lost confidence or wrong bike??

gavin66

Last year i came off my bike being a bit silly and thinking i didn't need to use my brakes during a downhill in the Yorkshire dales.This resulted in an injured shoulder and while i was recovering my bike http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... O-cB8yjqAQ got robbed..
Ffwd June this year and after some intense physio i decided it was time to climb back on the horse and get a new bike..My only option for getting a decent bike was to go through the works cyclescheme so after a couple of weeks of reading reviews etc. i decided on the following http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... 4XftvZMYbA as it seemed well specced for its price.
Now i don't know if it's me but this bike scares me,,it seems twitchy as hell,,especially in the wet even more in the wet downhill.It feels like the arse end of the bike wants to overtake me all the time and i feel like i'm constantly fighting to keep the bloody thing in a straight line.It's brilliant uphill and i can pass most FS riders when in a group but i find i'm trailing behind on the downhill as i just don't have the confidence to go fast on it like i did with my Merida.
Is it me and my lost confidence or is it something to do with the bikes geometry(something i'm clueless about)..If it's the latter can anyone recommend what sort of bike i should be looking for(can't really afford a decent full susser),,,i'll be looking to go through cyclescheme again so i'm limited to about £1000,,thanks

supersonic

It's a fairly racy XC type bike - steeper than what you had, and will feel a lot twitchier.

You could try a higher rise, wider bar to make things a little more confident handling.

Thewaylander

Bout to say, Its a racy type of bike, there not really designed to be DH machines and on steep steep stuff they tend to feel sketchy because there designed to be sharp handling on flats and climbs with steep head angles.

Did you test ride the bike first?

Raymondavalon

I broke my leg in 6 places in April 2008 on an HT bike (one plate and 11 screws to repair the tib/fib in my right leg)
Once I had recovered and started riding again, I bought myself a new bike in August 2008
The "new" bike was a big improvement over the "old" bike but was also battling to come to grips with the bike and found myself struggling with the bike no matter what terrain I rode on.

I believe my issue was a combination of a new bike and lack of confidence.
It took a few months to get my confidence levels up as well as regain my riding rhythm

Perhaps you're experiencing what I did, as in confidence levels down combined with a new bike, plus you could have the wrong bike for the job?

Give it a little more time, if you believe the bike is holding you back, then perhaps look at an All Mountain type bike which could be better suited to your riding requirement

timpop

Agreed. I can understand the confidence thing and being on a new bike. It may take a while to get back the confidence especially when your not used to the way your new bike handles. Especially as it's a twitchy racer. I went throught he same sort of thing but with a longer hiatus from trail riding. Took lots of getting out there and getting used to it again.

All good now though.

Dirtydog11

gavin66 wrote:

twitchy as hell,,especially in the wet even more in the wet downhill.It feels like the ars* end of the bike wants to overtake me all the time and i feel like i'm constantly fighting to keep the bloody thing in a straight line.

If the problem was geometry related I don't see how it would get worse in the wet.

Could it be your tyres?

Schwalbe Rapid Robs, are they OEM tyres? I can't find any info on them but they sound like summer/xc race tyres.

What tyre pressures are you running?

dan shard

Dirtydog11 wrote:

gavin66 wrote:

twitchy as hell,,especially in the wet even more in the wet downhill.It feels like the ars* end of the bike wants to overtake me all the time and i feel like i'm constantly fighting to keep the bloody thing in a straight line.

If the problem was geometry related I don't see how it would get worse in the wet.

Could it be your tyres?

Schwalbe Rapid Robs, are they OEM tyres? I can't find any info on them but they sound like summer/xc race tyres.

What tyre pressures are you running?

Definitely look at changing tyres, I had a racing ralph on the back of my cube AMS originally and when pumped up it was a little twitchy and very slippery in the wet. Changed them to a 2.4 fat albert and its transformed the bike. Also what you described is exactly what a friend of mine said when he changed his tyres to mountain kings on a stumpy, changed them to panaracer XC pros and he said its far better

d00m

Shorter stem, wider bars, and chunky grippy (dual compound maybe) tyres, should give a confidence boost.

gavin66

Thanks for the advice everyone,,i think i probably made the wrong choice of bike,,maybe should have test ridden a few first,,,i went for the bike with the best spec for price..
Now i have it i will probably change the tyres,lookng at hutchinson barracudas http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/categ ... acuda-9930
,,don't like the silly names on the side of the schwalbes
Will try the tyres,,,see how i go with them

altern_8

i would of said its confidence,i rode a hardtail upto 2 years ago,then went for a cheap full suss at round the £1000 mark,i came off and was lucky i didnt smash all the bones in my ankle(what the hospital said) took me a while to get my confidence back,then i was back riding fast again,till i came off twice in 4 weeks,damaging my shoulder(jarring it),since then ive found im always thinking that boulder/rock might hurt if i come off,so im finidng i ride stuff a lot slower then i did when i had the hardtail.

bigwheel-leader

With most things, it's probably a mixture of the two. Give yourself some time to adjust to riding again and to the nuances of your new bike, and you'll adapt. If you're too worried, scale back the slopes you glide down.

Jedi

its not easy to return to where you were riding wise after a massive crash. you sound like you would be tentative/ unconfindent on any bike . that will pass in time if you keep riding. just don't stretch yourself technically for a while

gavin66

d00m wrote:

Shorter stem, wider bars, and chunky grippy (dual compound maybe) tyres, should give a confidence boost.

Thanks,,,could you give me an example of the dual compound tyres you mention,,,thanks

.blitz

Sorry to say bikes are different and a different bike makes a big difference to your riding. I think you will be able to modify some aspects of the ride via tyres and cockpit etc but fundamentally you have bought a racy hardtail and it will always be that way.

My old-school Proflex is all 70° angles, short travel and sub-23 lbs; it's a revelation on climbs, switchbacks and tight, twisty stuff but it feels very nervous on descents, rocks and woodwork - it's just not cut out for it - and it rattles me when I ride it on that kind of terrain

In comparison my Rize is big, long and heavy and soaks up obstacles like they aren't there at the expense of agility, and climbing is strictly a sit-and-winch affair. The ability to absorb bigger hits is fine until things start to go pear-shaped and then they go pear-shaped very quickly.

My Chucker is direct to the point of being brutal and only comes to life when it is being thrashed. Supremely uncomfortable when pottering about it is a short-fuse bike for ragging around on but instils a lot of confidence because it snaps back in line when it gets out-of-shape.

Same rider, three different bikes and three very different kinds of ride. Good luck with the LTD Race.

freefly_mong

I was looking through this thinking that you don't need a new bike. Sure different geometries do make differences but all bikes are pretty good especially when you pay this much. I think this is confidence.

Coincidently I was going to suggest a trip to see jedi at UKBikeSkills, then I saw his post! I was there a couple of weeks back for the day with a couple of mates. I have been biking for 15 years plus and Tony (Jedi) taught me a lot. Core skills, but as a result I am now riding much more confidently. Went out on Sunday and my riding has transformed.

Best £75 I have ever spent on mountain biking. Remember, 99% of the time its about the rider not the bike.

Check out his website, www.ukbikeskills.co.uk.

Apart from that tyres would be the next thing!

Jedi

freefly_mong wrote:

I was looking through this thinking that you don't need a new bike. Sure different geometries do make differences but all bikes are pretty good especially when you pay this much. I think this is confidence.

Coincidently I was going to suggest a trip to see jedi at UKBikeSkills, then I saw his post! I was there a couple of weeks back for the day with a couple of mates. I have been biking for 15 years plus and Tony (Jedi) taught me a lot. Core skills, but as a result I am now riding much more confidently. Went out on Sunday and my riding has transformed.

Best £75 I have ever spent on mountain biking. Remember, 99% of the time its about the rider not the bike.

Check out his website, www.ukbikeskills.co.uk.

Apart from that tyres would be the next thing!

thank you for your kind words.

mac_man

freefly_mong wrote:

I was looking through this thinking that you don't need a new bike. Sure different geometries do make differences but all bikes are pretty good especially when you pay this much. I think this is confidence.

Coincidently I was going to suggest a trip to see jedi at UKBikeSkills, then I saw his post! I was there a couple of weeks back for the day with a couple of mates. I have been biking for 15 years plus and Tony (Jedi) taught me a lot. Core skills, but as a result I am now riding much more confidently. Went out on Sunday and my riding has transformed.

Best £75 I have ever spent on mountain biking. Remember, 99% of the time its about the rider not the bike.

Check out his website, www.ukbikeskills.co.uk.

Apart from that tyres would be the next thing!

+1 on skills day.

if you're ooop North then try Ed Oxley at http://www.great-rock.co.uk. Just came back from a Sunday at Gisburn Forest covering things like line choices, pumping the trail, handling big steps/rocks etc. Superb for helping confidence. I was riding stuff I wouldn't have even considered myself capable off a week ago.

What was a revelation was watching people coming past us at various points during the day. I was amazed at just how poor many people's skills were, in some cases to the point of being out-of-control and downright dangerous.

Had to say there was a little schadenfreude seeing some riders on £2k+ bikes tottering down steppy sections or getting off and pushing. For £250 and 3 or 4 sessions they'd be riding like a pro.

timpop

+1 on the skills day from me too. That's a good idea as you can get in some great confidence building from being with a really experienced and patient rider.

Haven fun!

silveringsurfer

I'd go for the tyre choice. I bought a 140mm hard riding Marin trail bike which the owner had kindly fitted with new tyres. Damn - the first ride I fell off on a grass slope and couldn't hold a line on anything and had to ride in the middle of ruts for goodness sake. Turned out the tyres were nasty hard compound (although they stated dual compound on the sidewall :twisted: ). Changed them for a pair of Kenda Nevegals and the bike is transformed. I just swop the rear for something faster rolling in the summer (Kenda Small Block 8) and can cope with most things. Get a 2.2 front tire and 2.1 or 2.2 for the rear in a dual compound with reasonable size knobbles and your bike will be fine - just avoid any made by the big S. (and get the lessons anyway as it's a great way to gain confidence)

pealy

Just thought I'd add my experience...

I changed bikes recently and had the same sort of feeling, not at all confident and really not feeling like the bike was doing what I wanted on descents. People I normally scream past were leaving me behind. I recently changed from the Manitou R7 forks to a pair of SIDs and now I'm back to normal. It really was just the forks. The Fox forks on the Cube look excellent though so not sure this applies but if not, +1 for tyres and +1 for skills course.

slimboyjim

I struggled with confidence after a bad fall too - it does take a while to get back to the level you were but you do get there! The things I did were to just keep on riding as much as possible at first, and have since had a few skills school sessions. The skills schools are excellent - some are better than others but I've taken something away from each. If it is a confidence thing I'd suggest this is a good way forwards. Im now a massively better rider than I was back then...

I also invested in some armour (leg/arm) which, if I'm honest, doesn't do much for me mentally as I still have a healthy fear of coming off, but when I have had the few small/medium sized crashes that could have injured me before I've just laughed them off! Better to avoid injury and the future mental issues they cause in my opinion...

I'd also back up those comments about tyres and cockpit setup made above. You can reduce the tyre pressures as well to increase their contact area (and grip) but don't go too low as it will be easy to puncture... Finally, if you have a good relationship with your LBS you may be able to borrow some old stems/handlebars to test to see if they make a positive difference - not something I've ever done but may be worth a try.