can ya help a brother out?

[el gueche]

i've been riding motorbikes for years and have been using my body to help steer and change direction for quite some time - whether it's stomping on a peg w/my left foot and slamming the tank w/my right thigh, just hangin' off (not knee down), sliding up front for better front wheel grip or slipping back for more traction, i climb around like a monkey on these things - no stunts or anything fancy, but small effective moves that help - well my point is i'm moving around to much into the turns - unsettles the bike just enuff to get my attention and slow me down a tad - so does anyone have any ideas that i can use to keep me a bit more centered? i think about it before and after the ride and during well, not so good at thinking - all gopped up on goop

[Summerinside]

Richard,
I too come at mountain biking from a different sport - skateboarding. When I'm riding I like to get in the zone where I'm focused on my center of gravity (just mine, not the bike's). I try to find a line for my center point and then "float" the bike around me over the terrain. I find this usually creats for a far more flowing line and I can hit a point where the bike moves with me not me with my bike.

I dont know if a MTB-skateboarding analogy works for anyone who hasn't skated, but it's right on about setting up a flowing line

Andy

[Jordan M.]

I skateboarded before I started mountain biking (I still skate) but when I skateboarded everytime I get on the board I have sense I can just flow around if that sounds right??lol Anyways before biking I did do a little park on my bmx bike. But when I mountain bike I feel that same feeling I feel when I skateboard so it just kinda carried over:confused:

[Kevin Leis]

I come from street bikes where unsettling the chassis is rather " unsettling". When I first started mountain biking I applied some of the same riding techniques as street riding. Find the sweet spot on your bike. The spot where it hooks up the best in the corners. My trek likes a more forward weight bias. Experiment with your positions.:crazy2: The key is to be conscious about it and to get into that spot in the straights before the corners. Then you only have to fine tune your position mid corner. Like sticking your inside knee out (think super bikes and dragging knees). Also stick your outside "peg " into the ground. What I mean is put your outside pedal down and weight it. Standing usually accomplishes this. This is really important in off camber corners. In the seated position use your chest to adjust your forward or rear ward weight bias by lowering it or sitting up. Put your out side pedal down and your inside knee out with your outside leg pressing against the top tube (or tank). I can force my rear wheel to drift slightly this way. It takes practice and also an unsettled bike doesn't neccessarily mean an impending crash. Sometimes you just have to force yourself not to slow as much or at all. I've found that usually after I move mid corner and the bike adjusts it hooks up and I shoot out the otherside with a big stupid grin on my face.:crazy2:

[manual63]

Let's see. The seat is now your gas tank.

You can push the seat around or slightly pinch it for stability sometimes. This will keep you from leaning too far forward. The techniques are probably very similar for both motorcycle and bicycling. One of the big differences is that you don't have the throttle power in the turns on a mountain bike. Hitting corners fast is much the same, but taking tight singletrack turns use a much different technique. But use the seat to help stabalize the bike. Lean an inner thigh on it now an then and do similar motions as you would on your MX, but not as exaggerated.

You will soon find yourself well in control......happy riding.

[el gueche]

thanks for the suggestions - i'm sure things won't happen overnight but baby steps, fellas, baby steps - that's all i ask

[Kevin Leis]

Oh, and I forgot to mention using your brakes to transfer your weight onto the front tire. I like to using the rear brake to do this. The key is to do it before the turn or just as you start to turn, but don't skid. I usually drag the rear brake and then release it just before the apex of the corner. Some people use the front brake to accomplish the same thing. I don't, because if I panic and grab a handful of front brake as I turn, then I crash. But the rear doesn't have the same consequences. Again every corner is different and this works on some corners and not others, also at different speeds. Work on one technique at a time and see how it changes your cornering speeds and as you master that skill add another. This made me a better rider. Keeping your cornering speed up keeps your momentum up, which carries through to the climbs and then you don't have to work as hard on the climbs.:banana: Also don't be afraid to try different lines through the corners. There definately is a fast line in every corner. Finding it is the key to big gains in cornering speeds. Experiment, experiment, experiment!!!!!

[el gueche]

again thank you gents, this is what i found - 1) the knee out was an immediate hit - had to think, but once that knee went out, it felt great 2) cg (center of gravity) i could locate it and i felt a difference and then quickly forgot - so i need to really work on this one 3) the chest thing again helped alot - i think i've been to forward biased and its been fudging things for me - 4) pushing the seat - well freaky deeky - felt a bit unusual grabbing the seat w/my cheeks but i can see how that will work also - i need to get a little more comfy with 1, 2, & 3 then ill start @$$ grabbing - did i just type that - thanks again and remember if you're gonna get gopped up, get gopped up on goop

[manual63]

4) pushing the seat - well freaky deeky - felt a bit unusual grabbing the seat w/my cheeks but i can see how that will work also - i need to get a little more comfy with 1, 2, & 3 then ill start @$$ grabbing - did i just type that - thanks again and remember if you're gonna get gopped up, get gopped up on goop
Uh, I said inner thigh, not @ss......:laugh:

I am usually standing slightly when I corner. If you are seated, you don't need to do much to stabalize the seat because you are sittin' on it. I will push my weight down on my outside pedal, which should be in the down position, and that just slightly raises me off the seat a little. Then I will use the inner thigh on my out side leg to lean the seat on while I stick my inside knee out in the turn to help my lean. I guess I feel lightly seated or just slightly standing, but either way I am using my inner thigh of my outside leg, not my @ss.....:)

[el gueche]

maybe so, but inner thigh, @$$, cheeks - it's all good - you might notice, i'm not using the banana smilie - ouch

[Kevin Leis]

again thank you gents, this is what i found - 1) the knee out was an immediate hit - had to think, but once that knee went out, it felt great 2) cg (center of gravity) i could locate it and i felt a difference and then quickly forgot - so i need to really work on this one 3) the chest thing again helped alot - i think i've been to forward biased and its been fudging things for me - 4) pushing the seat - well freaky deeky - felt a bit unusual grabbing the seat w/my cheeks but i can see how that will work also - i need to get a little more comfy with 1, 2, & 3 then ill start @$$ grabbing - did i just type that - thanks again and remember if you're gonna get gopped up, get gopped up on goopI'm glad everything worked out for ya. Keep practicing so that these things become second nature, then you can get so comfortable cornering that you forget to put them into practice and a have to focus again.:crazy2: I just crashed on Monday because I forgot to weight my front end (Trek Fuel idiosyncracies) and it slid out and dumped my on the low side.:cool: Hope to see you on the trail some time.