Mountain biking, sometimes known as MTB, is a type of off-road bicycle racing that takes place on harsh terrains such as mountains, deserts, or rocks using specially adapted mountain bikes. Professional motorcyclists compete in various locations throughout the world, attempting to stay on their bikes as long as possible.
It takes more than speed and athleticism to be a successful mountain cyclist. A certain level of technical riding competence and bike handling skills is also required. Most off-road rides include speeding through tricky parts, climbing steep switchbacks, and navigating roots and rocks. You can concentrate on refining your handling abilities to become a more all-around proficient rider in the same way you exercise to become more aerobically fit.
Keep these 7 Ways To improve your mountain bike skills in mind and become a more well-rounded MTB athlete.
1. Maintain Your Bike
When you’re listening to unusual noises coming from your bike, it’s impossible to concentrate on the route. It simply takes a few minutes to perform basic bike maintenance, yet it can spare you from a long walk or, worse, a trip to the emergency room.
Even if you can’t fix your bike, inspecting it will allow you to take it to a shop before heading out on the route. Examine the entire bike for anything that is worn, damaged, broken, or simply not working properly. Remember that tiny issues at home can quickly escalate into major issues on the road. Also, make sure the bike is adjusted to fit you. It will be difficult to control a bike that is either too big or too little.
2. Develop proper braking technique.
The goal is to “feather” your brakes before entering tight curves or during long downhills. You don’t want to lock your brakes and drag your rear wheel around every corner or down a hill. Don’t forget about your front brake as well.
The tendency is to utilize your back brake solely, however, when used properly, the front brake provides superb control and stopping power. Brakes on modern mountain bikes feature a lot of modulation and adjustment. They’ll be your best ally if you know how to use them.
3. Relax Yourself
Mountain riding is all about going with the flow. It’s all about your ability to ride smoothly. Even better, it extends the life of your bike! And the key to achieving this is to stay relaxed. Calming down and maintaining a relaxed condition will eliminate any jerky tendency that disrupts the flow and, as a result, increase control and grip significantly.
So take a deep breath and enjoy your next mountain biking adventure! If you can’t, consider slowing down, tackling areas at a comfortable pace, and keeping your mental stress under control.
4. Pump Tracks
Pump tracks are to mountain bikers what the instructional segment of a video game is to console-hugging kids: the ideal environment for improving practically every facet of our riding skills, as well as our strength and fitness. One hour is more than enough to exhaust yourself, and the berms, jumps, and rollers are great for honing skills that will help you advance your trail riding.
The flawlessly sculpted bends and transitions allow you to achieve zen-like levels of flow while also providing you with a playground to discover an almost unlimited number of new lines, linking berms and jumps and gapping over rollers like a supercross racer.
5. Ride With Better Riders Than Yourself
This will not only motivate you to work a little more, but it will also teach you some of the riding habits of others who have been doing it longer. When traveling up or downhill, pay attention to how they posture their body. Challenging yourself to keep up with the pack and employing comparable approaches to those you’ve seen might reawaken confidence that’s been buried for a long time.
Keep an eye on how they handle the rocky portions. Observe how they handle a flat tire when they’re hundreds of miles from anywhere. When riding with other motorcyclists, these vital abilities can be picked fairly quickly. Check with your local bike shop to see if there are any group rides available in your region.
6. Urban riding
Of course, everyone wishes for trails just minutes from their workplace, but many of us aren’t so fortunate… That doesn’t rule out the possibility of improving your riding skills in a lunch hour! Most urban locations have steps, drops, curbs, and improvised takeoffs that are remarkably similar to the features on your favorite singletrack.
Aside from its accessibility, one advantage of practicing on urban features is that they allow you to isolate the skill from the rest of the route, allowing you to focus just on the technique. Steps and curbs are helpful for practicing drops and jumps while also allowing you to track your progress.
7. Spin
Cycling’s cadence, or the rotation of your cranks, is extremely crucial. Professional cyclists devote a significant amount of attention to perfecting their spins. You are actually throwing yourself off balance and working more if you cycle in squares or with abrupt downward strokes.
Spinning is not only more efficient, but it also helps maintain traction on slick trails. Cycling in circles and in the proper gear are both examples of good cadence. It will be tough to power over obstacles if you are geared too high, and if you are geared too low, you will spin out and jerk the bike around.
