Building confidence on a mountain bike 101

[bounceswoosh]

Ah, so we're back to definitions ;-)

I always figured it was like "a little dab'll do ya" ;-) If both feet touch the ground as a result of the maneuver, it's not a dab!

 

[altagirl]

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.

I think that's one of the reasons coaches want you to avoid it. It feels helpful. it gets you through. .. BUT the more you develop it as a habit, the father you are away from riding that corner with proper form. (If you can reach that inside foot to the ground, your hip is to far inside.)

You know what it's exactly like is that false sense of security on skis where you lean into a steep side hill, feeling like you are closer to safety of being able to grab the wall of snow, but really you're closer to losing your edges and sliding out. In low risk situations you can get away with it, but it develops a bad habit that won't do you any favors on tougher terrain.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Good points, AG. Maybe dabbing in a turn is an "anti-technique."

 

[contesstant]

This all really makes perfect sense to me. A dab is a bit like cheating, and the only one you are cheating is yourself. I'm off for another ride :D

 

[altagirl]

Good points, AG. Maybe dabbing in a turn is an "anti-technique."

or maybe it's like skiing in a wedge. It's tough, if not impossible to totally avoid , especially when you are learning. You try to break the habit and eventually do, but it still happens now and then, and hopefully at slow speed. .. for the sake of your knees! I know I bust out a wedge sometimes on nasty traverses when there isn't room to side slip and I am too chicken to straight line a tricky section.

 

[contesstant]

Well, I rode on stuff today that a week ago I would have never even attempted. I climbed stuff that was like a field of rocks, over and over again. I just kept pedaling! I made some switchbacks that were challenging (and hopped off on a few, too ;D) Just when I thought we were done climbing, we were climbing again, through more rocks! I pushed my physical limits way beyond what I knew I was capable of and feel so fantastic right now!

 

[abc]

Well, I'm still not convinced dabbing is any worse than "hop off a few"...

 

[altagirl]

Well, I'm still not convinced dabbing is any worse than "hop off a few"...

My point is just that if your goal is to ride the switchback, you should go into it looking ahead, mentally committing to not dab. If you go into it thinking that you can put your foot down on that rock... that's almost always what happens (and you're also generally looking at the rock and not looking around the corner, and if you stare at one object right in front of you, that's usually where you stop). But no one NEVER dabs a foot. It's going to happen. But if you don't realize that once you go to dab your body position is now all wrong, you could be setting yourself up to dab in the same corner for years on end. Mileage is great, but if you're just practicing the same bad habit every day, you're not going to miraculously develop the opposite habit.

I think that's my main point - dabbing isn't necessarily a progression to cleaning a switchback. It can be, but if you're aiming for progress, you have to treat it as something that just happened to save a fall, vs. a plan of attack. And I've seen people use it as a plan and reach a foot out as they get near their spot, when they could have stayed in good riding position and kept going. It can be a progression tool if it's saving a bobble and helps you build confidence, but it can be a trap if you turn it into a habit.

 

[Moonrocket]

Any tips on hill starts?

 

[bounceswoosh]

Any tips on hill starts?

Drop a few gears from where you were, if you weren't all the way in the lowest already. You can do this by downshifting (just the levers) while stopped, then picking up the rear of the bike and rotating the cranks a few times by hand.

My personal rule is "don't wear tight spandex shorts" because somehow, and I don't know how, the waistband always gets stuck on the nose of my seat and starts to pull down. I never have this problem with baggy shorts, which you'd *think* would be more likely to snag.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Also, Sheldon Brown wrote an article on starting and stopping that's relevant: https://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html

I emailed him years ago, before he died, saying that I wasn't always able to use this technique to get started on a hill. He said sometimes the hill is just too steep ...

 

[altagirl]

Any tips on hill starts?

I would say:
Start with the bike in a spot where it is as level as possible. This may mean angling it across the trail a bit.

Be in a gear where you can turn the cranks, but not too easy either. Get the pedal for your dominant leg up to the 11 o'clock position.

Body position is chest low, almost touching the bars, and get your butt to hover over the front of the saddle as soon as you push off. If your hips are forward, you lose traction on the rear tire. If they are back or your chest is up, you lose traction on the front tire and can't steer.

And, once again, the big key is looking forward. Most people want to stare at the front tire. Look a ways ahead.

 

[abc]

I think that's my main point - dabbing isn't necessarily a progression to cleaning a switchback. It can be, but if you're aiming for progress, you have to treat it as something that just happened to save a fall, vs. a plan of attack. And I've seen people use it as a plan and reach a foot out as they get near their spot, when they could have stayed in good riding position and kept going. It can be a progression tool if it's saving a bobble and helps you build confidence, but it can be a trap if you turn it into a habit.

I never said anything about planning to dab!

I'll reiterate, in the context of "hop off and walk", I really don't see what's so bad about dabbing, whether that's used as a crutch or not.

After all, if people are WALKING the switchback, what good habit are they learning anyway? Isn't dabbing at least a step in the right direction?

Or do you think it's better to walk and not try, just so they don't get into a bad habit of dabbing?

 

[SnowHot]

To @geargrrl 's suggestion about looking for a clinic, I got an email from REI about clinics of all sorts, including biking, kayaking, hiking, nature photo shooting.....
As an example, these are some in our area based out of Reno's REI.
https://www.rei.com/content/rei/en_...il_Mail_v1&RRID=47771694&ev11=1&ev36=20639769

I can imagine that most locations with a sporting goods store like this have other programs.

 

[altagirl]

I never said anything about planning to dab!

I'll reiterate, in the context of "hop off and walk", I really don't see what's so bad about dabbing, whether that's used as a crutch or not.

After all, if people are WALKING the switchback, what good habit are they learning anyway? Isn't dabbing at least a step in the right direction?

Or do you think it's better to walk and not try, just so they don't get into a bad habit of dabbing?

I think you answered your own question then.

If a dab happens because you wobbled and was a recovery, so be it. That happens to everyoneon occasion. Yes, you could hurt yourself, but chances are less than an actual fall.

I have seen people who plan to dab, whether they think they do it not. Who ride into a corner and have a foot of the pedal reaching for the ground before they had a chance to even lose their balance. They look at the dab spot as their aiming point. Often they are surprised to hear that they are doing this.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I have seen people who plan to dab, whether they think they do it not. Who ride into a corner and have a foot of the pedal reaching for the ground before they had a chance to even lose their balance. They look at the dab spot as their aiming point. Often they are surprised to hear that they are doing this.

It's the looking that gets you. I've had situations where I've ridden down a switchback slowly, one foot off the pedal, but my eyes, body, etc followed the switchback around the turn. That's worlds different from looking at your feet or at the cliff/creek/etc beside the trail.

I've told this story before on the forum, but I went to a clinic where I kept freaking out at the bottom of a short steep. I told the instructor all about it - how there was that rectangular pink rock about 8"x6" on the right side, just at the bottom at the right hand turn, and I was sure I was going to hit it and how should I avoid it? The instructor just laughed and said that if I could describe the rock that well, I was clearly watching the rock, not the trail, and the fix was to stop looking at the rock. We say so often - where your eyes go, your body will follow.

 

[SnowHot]

Now when I ride on Thursday, I'll be paying attention to whether or not I'm dabbing. I don't think I am.
[scratching head]

 

[contesstant]

Does anyone else cuss when they are pushing through a really tough section?
I said a lot of, "Oh S*it! Oh S*it! Just keep pedaling!" last night. I get mad at when I chicken out of stuff and yell at myself, too.

 

[SnowHot]

I usually mutter something like: I thought you said that there weren't any more [insert cuss here] climbs!!!

 

[contesstant]

I did that last night, except it was "OMG another *^(&**#@^climb!"