of suspension will hold you back – hardtails are where riding skills are built. Here are 30 tips that will help you build skills even faster.

The fundamentals of off-road riding are best learned on a hardtail bike. You won’t get away with being lazy on a hardtail. Where a full-suspension bike will let you float over the rough, you have to work harder to make a hardtail dance.

When you get it just right, hardtails connect you to the terrain in a way that even the best full suspension bikes can’t – it’s pure and satisfying, and can actually make you feel like you’re travelling twice the speed you are.

There are a lot of things that you can do to really make a difference to your riding when you’re on a hardtail. Often it’s more about feeling the terrain and how the bike can ride it best, rather than attacking and hoping the bike will get you through the other side.

So let's take a look at both regular trail riding hardtails, and the more hardcore hardtails that are equally at home on the jumps as being drifted through the woods.

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.

Cross-country/trail hardtail

Hardtail mountain bikes generally have a suspension fork with 100 to 140mm (3.9 to 5.5in) travel, a stem length between 70 and 100mm, and full gearing to ride up any hill, and for putting the power down. Your position on the bike is slightly more relaxed than on a cross-country race bike, so it’s more suitable for all-day riding.

1 Saddle height

Without rear suspension to cushion you when you hit the rough stuff, it’s advisable to run your saddle lower than usual to avoid getting kicked up the arse. If there are long stretches on your ride, you can always raise it again to make your pedalling more efficient. Make the most of putting it out of the way slightly when the going gets rough.

2 Saddle choice

On a hardtail, you’ll feel everything the trail transmits through the back end of the bike. Look for a saddle with a flexible body, a narrow rear to allow you to slide off the back easily, and a long nose to allow you to hover for steep climbs.

3 Stem

Trail hardtails tend to work best with slightly longer stems to stabilise the handling of the steeper head angles, and put you in a better position for climbing, both seated and out of the saddle.

4 Pedals

Clipless pedals come into their own on a hardtail, especially over rough ground – you won’t lose your footing and can still pedal where you might normally be concentrating on staying on. They’ll also help you pick the bike up over rough ground to avoid getting bogged down.

5 Tyres

In wet conditions, some prefer a narrower tyre to cut through, and others would rather have a wider tyre to float over the top. In dry conditions, large volume, low-profile tyres work best because they have shock-absorbing properties, but don’t sacrifice power to the rear wheel.

6 Brakes

With a bike that weighs less, and no rear suspension to aid traction under braking, there’s no point going overkill on the size of your discs. 160mm discs are lighter, lower profile and will happily lock a wheel at will.

'Hardcore' hardtail

How you build your hardcore hardtail will depend on how versatile you can make it. We prefer running gears, two brakes and having a fairly long seatpost fitted. That way, with a tyre change you have a bike that can be thrashed up the BMX track, hacked through the local woods and also used as a day-to-day bike – with the saddle raised and lowered.

7 Adjustable fork

On a burly frame, the benefit of having an adjustable travel fork is pretty significant. You can wind the travel in and lock it out for blasting to work, keep it low and the geometry fast for jumping, or wind it out for a slacker head angle and a more downhill-friendly machine.

8 Stem spacers

Make sure you leave your steerer tube long enough to use a spacer or two. That way, when you’re adjusting the travel of your fork, you can keep your bars at your preferred height by stacking the spacers underneath or on top of your stem.

9 Stem length

On a bike that’s going to be ridden really hard, a short stem – 30 to 60mm – is best. They’re stiffer and offer more responsive steering, while also keeping your body weight more central on the bike - which helps when you’re making quick changes in your body position.

10 Chainguide

Unless you’re planning on regularly riding uphill on your hardcore hardtail, fitting a chainguide and a single chainring keeps things simple and safe. Anything from a 32- to 38-tooth chainring will work, depending on where you ride.

11 Close-ratio block

If you ride BMX tracks, 4X and like hacking through the woods, opt for a close-ratio cassette – something like an 11-23. In combination with a 36-tooth chainring, it’ll give you the optimum gearing for sprinting, and you can run a short chain to keep the bike quiet on rough terrain.

12 Big discs

A big disc on your rear brake is pointless because you’ll just lock the rear wheel too easily. But if you run an adjustable travel fork, make the most of the long travel and the traction it offers with a bigger front disc. A 185mm disc will be pretty much spot on.

13 Chunky, fast-rolling tyres

More off-road riding requires knobbly tyres, and more jumpy stuff requires low profile, fast-rolling tyres. A happy compromise will be a low-profile rear tyre, and a front tyre with a square shoulder and deeper tread.

On the bike

14 Gnarly stuff

Don't think you have to walk every time you see something gnarly looking – get off your bike and take a look, there's always a readable line. Focus and trust your bike. Big wheels will roll over a surprising amount of stuff if you allow your arms and legs to become supple shock absorbers and get your weight off the back of the bike.

15 Pumping

Before you jump, learn to pump. As you roll over the take-off ramp, push the bike into the backside to accelerate. Practise until you can pump around a BMX track with no pedalling, then take this skill to your trails. Pump every dip, hollow and backside of a pack of roots you can.

16 Carving a turn

On sketchy terrain, your hardtail’s rear end can break loose quite easily, so the key is really sticking the rear end into the turn. Be prepared for the rear end to break loose, but don’t fight it. Hovering a foot off the pedals can help move your weight around, and also lets you dab if you lose the front end.

17 Line choice

There’s always an obvious line, but it’s not always necessarily the best one. There are two lines here – one around the rock, and one straight over it. Around the rock actually has more risks – knuckles of rock can hit your pedal, knocking you off-line and off a huge drop to the right – so over the rock is safer, and you can aim to fall to the inside of the bank if you stall. If in doubt, give it a second look – chances are there’s a better line, especially for hardtails.

18 Off-camber turns

You should treat off-camber as delicately as you would a flat, loose turn. Don’t shy away from it, and keep your weight on the outside pedal, but make sure you stay flexible and let the bike track with the. The rear end of a bike with no suspension can easily break loose – but it will usually grip again. Just try to relax and keep focused.

19 Rock slabs

Some rocks can be incredibly slippy, even when dry. Keep your line as straight as possible, and avoid braking or making any sudden movements. Do this and you’ll be able to tackle most rock sections without stacking.

20 Manuals

Instead of letting the rear wheel become airborne off lips, absorb the lip with your legs and extend your legs, pushing the rear wheel onto terra firma. When going over holes or through puddles, lean back as you pull up on the front end of the bike. Push through with your heels and control the manual with your body weight and rear brake.

21 Steep climbs

There’s more chance of the back wheel breaking loose on a hardtail, so get your weight in the right place. The best way to do this is by adjusting your weight back and forth while perched on the nose of the saddle – that way you’re ready to lurch forward out of the saddle for power when you need it, but keep your weight on the rear wheel.

22 Rock steps

Stay as straight as possible, control your braking before you hit the obstacle and use your whole body to minimise the impact between steps. Keep your head up and focus on your exit point, as well as being aware of approaching obstacles.

23 Uneven terrain

With no rear suspension, you risk bouncing off-line. Your bottom bracket height will be lower than most suspension bikes too, which makes you likely to bash your feet on the ground at some point. Try to time your pedalling so you don’t clip rocks, stumps and roots, and when pedalling on rough terrain, try to be as smooth as possible. Spin circles rather than stomping on the pedals.

24 Climbing on roots

Hit roots as square-on as possible to avoid the front wheel washing out, and when approaching an uphill section of roots like this, get your speed together on approach and then use a leading root as a kicker to either unweight the bike, or bump jump it over the rest of the roots.

25 Jumping

Work your way up from rolling over a jump to getting enough speed to pull up and clear the jump. Practise until you know how much or how little speed you can clear a jump, and how fast is too fast to make a dangerous over-jump. It’s an absolutely essential skill for riding off-road fast.

26 Read the terrain

Scan the terrain and look for the best lines possible. Glance 20ft ahead and note the bigger rocks, roots and  holes – the more you practise looking ahead, the better and faster you’ll become at reacting to what you’ve seen. Look where you want to go – avoid focusing on stuff that bothers you, it’ll just make you head that way!

Off the bike

Riding a hardtail means you’ll feel a lot more of the ground, and you’ll be out of the saddle a lot more than on a full-sus bike, as well as using different muscle groups. Keeping in shape, eating well and stretching are just as essential as for any other cycling, but you’ll need to focus on different areas.

27 Lower back and core

Hardtail bikes transmit a great deal of shock through your lower back, and you’ll be muscling the bike around differently to a fully suspended ride. Work on your core with a gym ball – doing crunches, reverse crunches and back extension routines.

28 Stretch

With the extra load your back is taking, it’s important to release the strain in your muscles. Stretching properly is an absolute necessity – try glutal stretches, pelvic tilts and spinal twist stretches.

29 Energy

With a bike that has less traction, your body will have to work harder as you adjust your weight in and out of the saddle and back and forth a lot more - so take on enough food to power your body. Proteins and carbs are most important for supplying and maintaining strength and energy, but an overall balanced diet is essential too.

30 Isotonics

Be sure to replace lost sugars and salts with isotonic drinks. If you don’t want to pay for expensive ones, make your own. Fruit juice diluted with water and a spoonful of salt and sugar does the job too, and gets into your body just as fast.

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Technique: Just Ride Better! Pt 2

A good all-round mountain bike will do most things really well, but when you start to specialise in a certain discipline, a specialist bike will always fare best.

When downhill (DH) racing started, there weren’t really specific bikes for it – some riders would lower their seats, but that would be it. It’s a different game now, with riders tackling rocks the size of TVs, huge jumps and punishing drops, the bikes have to be very strong, yet still light and efficient to pedal.

Even so, that won’t count for much if the bike isn’t set up properly. The same goes for four-cross (4X) racing and slopestyle. You could have fun on any old bike with your eyes half shut, but setting your bike up correctly will help you ride better and develop your skills more quickly.

This month, we’re looking at downhill bikes and the sort of short-travel bikes that are aimed at 4X, slopestyle and even light downhill riding. We’ll show you how to set your bike up right, and the techniques you should work on to improve at both disciplines.

On the bike

1. The scrub

This may be one of the more fashionable moves, but it certainly has its place, especially on hipped jumps. As you come up to the take-off, lower your inside elbow and lay the bike down. As you take off you'll fly slightly sideways and stay low to the ground.

2. Wallride

Not so common at races, but slopestyle events always have them, and most trail centres now have wallrides to practise on. The key is carving a shape on them. Aim to pull up on to the wall at a rough 10 or 2 o’clock trajectory, depending on which direction you’re travelling in. Visualise riding the wall as if it’s a steep berm. If you’re too upright you’ll slide down it – hitting it harder will help you get the right angle.

3. Stay low

Jumps are getting bigger and more common in races, so if you do get kicked into the air by one you need to get back to terra firma as quickly as possible. If you want to stay fast, stay low as you go over the jump. stand tall on the take-off transition and let the bike come up towards you as you take-off. When you’re in the air, start to push against the bike to resist it coming up any more, and to initiate landing as soon as possible.

4. Berms

Berms (banked corners) need to be ridden hard to get the best out of them. In 4X, you need to be able to rail and square them. To square a berm, approach inside of the apex, aim about halfway through the berm, and turn as hard as possible when on it. It’s a good way of securing a position if you’re chasing a rider. To rail a berm use the whole curve of the berm for as long as possible, straightening out the turn for speed.

5. Getting air

Sometimes it’s just a laugh to head out and hit some jumps. start by rolling over a table top jump and learning the kick of the transition; then gradually build your speed and how much you pull up until you’re clearing the jump. Once you’ve dialled that, practise throwing your bike around in the air using your hips and body weight – being able to pick up and ‘place’ the bike is a valuable skill.

6. Know your width

Skimming trees with your bars and elbows can slow you down or even end your run if you hit them hard. Find a section with some tight lines between trees or other obstacles and see how close you get as you ride through it. Try getting a friend to video you. You may find you have lots of breathing room and could tighten up your lines, or you might find you’re cutting it fine. Either way, make sure you know your limit.

7. Squashing a jump

4X racing is all about getting the power on the ground. Unless it’s a huge one that warrants going massive, suck up jumps as much as possible. As you come up the transition, stay as low as possible and absorb the lip. As the bike becomes airborne, stand tall on the bike, ready to push it straight back down into the landing.

8. Landing on the brakes

Quite often you’ll land from a drop and will have to make a turn straight away or have to hit the brakes. Learn to land on the brakes – the bike has maximum traction when compressing into the ground, so the action of landing can be used to scrub off loads of speed, very quickly. This doesn’t mean landing with the brakes locked from a flat-out landing.

9. Roots

The key to riding roots is attacking. If you shy away from them, they’ll have you for breakfast – especially wet ones. If you ride half-heartedly, you’ll be slip-sliding your way along. Instead hit roots as square-on as possible. With any roots that could throw you off-line, either hop over them or unweight your bike as you hit them.

10. Ducking and diving

Downhill riding is all about co-ordination – look where you want to go and your body will follow. Concentrate on where you want to go, rather than on the stuff that’s bothering you, and relax your body. Stay loose and you’ll be surprised how fluid you can be.

11. Flat turns

You’ll come across flat turns whatever style riding you do, but short-travel rigs can get a little skippy and wild in the turns. don’t fight it, let the rear end step out. Weight the front of the bike, and even if the rear slides, you’ll still be able to steer. Perfecting flat turns is hard because they’re always different, but practising on wet, dusty, loose, grippy and rough ground will help you develop the skill you need.

12. The rough stuff

Downhill bikes roll amazingly well through virtually anything. Learn to pick your lines and stick to them. There’s always a smoother line, but often the rougher line is the faster line, so try the rougher lines and see how much time they save you. Take a second look at the sections that faze you and ride them at different speeds to find out how hard you can hit a rough section before things get out of shape.

13. Off camber

The first rule of off-camber terrain is ‘mind over matter’. Spot your exit point and focus on it. Don’t be nervous over the off-camber stuff or you’ll be bouncing off trees like a bumblebee. Keep your weight on the tyres to force them to cut into the ground to keep you upright. Get your outside foot down and put all your weight on it. This will position you into the camber correctly.

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.

Downhill bikes: Downhill bikes are made to do a specific job as fast and efficiently as possible. They are typically long and low with very slack angles. They can have anything from 7 to 10in of rear travel, and 7 to 8in up front. They’re the Baja buggies of the bike world, perfect for gravity fuelled sessions, and getting yours set up right will improve your riding no end.

14. Tyres

Large volume tyres offer a large contact area, and soft compound, slow rebound rubber allows the tyre to deform, increasing grip. In dry conditions, choose a shallower tread that will roll fast. In the wet, look for an open, deep tread with knobbles that will cut through the mud and clear quickly. Tyre pressure is another massive factor – harder will roll faster, but will have less grip. Experiment between 25 and 28psi.

15. Disc size

Bigger discs are essential on DH bikes. On shorter and steeper courses, you’ll use the front brake a lot to control speed, but on faster and longer courses you’ll use the back brake more than you realise to scrub speed. This can cook your brake pads and glaze them over, so choose a bigger disc to increase power.

16. Pedals

If you prefer clipped pedals, look for ones with a decent cage – CrankBrothers Mallets or Shimano M545s are ideal. Make sure your shoe has a sturdy feel – try Shimano’s DX or SixSixOne's Filter. Avoid race-style shoes. If you ride flat pedals, find the best pedals for your feet – they should be fairly thin with a big platform. Burgtecs are ideal if you have big feet and a deep wallet, and FiveTens are the current shoe of choice.

17. Chainguide

A decent enclosed chainguide is essential. If your bike has a low bottom bracket height, opt for one with full ring protection. The SRS+ guide from e*thirteen on the bike pictured above is strong yet lightweight.

18. Bar setup

Handlebar choice is down to personal preference, but getting your weight on the front end will help increase traction and grip, so low bars will help. The bike’s front end is already higher than usual thanks to its big fork, so you can go lower than you think with bars. Wide bars increase stability and control at speed and through the rough, but they’re not good on tight tracks and can slow your handling down.

19. Suspension setup

The long-travel suspension needs to track the terrain to offer traction and to be able to get the power down over rough ground, but too soft means a potentially wallowy ride. When you’re in your full riding kit, aim for a quarter to a third of the available travel as sag. If you run the bike on the softer side, low speed compression damping will help keep the bike up in the travel, especially under braking and when pedalling. Given the nature of DH, you’ll hit unexpected obstacles, and you don’t want to be kicked over the bars, so opt for a little more rebound damping than on other bikes – but not so much that the bike packs down on repeated hits.

20. Saddle height

Despite being aimed down steep and gnarly chutes, downhill bikes still have to be pedalled. Find a happy medium for your saddle, between ‘out the way’ and ‘pedalable’. Take a look at pro racers’ bikes, and you’ll notice their saddles creeping higher as course times get closer between riders.

4X/slopestyle bikes: Full-suspension is becoming more and more popular among 4X and slopestyle riders. For 4X, rear suspension improves traction and offers more control on courses with high-speed sections, rock gardens and huge jumps. For slopestyle, it will take the sting out and the bike won’t break at the first sign of trouble. This new breed of hardcore, short-travel bikes is also ideal for short downhill runs, and they’re becoming increasingly useful for more riders.

21. Tyres

Find a happy medium between grip and rolling resistance. Aggressive tread patterns work well in most conditions, but sometimes a semi-slick rear tyre will grip just enough, but roll immensly fast.

22. Fork travel

You can tune the feeling of the bike by adjusting fork travel. Less travel will give you a steeper head angle and a slightly lower bottom bracket (BB). A longer travel setting will relax the head angle and steering, and raise the BB slightly. An adjustable fork will allow you to get the most out of this kind of bike.

23. Cockpit

Being able to adjust your position is useful if you’re playing with your travel settings. A few spacers under your stem can be stacked on top to lower the bars if, for example, you were raising the fork height for a rough track, but didn’t want the bars any higher. Bars slightly wider than the stock 711mm can be handy for taller riders because they lower your weight on the bike and stabilise handling, but the fast natured handling of these bikes can be ruined if you’re running overly wide bars.

24. Close ratio block

Slopestyle riders don’t need many gears, so a nice tight chain will keep the bike quiet. 4X riders need to get out the gate quick, and so need a spread of gears for maximum torque – regular mountain bike cassettes are too varied in the gearing. Road cassettes have a far closer ratio, so make gear changing cleaner and gearing better for sprinting.

25. Pedals

4X racers tend to use SPD pedals for maximum acceleration and slopestyle/freeriders often go for fl at pedals for freedom on the bike – whether that’s for pulling  big tricks or being able to bail out at will.

26. Suspension setup

Firmer seems to be better. 4X needs maximum pedalling power distributed to the ground, and slopestylers won’t want wallowy suspension ruining the pop off lips. Quicker rebound up front on a 4X bike gives extra grip, and the same out back can increase pop off lips. If you want to minimise these things, choose a slower rebound setting.

27. Saddle height

It’s all about manoeuvrability, so get the saddle out the way for dynamic moves. Many riders point the nose of their saddles up so they have something to pinch between their knees for stability in the air and through the rough stuff.

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 downhill and 4X riding, flexibility and power are essential.

28. Stay flexible

Stretching is the key here, but taking classes in yoga or pilates is great for core strength, staying supple and resisting injury. Muscle is basically a spring that recoils, so the looser and more flexible it is, the better.

29. Cross-training

To help develop your recovery and sprint performance, try looking at other sports. Circuit training is a great option for improving recovery, and rowing machines build staying power – great for both DH and 4X. Working out in a gym is also helpful because you can work on specifi c areas you need for riding.

30. Food & drink

To build power in your muscles, taking on protein is essential. Whey powder, an ingredient found in many protein drinks is great for this. For strength, go for red meat. It’s naturally high in protein and creatine, which are important for building muscle. Carbohydrates in pasta, rice and potatoes are great for fuelling up before exercise.

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