What is your 1 tip to help improve someones riding?

mmacavity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkvWp5ypjg0

ednino

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

cooldad

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

Or don't be a pussy and deal with conditions.

rockmonkeysc

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

Road cyclying does very little for mountain bike fitness. I ride 160ish miles a week on my road bike and if I go a week or two without getting on a mountain bike I struggle to keep up with my mates.
Road cycling is also really, really dull.
Man up and embrace the slime.

ej2320

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

I can see where you're coming from but I find even 40 mile road ride on my mtb is less tiring than a 20 mile off road trek

declan1

ej2320 wrote:

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

I can see where you're coming from but I find even 40 mile road ride on my mtb is less tiring than a 20 mile off road trek

You're not going fast enough then.

ej2320

declan1 wrote:

ej2320 wrote:

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

I can see where you're coming from but I find even 40 mile road ride on my mtb is less tiring than a 20 mile off road trek

You're not going fast enough then.

Probably not, but I still push myself

rockmonkeysc

It doesn't matter how hard you ride on a road bike, there's no resistance and you're only working your legs.
Mostly it's really, really boring.

declan1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

It doesn't matter how hard you ride on a road bike, there's no resistance and you're only working your legs.
Mostly it's really, really boring.

No resistance? Hmm.

I agree that mountain biking is a lot more fun and interesting, but the speed and smoothness of road biking is still nice. I find that on mountain bikes the climbs are usually a lot more intense and they work your whole body but road bikes are great for keeping a high cadence and working the legs constantly for a long distance.

ednino

RockmonkeySC wrote:

there's no resistance

What sort of gears do you have

Road bike gearing is alot harder. Every elite mtb racer i know trains on a road bike

rockmonkeysc

Gearing is a lot taller but you have ultra skinny tyres at 110psi on smooth tarmac. Riding through mud with fat, low pressure tyres and over roots and rocks and up steeper climbs is much harder.
On road riding on flat is pretty much a rest, you just spin away at a steady, high speed. Much easier than mountain biking.
The elite mtb racers I know ride xc and dh to train plus spinning classes for sprint training.
All road riding has done for me is to help keep weight off and save me the cost of commuting.

declan1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Gearing is a lot taller but you have ultra skinny tyres at 110psi on smooth tarmac. Riding through mud with fat, low pressure tyres and over roots and rocks and up steeper climbs is much harder.
On road riding on flat is pretty much a rest, you just spin away at a steady, high speed. Much easier than mountain biking.
The elite mtb racers I know ride xc and dh to train plus spinning classes for sprint training.
All road riding has done for me is to help keep weight off and save me the cost of commuting.

As I've said before - you're not going fast enough to make it hard. If you ride a mtb slowly on a fire road it's also easy...

ednino

Are you riding at mtb speed on the road bike :roll:

Average 20mph for 30 miles on the road... I find that alot harder than a 2 hour XC race

On a mtb you get a chance to rest on the downhill bits

gt-arrowhead

cooldad wrote:

ednino wrote:

Ride a road bike to improve fitness when the trails are washed out

Or don't be a pussy and deal with conditions.

Muddy washed out trails are great fun, so yes, ride them!

Cqc

ednino wrote:

On a mtb you get a chance to rest on the downhill bits

Are u fucking stupid?

Northwind

Ridiculous to make comparisons like that. Steady road riding is good for that constant effort which you don't get mountain biking (unless you're german and just like riding around fire roads). MTBing takes different forms though, so frinstance your standard trailcentre ride with mates tends to be slow relaxed climbing and short sharp shocks of sprints- which is a totally different sort of exertion to long xc rides which, yes, for some folks mean the effort goes in the climbs and the descents are lower effort. (I have mates who genuinely prefer the climbs, they power up then more or less roll back down. I've suggested they do the old XC climb at innerleithen then get the bus back down...)

Or, to put it another controversial way, people ride bikes in various different ways.

rockmonkeysc

ednino wrote:

Are you riding at mtb speed on the road bike :roll:

On a mtb you get a chance to rest on the downhill bits

I do ride at a reasonable pace on my road bike, I never ride it for pleasure because its so boring but I do my 17 mile commute in 50 minutes which isn't slow considering what some of the hills are like.

If you see descents as a rest on mountain bikes you are missing a whole lot of fun. For me the descent is sprinting wherever possible, throwing the bike through tight turns and having some fun on jumps all while racing my mates to the bottom.
A fast descent can leave you as exhausted as riding up the same hill quickly.

paul.skibum

RockmonkeySC wrote:

ednino wrote:

Are you riding at mtb speed on the road bike :roll:

On a mtb you get a chance to rest on the downhill bits

I do ride at a reasonable pace on my road bike, I never ride it for pleasure because its so boring but I do my 17 mile commute in 50 minutes which isn't slow considering what some of the hills are like.

If you see descents as a rest on mountain bikes you are missing a whole lot of fun. For me the descent is sprinting wherever possible, throwing the bike through tight turns and having some fun on jumps all while racing my mates to the bottom.
A fast descent can leave you as exhausted as riding up the same hill quickly.

I am with both of you to be honest - I ride mtb's for the downhill fun and toil at the uphills knowing the reward is there waiting, but I either spin in the gym or ride on road for fitness both sprint and climb related - road riding can build stamina and endurance which if you are out for a full day epic is vital but can also build sprint endurance - it just happens to be easier and more time efficient to do most of that on a spin bike.

jonnyashworth

Now we have firmly established that road riding is no way to improve anybody's riding skills, mental health, social standing, personal outlook, bank balance chances of meeting a lifelong partner, chances of meeting a one night partner can we get back to the topic at hand (did I miss anything?)

You would never guess I exclusively ride mountainbikes would you?

Anyway back to the tips to help people get better at riding and enjoy it more (without having to partake in an exercise of sado mechanism)

pilch

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Road cyclying does very little for mountain bike fitness.

I'm not sure whether you know a little, then make up the rest, or you are just a bit of a tool...

Chinley Churner

RockmonkeySC wrote:

On road riding on flat is pretty much a rest, you just spin away at a steady, high speed. Much easier than mountain biking

Or you whack it into 53X11 and give it the beans... you might find that ups the intensity a bit for you

DCR00

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Road cyclying does very little for mountain bike fitness.

If that was the case, then the DH pros wouldn't bother doing any road work

Depends what you mean by "fitness" i guess, as its quite an ambiguous term

In terms of the type or variety of muscular endurance needed for mountain biking, then yeah i guess your comment has some validity, but of we are speaking about cardio fitness, then i think your comment is a tad misguided

After all, a DH race is a sprint anyway, so surely practising sprinting on a road bike, where you dont have to worry about piloting the bike as much as on a DH track, would be beneficial ?

If its good enough for Gee, then its good enough for me

Blind Danny Johnson

pilch wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Road cyclying does very little for mountain bike fitness.

I'm not sure whether you know a little, then make up the rest, or you are just a bit of a tool...

Clearly this guy knows sod all if he thinks road riding isn't a good tool for fitness or that DH pros don't go road riding as part of their training. Off the top of my head I can name Gee, Gwin, Troy Brosnan, Sam Hill and Darren Bearclough as people I've seen on Instagram updating pictures from training on road rides.

Chinley Churner

It's just the usual tribalistic nonsense that certain people can't help but spout on here... Personally, if it's MTB, road, TT's, track or cyclocross, I'm happy if I'm on two wheels and derive pleasure from them all.. I don't get the "i'm a MTB'er, all roadies are w****rs" or vice versa mindset.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... all road cyclists would benefit from some mountain biking and all mountain bikers would benefit from road cycling.

You're slower at mountain biking when you have a break from it RockmonkeySC because your skills will have got a bit rusty. Your road riding is improving your MTB'ing because, at the very least, it keeps your weight down but, much as you'll be loath to admit it, it'll also be having a significant impact on your overall fitness. Drop your road riding for six months and watch you mates sail even further into the distance.

jonnyashworth

:evil: Come on people!!!!!!
I get it! Rockmonkey gets it! EVERYBODY GETS IT!!!

"SOME ROAD WORK WILL BENIFIT YOUR FITNESS WHEN MOUNTAIN BIKEING!"

However I'm pretty sure this is a thread is looking for 1 tip to improve your mountain biking skills / experience posted in the mountain biking section of the forum!

Please no more references to road riding or downhill pro's that ride road bikes as part of their training regime!

WE GET IT!!!!!!!!

Any chance we can get back to the topic at hand???? :roll:

cooldad

I read on the internet that some road work will benefit your fitness when mountain biking.

Although the spelling was atrocious.

Kowalski675

Chinley Churner wrote:

I don't get the "i'm a MTB'er, all roadies are w****rs"

Are they not?

Blind Danny Johnson

Okay so back on topic then… 1 tip to help improve your riding (if it hadn't been said before I'd say look ahead to where you're going not where you are) mine is; ride a tricky section over and over. Ride it faster than you think you should, scare yourself and enjoy doing it. Then before very long, within the hour, you'll be riding it faster than ever before but you won't be scared, in fact you'll be in control and will probably feel slower then you'd like to be.

Angus Young

Blind Danny Johnson wrote:

Ride it faster than you think you should, scare yourself and enjoy doing it. Then before very long, within the hour, you'll be riding it faster than ever before but you won't be scared, in fact you'll be in control and will probably feel slower then you'd like to be...

Or, alternatively, you'll be splattered across the trail.

Blind Danny Johnson

Angus Young wrote:

Blind Danny Johnson wrote:

Ride it faster than you think you should, scare yourself and enjoy doing it. Then before very long, within the hour, you'll be riding it faster than ever before but you won't be scared, in fact you'll be in control and will probably feel slower then you'd like to be...

Or, alternatively, you'll be splattered across the trail.

You'll never progress if you're afraid to fall mate. Everyone does, there's no shame in it.