Building confidence on a mountain bike 101

[SnowHot]

Geargrrl touched on some confidence stuff(briefly) in the Cycle Stoke Thread that I wanted to elaborate on and talk about in its own thread.
Here is a quote from her post in the thread.

Cycle stoke... understatement for me for 2014!!

1. I'm instructing for my local club. The mother organziation even provides uniforms. How cool is that?

2. Our women's rides "Biking Betties of the Inland NW" are really taking off. We are doing 2x monthly rides. This event is put on as a joint effort between the women of Evergreen East, our local pro who is a Liv/giant ambassador, and The Bike Hub, awesome LBS.

3. I was going back and forth with 5-10 over some returns because the existing women's biking shoes don't fit me at all, and I made an offside comment about it. Ten minutes later I got an email from a rep asking me if I want to be a shoe tester for the new womens' Freerider coming out next year. I'm on the second pair I am testing for them. Here is the first pair. I had to send them back end of May

4. I am having a great time riding. It has been quite a journey rebuilding confidence and relearning riding in the past two years. I'm making leaps and bounds. I have done a private session with my coaching partner who is way advanced from me. We've been working on high speed cornering, pressuring and pumping the bike, using momentum and power strokes and a few other fun things.

To your point #4:
I have really struggled to get back into cycling in the past few years after I had a major bike crash that left me out of commission for several months. This year I decided to commit to riding some single track that is technical enough to push me but not so technical that it gets in my head. I'm doing this trail at least twice a week and doing more of it after every two rides. (Riding 12 miles at a shot now but potential to ride a whole lot more if I do the whole trail)
I also did the downhill 101 course at Northstar with an amazing downhill coach. I should get back out with her again.
The other thing I've done is change my shoes from clipless to Five Ten.
My clipless shoes were beat after 11 years of wearing them so I opted to go to flat/sticky and fun instead of feeling like a hostage on my clipless. I've only got a couple rides in on the new shoes but they are a kick in a$$.
The point is, building confidence is a tricky thing, but its essential to a fun biking experience. We need to be good to ourselves and do what we need to get this. I'm really stoked for you and would love it if you have any tips for continuing to build confidence.

 

[contesstant]

Having a much better bike is proving to be a huge confidence booster for me! I sure wish I could find a good instructor or clinic around here. There's one at the end of July at Snowbasin that I think I'll attend. Just wish it was sooner!

Also, riding trails I am familiar with helps. Which hasn't been easy this year because every trail is unfamiliar to me. But following local gals who are willing to stay with my pace and provide encouragement has been great. I also can watch them ahead to see what's coming up.

Same as with skiing-if I always ski with either my husband or anyone who is light years better it tends to kill my confidence because I feel so inadequate!

 

[Mama Sue]

I'm going to be following this thread closely! I'm working on developing skills on the mountain bike...the only one I have is that I'm pretty good at going uphill on not too technical terrain. There's a lot of good singletrack around here, but when I run on it, I'm still amazed that some folks think it's ok to ride bikes on

 

[geargrrl]

Been there done that, twice now. Once was years ago after a wreck with my then-new to me FS bike, airborne.... and then again recently last couple of years after bike hiatus and being overly stressed out about it.

In no particular order, here are my tips. I've been working on this off and on all day.
1. Mileage. Even if it's logging roads or super easy trails. More mileage will make you more comfortable. Some times just riding along, enjoying nature, not thinking about any thing, getting comfortable is what you need.

2. If you are in clipless shoes, consider changing to flats. This is a whole big discussion similar to ski vs snowboard. I've sort of drunk the Koolaid and will never go back, I confess. What I see working with beginners and with gals lacking confidence is that the ability to put a foot down without thinking is HUGE in terms of not sucking off tons of mental energy and being able to totally focus on the trail. If you are set up properly with flat shoes and pedals, the whole "losing efficiency" and "coming off the pedals" thing becomes a non-issue. If someone wants to give you crap about flat pedals and shoes tell them politely to f*** off.

3. Whom you ride with is critical. If you aren't having fun, find some new folks to ride with. Two things can happen: one is you are back of the pack and they hate waiting for you and let you know it, or you are the back of the pack and you think they hate waiting for you but really you are just doing a number on yourself. If it's the first, find new people. If it's the second, quit doing a number on yourself.

3A. Find someone slightly better than you to ride with. I learned so much following a few gals around.

4. Take a clinic. Sure you can mountain bike and be pretty successful without learning the basic skill set, especially if you have a natural aptitude for sports. But it is like skiing in there is a base set of fundamental skills that if you understand, you will have greater confidence. Also, if you have been mountain biking for years, it is like skiing in that the equipment and skills have changed. An example is descending is no longer done with getting way behind the saddle, except in the most extreme circumstances. Or one finger braking with disc brakes is really different than good old v-brakes. We teach "cowboy knees" and "frame of support" now. And it's good stuff.

A clinic can do wonders as a refresher to build confidence, to correct (years worth) of bad habits, or go gain skills through progression.

5. Have someone knowledgeable check your bike set up. Something as simple as correctly positioning brake levers or the right amount of air in your tires can make a huge difference. Shoot, the other day I was bouncing all over the place and my bike just felt wrong. Turned out I had too much air in my tires. I let just a smidge out and I had much better contact with the trail. Other things to check besides general mechanical soundness is correct suspension set up and if the bike the right size for you.

6. Wear some safety gear. Elbow and knee pads can do wonders for confidence. Fortunately this is becoming more acceptable for other than DH riders. I rarely ride without elbow and knee pads. Today I was going around some gravelly high speed corners, knowing that if I went down my elbows and knees would NOT have the skin ground off. Again, if you are getting the "why would you do that, isn't that for downhillers?" (wear pads)" from people, tell them politely to f*** off. And smile to yourself when they skin up their knees and you don't.

7. I went to a wider handlebar and lowered my stem which was already pretty short.. This was suggested to me by two different coaches, and I feel it made a huge difference in stability. The thinking on stems and handle bars has really changed over the years, from long stems to short stems/wide bars.

8. Dropper post. Having the ability to easily drop the saddle for descending is a great confidence builder as it makes it so much easier to get in to the most stable/correct position.

Whew, that's all I can think of for now.
There are great online resources for learning/refreshing/relearning skills. Here is a good one that just popped up yesterday in my FB feed.
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-shed/pro-shop/Become-a-Better-Mountain-Biker.html

 

[contesstant]

Thank you, GG, this is great stuff!

Loved the Outside write up, too. I need to keep reminding myself that I am progressing. Today, I rode DOWN a section of trail that I had previously walked 3 times (I had only ridden it 3 times before today.) My new bike gave me the confidence to do it, and it was EASY. The brakes on my old bike SUCKED!

 

[geargrrl]

Here's more stuff
Great video on body position fundamentals.

It doesn't matter if you downhill or ride xc, the body position fundamentals are all the same. Don't let the body armor and FF helmets turn you off.

Someone somewhere was talking about switchbacks. Everyone has a hard time with them.
It's hard to know where to start for any one person's issues, but here are some common things to look at
1. How is body bike separation? This is critical for all corner, tight or fast. This means do you have lateral body movements that are separated from how the bike is moving? Hips and shoulder move independently of the bike when cornering.
2. Are you out of the saddle on descending switch backs? This will help with #1.
3. How is your speed? Slow speed control is very important to switchbacks.
4. How is your fore/aft balance? Depending on the turn, you may be shifting your weight forwards or backwards. Are you well balanced in general? If you are falling to the inside, you are not balanced correctly >>> hips need to move to the outside.
5. Where are you looking? Line choice is critical. If you don't look past the exit of the turn you probably won't make it.


Altagirl, where are you? Are you still coaching?

 

[contesstant]

I was talking about switchbacks. They are my biggest issue. There are SO many parallels between biking and riding a horse on a hilly trail/rough terrain that most of the other stuff has come quite naturally to me.

I will attempt a lot of stuff, but as soon as a switchback comes into play, I bail!

 

[altagirl]

The #1 thing I see people do in switchbacks is to look straight ahead and off the trail (and then stop) instead of looking around the corner. Look around the corner, look where you want to go, look farther ahead than you think you need to.... often, just fixing that one thing will provide success in navigating a switchback for the first time. And then you can usually work on fine tuning with the other tips, but if you're not looking around the corner (i.e. actually pivoting your head like it's on a swivel), doing everything else right sometimes still won't do you any good.

And I'm not coaching anymore - I just don't have time these days. Though I did coach a friend through a few switchbacks she didn't think she could ride the other day.

 

[abc]

Are we talking about descending switchbacks?

Anything wrong with putting a foot down?

What I have trouble with, is riding UP switchbacks! (my problem is, I'm right handed/legged. So, when I pedal hard, it's not always even on both sides. On switchbacks, I often falls to the right side, especially when turning right)

 

[contesstant]

The #1 thing I see people do in switchbacks is to look straight ahead and off the trail (and then stop) instead of looking around the corner. Look around the corner, look where you want to go, look farther ahead than you think you need to.... often, just fixing that one thing will provide success in navigating a switchback for the first time. And then you can usually work on fine tuning with the other tips, but if you're not looking around the corner (i.e. actually pivoting your head like it's on a swivel), doing everything else right sometimes still won't do you any good.

And I'm not coaching anymore - I just don't have time these days. Though I did coach a friend through a few switchbacks she didn't think she could ride the other day.

OK, I'll work on this. Again, same as riding a horse--if you look where you want to go, the horse magically seems to go there ;) (I'm not kidding!)

Part of my problem too is that I tend to bail on even attempting the switchback way before I even get to it. I tend to peter out on some of the steeper ones, too as I'm still building my strength and cardio at the altitude :D

 

[altagirl]

Are we talking about descending switchbacks?

Anything wrong with putting a foot down?

What I have trouble with, is riding UP switchbacks! (my problem is, I'm right handed/legged. So, when I pedal hard, it's not always even on both sides. On switchbacks, I often falls to the right side, especially when turning right)

The problem with putting a foot down? .. well, my primary concern is that it can be dangerous. You can twist an ankle or knee, the ground you are dabbing on may not be stable, etc.

Granted, you may dab a thousand times without issue, but if you don't have to, it's taking out a potential risk. Obviously dabbing is generally better than crashing, so do what makes sense.

It's also just cleaner, smoother, and usually faster to avoid dabbing. And if you're trying to progress your technical skill, taking the dabs out improves your balance and control, and that helps prepare you for the next challenge.

And while I think most of the discussion was aimed at descending switchbacks, the looking around the corner thing applies in both directions. Line selection is huge uphill, as is weight distribution to maintain traction.

Another thing that helps is to ratchet the pedals if you are going super slow in either direction (like slower than walking pace, almost stopped). Meaning, never let them go to 12 and 6. Keep them at 9 and 3 and move them roughly 45 degrees to either side of horizontal at a time and then back pedal and repeat. What this does is always put you in a position to have instant leverage. if you feel yourself start to tip over, you give it a solid push and the momentum brings you back upright. But if the pedals are at 12 and 6 you are stuck.

And obviously, try this outside a switchback first. Grass is probably the best place. It's basically practicing track stands, but not quite stationary.

And clearly, it's easiest if you can just power right up a switchback, but that doesn't always work.

 

[abc]

It's also just cleaner, smoother, and usually faster to avoid dabbing.

I was asking that question in the context of people walking about having to WALK down the switchback. So we're talking walking speed.

I would think dabbing is still faster than walking.

And at walking pace, dabbing can't be all that dangerous. It's not that different than trying to stop. You do look where you put your feet down when stopping.

Clearly, dabbing isn't a desired outcome. But I would think it's actually a step closer to making the corner, rather than getting off the bike and walking around it.

 

[abc]

Another thing that helps is to ratchet the pedals if you are going super slow in either direction

I've been struggling with gear selection on technical climbs.

A gear that allows me to spin typically is too low to ratchet. The gear that's good for dealing with obstacles (ratcheting, pausing to avoid hitting a pedal on high rock etc) is typically in a lower rpm than what's most efficient for power output.

Though on switchback, my problem is balancing between leaning into the turn, vs pushing down on the inside pedal. The combination of two sometimes caused me to fall to the inside. In my case, this always happenns on the right side.

 

[altagirl]

I was asking that question in the context of people walking about having to WALK down the switchback. So we're talking walking speed.

I would think dabbing is still faster than walking.

And at walking pace, dabbing can't be all that dangerous. It's not that different than trying to stop. You do look where you put your feet down when stopping.

Clearly, dabbing isn't a desired outcome. But I would think it's actually a step closer to making the corner, rather than getting off the bike and walking around it.

yeah, I think of it more in terms of progress.

I mean, cyclocross style can be fast too, if you're good at that, but you're never riding or attempting to ride obstacles, you're just good at dismounting and running with your bike.

In which case it depends on your goals.

But I have gotten hurt on walking speed dabs. Maybe I'm just talented like that. But like. .. climbing something technical, go to dab, rock that I step on moves, proceed to fall of the edge of the trail. All from a virtual stop.

I will admit, there were times when I was racing where a dab seemed like a good solution, and often it worked. I would say it's a good thing when you need it because you've already lost your balance. But try not to plan on it or rely on it constantly. Your body position is generally the opposite of where you want it to be if you are dabbing on a descending corner in particular. you can't go for a corner with good form and prep yourself to dab a foot at the same time.

 

[contesstant]

I think that's why I "dab" (well, really I just hop off!) way too early. So I'm in the position of control still. Because once you're kind of committed to staying on and making the turn, you're way better of doing just that vs. panicking in the middle of the turn and trying to rebalance with a dab. At least that seems to be true.
I did thankfully learn the 9 and 3 position a long long time ago so that is where I tend to stay, but need to work on switching which foot is forward.

 

[geargrrl]

I know of a couple of broken ankles that have come with dabs.
My take is that dominate foot pedaling shouldn't be that big of a deal as we all have one side dominant.
Altagirl is correct in that looking where you want to go brings everything else into line with switchbacks. I'd venture to toss in that if you are consistently falling to the inside on climbing switchbacks you are not weighting the bike correctly and the front of the bike too light. If you are in too low of a gear, and your weight is back, this may be part of it. Get foward, get lower in front, select a higher gear... this may help.

As coaches, movement analysis is one of the most difficult things to do as at any one time there are so many different things going on.

 

[bounceswoosh]

And at walking pace, dabbing can't be all that dangerous. It's not that different than trying to stop. You do look where you put your feet down when stopping.

Clearly, dabbing isn't a desired outcome. But I would think it's actually a step closer to making the corner, rather than getting off the bike and walking around it.

I agree that dabbing is a helpful step in mastering a switchback. But I don't agree that it's similar to stopping. You're not walking - your bike is rolling and has forward momentum. When you dab, you're changing the dynamic of the movement. I don't put my feet down until I am at a full stop - motorcycle or bicycle. There's too much risk of slipping on oil, mud, a loose rock, etc. At a full stop, there's no forward momentum. When you put your foot down while the bike is still moving, you risk putting too much weight on the foot and having it slide out. If that happens, your weight will change the direction of the bike, probably so that it falls on you.

 

[geargrrl]

I disagree that dabbing is helpful. It's helpful in that you might not go all the way over, but not as part of the learning process. If you are putting a foot down, you are already off balance in a way that probably can't be saved.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Weird. I remember many a time sticking my foot out for a quick touch on the way through a downhill switchback. Not recently, because I have the balance to ride at much slower speeds than I did when I was starting out.

 

[geargrrl]

ok, I'll give you that but there has also been discussion in this thread where dabbing is just about getting off the bike.