What am i doing wrong

buduk · October 2009

Been to whinlatter today north and south loop ,being a noob i didn't do to well to be honest but still enjoyed it ,even when i went over the handle bars me and my mate were in stitches (after he seen i was ok ) my question is on parts of the decent on both loops the bike (rh expert 09)was like riding a boneshaker i thought the thing was going to fly to bits and to be fair didn't help my hands much either ,is it that i'am doing summet wrong
(my mate experienced the same he's a noob also) or is full suss better there ???

robertpb · October 2009

Are the sag and rebound set properly.

Are the tyres at the correct pressure, they are part of the shock absorbency.

Are your knees working properly, they are the bodies shock absorbers.

Lastly text speak is not allowed on this site

buduk · October 2009

robertpb wrote:

Are the sag and rebound set properly.

Are the tyres at the correct pressure, they are part of the shock absorbency.

Are your knees working properly, they are the bodies shock absorbers.

Lastly text speak is not allowed on this site

sag and rebound set properly ? set up as standard,dont wanna start messing with things i dont know

tyre pressure set to 35 front ,38 back

i felt my knees and body were relaxed and working properly but being a beginner not sure

sorry for text speak i didnt realise

maybe at the tender age of 40 my body has stiffened up but went to newcastleton and it was fine and the blue at whinlatter was fine ? whinlatter is only 30 mins away so i want go as often as i can to lose weight and to get fitter but the shaking was well uncomfortable and if a full suss is better i'll go down that route /

miss notax · October 2009

Whinlatter is quite bumpy... Maybe you were too tense on the bike, therefore felt everything more? Keep everything loose and you absorb all the shakes and rattles better!

ride_whenever · October 2009

have the shocks been set up at all then?

Basically when you are on the bike in the attack position stationary you should use up about 20-30% of the travel.

clodhoppa74 · October 2009

buduk wrote:

robertpb wrote:

Are the sag and rebound set properly.

Are the tyres at the correct pressure, they are part of the shock absorbency.

Are your knees working properly, they are the bodies shock absorbers.

Lastly text speak is not allowed on this site

sag and rebound set properly ? set up as standard,dont wanna start messing with things i dont know

tyre pressure set to 35 front ,38 back

i felt my knees and body were relaxed and working properly but being a beginner not sure

sorry for text speak i didnt realise

maybe at the tender age of 40 my body has stiffened up but went to newcastleton and it was fine and the blue at whinlatter was fine ? whinlatter is only 30 mins away so i want go as often as i can to lose weight and to get fitter but the shaking was well uncomfortable and if a full suss is better i'll go down that route /

i am far from an expert, but jumping to a full suss if you're a newbie (like me) is often ill advised. i'm told you learn so many skills on a hardtail that you can 'scrub over' on a full suss.

as for the shocks, you can adjust them and always put them back if you like.

it's all about the amount of 'sag' you have in your front shock. like others have said, when you're on the bike you should have about 3/4 of the stanchion showing. it sound simple, and it is, but i didn't get it explained to me at all and as soon as it 'clicked' my riding experience increase tenfold.

if your shock has rebound control, then you need to play around with it, so it doesn't 'boing' back to full stretch (length) to quickly, as that shakes and bobs you about, and so it doesn't stay compressed too much, with means you lean forward on the bike and there's no bangs being absorbed by the shock, just your arms!

buduk · October 2009

ride_whenever wrote:

have the shocks been set up at all then?

Basically when you are on the bike in the attack position stationary you should use up about 20-30% of the travel.

:oops: basically bought the bike and got on the trails ,i'll take a look in the manual and have a fiddle ,failing that its about 2 mnths and ready for it's first service i'am sure the LBS will help me set it up ,or failing that i'll just ask for some friendly advice on the trails ,from what i have seen most can build i bike up in seconds :oops: maybe one day me too

dave_hill · October 2009

buduk wrote:

:oops: basically bought the bike and got on the trails ,i'll take a look in the manual and have a fiddle ,failing that its about 2 mnths and ready for it's first service i'am sure the LBS will help me set it up ,or failing that i'll just ask for some friendly advice on the trails ,from what i have seen most can build i bike up in seconds :oops: maybe one day me too

To be honest they should have helped you to set up the suspension before you even left the shop with it.

The setup can make or break the way a bike rides - you really need to learn how to do it yourself so that you can adjust it out on the trail if need be. And don't for one minute think that once it's set up that's it! You'll be fiddling with it constantly depending upon the terrain you're riding in and how you ride it.

CycloRos · October 2009

Whinlatter north loop is pretty tough as trails go especially for a noob on a hardtail.

As others have said learn to set your bike up yourself, get out and work on those skills and then head back to Whinlatter and show it who's boss!

buduk · October 2009

well tried setting the sag and rebound up rebound very easy :oops: just need to fiddle about with that when i'am on a trail, the sag not so sure i have read the tutorials so it looks as if i have done it right ,got it to 20% but to be fair it didn't really matter if i turned the pre-load clockwise or anti clockwise the results were pretty much the same ? i expected a bit off a difference between increasing the pre-load and decreasing it ?

x-isle · October 2009

robertpb wrote:

Lastly text speak is not allowed on this site

:?: I didn't see any text speak????

saltyman · October 2009

suspension is pointless unless it is set up for your weight etc.

check your shocks, there will be a manual with the correct pressure for your weight, then set the rebound and sag setings, youtube has plenty of vids if you get stuck for advice.

robertpb · October 2009

x-isle wrote:

robertpb wrote:

Lastly text speak is not allowed on this site

:?: I didn't see any text speak????

That's because the OP has corrected it.

robertpb · October 2009

Try lower tyre pressures 29psi is OK for a 75kg rider.

On that terrain I would be running mid 20s or maybe slightly lower.

Over 25 years of riding rigids the only suspension was in the tyres and the rider so you kept the pressure low.

snotty badger · October 2009

Things can get choppy if you grip the bars too tighty and tense up.

Your arms and legs and the best shock absorbers out there, stay loose and you'll be surprised at how much smoother things are.

I learnt that on a rigid MTB on the Borrowdale Bash years ago, it was like getting turbocharged!

buduk · October 2009

cheers for the advise it should help me loads

myopic · October 2009

I know irts obvious, but beyond a reference to the attack position (in case you're not sure what that is) no-one's actually said get out of the saddle when it's rough. If you stay sat on it, you will get pounded to bits when it gets rough no matter what your suspension and tyres are set at!

buduk · October 2009

myopic wrote:

I know irts obvious, but beyond a reference to the attack position (in case you're not sure what that is) no-one's actually said get out of the saddle when it's rough. If you stay sat on it, you will get pounded to bits when it gets rough no matter what your suspension and tyres are set at!

was in the attack postion i woldn't of been bothered but me and a mate both commented on it ,we are both old and new to mtbing so i think need to concentrate more on relaxing etc but will go up next week and have another go

jweston · October 2009

Getting out of the saddle is a must on the rough stuff or in corners or down steep sections. But the standard attack position can be a bit of a handful for newbies; if you drop your heals and wrists, and allow your weight to rock back on the bike you'll be far less likely to go over the bars. It all about getting behind the bike so you control it rather than it controlling you?

Hope you have a great ride next time out?

Cheers
Jess

drabfurs · October 2009

The attack position? Can someone explain please, only been riding on roads for last 3 months and plan to hit the trails soon

Thanks

jweston · October 2009

The attack position is your 'ready for action' position. It's for use when you're rolling along, usually down hill, not needing to pedal. Your cranks will be level with the ground, you'll be stood on the pedals with your weight distributed between the bars and the pedals. Your knees and elbows will be softened, and you'll be relaxed and ready to absorb what the trail throws at you.

So that's the classic attack position. What I was saying in my earlier post was that by dropping the wrists and heals and allowing your weight to rock back on the bike you get behind the bike more, giving you a more stable position from which to absorb bumps. The standard attack position can leave the rider a little high on the bike and a little more at risk of going over the handlebars.

Does that answer your question?

The main point for a rider coming from road riding to mountain biking is that you really have to stand up on the pedals when ever you come to anything remotely technical, your arms and legs are the best suspension money can buy.

Cheers

What am i doing wrong

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