Still not sure which pedal system is best for you? Confused on why a pedal that you clip into with your cleat/shoe is actually called a “clippless-pedal”?

Here’s some history on where these systems came from, more on the advantages and disadvantages of each system… If you’ve had my instruction previously, you’ve already heard a bunch of this, but there’s definitely some new info here (even for advanced riders)…And, this may be a cool article to share with a buddy who is still up in the air on pedal choices.

First, there is no such thing as a better or worse pedal system…

Of course, both systems have advantages and disadvantages; and, while many of these are quite obvious, there are still many misconceptions about each. If you want to be the best all around MTB rider possible, you’ll have at least working knowledge of both systems. And, it’s my belief, that for many reasons, all beginner riders should ride flat pedals for at least a while, at least to the point where they get comfortable with this pedal system.

So, first, a little history on MTB pedal systems…In the ancient days of mountain biking (you know, like fifteen-twenty years ago), most mountain bikers believed that—when it came to pedals—you had to be “clipped in” to be a real mountain biker. “Clipped-in” means the rider’s shoes had metal cleats attached to the soles, and these cleats actually clipped into the  pedals, securing the shoe to the pedal. This system came from road riding. Mountain bikes, in the early days, were primarily derived form road cycling.

It wasn’t until the influence of downhill riding and racing—which was more akin to motocross and BMX than road cycling—that modern mountain biking started to come into it’s own in terms of equipment: full suspension, disc brakes, real tires…and, yes, flat pedals systems (also referred to as Platform pedals or BMX pedals). With these pedals, there are no cleats to clip into the pedals…just the rider’s shoes placed on the pedal—BMX style. This equipment “revolution” started happening around the mid to late nineties. Previous to this, mountain bikes were essentially road bikes with slightly fatter tires and straight handlebars…a far cry from today’s MTB machines.

Road riders such as Lance Armstrong and Eddy Merckx, among others, popularized the high cadence spin (high RPM’s with the pedals) as the most efficient way to pedal a bicycle on the road. It’s more difficult to spin these high cadences without your feet being attached to the pedals in some manner, hence the retention systems.

Because MTB was derived from road cycling, this high cadence pedaling technique made it’s way over into MTB pretty quickly…and never went away….which is good. Because it is necessary…sometimes. However, many MTB riders don’t take into consideration that riding MTB’s in tough terrain and riding road bikes on paved roads is like apples and oranges. I’ll buy that the most efficient way to pedal a bike on a smooth surface is with your butt on the seat and your feet spinning high cadence circles with the pedals. This is true on the road and on smooth trail with a mountain bike. But this doesn’t cut it in real MTB riding in technically difficult terrain. Proper technique in difficult terrain, when the bike will need to pivot and move around beneath us, requires us to get off the seat—definitely while descending and at least intermittently while climbing difficult terrain. We also need to slow our pedal cadence so that we can accelerate the bike when needed, wheel over obstacles. balance better, clock—or time—our pedals to miss obstacles, unweight the rear of the bike, etc…none of this is necessary for road riding or riding MTB on smooth trail surfaces.

Because of this (and more), many of the perceived advantages of clipping in are negated when the trail gets a little tricky. Really, when it comes to the act of pure pedaling, the only advantage of clipping in is the ability to spin those higher cadences with less effort. All of the skills exclusive to mountain biking listed above (and more), in fact require quite low pedal cadences to be effective. Thus, clipping in isn’t really an advantage in a lot of situations and can often be a hindrance.

*** Here’s a quick explanation of the terms “clip-less” pedals vs Flats, Platforms, and BMX-style pedals: 

OK, so the term “clip-less pedals” doesn’t really make sense. After all, this is the system where a cleat, that is attached to the bottom of your shoe, actually does CLIP INTO your pedal (so why’s it called clip-less, right?!?). The pedal retains this cleat so that your shoe is “attached” to the pedal (you un-attach the shoe from the pedal with a twisting motion of your foot and this allows the pedal to release the cleat). If you’re clipped in, your shoe won’t bounce off or slide around on the pedal. You have the ability to “spin circles” when pedaling as well as have power on the up-stroke of the pedaling cycle, which, depending on who you talk to and (more accurately) where and how you ride, may (or may not) be a big advantage. BMX or Flats or Platform pedals are simply pedals with platforms that you put your foot on. They don’t have a retention system. They do, however, have replaceable pins protruding from the platform that provide very ample traction with the correct shoe/pedal combinations.

Still confused on where the “clip-less” name came from? Of course you are… Here’s how it happened: in the good ol’ days, road bikes didn’t have fairly advanced spring-loaded retention systems on pedals; nor did they have precisely machined cleats that attached to the bottom of $350 carbon fiber shoes…as they do now. In the ol’ days, they had what were called Toe-clips. This was a simple system where simple straps tightened a clip, holding your shoe tightly to the pedal. Eventually, the toe-clips were ditched in favor of the more advance, modern cleat/pedal-retention systems. No more toe-clips meant modern pedals were now labeled as clip-less… and the name stuck.

But back to riding…

Why should beginner riders be on flat pedals, at least at some point, and for at least long enough to feel comfortable riding with them?

First, if you’re new to riding MTB, you’re going to notice that there are all kinds of crazy things out there on the trail to worry about besides fumbling around, trying to clip in and out of your pedals. Trees, rocks, roots, steep ups, steep downs, other riders, dogs, cats…you name it. And, that’s not even to mention the other challenges of riding the bike correctly: proper body position, weight placement (Video), reading the trail properly and picking a good line, proper braking technique, shifting, pedal cadence, perhaps wheeling over a log…You get my drift. All of these challenges and obstacles will be overwhelming at first. Why complicate things further by not being able to readily put a foot down in order to save yourself from hitting the deck?

That’s the number one advantage of flat pedals: you can almost always instantly get a foot (or two) to the ground when needed (no getting stuck in the pedal). And, easily get your foot back on the pedal when needed…

 

This rider has made a few mistakes on this climb and has come to a sudden halt. As you can see, she is twisting her right foot to get out of her pedal and get a foot to the ground safely. Often, with clip-less pedals, the twisting motion can take a bit too long–especially for beginner riders–and the rider ends up taking a tumble on the rock because they can’t release their for quickly enough.

 

Not surprisingly, beginner riders (no cycling background at all: no road, triathlon, etc.) don’t have much of an issue starting out with riding flat pedals. Flat pedals—and not being attached to the bike—feel way more natural than being clipped in. These riders are usually terrified at the thought of clipping in. Good for them. The all important basics of MTB will come to them a lot quicker and easier with flat pedals than if they started out with clip-less pedals and they’ll be way safer and more confident on the bike.

The group that suffers the most from the pedal choice/situation/dilema are riders that are new to mountain biking but that have cycling riding experience in the areas of road, triathlon, even true XC  (“cross country”) mountain bike racing (which is seldom involves riding technically difficult terrain). Unlike the first group, who is scared to clip in and attached to the bike—and rightfully so—this group, because of their previous experience in other riding disciplines (where you do clip in and reap the benefits because most of it can easily be done seated and with high pedal cadences), is comfortable being clipped in… and they freak out when they are not attached to the bike. One of the biggest reasons why MTB riders won’t ride flat pedals is because when the bike starts bouncing around, their feet bounce off of the pedals. This is obviously not good. So, they clip in. No more bouncing off the pedals! Problem solved, right? The bummer with this is that the rider wasn’t bouncing off of the pedals because of the lack of a retention system, he was bouncing off of the pedals because of improper technique which will lead to all kinds of other problems down the road. He may getting away with improper technique for the moment, but he essentially put a band-aid on the real problem and is now developing bad technique and bad habits that will eventually catch up with him.

And that’s another advantage of flat pedals. Flats force the rider to do things correctly on the bike: proper body position and weight placement will provide pedal pressure and range of motion in the legs. This will allow the riders feet to “follow” the pedals as the bike moves around under the rider and the rider will not bounce off of the pedals in the rough. Thus, the rider has to maintain this proper riding technique, creating proper riding habits in the process. This proper position and weight placement is the foundation of proper MTB riding. Flat pedals make you do these things correctly.

 

While clip-less pedals will definitely aid in keeping a rider’s feet on the pedals in difficult terrain, proper body position and weight placement–as seen here–are crucial and are the main factor in keeping a rider glued to the pedals.

 

How about pulling up on your cleats to “bunny-hop” or unweight the rear wheel? This is Terrible Technique 101. This may work for a bit, and this may be the way your buddies tell you to get the bike off the ground, but—mark my words—you WILL pop out of your cleats at the wrong time and it’s going to hurt really bad…. Lifting the bike properly is about leverage and doing a few simple things correctly. Many pro downhillers ride with flat pedals as well as all BMX’ers. Your cleats are not for bike handling.

Another problem with group that starts MTB riding clipped in? Very often, they never develop the ability to ride the bike at extremely slow speeds. Any rider that has ridden clipped in for any length of time has had the dreaded (and possibly embarrassing) experience of slowing or stopping (or maybe stalling out on a climb) and needing to immediately put a foot down; however, for whatever reason, the rider can’t quite get her foot out of the pedal, and, BAM! She’s toppled over and hit the ground. Usually these falls are simply that: toppling over at slow speeds, not even crashes, really. But, in the wrong situations, this can be extremely dangerous (over a cliff? Into traffic?). And, even just toppling over— especially if its on jagged rocks—is going to hurt. Once a rider has had this experience with clip-less pedals, it’s in the back of their head every time they slow down to extremely slow speeds…so they don’t ride at extremely slow speeds, and if they do, they always take their foot out nice and early.

Unfortunately, being able to ride at extremely slow speeds, with both feet on the pedals, and under control is a must in technical MTB riding [check out this video at the 2:05 mark. Notice how riding slowly is extremely necessary in order to ride these steep trails sections]. Again, on super easy, flat trail, or the road, you can take a foot out early—you don’t need much control at these slow speeds. But this won’t work—and is quite dangerous— in the nasty stuff.

In my instruction clinics, we cover switchbacks extensively. A true switchback is a 180 degree, very tight turn, on a very steep section of trail. These are some of the more difficult features out there. I don’t care who you are or how good you are as a rider, with very few exceptions, switchbacks will need to be taken at very slow speeds. You simply can’t change direction to that degree, with that tight of an arc, unless you are moving very slowly. And, quite often, because of the steepness of the terrain and erosion, there will be rock ledges, tree roots, water-bars, etc. present on the trail’s surface…and the switchback will be on the side of a cliff! The fact of the matter is, if you can’t ride extremely slowly, with confidence, under these conditions…you can’t—or shouldn’t—ride this trail. I consistently get riders that are itching to know what the magic formula is to being successful on switchbacks. Bad news: there isn’t one. Switchbacks require a rider to (often) do many basic things correctly—without the benefit of momentum: nine times out of ten, the rider’s inability to ride slowly and under control is the main problem.

There are many other examples where the ability to ride slowly is a must. Most of these involve clinging to steep, rocky, loose terrain where making mistakes just isn’t an option. Again, if you can’t ride slowly because of bad habits you developed with clip-less pedals, you simply won’t be able to ride these types of trails. And most fun trails will have at least a a bit of this type of terrain.

 

Stay away from cheap, low-quality flat pedals. A quality flat pedal will be thin with a large platform, have a parallelogram shape when viewed from the side (so it spins under your foot when stepped on), and have replaceable pins. These features combined with a shoe that has a flat, low profile, and soft soft rubber sole (5.10, Vans, etc…a decent skate board shoe will work) will provide more than adequate traction on the pedal.

 

What are the advantages of clip-less pedals?

Efficiency at the shoe/pedal interface is one. Shoes that are compatable with clip-less pedals will have a much stiffer sole relative to flat pedal shoes. The cleat on the bottom of these shoes will be made of metal and it will engage in a metal pedal. These are hard surfaces and there will be very little energy loss between shoe/pedal interface. On the contrary, flat pedal shoes are almost always pretty flexible and the soles are made of soft rubber to get a better purchase on the pedal. I can almost always feel a little “squish” of a flat pedal shoe with every pedal stroke, thus, there is a decent lose of energy.

Another advantage is the ability to “spin like a roadie”. As alluded to above, remaining seated on the smooth sections of trail and spinning a high cadence is arguably the most effective way to deal with these trail sections and provide the most efficiency and net speed over larger distances (but not very effective in a short distances, like a sprint…where the rider will almost always be out of the seat for maximum power). And, even on the most technically difficult rides out there—though you’ll need to get out of the seat on the nasty stuff—you’ll very often have a lot of ground to cover that is not technical at all and, thus, falls into this category.

***Note: there are people out there that will state that clipping in has no advantage what-so-ever over flat pedals, even in terms of pure pedaling. They’ll site various graphs and charts and numbers, etc. as proof. I’ll call BS on that. I’ll site road racing as an example: high cadence, seated pedaling, on smooth surfaces, while clipped in… That is what professional road racers do, for the most part. The type of pedaling that I’m referring to in this instance—on a smooth trail—is quite similar to road racing and not to what we would need to do in steep and varied terrain— rough trail. While there definitely are a lot of times when the perceived advantages of clip-less pedals are negated, I believe they do hold a pretty big advantage on smooth sections of trail where the rider can remain seated and utilize an efficient high pedal cadence. If someone tells you that there is no advantage to clipping in, ask them, ‘then why do roadies do it?’

So when and where would you ride flats over clip-less and vice versa?

I’ll use this example. Last summer I rode a super fun trail. It was a long, multi-hour climb out and to the top of a ridge. Then, all the way back to town, the trail descended on the very top of this rocky ridge. This was a few miles in duration, and it was steep, technical riding the whole way back. It was literally a rocky spine with a decent sized steep drop to either side.

I was riding clip-less pedals on that trip. There are a few different types of clip-less pedals, Shimano SPD’s being one of them. I love the feel of SPD’s over any other type of pedal, but one of their drawbacks is that once they get a little dirty—this could be mud, snow, or even a lot of dust, as was the case on this ride after a long day in extremely dry conditions—it can be a little tough getting in and out of the pedal. Not being able to get out of the pedal, when needed, on this trail was not an option. It would mean almost certain injury. It would have been very nice to have flat pedals, and, thus, to be able to abandon ship at will. If I ride that trail again, I’m throwing some flats on!

Anytime you feel a little intimidated by the terrain, flat pedals are a nice go-to just for the safety factor. But, you have to first put the time in to feel comfortable riding them. Once you get comfortable on flats, you’ll be able to go back with just a slight adaptation period.

I’ve had similar experiences in exactly opposite terrain: trails covered in wet slippery leaves and roots on the east coast. These trails were by no means intimidating. But, I knew that there would be a least a few times when I would find myself suddenly losing traction and needing to immediately get a foot down. Sometimes, when things happen real fast, even the split second it takes to release your shoe from the pedal is too much. I would’ve liked to have flat pedals for that ride.

Even at my advanced age, I still do a bit of dirt jumping. I always ride with flats when I dirt jump. The last thing I want, is to be attached to my bike when things go bad in the air.

On trails, I almost exclusively ride clip-less pedals over flats these days. Why? Especially since I’ve been touting flats and kinda dogging and discrediting clip-less in this article? First, keep in mind I raced years and years of professional downhill exclusively on flats (however, I have always clipped in on XC and trail riding). I feel pretty good about my body position and weight placement on the bike, much of which I learned because of the time I spent riding flat pedals. I do enjoy the benefits of clip-less pedals, namely their efficiency.  I also feel real good about being able to get in and out of my clip-less pedals (most of the time). And, finally, when I do ride like a goon and make huge mistakes…instead of blowing off my pedals and crashing, my feet are right where I left them: on the pedals!!!

But, again, riding flat pedals played a huge role in my learning and understanding of proper riding technique. I am very comfortable with either set-up and can easily go back and forth depending on the riding conditions. I highly advise any MTB’er who wishes to become a good technical rider to spend a bunch of time on flats, enough to get comfortable riding them in any terrain. And, I especially encourage the beginners to lay off the clips for a while.

Of course, if you’re a serious XC racer, you’ll probably want to race clipped in, but spend some time on flats to help develop proper technique. There is a learning curve to flats. So, if you’ve never ridden them, don’t throw a pair on your bike right before the big race or a huge ride with your buddies…give yourself some time to figure them out in a very controlled setting.

That’s it for now. Check out www.dirtsmartmtb.com for more on MTB skills instruction and coaching, scheduled clinics, skills videos, articles, blog…

Most bike shops or riding buddies can clue you in on the basics that should be in your riding pack: A multi-tool (see pics below) to make adjustments to the bike out on the trail; a spare tube to fix a flat tire (flat tires are one of the most common and easily remedied mechanical problems that mountain bikers will encounter on the trail); probably a light jacket just in case the weather turns a bit; maybe a bite to snack on…Pretty simple, right? Also, your car keys, phone, and your hydration liquid of choice, etc…

However, if you are going to carry a pack—which you probably should if you’re going to be riding any distance from you’re car, home, hotel, etc.—there are a few little tid-bits that you probably want to throw in there and these things probably won’t be recommended to you by that local bike shop or your riding buddies. These are all Bike Pack Essentials that I carry in my pack and they fall under the category of “learned this the hard way” because I’ve been on a ride or two when I really needed them…but, of course, didn’t have them with me at the time.

Before we get into the contents, let’s start with the preferred size of your pack.

 

There have been many times that I have taken off on a ride without a pack. I have, however, had the very basics (phone, keys, multi-tool, spare tube) stuffed in my pockets of my shorts (zippered pockets, of course. Lost smart phones or car keys will put a damper on the good times you had on your ride). On those rides, I’d have a water bottle with me, in the H20 cage, on the bike. On these pack-less rides, I’d be absolutely positive that the weather wasn’t going to go bad on me. I would never be any more than a few minutes walk from wherever I need to be if something did come up, mechanically, that I could’t repair. And, from a safety perspective, there were almost definitely going to be plenty of people around.

So, on that type of ride: short ride, close to safety, no weather…OK, no pack…stuff a couple things in your pockets… But, Fashion Police be damned, this is a great ride for the Hip-Pack! (foreground in the photo). Throwing a bunch of expensive and important stuff in non-zippered pockets isn’t such a great idea for obvious reasons. And, stuffed cargo pockets (with shredded layers, warm hat, etc.), especially if they are on your thighs, means that the weight is going to have to go up and down with every pedal stroke. I don’t like that.

A hip-pack keeps your valuables secure and carries the weight of the contents on your lower lumbar, which is also the center of mass of your body. This will be the calmest and most efficient place to carry it.

And, heck, if Day-Glo colors and Skinny-Pants came back into fashion, then Hip-Packs have to be right around the corner, right?

The pack that is the next size up in the photo is a 10 liter pack (on the right). This is my go-to for most mountain bike riding and the size of pack that I suggest most riders buy first. There are many packs that are smaller in size than this (5 or 6 liters, roughly), but all they can really carry is your water and those very basics mentioned above. If you plan on really riding, you’re going to get into rides where you’ll need to shed layers, carry extra layers, and have space to put them. With a 5 – 6 liter pack, this is already too much stuff to fit in there. That’s why I jump up to the 10-ish liter right away. It’ll house all the stuff that will be addressed in this article while still not being too big, bulky, and overkill.

The final pack in the photo is a 30 liter pack (on the left). A pack of this size is a necessity if you’re carrying a sleeping bag, lugging food and camping gear, maybe a pro camera set-up…But it’ll be overkill for the majority of rides.

Again, the 10-ish liter size is a great size for an adequate and versatile, all-arounder pack.

So let’s start getting into the contents…

Most people are aware that a light jacket is a great idea. But I want to go a step further and suggest having a light jacket that will also keep you dry. If you can stay dry, you can probably stay at least relatively warm. If you’re soaked to the bone because your jacket wasn’t waterproof or water-resistant enough…well, you probably won’t be at all warm. So look for a decent waterproof or very water-resistant jacket that will pack well. I also always carry a moisture wicking hat and usually some warmer gloves. Staying warm while riding in a light rain isn’t very hard to do, even if you are a little damp. But, if someone gets hurt, if you get lost, if you have a major mechanical breakdown that can’t be repaired…and then the weather changes and you’re out for an extended period of time…that’s when a little extra protection from the elements will come in real handy.

Next (and, of course, in the learned-this-the-hard-way catogory), is stuff that will give you the ability to repair a flat beyond just that of putting a fresh tube in the tire.

Most riders know that flat tires are pretty much inevitable…even with today’s much improved tubeless tire systems. So, most riders do carry a spare tube (hopefully) with them and have the knowledge to actually be able to install it to repair the flat (again, hopefully). But what happens when you flat your spare and your buddy didn’t bring his? (on long rides away from civilization, two spare tubes may not be a bad idea)

Patch Kit!

Patch kits are small and easy to carry and can be found in any bike shop. And, WILL come in handy at some point. It’s a pretty simple process to patch a tube and you’ll be glad you have one in your pack when you need it.

Flat repairs on the trail aren’t always about throwing a fresh tube in a flat tire, however. I see a lot of flats these days because of damage to the tire, particularly a slice or hole that is large enough so that the sealant of the tire (in modern tubeless systems) is unable to seal the puncture. In this case, the pressure of an installed tube (the usual flat repair method), when it is inflated, will simply force the tube out of the hole, the tube will pop, and you’ll be walking.

There are numerous methods to possibly salvage your expensive tire when you get home, but out on the trail, things can be a bit tougher. Turns out, a paper bill folded over, and placed over the hole, on the inside of the tire, will work great for a tire patch. Two will work better. And a roll of Gorilla Tape will work in a pinch for damaged tire beads, holding the make shift bill-patch in place, etc.

 

Gorilla Tape also comes in handy with fix-anything-McGuyver-style repairs. As do Zip-ties… Cracked cable housing? Sliced brake line? Broken shoe buckle? Possibly—if necessary—even making a a split or—god forbid— a tourniquet… Again, not much space is taken up and you’ll be glad you have these things when you need them.

Most riders know that a good multi-tool is a must. But, A CHAIN TOOL IS A MUST, also (many multi-tools do include chain tools). If something goes slightly—even majorly—out of adjustment on your bike, you can usually still nurse it home, covering decent ground, albeit a bit slower. But with a broken chain, and no way to fix it, you’re going to be pushing on all but the downhills. I’m also blown away by the amount of bamboozled riders that I find on the side of the trail, broken chain, chain tool in hand…but clueless as to how to actually use the thing. Make sure that you have a chain tool in your pack (whether on your multi-tool or not) AND you know how to use it. Any bike shop should have plenty of excess lengths of chain lying around that they will gladly donate to you so you can hone your chain repair skills. A good shop will actually show you how it’s done (Youtube.com will, if your shop won’t).

 

This also brings us to the proper way to fix a chain, and that is with either a SRAM Power Link or a Shimano chain pin. A Power Link should work with both SRAM and Shimano chains, but the pins are designed to work with Shimano chains, so I prefer to use pins on Shimano chains. It’ll be necessary to remove a potion of the damaged chain (with your chain tool) in order to properly repair with either system. Also, you always want to push a chain pin through the links from the inside to the outside of the bike as well as always having the wider link being the “pulling” length for more strength. This gets a little technical (do a little research), but, again, these are things you want to be aware of when you have to make that repair on the trail. And, be prepared to do it when you’re a little lost, it’s getting dark, it’s raining, and you can barely feel your fingers because you didn’t pack your warm gloves!!!  😉

A shift cable. A shift cable is small and light, easy to carry, and pretty easy to install. Inevitably, you or one of your riding pals will break a cable, or, more likely, fray one to the point where the bike will be almost impossible to shift. If you still have a bunch of distance to cover, especially in difficult terrain, getting the bike back to operational with proper shifting, could be really important.

Spare derailleur hanger. Your derailleur hanger is that piece of metal that your derailleur threads into. It is designed to bend or break before your expensive derailleur does when the derailleur is impacted in a fall, by a trailside obstacle, etc. Thus, it’s a fairly malleable and weak piece of your bike and easily damaged. When this happens, your bike won’t shift well, if at all.  A broken or severely damaged derailleur hanger on a long ride is no bueno… Thus, having a spare in your pack is a good idea. Most bikes have derailleur hangers that are specific to models so make sure you get the right one.

Last thing: Spare cleat bolts. If you ride with clip-less pedals, you have cleats on the bottom of your shoes. These cleats are attached with two bolts so that they don’t twist when you twist your foot to get out of the pedal. If you lose one of those bolts, allowing the cleat to twist relative to you shoe instead of relative to the pedal (relative to the pedal is the motion necessary so that the cleat will disengage from the pedal), you won’t be able to get out of your pedal, can’t put your foot down, etc. This can be very dangerous. Cleat bolts should be a installed with blue Loc-tite, preventing them from loosening up…but this doesn’t always happen. Again, a small part to carry, and an easy remedy to a potentially dangerous predicament.

Last, last thing: some type of first aid kit and some first aid skills. I’m not going to go super in-depth with this one, but if you intend to have fun outdoors, I highly recommend that you have at least basic first aid skills and the necessary equipment to implement them.

That’s it for now. Check out www.dirtsmartmtb.com for more on DirtSmart MTB Skills Coaching and Training and scheduled clinics and camps.

One of the biggest reasons why riders decline to take MTB coaching/instruction is the price… MTB coaching is too expensive!

So, OK, I’ll readily admit that quality coaching isn’t cheap. I charge $500 for a two-day clinic. That is some serious scratch.

But…what did your bike cost? Plus all your gear: riding get-ups, shoes, helmet, pack, rack on your car, couple pairs of cool shades… maybe your new set of carbon wheels… And, what’s your insurance deductable for an ER room visit? (And—trust me—there’s always something ridiculously expensive, that isn’t covered, in such visits). Also, how much money are you losing in missing work—disability insurance or not… What’s the cost of family members and significant others worrying about you both in getting injured and also every time you go out on the bike after you’ve been patched up and heal up?

Have you ever taken a day of quality instruction in, say, golf or ski lessons? Scuba classes? Avalanche training? Or, how about a weekend seminar for work? What does something like that run?

Hmmmm… five-hundo is almost looking cheap!

 

Here’s an email from a previous student that I just received today:

 

Hey Andy,

 I had another giggle moment at Palos yesterday.

 You probably rode “Badass Hill” while you were here. It’s a stretch of Bullfrog trail that is pretty long, pretty steep, somewhat rooty, and sweeps in a long turn. But mainly, it’s full of cobbles. Yesterday I was riding with a group of riders, all of whom are better than I am. Naturally they had pulled ahead. So, to try and keep up, I unwisely decided to bomb Badass.

 About halfway down I was on the far edge left as the trail was sweeping right when my brain realized that I was going MUCH too fast. But, on that surface, there was not much slowing down. And as soon as I looked at the trees just off my left elbow I started going toward them….

 And then it all kicked in; I dropped heels, got low, looked at that sweet spot down the trail where I wanted to end up, dragged a bit of back brake and rode it out. My GPS said I was doing 19.3 mph; it would have been a very bad fall. And yeah, I was laughing like I did on Gravity Cavity.

 So I can truly say that the coaching, and practicing what I was taught, almost certainly kept me out of the hospital.

 Thanks!

 

The above rider is a recreational enthusiast who very much enjoys riding his bike. He’s not serious racer, he doesn’t ride at a super high level. But he get’s out there and has fun, get’s his fitness on, pushes himself a bit… (Sound familiar?)

As most of you know, MTB has a steep learning curve. And, falling on rocks at 19.3 mph usually doesn’t end too well. To get up and walk away from a crash of that nature (road-rash, cuts and bruises, mangled bike, rattled confidence, and shattered ego aside)…well, you’re gonna feel a little lucky, and righty so…

The above email illustrates one very important reason why pretty much any rider that throws a leg over the bike should almost definitely take some quality MTB coaching/instruction: safety!

But MTB coaching is too expensive!

 

Proper technique—while it will make you much faster—isn’t necessarily about speed: it’s very much about just being safe! Is that worth $500? Do you owe that to yourself and others around you?

Maybe you just ride at a beginner or novice level. You don’t race or compete. You’re just going to take it easy out there, so you don’t need to bother with coaching. That’s for racers, right? (Heck, why bother wearing a helmet? They’re like a hundred bucks!)

Well, I have news for you: you’re riding at a beginner or novice level not because you lack the fitness or time on the bike, but, ultimately, because you’re doing a lot of things (most things) wrong when to comes to technique. If you were doing them right, you wouldn’t be riding at that level anymore.

Unfortunately, when it comes to MTB’ing, bad technique doesn’t only mean going slow, it also means lack of control; lack of comfort and confidence; and finally, being unsafe…to yourself and others! YOU WILL get yourself into situations that you won’t be able to get yourself out of with poor technique.

Proper MTB riding is simple when it’s broken down to its basic components, but until we get into the highest levels of riding, almost everybody is doing most of it wrong (and, even the top pros on the planet seek out and benefit from coaching). The best, quickest, and most effective way to learn to do it right: Good Coaching!!! The alternative: The School of Hard Knocks, trial and error, years and years and years of learning the hard way… (Let’s face it; the internet and your riding buddies haven’t been much help!)

Almost all riders have pretty terrible technique by default. There are normal and common reasons for this. In the situation described in the above email, the rider would almost definitely have done almost everything differently had he not previously had quality MTB coaching: proper braking, proper trail-vision, proper body position and weight distribution…all of these things are very counterintuitive. And, it would take a lifetime of trial and error and learning-the-hard-way (and lots of hospital bills) before a rider would be able to react properly and make the proper decisions and adjustments in order to not end up seeing the inside of the ER room in that situation.

The other really cool thing: the exact techniques that this rider used to preserve his hide, to not crash, to remain safe…are the exact things one would do if they were a serious racer, trying to go as fast as possible.

safety = control and confidence = smooth and efficient = fast

Again, riding is simple once it is broken down to it’s very basics: whether you’re looking for more comfort and control on the bike, or you’re trying to shave seconds off your race time…the techniques are virtually the same. The difference is usually just a matter of more difficult terrain and higher consequences.

Take riding waaaay better out of the equation… And leave out the having-more-fun part… Leave out the More Confidence, crushing your buddies, meeting your competition goals (if you have them)… being able to go anywhere and ride the local trails competently…

Leave all that out and think about simply being much safer and having a way lower probability of getting seriously injured. Is that worth five hundred dollars? I’m pretty much positive, that with rare exception, any rider that has been seriously injured would gladly hit the rewind button and go back and pay five hundred bucks in order to have learned how to do it right…

What do you think the rider who wrote the email would say? Was it worth it?

 

Sign up for a scheduled clinic or contact us about getting one in your area. Check our coaching philosophy and what to expect in DirtSmart camp/clinic. Do your riding buddies a favor and share this article with them before they learn the hard way!

Getting air, drop-offs and switchbacks… three things many students mention when we discuss their goals with MTB instruction and coaching.

The thing is, “Getting air, drop-offs and switchbacks” are some of the most difficult features/actions that we’ll encounter on a MTB trail, however there isn’t any rocket science to pulling them off successfully. It’s all about the basics, the fundamentals…but, it’s crucial to execute these basics and fundamentals – to near perfection – on these difficult and, very often, high consequence trail features.

 

Below, we’ll look at one those difficult trail features I mentioned earlier: the dreaded nasty, tight, up-hill switch back with a water-bar, a big rock, and a root, all present (of course, this is steeper than it looks in the photos). While I simply can’t teach the techniques here in this article, I will address many of the very basic techniques that need to be present in order to successfully ride these features. These are the crucial keys to riding well at any level, whether that means just feeling safe and comfortable on the bike, or going mega fast (although, in this case–uphill switchbacks–no one will be going mega fast).

 

Riders are always looking for some far-out technique that will magically wisk them up the switchback. But, really, the techniques for successfully ascending a tough uphill switchback are exactly the same as the techniques that we need to use when tackling a tough ascent in a straight line (here’s a article that breaks down body position on tough technical climbs). These include properly reading the trail and proper line choice; correct body position; correct weight placement; being in the right gear/proper pedal cadence so that we can accelerate the bike in order to wheelie (it’s not about simply yanking up on the bars) or at least lighten the front end, accelerate to gain more momentum, unweight the rear wheel by getting off of the seat, and perhaps time our pedal stroke–or “ratchet pedal”– in order to not smack the pedal on an obstacle (many of these techniques are address in the Pedal Wheelie Video).

We can look at each one of the techniques that I mentioned above and then break the technique down into a couple/few simple movements and proper timing. We do this in every camp. And, in every camp, every rider has success and learns each technique in a very controlled and safe setting. But the issue with a good (bad?) switchback is that–for a real nasty one–often all of these techniques will have to be executed, in succession or sometimes simultaneously, and often on the side of a cliff (the switchback is there for a reason!). Also, what makes switchbacks hard is that these techniques need to be done well while turning a tight 180 degree turn, so the rider has very little momentum. Very few riders understand how crucial it is to be able to ride under control, comfortably, and confidently at very slow speeds. We work a ton on this in the camps. This is hard to do well.

So let’s take a look at this thing…

 

What you can’t see in the above photo is that Julie took an excellent line going into the switchback. This is very important. She started her turn wide and late and is actually almost done turning at this point and has an almost straight shot at that rock (the rock is steeper than it looks in the photo, too). “Setting up” for switchbacks and corners is usually a great thing because not only is it going to give you the smoothest arc and smoothest momentum path, but it allows you options in line choice as you exit the corner/switchback. (Not quite the same…but similar: Video on Descending switchbacks and proper line choice.) Also, it’s tough to read the trail properly and take the correct line in this switchback because of that water-bar that Julie’s rear wheel has just cleared. Why? Because almost all riders won’t look past the water-bar as they approach it. They ride whatever is right in front of them without regard for the rest of the trail and what will be coming up next. In this case, they ride straight into the water-bar…maybe they make the water-bar, but they end up pointed way too wide and never make the turn because their bad line choice made the turn too tight after the water-bar. This its typical of the incorrect way that riders read and “micro manage” the trail. We need to use proper trail vision and “macro manage” the trail–in all situations–if we want to ride well. We cover this extensively in camps (here’s an article on Trail Vision). And, that water-bar requires a little wheelie for the front wheel and a little un-weighting of the rear to get the back wheel up and over. These techniques are simple and even easy–if done properly–in a controlled and safe setting (and, of course, covered in camps), but as is the case with this switchback, now they have to be done while turning and on a very steep section of trail: basic technique, just more difficult terrain.

So now let’s look at that rock…

In the above photo, there are multiple things going on, but again, all basic techniques that are covered extensively in the camps… One thing that is happening is that Julie is accelerating to gain momentum to help get over the rock. Easy right? Well, most riders can’t accelerate the bike at this point because they simply are in the wrong gear (too easy). Most riders simply don’t understand that tough technical climbs require us to slow down our pedal cadence, so that we can increase the cadence at the right time and accelerate. If you’re already “spinning a high gear”–as is the traditional advice for climbing–you simply can’t pedal any/much faster, and thus, can’t accelerate and gain momentum. There are many other problems with having a high pedal cadence on technical climbs and we cover all of them in camps. On smooth sections of trail, while your butt is planted on the seat? Sure, by all means, spin that high and efficient cadence–just like you would on the road. But once we get into nasty terrain on the trail, that cadence has to slow down ( many of these reasons are addressed in the Pedal Wheelie Video).

Another thing that has to happen here is proper weight placement. Julie has her weight properly centered over the bottom bracket of the bike. This allows the bike to pivot around the BB and allows both wheels to roll up and over the inconsistencies on the surface of that rock. Most riders end up with their weight too far back on climbs (too far forward on descents) with their weight on the seat (on their butt) of the bike. This means that the front of the bike ends up too light (give you a case of the “swervies” as the front wheel deflects and bounces off line) and the back end is too heavy and therefore will not roll up and over obstacles, but instead gets hung up, slides to the side, or perhaps spins because the rider is trying to incorrectly apply power where there is no traction (Spinning out is usually a result of this. If a rider spins out, instead of leaning back–which is common advice but entirely wrong–the rider should have accelerated below the obstacle and lightened up the rear wheel instead of trying to “power over” the obstacle…all addressed in camps).

Success! In this photo, Julie has made it! She has employed all of the crucial techniques of the pedal wheelie over that root…and that root is in a switchback where she took a good line…which, in addition to that rock and the water-bar, and the 180 degree turn…and the steep terrain… make the switchback tough. This photo really shows how Julie has un-weighted the rear of the bike after immediately lightening the front with the pedal wheelie. It looks as if her weight is forward in the photo, but it’s actually on the BB (the trail is steep). Because of this, the rear wheel will “float” up the root and she won’t get jarred and thrown off balance when the rear wheel abruptly changes direction (form horizontal, to up, back to horizontal) as she would if she were sitting on the seat.

Again, I can’t teach all of the techniques that go into mastering uphill switchbacks via this blog post…that’s what the camps are for. But, I think this does give a pretty good break down of what it takes to make the gnarly SB’s and it’s all basic stuff…just doing it correctly and effectively…no magic!

If you like this stuff, you’ll love actual coaching and instruction. Make the best investment that you could ever make in your riding and sign up! If you don’t see a clinic scheduled near you, hit me up, and we’ll see if we can get one in your area. Also, please, share with your friends!

 

I always stress when coaching MTB, that riding well–at any level– is all about the human body working as effectively and efficiently as possible, in an athletic sense, with the design of the bicycle. It’s multiple simple movements and functions of the human body…on a bicycle. This is true whether you are a 70 year old grandpa that simply wishes to feel more safe and more in control on the bike or whether you’re Aaron Gwin, with no chain, smoking the best riders in the world at World Cup downhill races… It’s all basics, it’s all building blocks, it’ all fundamentals… It’s all simple…

But this doesn’t mean that it’s easy.

Unfortunately (or, fortunately, for me) most riders don’t understand how the human body works in an athletic sense. They also don’t understand bicycle design. Therefore, when it comes to riding, they follow the terrible advice of riding buddies, internet jokers, faulty dogmatic MTB traditions, and bad MTB coaching. A huge component of identifying proper riding is the ability to understand WHY we need to do the things that we need to do on the bike (and why we shouldn’t do a lot of the things even “good” riders pass around as riding advice).

In this blog post, I’ve poached a couple of photos of one of the best riders in the world off of the internet and I’m going to break down what is happening in these photos: WHY this rider is in the positions that he is in and what he is trying to accomplish. What are the differences in these positions and why? And, again, many of the same techniques that World Cup DH riders–the most skilled riders in the world–are trying to execute are the same techniques that every day students work on in the camps, and consistently experience success, when these techniques click; whether that means that they finally feel comfort, control, and safety on the bike or whether that means that they have realized that new sought after tool that is going to shave big chunks off of their race times.

As some of you are aware, I’m not the hugest fan of trying to coach via internet. It can be done well, but there is no substitute for real-time coaching and instruction. Obviously, I can’t cover every single aspect of a photo, but we definitely can see some interesting stuff here.

*** Also, this post ended up getting a little advanced and in the deep end… I may lose a few folks on this one. Hey, I’ll risk that because it’s fun for me to get this deep into it, and, I promise the next post will relate to all riders, but focus more on beginners.

 

Below is a photo of Aaron Gwin. Aaron Gwin is a beast. Fitness, speed, power…and, yes, super solid technique. If you want to see a rider doing things right, Aaron Gwin is an almost sure bet. In the photo below he is showing pretty much flawless descending position. This is the athletic and “ready”position of the human body. You’ll see this position in almost all sports that require varied, explosive, and athletic movements (baseball shortstop, tennis player, football linebacker, etc.)

 

In the photo, Gwin is half way through a squat and halfway through a push-up (ninety degree bend in limbs), with ALL of his weight on his feet. Notice the bend in the knees? This is SO important for so many reasons, many of which we don’t have the space to get into here. (And, you can’t get that bend if your seat is up and in the climbing position. This is one big reason why dropper seat posts are a must to ride well in nasty stuff).

This position supplies maximum range of motion–or body-suspension–to the rider’s core. This is crucial for a balanced and stable core and head–which means a smooth momentum path for the core and head down the trail–even as the bike bounces, drops, and slides over the obstacles of the trail. You CAN NOT ride the bike well if you core and head are not balanced and stable (Good article on that, here). There are coaches and trainers out there that state that riders should keep their knees fairly straight and then bend at the hips… This is simply wrong for many reasons, but giving up range of motion in all directions except the bike coming directly back to the core, is a big one. (Check out this video of World Cup DH practice and tell me how many straight legs you see in the gnarly stuff).

 

When getting into this position (which MUST precede braking, cornering, Manual or Coaster wheelies, and others–if you intend to do things correctly and ride the bike well.) there are a few “checks” that riders can use to see in they’re doing things right. Here are two. (We get into way more with real instruction):

1) If the bike disappears, would you land on your feet? The answer should be yes. This means that not only are you in the proper athletic position, but that your weight placement on the bike is good: the weight is over the bottom bracket of the bike, thus, allowing both wheels to pivot around this point. This allows both wheels to roll over and/or through obstacles. Both wheels also have adequate traction if the rider’s weight is over the BB (again, some common-terrible riding advice is to “weight the bar” to help the front wheel get traction. I will push down and pressure the bars…but this is way different from ‘weighting’ the bars. Keep your weight on your feet and over the BB–with rare exception–for all of the reasons mentioned here as well as many more). This is crucial (here’s and video on weight distribution and it’s importance, here). Often, I’ll see riders in this position, but their weight ends up on their hands, especially under braking, or, they end up leaning back for various reasons. Both leaning forward (weight on hands) and leaning backward–contrary to a lot of common, but terrible riding advice–are bad news when it comes to controlling the bike and also how the bike will work over the terrain (again, check out this article on weight placement. There’s an excellent example at 2:33 where you can feel how this work for yourself): we need to use our legs to support, balance, and power our mass/upper body if we want it to work well in an athletic manner. If we’re using our arms, instead of our legs to do this, we’re in big trouble. This is human movement 101 stuff…

2) Can you comfortably flutter your fingers? The answer should be yes. Now, there is a lot of MTB coaching out there that states always have a loose grip on the bars. This is simply impossible. Once I’m ‘in’ the obstacle–rock garden, corner, wheeling, jumping, etc–I’m often going to have to have a very solid grip on the bars. However, when I “set up” for the obstacle–get into this good/ready/athletic position before the obstacle–I should absolutely be able to comfortably flutter my fingers, and, in theory, be able to take make hands completely off the bars and nothing, position-wise, would change. If I can do these things it means that my mass/core is being supported by my legs and my arms are free to do the small and precise manipulations–such as lean angle adjustments, steering, fore and aft adjustments, etc–that are necessary to ride the bike well (again, check out this article on weight placement. There’s an excellent example at 2:33 where you can feel how this works for yourself).

Alright, enough on that photo. How about this one:

Oh, same thing, right? Nope, actually WAY different…

This could almost qualify as good position, but BAD weight placement. However, because of where Gwin is at, the track’s surface and angle, and what he’s trying to do, it’s perfect. Keep that in mind…

Unfortunately, many riders find themselves in this position while descending AND while trying to decelerate by braking (Gwin is not decelerating in this photo. In fact, he is trying to generate more momentum…again, get to that in a bit).

The huge (yet subtle, visually) difference is in the angle of the cranks. Notice how even though the pedals are level in relation to the bike, the front pedal is substantially lower than the rear in relation to planet earth and gravity? This is a big deal. Riders always want to talk pedal position and it’s always about ‘level’ or one down and one up. In reality, our pedals should kind of end up all over in their rotation in relation to the bike; it’s really about the rider’s ‘line of force’ (as I relate to it) and the angle and intention of the pedal pressure that the rider is applying. Think about this: if you’re force is equal through both feet, and, thus, through the BB of the bike…then your cranks will be perpendicular to that force. If you’re trying to push the bike forward with your legs (as you should be doing during proper technique of a manual wheelie), or if you’re countering the forces of the bike decelerating during braking–and correctly not letting your weight go onto your hands–your angle of force isn’t going to be vertical, it will instead be downward, back to front, and the angle of your cranks (perpendicular to force, roughly) will be angled backwards–sometimes only slightly, sometimes drastically, depending on the amount of force and the angle required to accommodate it.

If, while braking and decelerating–especially in steep terrain–the rider’s front foot gets lower than the rear foot…the rider is starting to get into big trouble. This means that the rider’s weight and line of force isn’t going through the BB anymore, but is instead, in front of the BB. Now the rider’s weight will have to start going onto the hands, bars, and front wheel…now the bike, instead of pivoting around the BB over the terrain, will now want to pivot around the front axle…

If you’ve read this far, you’re probably understanding that all of these things are about to cause big problems: the rider’s body can’t work in an athletic sense with the weight being supported by the arms; the front wheel won’t ‘float’ up and over and through obstacles because all the weight is now on the front wheel; the front brake can’t be utilized well because it’s going to exacerbate all of these problems…

To remedy this: simply keeping  the heal of the rear foot quite low (flexing the toe upwards helps) will tilt the cranks backwards and keep the rider’s mass slightly back and over the BB (very subtle–perhaps only an inch or two–but this subtle shift is huge because it is moving the rider’s entire mass/core. The body is a kinetic chain, and often, very subtle movements of one part will affect the actions of the whole body) where the line of force can go through the BB… and life is good again.

There are actually coaching organizations that teach to use the front foot as a “bracing foot” when you brake. This puts the line of force in front of the BB, not through it; this will almost always drop the front foot lower than the rear; the weight will go on the hands, bars, front wheel…and the cascade of terrible technique continues… This is straight-up dangerous for all of the reasons above.

But again, without knowing the “why” behind riding technique, it’s very difficult to decipher proper riding from improper riding. Thus, bad techniques keep getting passed around.

 

So why can Aaron Gwin get away with this position and weight placement that I just described as potentially catastrophic? Because he is not on the brakes and decelerating (if he were, he would be out of position)…but, instead, he’s ACCELERATING forward and about to “pump” the bottom of this steep drop where it transitions to flat in an effort to gain even more momentum. Instead of his line of force being downward, from back to front to counter the forces of braking (and his cranks being perpendicular to this), his line of force is downward FRONT to BACK so he can push down and back into the tracks’s surface (roughly perpendicular to the slope of that drop), and effectively that energy will accelerate him forward. That is a ‘pump’… Also, notice where he is looking? Way down the track…focused on the next solution to the next section of track. We obviously get WAAAY into vision, reading the trail, and how this relates to riding the bike in a physiological sense in the camps (we’re not going to, here), but “you go where look” holds pretty true and Gwin is obviously focused way forward on the track.

Also, he won this particular World Cup Downhill race without a chain (snapped it about three cranks into his race run). He milked and pumped every surface of the track for all it was worth… He’s accelerating here.

Hope this wasn’t too confusing…Hope this made some sense… Hope this made a lot of sense…Two very similar positions on the bike; but depending on the surface of the trail, the forces, the angles, and the intention of the rider, these two positions could have drastically different outcomes.

Again, understanding how and why the body and bike need to work together in order to ride well is crucial. Without understanding the basics and building blocks of this, riders will have a tough time learning the proper techniques and improving on the bike. After coaching and instruction, every student comes away from my stuff stating that, conceptually, riding is incredibly simple. This is a victory in the first, and arguable most important battle.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s easy…

 

 

Proper Pedal Wheelie Technique: CLICK HERE

This video refers to a the “Pedal Wheelie” which is generally used when climbing. Usually the rider will be going rather slowly (climbing) and, thus, need to maintain or increase what little momentum they have in order to get over and beyond an obstacle.

This wheelie is not to be confused with the manual or coaster wheelie (video here: https://www.dirtsmartmtb.com/uncategorized/video-manual-wheelie-coaster-wheelie/) which is generally used when going downhill when the rider has plenty of speed and momentum required to get over and beyond an obstacle, but because of the speed and momentum from descending, the front of the bike must be manipulated in order to not impact the obstacle at speed.

EVERY rider that I have ever worked with has come away being able to do at least a small, yet functional pedal wheelie after instruction.

Small wheelies are usually all it takes to be successful on the trail. Often, whats gets riders isn’t the lack of height of their wheelie, but the variables such as pedal strikes; spinning out because of a lack of weight shifts and/or a lack of understand of power distribution and timing (the old adage of always applying steady and consistent power on climbs isn’t going to work in tough technical climbs); staying seated when they need to get off the seat; lack of understanding of proper pedal cadence and gear selection (thus, an inability to accelerate the bike)…all kinds of good stuff!

As always, this is in no way a substitute for real time instruction.

 

I just had to share this. Modern Trail Bikes are great, but you can’t do this on them. Best downhill mountain biking edit I’ve seen in a while.

CLICK IT:

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Queenstown-Destruction-George-Brannigan-Goes-WILD,28479/iceman2058,94

MTB Dropper Seatposts are here to stay. If you’ve been paying attention to improvements in bikes and equipment over the past few years, then you’re probably aware of what dropper seatposts, or adjustable-height-seatposts, are. If you ‘re unaware, check out the RockShox Reverb or the KS Suspension Lev, two of the leaders in the dropper post game…

While there are still a few folks out there that will tell you that dropper posts are unnecessary, are gimmicks, etc., most riders are realizing that getting the seat out of the way on difficult terrain is mandatory if you want to ride well in those conditions (while still being able effortlessly to raise the seat for optimal height when climbing and pedaling). There’s always somebody out there that will say, “Well, my friend doesn’t have one of those things and he can ride anything…” or, “The pro XC racers don’t use those,” (they will, soon…). And all the ol’ classics: ” I don’t think I need one of those, I hear they break /I’m just a beginner/I don’t live in the mountains/they weight too much…”

Trust me, I’ve heard all the reasons why riders believe that they don’t need a dropper seatpost. Without getting into it too deep, I’ll say that if you don’t currently have one, than this is probably the best product that you can buy (when used properly and with even relatively proper riding technique) to improve your riding in nasty terrain. And that means being safer, way more in control, more comfortable, more confident, and definitely faster. There is plenty of info out there on these things, so check into them if you’re still a bit fuzzy.

Just a little more for the Doubters:

1) Downhill bikes, 4X bikes, BMX bikes…any bike where control is paramount will have the seat down and out of the way (You have to get the seat out of the way in order to maximize your ability to ride the bike in nasty trail conditions. We get into why this is so important, extensively, in the Instruction Clinics).

2) RockShox, KS Suspension, Thompson, Specialized, Fox, Crank Brothers, and more (all big players in MTB, obviously) manufacturer their own dropper posts, and have now done so for a few years (they wouldn’t continue do this if there wasn’t a market…$$$).

3) Currently, any company that makes high-end “trail bikes” will spec their bikes (or offer the option to upgrade) with  dropper seatposts (if they plan on selling them and staying in business).

4) ALL top Enduro racers (“Enduro”, not endurance…) have dropper seatposts on their bikes.

5) We’re now starting to see light weight, short travel posts (65 mm and instead of the usual 120 or 100 mm) specifically designed for XC racing (which is the area of MTB that is probably the biggest hold out because of the fear of the slight weight penalty).

Bottom line: if you want to be able to ride your MTB in the tough stuff to the best of your ability, you have to get the seat out of the way to do it. On super easy trail, equivalent to a dirt road, in a straight line? It doesn’t really matter…but any bit of steepness, rough trail surface, fast corners where the bike will need to be leaned over…you need to get the seat out of the way to do this well and still be able to get the seat up to pedal effectively and climb.

 

Within the last couple years, many students have been showing up at clinics with dropper posts on their bikes. This is Great!!! However, one place where I pretty consistently see problems is with the placement of the remote lever, or switch, that mounts on the handlebar and activates the post (allowing it to be raised and lowered). Riders, even though they have this awesome tool in a dropper seatpost on their bikes, often mount it in the wrong place and simply can’t reach the lever while their hands are in the riding position, thus, they have to remove their hand from said position in order to activate the post, and this isn’t always an option when things are getting serious on the trail.

It is crucial that the rider can get to this remote lever and activate the post while the rider’s hands are on the grips, in their preferred riding position, and while also activating the brakes of the bike.

This is important, not only in order to control the bike for speed and efficiency, but also for reasons of safety: if a section of trail catches you off guard, and all of a sudden you’re getting in a little over your head (we’ve all been there), trying to slow down and/or maintain control…and you can’t get the seat out of the way because you can’t take your hand out of braking position… Well, things are about to go real bad. Now you’re out of control, and out of riding position because the seat is still in the way…because you can’t get to the remote…because your controls are set-up improperly…

This poor set-up is often the result of the dropper seatpost remote being installed inboard of the brakes the shifters. If this is the case, the rider will almost certainly not be able to reach the remote with out removing his hand from the riding position (taking it off of the grip, and, thus, brake). It’ll simply be too far away from the rider’s hand (unless the rider has huge hands).

The photos below shows an example of this.

 

The remote will also often be mounted on the right side of the handlebar (such as in the photos above). This means that it pretty much has to be in-board of both the brake and the rear shifter because the right hand will be very active on the rear shifter and brake lever and, thus, needs to easily reach those. This means the remote is a bad location for all the reasons mentioned above. Solution? Mount the remote on the left side.

 

If the rider is using a 1x drive train (one chain-ring in front: no front derailleur or shifter—as in the photos above), then mounting the remote on the left side clearly makes more sense because there is more room there due to the lack of the front shifter. But another huge advantage to this is that once a rider gets comfortable using the dropper post (which doesn’t take very long) they will start using the dropper post (with the left hand) at the same time that they are shifting the rear derailleur (right hand). This would not be possible with both the remote and rear shifter mounted on the same side. Example: the rider crests a hill spinning a relatively easy climbing gear; the rider should be looking ahead on the trail, gauging the approaching downhill with proper vision techniques and anticipating that the next time that they will pedal, they’ll be going quite a bit faster; thus, they’ll drop multiple gears anticipating the increase in speed. These last few cranks to drop the gears, while cresting the hill, will often be happen at the same time that the rider is dropping the seat, getting ready for the descent.

Not a big deal is you aren’t concerned with going fast, but every little bit counts if you are (and that includes racing, trying to keep up with your buddies, or just pushing yourself…”death by paper cuts!!!”).

But lots of riders do still run front shifters (left side of bars), so does that make it impractical or defeat the purpose of running the post remote on the left side of the handle bars? Not at all, in this case, you should set-up the front shifter in-board of the post remote. Why? Because you seldom shift with the front derailleur anyway (unlike the rear, which gets lots of use), and once you get comfortable with the dropper, you’ll be using it way more then you will the front shifter.

 

Another thing that I frequently see that isn’t so great (and this pertains mainly to the RockShox Reverb post, which is probably the most popular dropper post out there so it’s worth mentioning) is when the remote is mounted on top of the bar instead of underneath it. This isn’t so good because A) it’s more difficult to reach then if it were below the bar. B) You stand way more of chance of slipping your hand off of the grip and losing control if your thumb needs to go above the bar to activate the remote rather then stay below it. C) It ‘s much more vulnerable to damage in a crash if it’s mounted above the bar. (The trick here is to run the remote that is intended (by RockShox) to be mounted on top of the bar on the right side, upside down on the left side below, the bar.)

 

There are many people out there—myself included—that believe that dropper seatposts are the all-time greatest equipment innovation in mountain biking. I incessantly use this piece of equipment on the trail: any trail feature that requires even the least bit of bike handling prowess warrants some manipulation in seat height. When the dropper seatpost is set-up properly, then this literally becomes second nature. However, if it isn’t, you simply can’t maximize the benefits of this awesome piece of equipment.

Off season MTB Training… Its winter time and usually around this time of the year is when many riders start freaking out about training and trying to figure out what they should be doing now so that they’ll be able to ride the bike better next season. But too often, riders over think their off-season MTB training and spend way too much time and energy doing things that aren’t relevant to improving their bike riding.

I have good news! For most riders (of course, there’re always exceptions), this stuff is a lot simpler then most people think! Working in gym and on the road bike during the off-season is great, but nothing will give you the gains that putting in the work on the bike and improving your bike skills will do (and it’s way more fun then going to the gym!).

I stumbled across this interview with Jared Graves recently:

http://enduro-mtb.com/en/interview-jared-graves-talks-training-mental-focus-and-2014/

In it, Jared talks about how he trains for Enduro Racing and how it differs from the training that he used to do for gravity oriented racing (DH and 4X) and BMX.

This is pretty relevant to most, if not all, MTB riders who want to excel on their bikes and want to have the fitness element, the bike skills…all the pieces of the puzzle in place as much as possible.

 

But, first, who is Jared Graves and why should we care what he thinks?

If you had to pick the greatest all-around MTB racer of all time, Jared Graves would be a pretty good first choice. He’s had success (including a couple world championship titles) in all MTB disciplines: DH, 4X, XC, and, most recently the rather new discipline of Enduro Racing (He was also an Olympian in BMX).

Now, just because a racer is super fast, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are also a great teacher, or coach, or even that they know what the heck they are actually doing that makes them so good at what they do!!! There are all kinds of examples of athletes that are phenomenal at their chosen sport, but couldn’t coach their way out of a wet paper bag!

However, I have spent a little time around Jared, and from what I’ve seen first hand, heard from others, read, etc., I’ll say that Jared is one of those athletes who does know his stuff. He’s a smart guy and very critical about every aspect of his riding (and extremely talented and fast).

Also, he’s currently focusing on Enduro Racing*** (if you’re unaware of what MTB Enduro Racing entails, read the description at the bottom of this post) which in my mind, and in the minds of many others, is back to what True MTB Riding/Racing is all about.

Downhill Racing (awesome fun that it is) went in the direction of motocross bikes without the motor; a true DH bike is useless without a chairlift or a shuttle to the top of the run; and if you’re serious about DH, it’s not a matter of If—it’s When—you’ll end up in the hospital. XC racing? Spend hours upon hours upon hours on your road bike getting in phenomenal shape so you can race on dirt-roads on your mountain bike on the weekends…I’d rather puke blood (just kidding!!!)

Neither one of the above MTB racing disciplines (admittedly oversimplified explanations) are very similar to what most of us really ride as everyday mountain bikers which is getting out on fun, challenging, accessible (or not) trails on very capable, modern mountain bikes. Pedal to the top, pin it to the bottom!!! Have FUN!!!!

And this is why Enduro Racing is so borderline nauseatingly popular right now. It’s racing your fun bike on fun trails…the same type of riding most of us do on a regular basis: Mountain Biking!!!!

 

So, now we have Jared Graves, an extremely successful and knowledgeable racer/rider who is excelling at a racing discipline that is very similar to what we, as regular mountain bikers, do and want to excel at…and what’s he do for training to be the best in the world at mountain biking? He rides his bike!!!! A lot!!!

Is he in the gym doing a ton of top-secret cutting edge workouts? Is he putting in super-human miles on the road bike with some crazy road-training-tweaked-to-enduro-racing-program by some road guru/coach? Not according to him and not as far as I can tell (this is also consistent with a lot of other very successful enduro racers).

Here’s a guy that is paid to be in the best shape possible. He has all the time in the world to be in the gym/on the road bike/stationary trainer… and while he does spend some time doing these things (for muscle imbalances, aerobic base…just to switch things up and not burn out, etc.) his time with these is, relative to many MTB Racers, seems minimal. When it comes down to it, he’s riding his bike, working on SKILLS, looking for speed.

I couldn’t agree with this more!!! Students ask me questions all the time about training for MTB riding and what they should be doing, and I always emphasize that riding your bike is going to be the most important thing you can do for your bike riding!!! For some riders, gym work and building strength—for speed and/or for injury prevention, etc.—will be pretty important. For others—if, say, lack of fitness is their weakness—some road bike/trainer time may be the best way to deal with this limiter. But, either way, we’re all mountain bikers, and spending time on that mountain bike and doing things right while riding is a crucial part of riding well–and, I believe should be top priority–no matter what your fitness level is and no matter what your goals are.

 

I’m definitely not saying that off-the-bike training is a waste of time. It has its place. Working hard in the gym, putting in time on the road bike as well as other common off-season MTB training techniques can offer large benefits. Resistance training to retain lean muscle mass, stretching and massage, yoga…all these things are great and perhaps should be worked into your program. But, if your goal is to be a better Mountain Bike Rider in difficult terrain, then focusing on improving your bike skills—with very, very, very rare exception—will do you the most good in all areas of riding: safety, fitness, speed…you name it! Most of us have limited resources when it comes to time and energy, so we need to put our effort in where it will do the most good. What do you really want to focus on?

(If you do have weaknesses, imbalances, injuries…dealing with those may trump bike time for safety/health reasons, and if you have concerns over these, see a doctor and/or relevant professional and get checked out)

 

Some beginner or recreational riders may say, “Dude, that’s Jared Graves you’re talking about. The guy already has killer fitness. I need to get in shape, first, so that I can do these things…” There is a point there. However, as long as your fitness is at a level that allows you participate safely in riding, then bike skills (and the very important on-the-bike specific fitness, that will come when working on bike skills) need to be priority. Being efficient, smooth, and effective on the bike; understanding how to read a trail, where you need to be making decisions and finding lines, seeing solutions to trail sections with adequate time to be able to be proactive and put the bike in the right place; understanding the how and why of proper riding position and weight placement; understanding how your body works optimally in an athletic manner and allowing it to do this while working in accord with the design of the bicycle; understanding how to properly manipulate the bicycle…these things are all crucial to riding the bike well and you’re simply not going to learn them in the gym.

These bike skills are crucial to a beginner and novice rider just for safety purposes. And, when these skills come together, the rider’s efficiency will go through the roof and this is huge in riding the bike successfully: even great fitness won’t do you much good if you’re wasting a ton of energy because you’re doing things wrong on the bike, or worse, crashing a bunch.

Too often I find that riders are looking for fitness and training programs that they can do off of the bike—and commit a substantial amount of time to—when they really should be focusing on what they’re doing on the bike in order to get the biggest gains in their riding. For a professional rider who can afford to put all of their time into their training—a gym program, road riding, etc.—when done properly, can be a huge asset. But for most riders, if you’re putting that much time into “training”, then you’re not working on your bike skills. Bike skills are what will make you smooth and efficient, safer, more under control, more confident…and faster, when it comes to riding in technically challenging terrain. There is so much going on when riding an MTB on the trail that it is crucial to get the proper movements, proper positions, proper techniques, down to default and ”muscle memory”. You’re not going to be able to analyze and contemplate and figure it all out when it’s really” go time” so you have to put the time in first so that the skills are there when you need them.

This is true not only for a multi-time World Champ like Graves, but also for a recreational or beginner rider.

Of course, there will be exceptions to this in the wide world of MTB: if you’re goal is to do well at a 100 mile dirt road race, then sitting on a trainer for hours at a time will probably do you more good then understanding what proper descending position is, why it’s so important, and where it should be applied on the trail. But, again, we’re focusing on riding technically difficult terrain (Mountain Biking!!!), here, and 100 miles of dirt road isn’t very technically demanding. If we flip it around, however, you can ride on that trainer and build yourself some awesome cardio fitness, but that won’t keep you from going over the bars on a steep drop-off because you don’t have any technical skills. Another example: if you don’t understand proper climbing position and technique, you’ll be fighting your own mass, the bike, and the trail as soon as the climb gets steep, loose, and nasty, and you’ll be wasting so much energy that even if you do have a high level of fitness, you’ll still be cooked after struggling all the way to the top.

 

OK, I understand that it’s winter right now and riding bikes is simply out of the question for some riders. I know that many people will be in the gym, on the road, at a spin class… And, yes, all of these can have huge benefits when done properly and for the right reasons. It’s impossible for me to say what the right program is for you if you’re going to do off the bike training, but I will say relax a little in the off-season. Much of off-season training, such as building an aerobic base, should be done at lower levels of exertion and stress. Get outside: Ski, snowboard… If you need to be indoors, play basketball, racket ball, whatever. Be active and have fun. And, of course, if you are a high-level athlete and need to put some hard work in to fix some problem areas, or you have some definite weaknesses that you need to attend to, then by all means, do what you have to do…

But, your priority still needs to be bike skills if you’re interested in becoming a decent mountain bike rider.

Save some for the spring, because on the bike is where the work will really pay off…

If you burn yourself out over the winter, and you show up in the spring as a totally ripped gym-rat, but without riding skills and no energy or motivation to go out to get them…you didn’t do yourself much good as far as your riding is concerned.

 

And here comes the MTB Skills Coaching plug: if you have a proper understanding of what needs to be done, skill-wise, on the bike, then good!! Go for it! Work on it! However, most riders don’t, or at least they have a bunch of questions, and this is where formal instruction and coaching comes into play. Take some instruction and learn what and why correct riding technique is what it is. Learn how to practice and improve upon these skills and techniques so you can move your riding to the next level, whatever that may be. Work on making correct technique your default instead of drilling bad habits into your game.

 

**** An Enduro MTB race is essentially a race timed over what are called “test stages” and these will be primarily downhill sections of trail. These test stages will usually be anywhere from 5ish to 20ish minutes in duration. The test stages are connected by “transition stages” that usually involve climbing the elevation required to get to the top of the test stages (these may be hours in duration). Sometimes these are timed, but usually can be ridden at a fairly leisurely pace. There may be 2 -5ish test stages per day, often with hours of riding required on the transition stages in between the test stages. Usually, Enduro races are multiday events. The test stage times are cumulative and that’s what determines the winner. And, for all intents and purposes, the racers have to be self supported with no outside help, and can only use the parts and tools that they choose to carry with them.

 So, picture three to five of your favorite rides. Do all of them in one day; you’re timed on the downhills (which is cumulative over the entire race) and you can’t have any outside support (with repairs, etc.). And do that for a few days in row. That’s basically Enduro racing.

This type of racing is huge right now and for good reason: it’s pretty much true mountain biking! Ride super fun trails all day, pin it on the downhills, pedal to the top, be in good enough shape to do it all, fix your own bike, make good selections with gear, food, hydration, etc…sounds like mountain biking to me!)