To go on a course or not

mattblue

Have never done any trail riding before so wondered if many people have been on any courses like this ?

http://www.forestfreeride.co.uk/pages/c ... tml#oneday

Cheers

matt

1mancity2

Best money you can spend, better than any upgrade.

I've done one course and Im doing another in Feb, you will learn more than you think.

bails87

1mancity2 wrote:

Best money you can spend, better than any upgrade.

I've done one course and Im doing another in Feb, you will learn more than you think.

Absolutely agree.

Go with an open mind, listen to the instructor and do what he says. On my course there was one grumpy b*stard who didn't listen and wouldn't try anything :roll: What's the point of paying for the course?!

louthepoo

I'm giving it serious consideration going on the course at Cannock

supersonic

I disagree ;-)

Well, not entirely. I think it depends on the person, what they want to gain, and the instructor. I think there is a lot a rider can do off their own bat to become a better rider without paying for someone to show them.

Of course some people really gain. But after seeing advice given on here by some instructors, I'd say there is a huge variance.

Andy B

I highly recommend Tony (Jedi) @ ukbikeskills.co.uk

I'm not the only one who recommends him either, plenty of riders have spoken very highly of him (loads of threads on other forums as well as this one, Singletrackworld has a large Jedi fanbase)

He adapts his teaching style to one that you can understand and breaks everything down into it's simplest form for you

Been once, will go back again for sure.

It is one of the best upgrades you can have on your bike and will last longer than the latest bit of bling you bought for your bike

delcol

i guess it does depend on the teacher and how they explain things and get the message across..

a decent skills coach is worth his weight in gold, and it will be the best improvment you would make. far better than any componant upgrade..
you just need to find the right coach.. jedi seems to be the man...

i would not be anywere near the level i'm at today with out my coaching and skills clinics...

cycle monster

Unquestionably yes. My wife wanted a course for her birthday last year. I went along to keep her company and learned loads. I am now faster, smoother and braver, riding things that I would previously have considered impossible, with confidence and ease.

delcol

cycle monster wrote:

Unquestionably yes. My wife wanted a course for her birthday last year. I went along to keep her company and learned loads. I am now faster, smoother and braver, riding things that I would previously have considered impossible, with confidence and ease.

exactly the same. apart from the wife bit...

without the coaching i would not even attempt half the things i dont think twice about riding..

i remember my guide/coach showing me some slick rock talking about lines. we said you cant ride a bike down that it's near vertical. he showed us the lines the right technique to ride.
i would never of hit that line if it weren't for seb.. same when i did my huck (drop) clinic with him.. i would never have thrown myself off those drops especially the 2nd 3rd & 4th drop in joyride drop park (whistler bikepark) and there's no way i would of dreamed about walking down never mind riding schleyer...

1mancity2

supersonic wrote:

I disagree ;-)

Well, not entirely. I think it depends on the person, what they want to gain, and the instructor. I think there is a lot a rider can do off their own bat to become a better rider without paying for someone to show them.

Of course some people really gain. But after seeing advice given on here by some instructors, I'd say there is a huge variance.

SS makes a good point here, it does go off the instructor so look for recommendations if you can also if your a complete novice you will gain more.

The course I did was amied at confident riders (not saying I am btw) and we had to unlearn certain things we had picked up in the years of riding.

It won't happen over night but the skills you learn eventually become second nature.

Mojo_666

Courses are very good.....or at least Tony @ http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk/ is

Money well spent.

miss notax

I've done a course with Forest Freeride and found it useful - if you haven't done any trail riding before, I would say it's at the right level. A good place to get the basics nailed.

I've also done a course with Jedi which I personally got a great deal more out of - but they were very, very different

DodgeT

Great beleiver in courses myself. I've rode on and off for years and always thought I was an OK rider. I'd never heard of "pumping the trail" before, sounded like something you could end up doing time for, but jees what an improvement
Already done 2 courses with Ed "the beard" Oxley and am now looking forward to a weekender course with him and Nigel Page in Feb

clamps81

Went on a course with yer man Mojo up there. Before getting there being airborne made me incredibly nervous. Driving in we saw this big old tabletop and both commented that we'd never be hitting it by the end of the session. Needless to say we both flew over it a few hours later. The thing I found was that everything was kept simple and broken down for us and the mental aspect was addressed as well. You do what he says and things are smooth and easy and in control. Something goes wrong and you know it's because you're not doing one (or more) things correctly. It's great, because rather than learning one specific thing, you've got a mindset and approach that lets you tackle other stuff and develop further after you've left. Personally, I got a lot of it and would recommend it without hesitation, but then I'd only been riding for five months when I went. Your mileage may vary etc

Clank

louthepoo wrote:

I'm giving it serious consideration going on the course at Cannock

I did a one-to-one with Bikeschool and it was great fun and very educational. For me, well worth the spend.

vmgscot

Can't recommend getting on a course enough.
After mountain biking since 1986 I had my first skills course last year with the girls at The Hub (Glentress). Best money spent in ages and they took me right back to basics (which I was obviously doing all wrong after 25 years of bad habits).

Watch who you book with though, get recommendations. I know someone local who has been riding only 2 or 3 years, attended a coaching course and now thinks he's a skills coach! lol

delcol

here's a video off us after a 2 hour huck(drop) clinic in whistler, i would never of hit anything like this before my clinic. infact a few days before this i took the chicken line round the wooden drop on freight train (at the beginning of the vid) now i hit it every time without thinking of it.. same with all the drops in joyride drop park, i could only look at them and watch riders fly off them, now i dont even think about it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh0vtsbbeQE

Northwind

You can get a lot out of it. You won't neccesarily though, I'm sure some folks never put any of it into practice (I've let some things slip and fallen back into bad habits, which is annoying but I guess it happens).

One thing people don't always mention is that it's not neccesarily all about learning and improving, my first Dirtschool day didn't teach me an awful lot I didn't already know, but it did boost my confidence anyway just by confirming I was mostly doing things right

1mancity2

Northwind wrote:

You can get a lot out of it. You won't neccesarily though, I'm sure some folks never put any of it into practice (I've let some things slip and fallen back into bad habits, which is annoying but I guess it happens).

One thing people don't always mention is that it's not neccesarily all about learning and improving, my first Dirtschool day didn't teach me an awful lot I didn't already know, but it did boost my confidence anyway just by confirming I was mostly doing things right

Same here on the first day I thought what the hell!

Northwind

This thread reminds me, I really should do their jumps course, man I suck at jumping

Jedi

Mojo_666 wrote:

Courses are very good.....or at least Tony @ http://www.ukbikeskills.co.uk/ is

Money well spent.

hows the riding dude. thanks for the kind words

Jedi

miss notax wrote:

I've done a course with Forest Freeride and found it useful - if you haven't done any trail riding before, I would say it's at the right level. A good place to get the basics nailed.

I've also done a course with Jedi which I personally got a great deal more out of - but they were very, very different

high 5 missnotax

gregwari

http://www.getmountainbiking.co.uk/
I did a course of theirs before riding at Dalby a few years back (first trail centre ride), pleased I did - made the day enjoyable and took away a lot of my fear / doubts. Bonus about the above, I think they accept Tesco's vouchers!

Briggo

supersonic wrote:

But after seeing advice given on here by some instructors, I'd say there is a huge variance.

Really?

Why wouldn't you go to a DH expert who's not very good at DH but has years of experience, for lessons.

mtb crazy

ive just booked a dirt divas course and cant wait to do it! a course will help you find out what level youre at and will increase confidence and fun :-)

leevil knievil

I am booked on with ed in march really looking forward to it, from what other people have said it will be well worth it and just for the cost of two tyres, have been riding now for just over a year and my fitness and skill levels have got better so now before all the bad habits start settling in time to learn how i should be doing it.

concorde

Any recommendations for courses worthwhile in South Wales? Afan preferably?

Cheers

delcol

Concorde wrote:

Any recommendations for courses worthwhile in South Wales? Afan preferably?

Cheers

i'm pretty sure Dirtschool do coaching at afan,, (Rowan sorrel)

i seen somewere.

concorde

delcol wrote:

Concorde wrote:

Any recommendations for courses worthwhile in South Wales? Afan preferably?

Cheers

i'm pretty sure Dirtschool do coaching at afan,, (Rowan sorrel)

i seen somewere.

Ok cheers, I will try and google it etc.

mercedism

Would these courses expect you to wear safety gear or provide it? and what safety gear would you need?

1mancity2

mercedism wrote:

Would these courses expect you to wear safety gear or provide it? and what safety gear would you need?

you take your own, Helmet, gloves, glasses but if your doing jumps etc kneepads and elbow pads are a good idea.

You usually get an email with what they recommend as in spare tubes, saftey gear etc.