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Gunakan pengaman seperti dibawah ini jika anda mencoba bermain sedikit X-TREME, [seperti member VIPAMAS MTB club]. Atau perlengkapan standar bersepeda yang umum digunakan. Kami sangat menyarankan anda menggunakan HELM ketimbang TOPI.
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>> Cukup satu korban saja sebagai tumbal, anda gak perlu jadi yang kedua dan seterusnya. TOLONG diingat !!!.
drop off ala om Heru BULE.
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HOW TO BUILD TRAILS / DIRT JUMPS |
Sebagian dari kita mungkin pernah mengalami kejadian seperti ini; dihadapan sudah ada jumps (jumpingan, red) yang siap pakai tapi banyak hal yang gak 'sreg' di hati kita. Misalnya terlalu tinggi/pendek lah, terlalu steep/landai, gap-nya terlalu jauh/dekat, dll. Hal ini di satu sisi bisa bikin kita jadi 'ngeri' karena terlalu tinggi/jauh, atau di sisi lain justru jadi gak asik karena terlalu pendek/dekat.
So, why don't you built your own trails/dirt jumps? Karena dengan begini kita bisa menyesuaikan segala sesuatunya dengan apa yang kita butuhkan, right?! Tapi perkaranya sekarang begini, bikin jumps itu gampang2 susah dan jelas ada tekniknya, nah inilah yang sekarang gue mau paparkan.
Planning and preparation
Ok sekarang kita start mau build itu jumpingan, first you have to find a spot atau penentuan areal dan melakukan beberapa perencanaan. Hal-hal penting yang harus diperhatikan yaitu:
Tipe tanah dan struktur areal. Untuk tipe tanah hindari tanah berpasir atau terlalu kering dan berdebu. Yang baik adalah tanah yang sedikit lembab dan lengket. Struktur areal (menurun, kemiringan,menanjak, dll) penting untuk titik2 peletakan dari jumps itu sendiri.
Lokasi sebaiknya di tempat yang teduh (banyak pohonnya). Ini baik untuk jaminan kualitas kelembaban tanah yang lebih baik dan juga penting buat para riders, soalnya panassss kalo gak ada pohon!
Sekarang untuk persiapannya, karena kita mau kerja jadi disiapin nih.. cangkul, sekop, gerobak/pengki, temen, minuman dan semangat!!
Build it!
Let's say elo udah punya bayangan keseluruhan gimana treknya. Sebelum elo gali & numpukin tanah ada beberapa tips yang musti elo tau;
Bila areal nya menurun cari posisi start di tempat yg lebih tinggi. Kenapa? jangan belagak bego' ... biar gak capek!!
Jalur untuk speed-up usahain dibikin smooth. Usaha-in jangan ada benjolan-benjolan karena hal itu cukup mengganggu kestabilan elo sebelum jumping.
Untuk bikin jumps perlu banyak tanah. Kalo misalnya tanahnya terbatas elo bisa gunain drum bekas yang ditimbun pake tanah.
Bentuklah jumps pada saat tanah lembab.
INI PENTING BANGET!! Elo musti rencanain banget bentuk dari jumps yg elo mau bikin dan ada proses 'nyoba-benerin' yang mungkin elo harus lakukan berulang2.
How does the jumps look like?
Mau tau bentuk2 jumps seperti apa yang bisa elo buat? Nih, pilih deh!
1. single jump
Bentuk ini adalah bentuk standard yang bisa elo bikin. Keliatannya sederhana,
tapi bagi banyak dirt jumpers bentuk seperti ini adalah sucks
banget alias gak enak!! Kenapa? Karena kita harus landing di tanah flat
yang konsekwensinya adalah; ngerusak sepeda, pergelangan bisa sakit karena
hentakan keras.
Sebetulnya single banyak digunakan untuk cross/race dan memang
cara melewatinya adalah bukan dengan jumping, tapi para crosser mempunya
teknik tertentu yang memungkinkan kita tetap kebut tanpa harus terbang. Bahkan
di cross sering single ini dibuat berderet sampai 4 atau 5 buah,
kebayang kan kalo di jump-1 kita jumping... dijamin ngegelinding!
2. table-top
Dinamakan table-top karena bentuk bagian atasnya yang rata menyerupai
meja. Table adalah bentuk paling umum baik bagi riders. Yang
sebetulnya diharapakan dari table ini adalah kita jumping dan kemudian
landing pada sisi yang menurun, dan in case speed nya kurang atau ada
trouble selagi kita jumping,
kita masih bisa 'selamat' dengan mendarat di sisi atas yang rata.
Kelebihan inilah yang membuat table-top baik untuk para pemula atau para
amatir yang ingin belajar trik2 baru. Gue tidak melihat kekurangan di
table-top dan bagi gue bentuk ini seperti wajib untuk ada di trails
manapun.
3. double-jump
Bentuk yang juga biasa disebut sebagai gapped ini sangat tidak dianjurkan
bagi para pemula. Butuh skill dan kontrol tersendiri untuk dapat melewati gap
dan mendarat dengan mulus di landing-transition. Tapi bagi riders
amatir lubang atau
gap ditengah ini justru menjadi tantangan tersendiri yang membuat mereka lebih
fun untuk memilih double menjadi tempat mereka melakukan trik.
Sering juga kita lihat double ini disusun berderet (mis 3 doubles)
menjadi satu set yang biasa di sebut sebagai rythm-section. Rythm-section
ini merupakan satu bentuk permainan trails yang saat ini sangat digemari.
4. spine
Bentuk ini jarang ditemukan di trails tetapi gak ada salahnya juga dibahas. Spine ini adalah salah satu 'mainan' riders yang udah jago dan lebih sering ditemukan di skatepark. Cara mainnya tuh kayak gini; setelah jumping riders harus landing di landing-transition yang lekuk transisinya sama dengan launching-transition. Di sini rider harus tau bener gimana cara nge-dive / menukikkan sepedanya pada saat landing. This is strongly not adviseable for the beginners!
Nah, itu tadi adalah bentuk-bentuk
jumps yang elo bisa bikin. Sekarang perlu juga dipahami tingkat kecuraman
dari transisinya. Hal ini sangat mempengaruhi bentuk jumping yang nanti
bakal elo lakuin.
Prinsip sederhananya mungkin seperti ini. Bila transisi steep/curam
maka elo akan terbang lebih tinggi dan airtime nya akan lebih lama.
Sedangkan bila transisi landai elo akan terbang lebih rendah (tapi lebih
jauh) dan airtime nya lebih sebentar. Untuk Dirt-jump/trails orang
akan lebih memilih jumps yang cendering steep yang lebih
support mereka untuk melakukan trik. Sedangkan untuk cross justru
sebaliknya, lebih banyak digunakan jumps yang landai.
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Finishing touch
Setelah jumps sudah dibuat ada beberapa tahap akhir yang sebaiknya elo lakukan, sbb:
Have a fun jumpin'.. trust me, it's gonna be always fun!!
TIPS BAGI BAPAK/IBU member | VIPAMAS mtb club |:
How to Fast Descents
Akhir-akhir ini semakin banyak saja event XC Xtreme atau XC Adventure yang
masuk kategori All Mountain. Yang membedakan dengan XC biasa adalah, medan/terrain
yang dilalui lebih bervariasi dan menantang. Apalagi dengan tambahan trek
down hill (baca : turunan) teknikal baik singletrack maupun bukan, yang
lumayan panjang, berbatu-batu, jalur air, akar, berlumut, kerikil,
berkelok-kelok, handicap jurang, dll, semuanya alami bentukan alam dan
mungkin susah diprediksi karena tidak setiap minggu kita melewati jalur
tersebut.
Artikel ini diterjemahin bebas dari berbagai sumber, untuk menikmati XC
Xtreme Anda, persiapkan diri Anda, jangan lupa latihan terus dan jangan
lewatkan article di bawah ini mungkin bermanfaat bagi Anda untuk menjadi
seorang FAST DESCENTer :
1. Ready to Rumble Bike
Sepeda Anda adalah soul mate Anda, jadi fit dan cek&ricek tunggangan Anda
dari Size yang sesuai, cockpit, chassis, braking systems, drive train,
wheelsets sampai Air pressure pada ban Anda, semuanya benar-benar siap
tempur, tune dan comfortable dengan diri Anda. Kenapa ? Karena jika kita
tidak PD dengan sepeda kita, bagaimana mungkin kita PD untuk ngebut? Rasa
was-was tidak akan buat anda memacu tunggangan Anda dengan kencang.
2. Wear the Proper Gear
Selalu gunakan helmet, kacamata/google, glove, sepatu MTB, kalau perlu full
body armor atau minimal shin/knee/elbow guard. Anda tentu tidak ingin debu,
serangga masuk ke mata Anda, dahan pohon mengenai kepala Anda yang tanpa
helmet. Proper gear di badan akan meningkatkan konfidensi Anda. Pikiran
positif Anda akan membuat Anda lebih focus dan consentrasi pada trail, itu
berarti Anda lebih siap untuk go faster descents. Confidence = Trust = No
Fear.
3. Read the Trail and Pick You Line
Usahakan selalu melihat trail beberapa meter ke depan, semakin kencang
semakin jauh lihat ke depan, sehingga kita bisa meng-scan terrain di depan
dan punya waktu untuk membuat respon terbaik. Pada umumnya Anda dan sepeda
Anda akan menuju ke tempat yang Anda lihat, kalau Anda melihat terlalu lama
pada batu besar di depan Anda, percayalah anda akan menuju batu tersebut,
jadi :
-Jangan terlalu focus pada satu titik tapi teruslah searching terrain
terbaik di depan dan tetap konsentrasi dan buatlah keputusan secepatnya.
-Jangan melihat tepat di depan front wheel terlalu lama, tapi lihatlah
bergantian dengan cepat antara dekat dan jauh di depan untuk antisipasi dan
picking the best line.
Mata yang awas dan focus dan konsentrasi tinggi adalah sangat krusial untuk
fast descents.
4. Bunny Hop
Banyak sekali MTB¡¦ers yang suka bunny hop, jadi berlatihlah terus, karena
sangat penting sekali di fast descents untuk merubah arah dan melewati
rintangan yang terlalu bumpy dengan mudah. Biasanya tidaklah diperlukan
bunny hop yang sangat tinggi dalam keadaan kecepatan tinggi.
5. Let the Bike Work for You
Kalau businessman bilang biarlah uang bekerja untuk Anda, maka di MTB,
biarkan Sepeda yang bekerja untuk Anda, yang penting pastikan titik berat
badan Anda tetap di center sepeda, selanjutnya biarkan sepeda Anda yang
menari-nari di bawah Anda. Tangan tetap menggenggam handlebar dengan mantap,
lengan dan kaki relax tapi siap meredam goncangan. Agar berat badan tetap
center di sepeda usahakan kurangi duduk di saddle, semakin tajam turunannya
berarti semakin mundur ke belakang posisi badan Anda di belakang saddle.
Posisi ini akan memberi traksi lebih pada rear wheel dan braking power
sehingga meningkatkan control sepeda. Latihlah upper body dan kuda-kuda kaki
Anda, Anda akan merasakan manfaat besar dan having fun sepanjang turunan and
go faster descents.
6. Know When to Go Slow
Maniac DownHill aja pasti ada saatnya mengerem, jadi mengetahui kapan harus
mengurangi kecepatan dan seberapa lambat adalah hal yang sangat penting.
Brake adalah teman Anda, jadi gunakan dengan bijak.
Tips :
[A]
Hampir 70% braking power datang dari Front Brake, karena waktu mengerem, badan Anda akan maju ke depan dan memberi traksi lebih pada front wheel. Tapi hal ini juga tergantung kondisi terrain dan bagaimana Anda menempatkan posisi Anda, semakin menjauhi belakang saddle tentu Anda akan mendapatkan traksi yang lebih bagus untuk rear wheel.
Tetapi ada 3 kali, dimana Anda seharusnya tidak
memakai Front brake :
1. Ketika sedang cornering, mengerem biasanya
memaksa sepeda untuk maju lurus jadi jika ini terjadi ketika ban depan
sedang dibelokkan maka ban depan akan slip/wash out.
2. Ketika sedang melewati batu, akar dan balok
atau apa saja yang mungkin menghentikan roda depan Anda.
3. Ketika sedang
terbang karena lagi bunny hop/drop off dll, rem depan seharusnya tidak dalam
kondisi on terus jika tidak ingin bersalto ria.
Skill Drills experiment
Mari kita berexperiment, gunakan helm, glove, dan gear lainnya, cari area
downhill yang moderat kira-kira 30 meter panjangnya, speed moderat saja,
lalu coba lakukan pengereman dengan :
-Use only the Rear Brake
Experiment berapa banyak tekanan sebelum ban belakang skid, perhatikan bahwa
karena pengereman berat badan Anda maju kedepan, mengurangi traksi ban
belakang. Anda tidak berhenti dengan cepat ketika hanya menggunakan rem
belakang.
-Use only the Front Brake (carefully!)
Mulai dengan tekanan yang sangat ringan (feathering), perhatikan bahwa berat
badan Anda dengan cepat pindah ke depan dari pada saat menggunakan rear
brake saja. Kemudian secara berangsur-angsur mengerem lebih keras sampai
Anda merasakan roda belakang lebih ringan (batas titik control).
-Use the Front and Rear Brake
Lihatlah berapa cepat Anda dapat berhenti tanpa skid 2 ban. Pada kebanyakan
trail, hasil terbaik ketika meng-apply 2 kali lebih banyak front brake
dibandingkan dengan rear brake, tapi jangan lupa dibantu dengan penempatan
posisi tubuh Anda dengan benar, semakin keras Anda mengerem dan semakin
tajam turunannya berarti semakin mundur ke belakang posisi badan Anda atau
jika tidak Anda harus siap-siap terbang seperti Superman.
[B]
Skidding tidaklah bagus, sekali ban sudah skid, janganlah di rem lebih keras lagi. Akan lebih efisien jika mengerem pada saat roda tetap berputar, itu sebabnya di mobil modern ada system ABS-Antilock Braking Systems, tapi di MTB kita tidak perlu system secanggih itu, cukup melakukan Feather Brake/Feathering yaitu dengan menekan dan melepas dengan cepat/ringan brake levers, setelah menemukan terrain yang memungkinkan untuk mengerem dengan keras (jalan lebih keras dan datar misalnya), baru kita mengerem lebih keras.
[C]
Performance rem yang jelek biasanya karena adanya pad residue di rims (v-brake) dan rotor (disc brake) yang terkontaminasi oli, dll yang membuat system rem tidak berfungsi dengan baik, jadi bersihkan dan tentu saja cek apakah brake pad masih layak.
[D]
Cari posisi jari yang enak di brake lever yang tidak membuat tangan dan jari Anda kelelahan dan kesemutan, sedangkan jari lainnya memegang dengan mantap handlebar. Berapa banyak jari di brake lever terus berubah tergantung dari terrain yang dihadapi, itu harus dipertimbangkan antara berapa banyak control pada handlebar yang Anda perlukan untuk steering balanced dengan berapa banyak tenaga yang Anda butuhkan untuk mengerem.
[E]
Mengeremlah dengan keras jika tanah keras dan lembut jika tanah lembut.
[F]
Mengeremlah dengan seluruh sepeda Anda, brake lever, caliper dan rotor hanyalah bagian dari stopping systems. Untuk meningkatkan control dan tenaga, mundurkan posisi tubuh anda dan jaga titik berat badan Anda tetap center.
[G]
Untuk turunan yang panjang pertimbangkan untuk menurunkan sadel Anda.
[H]
Jangan mengerem ketika terbang, jika pas landing rem depan masih on maka Anda akan mengalami huge endo alias bersalto ria.
[I]
Shift ke chainring sedang atau besar untuk menjaga chain tension.
[J]
Pedal level pada jam 3 dan 9.
7. Technique - Anticipation
Braking tidaklah diambil/diputuskan pada saat-saat terakhir, tapi sudah
diputuskan jauh sebelumnya sehingga memudahkan untuk tetap maintain control.
Oleh karena itu lihatlah sebanyak-banyaknya ke depan, 15 s/d 20 meter ke
depan dan putuskan kapan waktu dan tempat terbaik untuk melakukan pengereman,
sehingga selanjutnya di daerah yang sulit Anda tidak perlu lagi melakukan
pengereman keras tetapi cukup melakukan feathering atau lakukan bunny hop
atau biarkan ban Anda melewati rintangan dengan mulus karena semua sudah
dalam control Anda. The key to good
mountain bike vision is active, fast
moving eyes.
8. Practice, Practice, Practice
Ya begitulah kata orang bisa karena biasa, peribahasa ini juga berlaku
disini jadi teruslah berlatih. Latihan juga mendekatkan Anda dengan pacar (baca
: sepeda) Anda, hubungan yang makin ¡ntim membuat Anda berdua makin kompak.
9. Having Fun
Keluarkan suara Anda, berteriak-teriak akan membuat Anda lebih bersemangat
dan lebih cepat, cobalah jangan terlalu serius. Have fun saja, but know your
limit, don¡'t push too hard : MTB : just about having fun, so enjoy the
trail and the ride and Become a FAST DESCENT¦er.
Have a nice save SEX, [ i mean
RIDE ].
Balance
Not to exciting a subject but it makes the difference between looking really cool or looking like an idiot.
Track stands are the best way to improve your balance and when done right looks great as well.
Find a slight downward slope and facing uphill hold the bike on the front brake. Get your pedals level in the 3-9 o clock position with your strongest foot forward (usually on the same side as your strongest hand).
Turn the Wheel towards your leading foot
Move your weight forward and so that the weight is mainly at the front of the bike
The Trick is to balance the bikes tendency to roll backwards with the pressure on the pedals, try not to use the brakes though.
At first you will find that you will roll backwards and pedal forwards rocking the bike, with practice the movements will become smaller and smaller
Don’t get disheartened if you don’t get results straight away, most people need to practice at least 20-30 times just to get a few second stand, the thing is to practice lots, unless you so this you wont be able to use the skill when you need it most.
Braking
Braking is one of those things that you just do right, wrong here are a few little tips to help you stop and stay in control.
Most of you braking power comes from the front brake, the reason for this is that you apply the front brake and your weight moves forward giving the front wheel more traction and thus braking power. The only problem is that too much front brake and you are over the handlebars, which is why its best to use both brakes evenly and apply the rear brake before the front.
Having said the above try braking using the front brake only. When braking move your weight backwards by straightening your arms and moving your body backwards, this will help keep the back wheel down and stop you going over the handlebars. If you can get used to using only the front break it will increase your breaking efficiency.
Move your weight backward during braking, this increases the bite of the rear tire.
In mud of loose conditions use more rear brake the front as the front wheel will be forced to plough because of the weight and momentum of the bike.
If the terrain is steep move your weight back in order to keep the weight even between the wheels or mainly over the rear wheel, don't actually sit on the rear wheel, that can be painful.
As mentioned in the cornering section, skidding gives no control, be at the speed you want to be before you get to the corner/obstacle and me controlled as you go round or over, faster in the long run.
Hanging onto the brakes only causes the pads/ rims to heat up and causes break fade, us in short stints.
Never Never break in the air ... I don't have to explain do I ?
Bunny Hops
The Idea of the bunny hop is simple, to lift both wheels of the ground in order to clear small obstacles. The Bunny hop can been done clip less pedals .... but that's cheating and besides.
Cycle at a pace that you feel that you will be happy to leave the ground (don't stop) remember that you need to stay in control
Get off the
saddle and bend both arms and knees so that you appear to be
crouching over your bike
Level the pedals ..... you do that automatically anyway don't you :-)
In one quick movement straighten your arms and legs, and then pull the bike up towards your chest. Don't get to enthusiastic and get the bike out of shape, it may look cool if the bike is at a angle but you are not high enough for that sort of stunt, KEEP THE BIKE STRAIGHT, it will make the landing easier
One you feel that you have reached the top of the "hop" let the bike fall away from yourself and straighten your arms and legs
In order to get a better hope work on the pull making it quicker and more fluid, the better the pull the higher the bike will go. As you become happier with the hop increase the bike speed, as this is what is need to clear the larger objects.
Remember the bunny hop is easy but takes practice to get it right
O.K. so there aren't many of these in Norfolk so we don't get to climb the big ones like some other people
Before you start to climb look up at it and decide what year you think you should be in, the lower the better but go to low and you will tire yourself out from spinning you legs, if y
Start pedaling before you start climbing the gradient, if you find yourself in to high a gear change down but keep pedaling, stopping and changing gear and starting again will place to much strain through the chain. Try not to change the front chain ring as may cause you to stall, if you have to change keep it smooth by pedaling
If the Gradient is low but goes on for a long time, pick a low gear and spin the pedals, don't try to use a high gear and force your way up the hill, spin those legs, and STAY seated
For step stretches or if you tire on a long shallow stretch get up and work those pedals.
On step stretches when you get out of the saddle try to keep the wait over the rear wheel, to far forward and the rear will spin, to far back or staying seated and the front will lift
Again there aren't to many hill's to descend in Norfolk, but going down properly is as important as going up, and if you are doing things like bomb holes getting the speed up on the descent is as important as getting up the other side
Try not to lock the rear wheel, sliding the rear about in the gravel only increases the risk off losing control and does not slow you down at all, for the best control of the bike let the wheels spin.
Stand of the saddle, keep the pedals level and bend the arms and legs in order to absorb the shocks, don't fight the bike to much as it will end to find the easiest route for itself but make sure to keep the bike on route
As with climbing hills you need to keep the centre of gravity even between the wheels so move your weight further back if need be, you may find that need to move your weight behind the saddle, this is common so don't worry about looking silly.
On sudden drop off's from flat trails you will need to force the front wheel down as it goes over the edge by straightening your arms, at the same time move your weight backwards. When you reach the bottom do the reverse, move your weight forward and bend the arms more
Remember that you need to evaluate what you are going to meet when get to the bottom, being in a low gear and being at a high speed from descending a hill will have your legs doing windmills if the terrain levels out.
Another reason for being on the large ring is that it helps keep the chain in when going over bumps at high speed.
Jumping / Landing
The least that a Mountain biker will need to know is how to land the bike, at some point you are going to come across a bump that your are riding to fast to just ride over and find yourself airborne.
Always be calm, ride with your arms and legs bents and relaxed in order to cope with any unexpected knocks and bangs
Get the pedal cranks level, this will help stop you veering of to one side on landing and help control the bike
Get your weight of the saddle and move it backward just a couple of inches should do, try to land on the back wheel by pulling the handlebars up and backwards (bad things happen when you forget this one, trust me)
Keep the front wheel straight, your have a tendency to twist the front wheel and this will cause no end of problems, after you land
Let the bike come up towards you when you land, this will stop the bike becoming unstable on landing, this is very important if you don't land back wheel first
Practice, this is one of those things that you really need to be able to do in a emergency, just don't practice where there are things that you can hit yourself on when you fall (like tree stumps, they hurt)
That's supposed to be how to take a jump and it will get you into the air BUT if you want people to look at you you need to get a little air and the way to do this is the bunny hop ..... just before the lip of the jump do a small bunny hop and this will increase your air no end .... never do this first time that you attempt a jump though as jumps often have many hidden secrets and it is easy get the first attempt at a jump wrong the first time you try it .........
Large Objects
Once the object gets that little bit bigger a whole new technique is
need and this is were all those nights showing of in front of the
girls doing Wheelie's starts to pay of. The basic technique for
getting over larger objects is do a small Wheelie on approach to the
object and a rear wheel lift as you go over.
The Approach - Wheelie
The Mid Point
Now you have got the front wheel onto/over the object the pedals have to come over, if you are going over a log or rock try and get those pedals level as this will improve your ground clearance. When you see the object you want to go over remember that chain ring, logs won't hurt it, rocks will kill it
Finishing off - Rear Wheel Lift
This is the opposite to a Wheelie and is used to get the rear wheel up and over a object, it's no good getting over a object for the rear wheel to slam into it and drag you off the bike.
The best way to practice this, as with Wheelie is to lay a stick over the trail, then you can practice your timing without having to worry about smashing into the object.
As soon as your front wheel has cleared the object move your weight to the front of the bike in order to un-weight the rear wheel, making sure that you are slightly off the saddle.
As the rear wheel approaches the object move your body away from the saddle and lift the pedals, clip less or strapped pedal users will be able to get away with a straight leg lift, flay pedal users need to point their toes downwards at the ground and push against the pedal while moving their weight forward
Now hopefully you have cleared the object without any problems, but remember Wheelie's and rear wheel lifts take practice
SINGLE TRACK
Most riders love to ride single track, the problem is that to many riders take it to lightly, not paying enough attention to what approaches trying to go to fast were backing speed is not appropriate and scrubbing of speed where you should be gliding through the corner. The three main principles of single track are
Look at what's coming up not just what's directly in front of your front wheel, if something approaches that requires you to look at it as you go over it, it is better to know 50 yards before you get to it rather than 2.
An extension of the about but don't go into things to quick, judge the speed that you need before you get there, brake before you get there so that you can glide through the corner, scrubbing of speed in a corner losses your momentum and makes the bike harder to control.
Stay relaxed, it is hard to react quickly if your arms and legs are rigid.
CORNERS
Cornering is a big subject in itself and I am not going to go into all aspects of cornering in this article. Judge the speed that you can manage the corner BEFORE you get there and coast through it, lean you bike into the corner and raise your inside leg so that the pedal in the inside of the corner is at the 12 o'clock position placing your weight on the outside pedal, this will help you clear any obstacles on the inside of the corner (it is to easy to get thrown by small branches or just the pedal catching the ground) and help your weight distribution, don't lift your butt from the saddle as you will make it to easy for the bike to wash out from under you. As you near the exit of the corner and the bike begins to straighten up start accelerating, this is the point were planning and being controlled gives you all that extra speed.
OBSTACLES
Pick if you are going to go round or over the object before you get there, hesitance is evil and causes you to crash into something totally different, as I've said before look ahead and plan what you are going to do before you get there (On single track remember that if you round something just because the front made it round does not mean that the back will). Remember that most obstacles look a lot worse that they actually are and can be simply rolled over, if in doubt stop roll you bike over the obstacle and see what happen.
If the obstacle is large help the front wheel over by giving a extra burst of power a few centimeters from the object and giving the handlebars a QUICK tug up and back, stay of the saddle until the rear wheel has cleared.
Switch Backs
The switch back is a downhill corner, which takes you back the direction that you came in a tight 180-degree corner. Once mastered you will find that switch backs are just a mater of speed control and getting a clean line, get it wrong and crashing at low speeds will be on your C.V forever.
Feather the brake to reduce your speed so that you are at a controllable speed for the Switchback BEFORE you get to it, as you approach the corner move to the outside of the track ( the area furthest from the corner itself, so that if you followed this line throughout the corner you would take the longest route), this gives you more maneuvering room and allows slightly more speed, move your weight to the back of the bike by moving off the back of the saddle
Lower the leg on the outside of the corner, this increases wheel traction as you your round the corner
This is were it starts to get difficult, turn in making sure that you are wheel behind the saddle making sure that you have removed the weight from the front wheel to stop it washing out, always look for the cleanest line and look ahead. Whilst in this area of the turn you will find that the front wheel is at a extreme turning angle, this may feel strange at first but it's normal
Once you have got through the keep your weight of the back of the saddle, and keeping looking ahead, it is to easy at this point to run of the trail because you think that you have done all the difficult work
Once you are heading straight, shift your weight forward and carry on.
Wheelie's
Wheelie are again one of those things that you need to master, not just in order to pull the girls but to help you get over obstacles and going over the handle bars when doing drop off's
The best way to practice this is to lay a stick over the trail, then you can practice your timing without having to worry about smashing into the object.
In a nice even gear (not too high, not too low) start pedaling in straight line, when beginning its a good idea to yet the front ring into granny gear and the rear into the second or third gear.
Lean forward placing your weight over the bars, and get your leading foot ( the foot that leads when your ride with your pedals level) into the upright position.
Slide you butt back slightly of the back of the saddle, a couple of inch's should do.
Push down with your leading for, pull up on the handle bars but pull the handle bars towards your chest so that your body is the same position, before and after getting the front wheel of the floor, this will help you keep your balance
Once you have the wheel of the floor you need to find you balancing point, keeping pedaling though, as this is what is keeping the front wheel up
If the front comes up to far, feather the rear brake
If the Front starts to fall pedal harder and move that weight further backwards.
If you have a problem keeping your side wards balance then as you lift the bars, turn them slightly to one side. Keep your balance by shifting your knees in and out and side to side.
BEthere, BEfun !!!
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