Improving XC skills ? how to do it ?

weeksy59

So,

As some will be aware i did a race last weekend. One of my biggest problems was 'skills'

Downhill and XC skills. My climbing isn't bad, not so bad that it will make a vast difference to improve.

however my descents and CX skills are very poor.

Apart from the obvious "more time in the saddle" what should i be working on ?

Things i have issues with are, descending quickly on rough terrain, quick turns in downhill off camber.
"obstacles"... These can take many forms, from a tree, to a 'mound' of mud onto a different level.
'drop offs' only 3' or so on an almost vertical drop off. Should i just gun it, pick up the front and almost wheelie off the end ?

Cheers guys.

gsxrian

weeksy59 wrote:

So,

As some will be aware i did a race last weekend. One of my biggest problems was 'skills'

Downhill and XC skills. My climbing isn't bad, not so bad that it will make a vast difference to improve.

however my descents and CX skills are very poor.

Apart from the obvious "more time in the saddle" what should i be working on ?

Things i have issues with are, descending quickly on rough terrain, quick turns in downhill off camber.
"obstacles"... These can take many forms, from a tree, to a 'mound' of mud onto a different level.
'drop offs' only 3' or so on an almost vertical drop off. Should i just gun it, pick up the front and almost wheelie off the end ?

Cheers guys.

Surely its more time in the saddle,and more time at places like swinley,and trail centre...

weeksy59

gsxrian wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

So,

As some will be aware i did a race last weekend. One of my biggest problems was 'skills'

Downhill and XC skills. My climbing isn't bad, not so bad that it will make a vast difference to improve.

however my descents and CX skills are very poor.

Apart from the obvious "more time in the saddle" what should i be working on ?

Things i have issues with are, descending quickly on rough terrain, quick turns in downhill off camber.
"obstacles"... These can take many forms, from a tree, to a 'mound' of mud onto a different level.
'drop offs' only 3' or so on an almost vertical drop off. Should i just gun it, pick up the front and almost wheelie off the end ?

Cheers guys.

Surely its more time in the saddle,and more time at places like swinley,and trail centre...

Very possibly, but that can only increase your skills in a certain way. You'll get more used to the bike yes.... but will you improve in technique if you're doing things wrong ?

3' drop offs for example, if doing them wrong, you're always going to do them wrong... so will never actually get any better.

gsxrian

weeksy59 wrote:

gsxrian wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

So,

As some will be aware i did a race last weekend. One of my biggest problems was 'skills'

Downhill and XC skills. My climbing isn't bad, not so bad that it will make a vast difference to improve.

however my descents and CX skills are very poor.

Apart from the obvious "more time in the saddle" what should i be working on ?

Things i have issues with are, descending quickly on rough terrain, quick turns in downhill off camber.
"obstacles"... These can take many forms, from a tree, to a 'mound' of mud onto a different level.
'drop offs' only 3' or so on an almost vertical drop off. Should i just gun it, pick up the front and almost wheelie off the end ?

Cheers guys.

Surely its more time in the saddle,and more time at places like swinley,and trail centre...

Very possibly, but that can only increase your skills in a certain way. You'll get more used to the bike yes.... but will you improve in technique if you're doing things wrong ?

3' drop offs for example, if doing them wrong, you're always going to do them wrong... so will never actually get any better.

I'm a Riding God....i'll was just born with this talent...

weeksy59

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12618818


that's you ?????

gsxrian

weeksy59 wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12618818


that's you ?????

Damn i'll didnt see them filming me!!!!

Daz555

weeksy59 wrote:

3' drop offs for example, if doing them wrong, you're always going to do them wrong... so will never actually get any better.

As long as you are thoughtful about your riding you can think of new ways to do the same things. If for example your 3ft drops are resulting in horrific clangs bangs, sore ankles, and regular offs, then you are doing something wrong. This might prompt you to say look at your speed, knees and elbows, how you lift the bars, or whether you are landing smoothly with both wheels at the same time.

Riding with someone who is a bit better than you helps the most I reckon.

weeksy59

Daz555 wrote:

weeksy59 wrote:

Riding with someone who is a bit better than you helps the most I reckon.

Damn, my mates are fat and useless

hoochylala

Being relatively new to mtbing in general i thought the same as you, found myself trying different techniques when out riding but never knew if i was doing it correctly , thought about going on a skill course, which could be an option for you, but I did buy the Dirt School training DVD (also do courses afaik) which demonstrates some of the basic techniques through to some more difficult elements - really helped and was a steel at £15!

www.dirtschool.co.uk

HTH

izthewiz

Any other coaching courses recommended, maybe a bit further south?

cullen_bay

you will learn a lot more from actually RIDING (yes, sitting on your bike and pedaling) your bike, than you will from sitting in front of a computer and asking questions that you knew the answer to.... :oops: :shock:

weeksy59

cullen_bay wrote:

you will learn a lot more from actually RIDING (yes, sitting on your bike and pedaling) your bike, than you will from sitting in front of a computer and asking questions that you knew the answer to.... :oops: :shock:

Which is exactly what i did for 2 hours today, including some 'skills' time which was getting over a wall, about 28" in height and multi tiered and some bunny hopping over logs.... which wasn't too bad

Can't say i hopped it well, or every time, but i got over it and cracked on for another go

izthewiz

Without getting on my "I've been riding MTBs for 23 years" high horse (oops - just did - sorry) I am still keen to improve. I ride plenty, but doing the best that I can doesn't mean I can't be better, and getting a proper skills coach to assess my riding seems a good way of going about it.

Yes, riding lots will certainly improve things, and riding with others who are more skilled/faster/fitter will drag you towards their level, but I'm about the same as my mates in those areas, so I've plateaued.

I don't know how to improve the areas of my riding that I want to be better at. I've watched lots of skills DVDs and tried to put it into (lots of) practice, but I can't figure out which small tweaks can make a big difference.

Or maybe I've just reached my talent 'ceiling'.

Any suggestions fort MTB skills coaching in the south that will hopefully help me improve?

Steve Legend

These guys were real nice and helped me with some skills in Surrey...it's gonna depend on what level you're at now I guess...


http://www.mountain-bike-guiding.co.uk/

izthewiz

Cheers for that. Will give them a go.

baba123

for the downhill bits i would go extra quick as it is quicker going really quickly and falling off your bike and getting straight back up than it would be too do everything at 1 mph so i say just go for it

Airienteer

or the downhill bits i would go extra quick as it is quicker going really quickly and falling off your bike and getting straight back up than it would be too do everything at 1 mph so i say just go for it

Although I wouldn't recommend it for this reason, maybe you should just let off the brakes a bit. As soon as I decided to just go for it and have a bit more speed my riding took off (forgive the pun). I know it may sound obvious, but confidence is the key. Attack stuff at speed and you'll be amazed at how much easier it is.

gsxrian

Airienteer wrote:

or the downhill bits i would go extra quick as it is quicker going really quickly and falling off your bike and getting straight back up than it would be too do everything at 1 mph so i say just go for it

Although I wouldn't recommend it for this reason, maybe you should just let off the brakes a bit. As soon as I decided to just go for it and have a bit more speed my riding took off (forgive the pun). I know it may sound obvious, but confidence is the key. Attack stuff at speed and you'll be amazed at how much easier it is.

weeksy rides a KTM motorbike,he doesnt know what speed mean....pmsl