Learning The Basic Skills Of Mountain Biking
That first ride on a mountain bike is the hardest one you'll take. After that it all gets easier. For the beginner, however, it is a comfort to first know what the basic ideas are.
Fast Riders Need Good Breaks
It may seem obvious, but just as a sports car needs a great breaking system to handle well at high speeds, if you intend to ride your mountain bike fast or down any hills you better go for a high-end breaking system. This break system will not only allow you to ride faster, but to have more control over your bike.
Understand the Purpose of Gears
Just as low gears on cars require more energy to run at a given speed and provide more power, they do the same on mountain bikes. You will have to pedal much more to move a short distance in a low gear, but you can travel against a great amount of resistance. The higher gears allow you to use a few hard pedal pushes to go a long ways, but it may be impossible for you to go up a steep hill in one of these gears. So high gears are primarily for flat lands, while low gears are primarily for tough terrain and hills.
The Difficult High Speed Turn
Perhaps the most advanced and intimidating of all maneuvers on a mountain bike is the sudden, sharp turn. If you suddenly find yourself facing a ledge, car, rock tree, or other obstacle, the quickest way to turn in the direction you want go is actually to turn your handlebars in the opposite direction. At the same time you'll need to make sure you ease up on the rear break if the rear tire starts a skid or on the front break if the rear tire comes off the ground. This is something that you'll want to really practice and get comfortable with before you go on long-distance rides so that you'll be ready when you need it.
Choose Your Speed Well
A person new to mountain biking should not be riding fast. It is that simple. When you ride fast, you have less time to react and your reactions have not yet been trained to be limbic functions. If you find yourself in a situation where you must stop quickly, shift your weight toward the back but with your body as low as possible while pressing evenly on the front and rear breaks. If you press hard too suddenly on either or both of your breaks, you may actually lose control of your bike.
Dealing With the Fall
Falling off a mountain bike is just a part of riding one. It may sound silly, but there is a technique for dealing with this. The last thing you want is a hard wipeout. When you sense a fall coming, and you often will sense it in advance, it is important to know how to respond. You want to slow down immediately to lesson the impact of the fall, but you don't want to break so hard that you go over the front of the bike or start the bike in a back over front roll. If you must go down, resist the urge to stick your hand out, and instead plan to tuck your body and do a relaxed roll off the bike. Of course, this is one maneuver you don't want to practice.
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