To be a great mountain biker, it isn’t enough to just be physically fit. You also need to have good technical skills.
For many riders, cornering, steep technical descents, and jumping are areas where they struggle. Developing and practicing these skills, rather than just tolerating them, can make all the difference.
Contents
Climbing
Climbing is fundamental to mountain biking but can be intimidating for many riders. Keep a steady cadence and use proper body position to improve your climbing technique. Also, ensuring that you’re in the right gear is essential to make it up the steep technical sections of the trail without having to dismount and walk.
Another helpful tip is to mimic the body position of a skilled rider on the trail as you pass by. It will help you learn to ride that particular section of trail faster and more confidently.
Repeated timed runs of a short but challenging trail section can effectively increase the smoothness of your riding while noticing how different line choices impact the outcome. Professoinal Mountina Bike Training is a frequent strategy racers employ to advance their abilities.
Descending
Ascending while mountain biking is a skill that requires a lot of practice to master. The technique involves riding a bike with a neutral position that puts your body weight over the front wheel and in the saddle’s center.
It takes time to master the art of picking the optimum climbing line. The best way to develop your skills with MTB SkillsTraining is to practice hitting the trails with more experienced riders and observing their techniques.
In addition, committing time to mountain bike skills work can accelerate your progression as a rider. This focused training session helps reinforce good technical ride habits and builds confidence over time. You’ll also be able to transfer your new skills to more challenging terrain.
Bike Handling
Getting up and over obstacles is a huge part of mountain biking, and learning the techniques to do so can help you improve your overall ride experience. If you’re not comfortable with a technical trail feature, be proactive about finding another route around it rather than pushing through it.
Bike handling also includes mastering the skills to control your speed and navigate varying terrain, such as climbing and descending. For example, a steep, rocky climb may require you to use a thrusting motion when you’re off the saddle to lift your rear wheel over obstacles.
Practicing these moves at a pump track or bike park and following more experienced riders on trails to study their body position and line choice is one of the best ways to up your mountain biking game. Investing in a season pass to a local bike park is also optimal for the high-volume practice of technical elements like line choice and body positioning.
Body Position
In mountain biking, body position is a fundamental skill that helps you manage your speed and maneuverability on technical trail features. Watch a professional mountain biker ride a rock garden, jump or drop, and you’ll see them use their hips to stay balanced, not their shoulders and neck. That’s a big difference over most recreational riders who use their shoulders and neck to maintain balance.
Athletes spend time in the attack position, a neutral out-of-the-saddle stance that provides stability without hindering maneuverability. Mastering this stance develops the ability to select the fastest line through technical trial sections.
To dial it in, practice this movement pattern in a controlled environment, such as a pump track or a purpose-built mountain bike skills park. Then when you’re out on the trail, you can apply that same skill pattern to keep your speed consistent and smooth over trail obstacles. It is similar to how skiers learn to bunnyhop, practicing in an empty car park or open space to perfect the skill.
