A for Air. Photo from the Mountain Bike Skills Manual, location Les Arcs, France.

Take it away Clive:

A TO Z OF MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES PART 1

Words: Clive Forth
All photos: http://www.frazerwaller.com/

Welcome to the first instalment of the A to Z of mountain biking skills and techniques. I’m going to take you from A to Z looking at skills on and off the bike. We will also look at mountain bike vocabulary, common slang and biking language.

A is for….

Air:  also referred to as “air time”. To take air involves jumping the bike so as there is “air space” between bike and the trail. We will cover catching air in J for jumping later in the series.

Air Pressure:  shock absorbers and tyres are important components on our bikes; by fine-tuning the air pressure we can increase the performance of our machines. From absorbing hits from the trail to increasing grip in the corners, under braking and while accelerating, keep an eye on air pressure and experiment with different settings. There will be more details on both tyres and shock absorbers later in the series, I will also discuss some points in “B” for Bike Set Up.

Anxiety: Roots are a common problem for riders and can cause you to tense up and slide out, stay relaxed and look for the grip between them.

Today’s key word for discussion is Anxiety, an inhibiting factor that stops many riders achieving their true trail potential.

anxiety |a ng ˈzī-itē|

noun ( pl. -ties)

A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome: he felt a surge of anxiety | anxieties about the moral decline of today’s youth.

• [ with infinitive ] desire to do something, typically accompanied by unease : the housekeeper’s eager anxiety to please.

• Psychiatry a nervous disorder characterized by a state of excessive uneasiness and apprehension, typically with compulsive behaviour or panic attacks.

ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from French anxiété or Latin anxietas, from anxius (see anxious ).

My skills sessions usually follow a similar pattern, I meet my clients for a morning coffee where we sit and take care of the formalities, this gives me a chance to get to know them better, discuss past riding experiences and for those I’ve seen before check up on progress. The meet and greet banter is not just about downing some caffeine and having a chat, there is a deeper meaning to my schedule, the ice breaking tea and coffee gives them a chance to relax while I peer into their sub conscious riding mind set.

All of us have had a near miss or off at some point, this is a common theme in why people go to see skills instructors. The icebreaker meet and greet also helps to ease them into the day, they may have had a long drive or been in a rush to get ready, others are slightly apprehensive about what they are in for.

All of us have had a near miss or off at some point, this is a common theme in why people go to see skills instructors.

To ride efficiently and be in control you need to a have a calm mind, my good friend and fellow instructor Ian Warby calls it “still mind, dancing body”.

If you’re wired up in a similar way to myself then you will be looking for an improvement on the bike one way or another, whether it’s getting fitter, riding smoother or mastering a new skill, many of us strive for improvement, a large factor for the growth of Apps like Strava.

When it comes to skills anxiety, our mental state play a huge roll in our ability to progress.

Have you ever asked yourself any or all of the following?

Why do I freak out at a certain sections of trail?

Why can’t I ride that line?

Why am I afraid of getting air?

Why does that drop-off faze me?

What causes us to crash?

Typically the main reason for the above is your not calm, the mind is an amazing tool and can throw up some very interesting scenarios just when you least need it. If your mind goes haywire and neglects to focus on the task in hand then a successful outcome is less likely. Full concentration and commitment is required to ride technical terrain, if you are anxious for some reason and not relaxed you naturally tense up, this is a problem!

We are capable of riding the most technical features so long as we are supple and relaxed, quite often the bike will do its bit below you and you’ll sail out the other side, remember your limbs are suspension and need to respond to the trail input (that’s the hits and slips coming from below).

Full concentration and commitment is required to ride technical terrain, if you are anxious for some reason and not relaxed you naturally tense up, this is a problem!

A lot of people think that they are riding the trail and this is where the problem starts, in actual fact you are riding the bike and the bike is riding the trail. By doing Ian’s funky dance you manoeuvre the bike through the terrain, placing it just where you want it. The bike rides the trail below the tyre. Confidence is everything, if you lack this then you will be tense and every lump and bump the bike is taking you will feel.

By learning the core skills and techniques in a safe environment and in a progressive manner you build muscle memory so the body responds instinctively, this gives you confidence, the confidence will allow you to commit to technical trail features without hesitation. Remember even the professionals get it wrong from time to time; mentally reward yourself for recovery moves and don’t beat yourself up for bailing out and getting it wrong (the ground does a good enough job of that).

Remember, practice makes permanent no one is perfect.

Armchair training: Clive takes a break in his 50 Great British Trail ride project.

A is also for…

Arm pump:  when the muscles are used repeatedly through movement or vibration.

This typically occurs in long rough downhills where high frequency bumps exist.

The muscle burns up all the available oxygen, the ability to remove (flush) lactic acid from the muscle is inhibited and the muscle becomes pumped up and tense. The muscle is basically swollen and movement of the attached limbs becomes reduced while a burning sensation is felt. Solutions to this below in armchair training.

Armchair training:  we can make improvement to our riding without even getting off our butts, from arm workouts, ankle rotations, breathing exercises, playing computer games and stretching it is possible to improve your performance on the bike. You may have a desk job or just loath riding in bad weather! Think about your posture when sat and use various aids like powerballs and Chinese Baoding Iron Balls to help reduce arm pump.

Clive’s book, The Mountain Bike Skills Manual, is available on Amazon and all major book stores, an in depth look into mountain biking.

Clive’s website: www.mtbskills.co.uk

There’s no need to stop riding just because it’s winter. Image by Yann Ropars via Flickr.

Mountain biking through the British winter isn’t easy, but you can either put the bike away in the shed and go into hibernation, or just tough it out. If you’re going with the latter option, good on you. There’s a few steps you can take to ensure riding through the winter is a little less pleasant.

Minimise working parts that wear out

A singlespeed has a lot less to go wrong. Image by Anthony DeLorenzo via Flickr

Get a winter bike with fewer valuable working parts to wear out. A rigid singlespeed bike is the perfect low-maintenance companion for piling on the winter miles, with no gears to wear out and high-tech suspension to go wrong.

Regular serving and maintenance

Get the mud off as soon as possible after a ride, and use a low-pressure hose if possible. Image by Tom Jenkins via Flickr.

Whichever bike you ride in the winter, all that gloop, mud and sand is going to accelerate the wear on vital parts of the bike. Make sure to thoroughly wash your bike after every ride (avoid the jet wash if you can, your bearings will thank you) and lube moving parts well. Pay close attention to the condition of the brake pads, gear cables, chain and sprockets to identify worn components before they cause you trouble out on the trail.

Go night riding

Good lights massively extend your riding options. Image by Darren Smith via Flickr

It’s the most fun thing in the world and is really good for enhancing your riding skills because you have a lot less time to react to stuff on the trail. And let’s face it, if you only ride when it’s daylight you’re not going to get much riding in. Good lights aren’t cheap (though lights that simply pump out lots of lumens but lack bells and whistles are now amazing value) but they’re cheaper than new wheels or some other upgrades you could buy for your bike.

Switch to winter tyres.

Tailor your tyres to your local trail conditions. If it’s like this, you need narrow mud tyres. Image by Jason Rogers via Flickr.

We don’t necessarily mean mud tyres here, but depending on the type of trails near you and how much rainfall we have this winter, specific mud tyres could be the best investment you ever make. The best way to find a good tyre for your local trails is to ask local riders and shops. Whatever tyres you run, it’s worth experimenting with the tyre pressure. Try running them a little lower to get some extra traction.

Keep yourself warm and dry

The right clothing makes the difference between having fun and being miserable. Image by Jordan via Flickr

There’s no quicker route to misery than losing the feeling in your extremities so get yourself some bike-specific warm winter clothing. You don’t need to spend a fortune either as there’s some very good value for money clothing that will cut it just fine. The basics of a good winter outfit are a long sleeve base layer, a decent jacket, three-quarter-length pants shorts or tights (to cover your knees up), gloves and a helmet liner or head band to protect your head and ears.
Insulated, waterproof winter boots are a luxury you won’t regret; overshoes run them a close second. Wear the thickest merino socks that will fit easily inside your shoes, but don’t pile the layers in there. Too thick or too many socks will cut off the circulation to your toes and make things worse.

Waterproof overshorts are the bomb.

We discovered this a few years ago and they transformed our riding. You should discover them too.

Get your mates out

Get your mates out so you’ve got company, banter and back-up. Image by Yann Ropars via Flickr.

Riding on your own when it’s cold and wet can be a soul destroying experience, so rope your mates into a regular ride and stick to it. Whether it’s every Sunday morning at the café or a Thursday night evening ride, having a regular ride in the diary is great for your motivation and gives you something to look forward to. If something goes qwrong, there’s safety in numbers benefit, and it’s just a lot more fun to race your mates through the puddles.

Set goals and aims

It can help to have some purpose to your riding sometimes, whether it’s just being fitter for the following spring, or targeting an event like Mountain Mayhem or Megavalanche. Having a goal in mind will help you make the transition from the warm and comfortable sofa to the trail.

Carry all the tools and spares you’ll need to fix your bike

The last thing you want is a long walk home if you have a mechanical on a very wet or very cold ride. So ensure you can fix your bike in any of the likely eventualities We’re talking a chain tool and quick link, zip ties, spare tube, a good pump, patches and glue just in case, some money for a cab home and a charged mobile phone. Just in case.

Mudguards

Even a simple set of mudguards like good old Crud Catchers will help keep the flith under control. Image by Wooly Matt via Flickr.

Yes, yes we know a lot of you don’t like mudguards. But the truth is that front and rear mudguards can keep so much of the mud and spray off you that you’ll avoid getting quite as wet through as you would without them.

Mike Hall won the perilous Strathpuffer 24-hour race solo in 2011, cementing his name in the great hall of UK enduro racers with a performance bordering on insane.

Unfortunately he won’t be defending his title when the event goes ahead this weekend, with bigger goals on the horizon, but took the time out to share his top tips with riding the event solo. And even if you’re not riding solo, or the Strathpuffer, there’s some good tips in there.

1. Its all about the brakes

The abrasive mica at Strathpuffer is famous for eating brake pads quicker than anywhere else but there are ways to make them last.  Fit box-fresh pads in the middle of the race without burning them in and you can expect to be repeating the procedure every lap.

Most brake pads rely on the heat and pressure of braking to complete the cure cycle and harden the  friction material to withstand the rigours of use.  This is fine for most people and most types of riding but start them off in cold, wet abrasive conditions and the relatively softer material will be wiped out before its had chance to harden up.  They could do this at the factory for you but then your pads would cost twice, if not three times, as much.  Generally speaking more expensive pads get a longer cycle but its still not enough to ready them for the kind of conditions you can see in a UK winter but there are a few ways you can do this yourself.

To start off with you’ll need some sintered metal pads (I used Clarks with Avid Elixir brakes for last years event and had exceptional results).  Make sure you have ones with the friction material keyed into the backing plate, rather than just stuck on.  You can tell they are keyed together if you look at the back of the pad and there’s holes in it and the friction material pokes through. This gives a mechanical joint between the two and reduces the chances of them separating.

No.1: The Blowtorch

The first way you can prepare the pads is to expose the braking surface to some heat.  A minute or two under a blow torch will do the trick and your looking to see a change in colour of the pad material (a sort of rainbow pattern will appear like oil in water).  This is good for ‘in the field’ prep with limited tools but it’ll only prepare the surface rather than all the way through the material so the results may be less effective.  However a hard outer surface should give you time to get some heat into the brakes before they disappear and they can harden as you go.

No.2: The Turbo

Fitting the pads to the rear calliper and pedalling against the brake on a turbo-trainer (you won’t need the resistance roller applied) is a great way to achieve this too and it’ll give you a little last minute resistance training!  Like the blowtorch you’ll only be preparing the surface here but the advantage is you’ll be applying heat and pressure so you should get slightly better results.  You’ll know when they’re up to temperature by the lovely warm brake smell.  Around 3 minutes or more per set should do the trick.

No.3: The Oven

This is potentially the best way to achieve the longest possible life for your pads by heating them all the way through. Before I tried this method (in combination with the turbo method actually) for the ‘puffer last year a few people told me it wouldn’t work and friction material would fall off the pad, however in 24 laps I only replaced pads 3 times and that was because I thought I should. Only one set of those actually needed replacing, the others were about half worn, so I don’t need any more convincing.

I also took a few extra precautions in my method though, borrowed from my one time day-job ‘shaking and baking’ high integrity aerospace electronics, to minimise the chances of disrupting the bond between friction material and backing plate.

First up household ovens aren’t great at accurate temperature regulation but you can give yourself a fighting chance of repeatability by removing any ‘thermal mass’ from the oven as this will all require heating up and can cause a significant difference between the temperature setting of the oven and the actual air temperature around the pads.

That means get rid of all the baking trays and grill pans you keep in there.  Next you want to try and hang the pads in a cold oven. Avoid laying them on a baking tray as it may act as a heat sink on the backing plate side. You are trying to bring the pads up to temperature in a steady, uniform, manner so there’s less differential expansion in the two types of material.

Bring the temperature up to 200^oC (the bond on sintered pads is typically made using copper, which has a melting point of around 1000^oC so you should be comfortably inside temperatures that would weaken it) over a period of around 15 minutes and keep it there for a further 15-20 minutes before switching the oven off and opening the door, allowing them to cool slowly.  If you want some extra confidence you can give them a spin on the turbo too before/after as this has the benefit of adding pressure to the bond.

I should make a disclaimer though about hardening your pads in this way.  Using them over long periods and especially in the warmer weather could lead to you overheating the brakes more often and damaging them (depending on the type of brake you have).  Having said that the pads I had in my rear brake at the end of last year’s ‘puffer went on to complete a ride across the continental divide, ending in New Mexico in 100^oF heat before the seals on the brake finally died a few weeks later and I’m not really sure the pads were to blame.

2. No really, it’s all about the brakes

So, you’ve prepared your pads well but you can still help them last (or not) with your braking habits? In a cold mucky race like the ‘Puffer dragging the brakes, or better just one brake, down a descent can be better than repeatedly applying both brakes or feathering them. This can seem counter-intuitive but hear me out:

By doing the majority of breaking on one wheel, one brake takes all the energy and converts it to heat, rather than sharing the load and having two brakes heat up half as much. Also when you first apply the brake the pad/disc interface will be gritty and dirty. With a few revolutions the interface between pad and disc will be cleaned and if contact is maintained, it becomes very difficult for mud and water to get between the two again.

Pad and disc also get warmer and evaporate moisture. You can also gauge the feel of the one brake you are using and still have the other to fall back on. For the first 4 laps of last years race I used the rear brake exclusively knowing that I could switch to the front and get roughly the same number of laps in before I needed a pit-stop.

3. Take a little time to look after your bike

As well as wearing brake pads at an alarming rate the Strathpuffer’s soil is equally ruthless in trashing transmissions.  Use a fraction of that time you saved by not replacing your brake pads as often to rinse down the gears and re-lube. Thankfully while the puffer’s mud is abrasive, it also washes off quickly under a hose. If you have pit help (and if there’s anywhere you need it, its here) then this is where they are most valuable.

You can stuff your face with hot pasta and sugary tea while they give your machine a mini-service. Avoid extremes of chainline as this will wear your teeth from the side. I used XX last year which was an expensive mistake as it chain sucked in the smaller ring meaning I was in big-big a lot and wore the large chainring out. I’d consider using fitting a cheap cassette, chainrings and jockey wheels and a 1×10 or 1×9 set up with a steel chainring would work pretty well on that course too.

4. Look after yourself too

Hands and feet are going to take some serious abuse at this race and this year’s edition looks like its going to be a decidedly wet one. Despite the claims of waterproof shoes and gloves it’s inevitable that the water will eventually get in. At last years event my feet were in water soaked winter boots for over 20 hours and the skin on my toes was like tissue paper. Think about pre-treating your skin with Vaseline or similar and have a few pairs of dry gloves on hand. Avoid gloves with a liner that comes out with your hand when you take them off, they’re hell to get back on with cold wet hands.

5. Well fed is well fast

Remember to eat well. The Strathpuffer lap starts with a long steady climb which is perfect for eating on.  Fill your feed-bag, pockets or hands with plenty of energy goodness and munch your way to the top. If you’re cold you need the calories for central heating as well as pedal turning.  Hot food is great; being cold and tired is not.

6. Ice Tyres

Ice tyres are a big help for staying upright but they needn’t be the difference between winning and losing if you take it easy and keep your wits about you. It looks like these aren’t going to be deployed en mass this year anyway but if you wake to sheet ice covering the fire-road and your not packing spikes; fear not.

Rideable lines eventually appear and as a soloist you’ll know every inch of the course before long and how it changes subtly as the race goes on. Even in the iciest conditions ice tyres were only a significant advantage for a few laps. After that lugging around an extra kilo of tyre starts to become tedious.

7. Don’t Panic

Things happen at races and that’s never more true at the ‘Puffer, but they can and do happen to everyone. So if mechanicals and other bad things happen to you, just keep at it as you never know what might happen.

In all endurance races keeping the mind stress free, going with the flow and staying relaxed helps you delay the effects of fatigue whereas getting tense when thing aren’t going to plan is a short cut to feeling worn out early on. I ran for half a lap after my tyre shredded but it still didn’t cost the race. Try not to think about how much your bike is disintegrating beneath you and enjoy the madness for what it is. Sunrise and the scenery at the ‘puffer is a feast for the eyes after so much darkness and absolutely worth waiting for. It also means that the end is only an hour or two away!

More info about the mad event here www.strathpuffer.co.uk/home

On earlier jaunts, the approach to small to medium logs had me hauling on the anchors and carefully bumping over it. Trouble is, doing that kills all my speed -pure sacrilege! I’m discovering it is way more fun to stay smooth and thus faster, plus it’s a lot more effortless.

How I learnt to manual

I started first by rolling up to speed bumps on a quiet residential road and lofting my front wheel up onto it. Then I moved on to doing it off taller curbs.

On approach, I compressed my arms with my weight forward, then rocked back and un-weighted the front wheel, pulling on the bars, locking out my arms at the same time as rocking my hips backward and lifting my front wheel.

I found I was able to balance when my inner thighs were touching the widest part of the saddle.

I thought that a manual was just a wheelie, but it’s not. The difference is that you don’t pedal when you manual – the greater your speed, the longer you can manual. Currently I can just manual enough to get me over a small drop, log and ditch. It was scary to begin with and when I transferred my manual skills to the trail I did have to concentrate, but by the end of the ride it became something I didn’t think about so much.

Getting it right took a fair bit of patience, I saw some neighbours twitching their curtains as they saw a girl on a mountain riding up and down over a bump.

Who cares, this weekend I’m going for a five second record.

We here at Bikemagic hate roots. With a passion. Especially when they’re wet, covered in a slimy layer that, no matter how you approach them, will have you sliding across the trail on your arse with little warning.

But, as this video nicely shows, it is possible to ride them. And very quickly too. Take a look.

Do you have a root experience? Tell us about it in the comments box below.