Well do you? I have been mountain biking for years but I have always kind of taken it easy on the technical stuff. But since I got a 6in full suspention I find myself trying a lot of things I wouldnt do before. I was thinking about getting a bike for street and doing some street riding to get better at technical stuff.
Do you practice technical stuff????
- Thread starter Pulser955
- Start date
For practice...I ride the more technical lines now. I also tend to try many different lines in a given section to find that flow...
Recently I picked up a street/djer http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=18214 because I wanted to practice djing and more mundane things like bunny hopping and manuals for example. Everything I can do to make myself faster and smoother, I try (I even tried bmx but a 30 year old at 6'5 was kind of funny)
When I am actually trying to be fast, I pick the cleanest line I can without sacrificing the best line.
Recently I picked up a street/djer http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=18214 because I wanted to practice djing and more mundane things like bunny hopping and manuals for example. Everything I can do to make myself faster and smoother, I try (I even tried bmx but a 30 year old at 6'5 was kind of funny)
When I am actually trying to be fast, I pick the cleanest line I can without sacrificing the best line.
Nice wish I lived up there. Your idea of technical any my idea of technical are probably 2 vary different things. I dont know if I want to go totally in to the free ride thing. But I just want to be able to do some of it and feel like I can rip down some stuff and be in control. I just turned 30 and I find Im usually riding over things and down trails faster then my friends but I see some of the guys I know are really good and they make me feel slow.
If you're referring to techy DH singletrack, then limit your braking. I used to suffer on rooty/rocky stuff but once I realized that the faster I rolled thru/over those things, the smoother I was.
Another thing to keep in mind is that where you look is where you tend to roll. If you want to avoid a big rock near the edge of a trail, look where you want to be - not at the rock.
As far as the steeper stuff, make sure your saddle is lowered for any DH areas and get back over the rear wheel as compared to staying in the saddle.
Hope that helped.
p.s. - if riding techy stuff alot is practicing, then I practice ALOT!
Another thing to keep in mind is that where you look is where you tend to roll. If you want to avoid a big rock near the edge of a trail, look where you want to be - not at the rock.
As far as the steeper stuff, make sure your saddle is lowered for any DH areas and get back over the rear wheel as compared to staying in the saddle.
Hope that helped.
p.s. - if riding techy stuff alot is practicing, then I practice ALOT!
Yeah, I practice, mostly by choosing the more difficult line when possible. I'm puzzled by friends who will never hop a log or even try to hump up on a ledge when they ride.
Maybe an early in motorcycle observed trials got me to look at things a little differently.
I'm more than a little frustrated right now because I do a lot of trail building and maintenance and the crew I work with seems stuck on the flowing, no obstacles model, leaving nothing to keep expert and aspiring expert riders interested.
J
Maybe an early in motorcycle observed trials got me to look at things a little differently.
I'm more than a little frustrated right now because I do a lot of trail building and maintenance and the crew I work with seems stuck on the flowing, no obstacles model, leaving nothing to keep expert and aspiring expert riders interested.
J
We got the same problem down here. Basically it's a bunch of roadies with knobby tires that want to act tough. Put a log in their way and they will b!tch about it on every forum they can find.johnbryanpeters said:
People have gotten confused somewhere along the way by trying to rate trails on Aerobic ability and not Technical Difficulty like they should be.
That's why we'll see more 29" XC race bikes in the near future.
29" is awfully close to 700c :mumble:
I blame the republicans. I bet Georgie's next bike will be a 29er.
yes and no. I don't sit there and go back and forth over technical sections until I feel like I'm handling it well. But I do make it a point to hit techy spots when riding - I don't go around them or skip those trails.
I don't tend to do repeated runs at one problem at the same time. I'll try, fail, walk it or go around, then try again another day. There are obstacles that have taken me years to master, and a lot I'm still working on.
Don't think I'm going to wind up bored.
J
Oh yeah:
I don't think the aerobic gym folks shouldn't have their sort of trail, just don't sanitize mine.
J'
Don't think I'm going to wind up bored.
J
Oh yeah:
I don't think the aerobic gym folks shouldn't have their sort of trail, just don't sanitize mine.
J'
johnbryanpeters said:
I agree and they do, it's called a beginner loop.
Don't get me wrong beginner is only in the technical sense. There are plenty of them that are fun and flowy roller coasters. Intermediate and Advanced trails should have obstacles or as IMBA calls it Technical Trail Features. Damn I Forgot my point.
Basically they just want to go fast on dirt without challenging themselves with the Technical aspects of the sport.
If they practiced more technical stuff they could go fast on techy stuff too and would stop their bitching.
There! I re-railed the thread after I derailed.
This is a pretty cool thread, as I tend to think of myself as a good technical rider. Yet I am far from a Huckmeister, big DJer. Here is what I have found really helps "Practicing technical stuff."
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Riding with different groups of people. I swear when I ride my regular crew we have a lot of fun, but it is usually about keeping a decent pace (cutting each other off passing you know
following the "best line" and hitting the jumps and drops that we always hit as we move along the trail. However recently I started riding with a good friend of mine who is new, so the pace is much slower, so I have much more energy when I do come to "technical" sections. I can try different lines, go faster (for this one section) go slower etc etc. The other instance is when I do get the opportunity to ride some trail with my "FreeRiding" friends. They are pretty damn slow on most of the trail, but at times they see lines that I wouldn't even normally look twice at. And again since I am not so whipped from keeping a decent pace you have the energy to give it a try.
I guess variety is the spice of life, but those 2 examples have really added quite a bit "practice" to my normal riding.
Another example would be going on a very long technical climb with some really slow guys pushing their DH bikes up the hill like Biggins :evil:
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Riding with different groups of people. I swear when I ride my regular crew we have a lot of fun, but it is usually about keeping a decent pace (cutting each other off passing you know
following the "best line" and hitting the jumps and drops that we always hit as we move along the trail. However recently I started riding with a good friend of mine who is new, so the pace is much slower, so I have much more energy when I do come to "technical" sections. I can try different lines, go faster (for this one section) go slower etc etc. The other instance is when I do get the opportunity to ride some trail with my "FreeRiding" friends. They are pretty damn slow on most of the trail, but at times they see lines that I wouldn't even normally look twice at. And again since I am not so whipped from keeping a decent pace you have the energy to give it a try.I guess variety is the spice of life, but those 2 examples have really added quite a bit "practice" to my normal riding.
Another example would be going on a very long technical climb with some really slow guys pushing their DH bikes up the hill like Biggins :evil:
After time you get more and more confidence on a bike. If you really want to advance fast on a technical level ride with people who are better than you and study what they do, then try it if you feel confident enough. Eventually you will clear whatever it is you want to do with practice and building solid technical fundamentals.
it's a great aspect to mt. biking, there are things i'm doing now that when i think back to when i first started mt. biking i would have never thought i'd be able to do.
it's a great aspect to mt. biking, there are things i'm doing now that when i think back to when i first started mt. biking i would have never thought i'd be able to do.
J
JRB
Guest
I need to more. After several wrecks, drops are not my friend. By drops, I mean 2 ft drops. I never miss the chance for a super technical climb unless I can fall off of the side and plummet to my death. I don't like super loose rocky descents, but am getting more capable of dealing with them. I like it for the most part. When I race, I have less trouble with technical courses than a lot of peeps. That is mostly what I ride.
I don't really go out and practice techinical stuff, but sometimes if I don't clean a section I'll go back and try it again. Sometimes I just move on. Depends on my mood and how strong I'm feeling.
I find that if I try somthing more then 2 times on a trail ride I get hert. So if I can't clean it in 2 trys I just move on. Right now my problem is fast lose rocky desents and drops. I'm still too afrade to try drops. But I want to get good at both. I'm really good at tecnacal climbs. But I'm in the northeast so that's all we really have around here.pixelninja said:
Yupper! I practice wheelies in my yard, and riding logs, bridges and skinnys at my house. When I get out on the trail I try to take harder lines. I also work on lines. If I didn't clean a section (and I have time) I go back and do it again on either the same line or a different line. For example, there was this one rock formation (we call it "broken wrist") that I couldn't get down as it's a strange roller where you have to ride a very straight line and pick up your front wheel to come off the rockline to the ground (many face plants here). One day I got sick of walking it and tried riding it. It wasn't pretty so I did it again and again and now I don't even think about it when I ride!
Now I am practicing small jumps and wheelie drops at home too I will be ready for a real Urban ride one of these days
I will be ready for a real Urban ride one of these days 
Technical climbs... yeah, we have a few of those, don't we? Not very long, but steep and reasonably technical.Pulser955 said:
"Technical" is relative to your experience. When I started riding in Wissahickon Park ten years ago, it was was much tighter and more technical than it is now. Riding there made you a good rider. Then I started riding downhill stuff in the late 90's - Plattekill, Mtn Creek, NCS races, etc... end what was technical at the Wissahickon became... well... easy... To the point that I pretty much only ride there on my XC hardtail now... riding there on the f/s bike isn't as much fun.
When I was racing DH, I practiced the technical a lot. And even though I don't race anymore, my confidence on the bike is still pretty good. The big trick when practicing technical stuff is to NEVER ride to the point of getting tired then trying something on the limits of your skills (been there, done that, paid dearly...). When you get tired on the mtn bike, your technique gets sloppy and you make stupid mistakes which hurt your confidence. This is especially true when doing lift-serve riding when mistakes can hurt physically as well.
Technical riding is all there is as far as I'm concerned - I found myself learning to ride wheelies while on the drops of my cyclocross bike before races a few seasons ago and while on the road recently with my dad. On the trail I"ve been known to try a section a dozen times or more on a single pass, just to work on getting it down. During the winter, while the trails are wet I'll hit the skatepark (outdoors if it's dry - inside if it's too sh*tty out) I've never understood people who hop off of their bikes and walk up or down something without even trying it - I've ridden around a few of them. I remember being 10 years old and riding my crappy Huffy in circles out in the middle of the street, just to see how tight of a circle I could make. I still find myself hopping my bike around on playgrounds, and trying to manual parking blocks. I think that technical riding has less to do with the availability of technical trails that it does to do with the vision of the rider.
I know what you mean the Wissakon has definitely gotten easier since I started riding there 6 or 7 years ago . Well till that last storm tore it part now its a little more interesting. I have never tried down hill. I was always a XC racer so doing big stuff was out but now im kind of getting trying to get better at that stuff. But I still like riding my full suspension with the rocks and stuff I jut like it a lot more then my hard tail.Ian F said:
It is so damn rocky around here where i live, its nothin but technical stuff!
I don't "practice" technical stuff. Every time I go out to ride I am riding for real........ and solely for the joy of the ride.
Unless you mean practice as in a lawyer who "practices" law.....
-S.S.-
Unless you mean practice as in a lawyer who "practices" law.....
-S.S.-
I went out for a ride at lunch today and, in the middle of the woods, in 18 degree F weather, met this guy with a hybrid bike, fenders, and luggage rack, cutting up and removing every log crossing on the trail.
I tried to engage in some discussion, but he seemed to be a bit of a dim bulb; I finally gave up and rode on.
:mumble: sanitizers...
I do have some respect for his even having been out there...
I tried to engage in some discussion, but he seemed to be a bit of a dim bulb; I finally gave up and rode on.
:mumble: sanitizers...
I do have some respect for his even having been out there...
J
JRB
Guest
Someone puts a rock at a spot that goes between a tree on a local trail here. It pisses me off and I always move it.
see if you can make two lines at certain points of the trail, a tougher line and a sally line, then rejoin the main trail a bit further down. best of both worlds, really.johnbryanpeters said:
maybe that's why you suck as a rider.SkaredShtles said:
I would have been tempted to make him a TTF.johnbryanpeters said:
Myself I usually try stuff until I get bored. 2 or 3 times and then move on.
What really frustrates me though is if I try something and get it on the first or second try and then can't get it again. I've been working on this hop up on a brick planter box. It's around 2 1/2 ft tall and there is a sidewalk in front of it. The only way to hit it is to hop the sidewalk and immediately hop up on to the ledge. It's all timing. I did it the first time I tried it and haven't been able to get the timing down again.
When I was younger, I would always try trickey technical sections a bunch of times until I either cleaned it or lost my patience with it for the day. The more I rode the same trails, the fewer the sections I hadn't ever cleaned. If I had made something in the past and I didn't on a particular day, I might try it again, or just skip ahead.
At some point I started limiting my attempts to three per ride on tough sections.
Now, I try once. If I don't make it, I'll usually just keep going.
*Most of this pertains to tough techy climbs. I can't think of a DH section that I have a hard time clearing. Maybe a big drop, but that depends more on the size of 'my boys' that day.
At some point I started limiting my attempts to three per ride on tough sections.
Now, I try once. If I don't make it, I'll usually just keep going.
*Most of this pertains to tough techy climbs. I can't think of a DH section that I have a hard time clearing. Maybe a big drop, but that depends more on the size of 'my boys' that day.
During the winter I practice track stands, hopping around and wheelies in my garage and driveway. Its kind of fun, keeps me on a bike and helps my balance. As far as riding trails I usually don't go back and session a section, but usually every couple of rides I will decide I am going to do a section that I haven't tried before because I didn't think I could or I try and do a section cleaner then I have done it before. I just try to get doing baby steps on harder things so I don't kill myself but I keep things interesting, of course it all depends on the trail. Some trails don't have anything I feel sketchy on some feel sketchy almost the whole time.
I don't really practice tech stuff but depending on who I'm riding with, how much time I have, etc., I will take multiple tries at sections, especially if I've cleared them before.
Also, riding urban style often involves lots of repeat moves but it's not really practicing, it's doing.
Also, riding urban style often involves lots of repeat moves but it's not really practicing, it's doing.
Can;t say I really practice my skills per say, they just come from riding a lot. But, when racing (DH) I do stop at tricky/tech sections and watch other riders, examine different lines and hike back up them several times to try different lines myself. I usually do that several times until I'm comfotable with all the sections that seemed tricky and then do full course practice runs to make sure I've got them nailed and can link sections together.
Personally, I snagged up a BMX to help with my technical riding. It's made me a lot smoother and helps me get really aggressive on the downhills. Recently, I've been noticing that I'll pop off a rock at the beginning of a rock garden and transfer into it that way. It's also helped me getting pumping down, too. So when I can't hop over those rock gardens, at least i can pump through them.
Sadly, I've also been getting into park and street BMX. I'm no good at it and I yearn for suspension some times, but it really just helps with your confidence. It's just spending more time on bikes in different situations. It builds your confidence and lets you take things you haven't taken before.
Sadly, I've also been getting into park and street BMX. I'm no good at it and I yearn for suspension some times, but it really just helps with your confidence. It's just spending more time on bikes in different situations. It builds your confidence and lets you take things you haven't taken before.
usually when we hit a technical section of a trail that we have not cleanly cleared we will stay for a bit and ride it a few times... until someone gets hurt, we all clear it , or just get too tired of it ...
it works out well because the next time we ride that trail that section doesnt phase us, you just go right through
it works out well because the next time we ride that trail that section doesnt phase us, you just go right through
Ya, I know about sally lines, but the crew I have been working with tends to clear first and think later.narlus said:
Had a trail boss go ape sh1t two years ago when Mike and I created a nasty off-camber section on ledge - certified it as unrideable right off the cuff. For you maybe, buddy... I'm questioning whether I'm even going to go out for work sessions this year.
If I don't clean a technical climb I scream and then try it again. As far as tech DH trails go, where we live if you don't make it, you're definitely not going to feel like trying it again. On mellower trails, if something happens in a tech section while going down, it just feels better to leave it for the next ride and keep the flow going. It's hard to get the same sense of satisfaction going down than cleaning tech climbs, so might as well just nail a completely perfect run the next time. It keeps riding fresh.
the group that i mostly ride with (and myself, if i'm alone) will go back and forth over a techy section untill we all clean it and do so with style. we are of the slow free rider type that slowly grind or hike up trails, scoping lines then sesion the interesting spots on the way down.
i'll pass on a techy climb that i could clear so i can save energy and bomb down it/hike back up it 2, 3, or more times. that pays off when i ride all the way down a DH perfecty (relitively.) and flowy.
at home at night i'll ride over jumbled piles of firewood 4 feet high and 15 feet long. gotta pick good lines and be ready when stuff slides around. it's a lot of fun when the backside isn't lit and you have to ride down blind. realy helps you stay on top of the bike in rough, rocky trail sections.
i'll pass on a techy climb that i could clear so i can save energy and bomb down it/hike back up it 2, 3, or more times. that pays off when i ride all the way down a DH perfecty (relitively.) and flowy.
at home at night i'll ride over jumbled piles of firewood 4 feet high and 15 feet long. gotta pick good lines and be ready when stuff slides around. it's a lot of fun when the backside isn't lit and you have to ride down blind. realy helps you stay on top of the bike in rough, rocky trail sections.