Lack of Confidence Downhill Single track

iandennis

Today I did the Princes Risborough Trail Break ride - great fun, lots of very friendly people and great weather. I really enjoyed the ride but I'm struggling with any sort of speed going down some of the singletrack. Its a combination of "lack of grip" - though tryes have plenty, speed and feeling out of control. I was on an old canti braked bike but even on my other disc braked bike this is still and issue.

This lack of confidence is holding me back as when i'm with friends that don't suffer the sam problem and I fall behind.

Any advise or suggestions, apart from further practice ?

bowden769

hey mate

i dont know what to say other that keep trying sorry new here

where is the Princes Risborough Trail Break Ride, i live in Aylesbury so not too far from me

iandennis

Thanks,

It's a regular organised ride.
http://www.trailbreak.co.uk/trail_rides ... _id=120421

I was faster than last year but that was down to better climbing and fitness not confidence on the downhill. Everybody else just seems to wizz by without issue but i loose my momentum as just feels like I'm about to wash out.

Guess its now just down to practice.

DodgeT

Just got to keep getting out and doing it. What is feeling unnatural to you now, will, in time feel more natural.
Set yourself goals, just small ones, like go a little bit faster on a certain bit of trail next time. Use your brakes a little less on certain bits of downhill, go over / off rocks or drops what you would normally go round.
Just practice practice practice.
And if your really keen, get a skills course booked.
I'm doing stuff now that a year ago I was thinking - no way........

Above all, enjoy it

1mancity2

Fast downhill is all about the ability to scan the trail ahead, odviously your gonna hit rocks, loose surfaces, etc so its all about spotting "safe" spots to brake on, don't drag the brakes all the way down just use them in the "safe" spots.

Braking pulls your bike up straight and looses you traction, go without brakes and the bike will skip over more and feel more planted.

Practice is the only way.

bluechair84

Be sure to be stood out of the saddle and 'ease' the bike over and around things moving your weight back and forth. And don't grip the brakes for dear life, if you see a section you're think you are carrying the correct speed for, you will have better control over the bike with all fingers around the bars, not the brake levers. It's just a matter of confidence that you will often stand a better chance rumbling through a section leaving the brakes alone. And - your tyres might have not worn out at all, but not all tyres are created equal.
Have you asked to try someone else's bike for a short run and ask their opinions on your technique? Bikers love to think they know so much they can help out ( ) so I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Not knowing your level of ability, I hope none of that comes across as patronising.

felix.london

Watch this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb-shXvkKJc&list=FLft8MOQsDOAcCPPMaQkzd9A&index=1&feature=plpp_video


I watched that and noticed an instant improvement in my riding - especially taking corners at speed

Get used to riding in the attack/neutral position, keep your head up and look forwards, keep arms and legs flexed at all times - if they do have to be straight make sure it's just for a second. Keep weight on your feet not on your hands, push down and keep weight on outside pedal for maximum grip when cornering. It's all in that film. Worth watching for sure

The Rookie

If you do have to brake, remember the rear brake stabilises the bike into a straightline (assuming you're not mid corner) while the front destabilises the bike and can result in the front end washing out

Thewaylander

just as point i found as i improved many years back.

Slow through rocks, you can pick your lines avoid impacts, it's easy.

Build a bit of speed, you bounce through rocks its scary and scetchy.

Get a good amount more speed, Suddenly it smooths out again, you start to float over obsticles and it all becomes sweet and light again.


Making the jump over that horrible middle bit is the acheivment, and understanding its there is half the battle i found.

JayKay3000

As a new rider myself I've found the trick is to simply keep doing the thing and slowly you will overcome your fear of the unknown and start pushing the boundaries.

It's all about time in the saddle and feeling at one with your machine. You only get this by riding and it takes time to find and learn the limitations of grip and knowing the handling of your bike. You need to understand by riding how fast your bike can stop in certain conditions so that the speed is less of an issue with a feeling of confidence that you will actually stop.

Once limits have been roughly calculated the user can refine the braking, turning and obstacle avoidance.

I think the biggest fear people (like me) have on a bike is crashing because of the potential for personal injury or bike damage.

But part of riding is ignoring your fears and pushing through them. Remember that having fear is a good thing. People with no fear often end up going beyond their limits and hurting themselves before they have the bike skill. We call these people idiots.

Northwind

Confidence is a bugger... Because if you're not feeling confident you'll tend to tense up and brake more and stop looking ahead, and that'll make things harder, which will sap your confidence, which will make you tense up and brake more and look even less far ahead :evil: Basically your brain's a liability and best left out of it.

cooldad

Northwind wrote:

your brain's a liability and best left out of it.

No problem there, most people here don't have one.

rebel_brown

Northwind wrote:

Basically your brain's a liability and best left out of it.

Yup. If in doubt, flat out.

EH_Rob

Riding faster down hills is the result of a lot of things coming together, and it's different for everyone. Confidence is a major thing of course. The one thing that seems to make the difference for me is consciously forcing myself not to look down at the trail, and to keep scanning ahead. If you're going round a corner (where I seemed to always lose so much speed) don't look at it, look through it in the direction you'll be heading out of it. It feels weird at first and you feel a bit like you're not in control, but the bike will generally just go round it regardless of what's on the floor. That's why you bought one with fat tyres and suspension.

stanny_uk

no bodys mentioned not being drawn into the fact your buds are currently faster.. if you get drawn into riding out of your ability/comfort zone you will CRASH.. i come from ex national motocross and superbike racing background before getting into trails last year and that rule works in all these two wheel sports BUILD UP AT YOUR OWN PACE!.. my mates were leathering me till i worked it out! now as my fitness came up i'm offski from most of em...

cycle monster

Could be worth investing in a mtb skills course. I went on one with Mrs Monster last year. Thought it was going to be a waste of money but learnt lots. 50% why I was doing what I was doing and how to improve it and 50% why I was rubbish at things like cornering downhill at speed. Everything much clearer now, much faster, more efficient and getting even more out of the sport.

dubcat

I had the same problem and I ended up not riding for a year... just getting back in to it now. I think I psyched myself out and just gave up because riding on a singletrack was such a stressful experience. I am pretty sure part of the problem is that fear of crashing is a self fulfilling prophecy. I know i was holding on to the brakes which was making me more unstable and therefore even more scared and therefore even more likely to crash.

I've just started riding again. I'm going to try and be a bit more chilled about it this time round. In any case, I will be watching your thread closely for any gems of advice. If you do find a solution to it please do post it in here Good luck!

felix.london

Thewaylander wrote:

just as point i found as i improved many years back.

Slow through rocks, you can pick your lines avoid impacts, it's easy.

Build a bit of speed, you bounce through rocks its scary and scetchy.

Get a good amount more speed, Suddenly it smooths out again, you start to float over obsticles and it all becomes sweet and light again.


Making the jump over that horrible middle bit is the acheivment, and understanding its there is half the battle i found.

Just realised on the last few rides I've got over that "horrible middle bit" - real technical bits where I used to have to pretty much stop to slowly pick a line down some steep rocks or just some really fast rocky alpine fireroad I now just fly over them..a great feeling when you can see/feel the progress your making on nearly every ride

- just keep riding as much as you can and try to push yourself to the edge of your comfort zone