Skills Course - Worthwhile investment?
Rookie1986
Posts: 153
Hey guys,
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday
I'm looking for some advice, at present I mainly ride bridal paths, moorland, old railway's and the likes. I really enjoy this type of riding and it's improved my fitness no end (the reason I started cycling in the first place). Usually I ride alone as most of the lads I know who cycle tend to hit trail centres and even some DH.
I was thinking that maybe a skills course would be a good way to bridge the gap from the riding I currently do and to give me the adaquest skill set to apply myself to more challenging terrain. Has anyone else move over from the lighter type stuff that I do now and how did you find it?? Also what type of skills course did you take and what did you make of it?
Additionally, I'm riding a Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 the bikes great for my current type of riding but would this still be suited to tackling trail centres? Are there any obvious upgrades I should make or would a different bike be the best course of action (most the lads I'll be riding with are on things like Alpine 160s, S-Works, Five's, Capra's etc etc).
Cheers,
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday
I'm looking for some advice, at present I mainly ride bridal paths, moorland, old railway's and the likes. I really enjoy this type of riding and it's improved my fitness no end (the reason I started cycling in the first place). Usually I ride alone as most of the lads I know who cycle tend to hit trail centres and even some DH.
I was thinking that maybe a skills course would be a good way to bridge the gap from the riding I currently do and to give me the adaquest skill set to apply myself to more challenging terrain. Has anyone else move over from the lighter type stuff that I do now and how did you find it?? Also what type of skills course did you take and what did you make of it?
Additionally, I'm riding a Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 the bikes great for my current type of riding but would this still be suited to tackling trail centres? Are there any obvious upgrades I should make or would a different bike be the best course of action (most the lads I'll be riding with are on things like Alpine 160s, S-Works, Five's, Capra's etc etc).
Cheers,
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Comments
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My son (67kg, 6ft) rides exactly that bike quite hard at places like Llandegla. Works for him, he might be pushing it a little harder than its designed for but doesn't give him too many problems. There's always a better, more suitable bike or upgrade, but the only major things he's changed / added are a dropper seat post (luxury, tbh, but he raves about it) and tyres (though needs to find something better for the summer now).Rookie1986 wrote:
Additionally, I'm riding a Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 the bikes great for my current type of riding but would this still be suited to tackling trail centres? Are there any obvious upgrades I should make or would a different bike be the best course of action (most the lads I'll be riding with are on things like Alpine 160s, S-Works, Five's, Capra's etc etc).
Cheers,2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #4s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)0 -
Skills courses are always worth doing. Why do you think even pro sportsmen have coaches?
Get those bad habits ironed out and shown good technique and then practice that technique every time you ride and it'll soon be well honed and smooth and your riding will reflect that.Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
I've gained loads from good skills coaching. I've had a few 1 to 1 sessions to concentrate on specific areas.
I did a day with a freeride specialist coach to improve my jumping and went from tiny jumps to 30 foot gaps in a day. I also did a day with a pool pro downhill racer which improved my speed and smoothness on the trail a lot and reduced the number of big crashes I have.
If you're a beginner, best to start with a general skills course to get a good basic skill set to work on. Definitely worth going back for another session 6 months later to make sure your putting those skills in to practice properly.Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=130702350 -
If you want to tackle trails then some advanced training is well worth it.
When I started I could ride around Cannock chase, but always felt I was being beaten up by the trail and the bike.
After a few hours with Alex from chase skills, and some time spent practicing I was really able to enjoy mountain bikeing and even "Got in the flow" a few times.
Well worth it!0
