What is your 1 tip to help improve someones riding?

mudsucker

Shift you weight around the bike in mud to get grip.

The Northern Monkey

Ride with someone that has been riding longer than you and is faster or seems to have more technical skill than you.... observe.

gt-arrowhead

RockmonkeySC wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

The thing that helped me most was moving more on the bike.

Leaning back more helped me alot. and move yourself according to the terrain. Say if you are going over a "bump" for example, let the front go over, then when the rear is coming over, loosen your knees and allow your rear wheel to come up, basically like a rear suspension would.

The bike moves, not the rider. Let the bike rise and fall with the ground keep knees and arms loose so you aren't moving as much as the bike. Same with cornering, the bike leans, not the rider.

I guess that's kind of what you're saying?

Yep, thats what i meant, the way you put it is better.

Thanks

paulneenan76

Relax, enjoy, breathe, chin up, slow in, fast out, and most definitely, clean your bike - nothing faster than a clean bike ;D

Northwind

Relax- biggest change most riders can ever make.

Sir.Swish

Correct clothing and equipment (Backpacks, kneepads, gloves) Anything that is a poor fit, restrictive or lacking in airflow will take your mind off the ride.

Kowalski675

Step83 wrote:

Always challenge yourself. A good ride is where you push your limits

I'd say a good ride is any ride that you enjoy.

kammybear

Work on your legs in the gym.

Squatz and deadlifts will transform your riding! I worked this out by mistake as I spent last winter hitting the gym hard and rode like a stallion come spring!

Chinley Churner

Get fitter... the fitter you are, the more you'll enjoy your riding and, especially on technical climbs at the back end of a long ride, having a fitness buffer makes a massive difference. If you can only ride at weekends, try to do a couple of spinning classes during the week or even get yourself a turbo, the investment in pain and boredom is easily paid back by enhanced enjoyment and performance on the trails.

rockmonkeysc

I found out yesterday peer pressure is great motivation for trying stuff you have never done before and its good to have a few mates there to pick you up when it all goes wrong.

stevieboy308

practice riding slow, very slow, very tight figure of 8's etc. you'll understand the difference in use of front and rear brake better that will help in loads of situations and speeds.

drag your rear brake when doing tight uphill switchbacks

simon74

Eat enough before your ride then eat something about once an hour

richywales97

Dont ride on the brakes, use them only when absolutely necessary and you'll have lots more fun

Might have more crashes though....

Cheesemanpaul

Ride a bike that fits you

jonnyashworth

Some great tips here so far. I especially like the one about "making sure you eat enough" although this is not somewhere I normally struggle.

The first thing I intend to do is session some sections over and over again.

I am also going to add one of my own now.....

Invest in some good tyres that suit your riding style and the conditions you tend to ride most. Then experiment with pressures until your happy with how they perform. it will always be a trade off between low rolling resistance and grip. Also don't change your tyres around to much as you should get familiar with the grip you get from one set at a time (ie how hard they can be pushed before they slide out).

bennett_346

declan1

Do things you would normally not do. I constantly unclip before a technical section thinking I can't do it, but the times when I don't unclip I can do it all fine. Push your mental comfort zones and you'll eventually find your physical ones.

danchandler

Coming from a trials background, learn to balance. Makes getting out of the shit so much easier when you are on technical stuff, makes the difference between crashing or not. I've become a much better mtb rider since I started riding competitive mtb trials. Smoothness is the key

supersonic

Very much agree with the above. Learning to trackstand was very important to me.

danchandler

Ok, so here's 2 more

Get your control centre sorted so it fits you.

Also, as one of my trials riding mates said, who happens to be rather good,
"Do something that scares you every ride. It instantly makes you better, because it no longer scares you the next time round, as you know you can do it". Never has a truer phrase been said to me, and he's right

mcnultycop

Buy more expensive parts.

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

Learning to trackstand was very important to me.

That's one of the things Ed stressed on the skills course I did (plus it was a nice way to ease back into things after the pub lunch, lol).

Cqc

danchandler wrote:

"Do something that scares you every ride. It instantly makes you better, because it no longer scares you the next time round, as you know you can do it". Never has a truer phrase been said to me, and he's right

That is the truest one so far along with sessioning stuff, I should have put that... If the stuff you session scares you, you'll be a truly great rider

Kowalski675

Cqc wrote:

danchandler wrote:

"Do something that scares you every ride. It instantly makes you better, because it no longer scares you the next time round, as you know you can do it". Never has a truer phrase been said to me, and he's right

That is the truest one so far along with sessioning stuff, I should have put that... If the stuff you session scares you, you'll be a truly great rider

Or crash and hurt yourself...

cooldad

mcnultycop wrote:

Buy more expensive parts.

The obvious answer, plus bits of Hope.

paul.skibum

My top tip is dont read half of the stuff written in this thread.

ej2320

danchandler wrote:

Also, as one of my trials riding mates said, who happens to be rather good,
"Do something that scares you every ride. It instantly makes you better, because it no longer scares you the next time round, as you know you can do it". Never has a truer phrase been said to me, and he's right

That's the one tip I'll take away with me, most of the jumps and drops that look 'too big' I spend so long worrying about and not riding..
Hit it first time, realise I can do it, hit it again faster

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

mcnultycop wrote:

Buy more expensive parts.

The obvious answer, plus bits of Hope.

And an Orange Five to bolt them onto...

Kowalski675

paul.skibum wrote:

My top tip is dont read half of the stuff written in this thread.

mmacavity

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Shoe-Pedal ... -2012.html