The SO is new to the trails, how can I help?

[brigada]

After a lot of research, my SO got a bike of her own. She got curious about my own newfound obsession with MTBing, and got a nice bike of her own.

We went to a couple of rides around the local park with very simple trails just so she can get a basic idea of what it's like, but she's never ridden a bike with gears before and I can tell it's a bit overwhelming for her. The only thing I insisted on right away was that she get a proper helmet asap. I want to help her progress, but I'm afraid that I will push her too far outside her comfort zone and kill her interest in trail riding.

What should/could I do to help her out? How can I tell when I'll be able to take her to actual xc trails? Any tips would be more than welcome.

More than anything I'm apprehensive about her v-brakes, I really wish she got hydraulic disc brakes right away because if I don't trust her v-brakes, how can I expect her to? However, disc brake upgrade also requires a new wheelset.

[Owlie]

Forget the trails for right now. Let her concentrate on learning how to use the bike. Let her get used to the shifting--the best way, I think (provided she's ridden a bike before and is comfortable with controlling the bike) is to just go out in a big empty parking lot or quiet streets with low traffic and experiment. A little explanation (either from you or the bike shop) helps too.
This is how I'd do it:
Once she's comfortable with the gears and the bike, see if you can find some packed dirt/crushed limestone paths or a large, relatively flat grassy area to ride around in. I'd highly recommend a mountain bike skills clinic if you have them in your area.

Encourage her.

[Catrin]

+100 on what Owlie said. She needs to get comfortable, and more than comfortable with the bike. Hesitation on the trail can lead to crashes and she needs to focus on shifting first. Disc brakes are great, but I do know a few who still rock the mtb trails with rim brakes - right now the shifting and her comfort level is more important. I am the perfect example of why it doesn't work to try to learn several new things at the same time...

Does your area have any non-technical fire roads? Once she gets comfortable with shifting in a low traffic area that would be a good progression if you have easy access to them.

There are a couple of great mountain bike clinics around - there is a fantastic one on southern Indiana every June that both of you would probably love. It is the Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic and it is great for all women interested in mountain biking at any level.

[Becky]

Owlie and Catrin both gave good advice. I'll add one thing about the v-brakes: if you and she find that the stopping power isn't enough, ask your shop about replacement pads. They're usually inexpensive and can transform mediocre brakes into respectable ones. Kool Stop makes very good pads, but I don't know if they're available in your area.

[TigerMom]

I agree with all of the above TE members

In terms of V-brakes, they are not terrible if she is light weight (ie. less than 120pounds) and if the conditions are dry (not muddy/raining).

Besides.....as she gets better at biking, we all have the n+1 bike upgraditis infections anyways.

Also, I think that there was a recent TE post about teaching biking. I think the TE member posted some lessons to explain how to teach gearing.

Found it:
Recently, a TE member posted,"How to teach adults to ride a bike" and I think that she has instructions on how to teach gearing.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=52454

[Irulan]

+100 on what Owlie said. She needs to get comfortable, and more than comfortable with the bike. Hesitation on the trail can lead to crashes and she needs to focus on shifting first. Disc brakes are great, but I do know a few who still rock the mtb trails with rim brakes - right now the shifting and her comfort level is more important. I am the perfect example of why it doesn't work to try to learn several new things at the same time...

Does your area have any non-technical fire roads? Once she gets comfortable with shifting in a low traffic area that would be a good progression if you have easy access to them.

There are a couple of great mountain bike clinics around - there is a fantastic one on southern Indiana every June that both of you would probably love. It is the Midwest Women's Mountain Bike Clinic and it is great for all women interested in mountain biking at any level.

Did you notice OP is in Croatia? I don't think a clinic in Indiana is going to be of much help. ;)

that being said - cover the basics in shifting, first and foremost.
After that, I suggest basic body position skills work ( neutral to attack, pedals level and butt out of the saddle) then work on braking and manuevering. Videos on YouTube can be useful. Take it slow unless she's agressive and getting it right away.

[emily_in_nc]

I rode an awesome (but older) Titus Racer X with v-brakes and never had a problem braking. They were also much less fussy than disc brakes and I never had the rubbing issues that I have had on two mountain bikes with disc brakes.

Caveat: I am under 120 lbs. and try not to ride in the rain or in muddy conditions, like TigerMom pointed out above.

The brakes are likely one worry you should just take off the table. The main thing is to get her comfortable with shifting and riding in general.

[Catrin]

Did you notice OP is in Croatia? I don't think a clinic in Indiana is going to be of much help. ;)

Oh my, no I didn't notice that - and I even went to her profile page to see if I could tell where she is located and just plain missed it!

[brigada]

Ha, I'd be the first to sign up if there was a skill building course of some kind here! :(
Thank you all for the important tips! We're going to practise shifting today, I just need to find an empty playground or something. Flat pavement only :)

There was some solid progress so far - the first day she was even struggling to get on the bike and was getting off by jumping to the side. However, she started reading up on the proper technique and the next day she got the hang of it. She even positioned her seat properly and it was a vast improvement.

We did since go to a park with very mild, short ascents and descents (only a couple meters of climbing/descending) and she did enjoy it and asked to go again. I tried to explain the correct position and tried to point out how staying off the saddle improves stability when it gets bumpy, but her shifting issues really need work first. She has grip shifters that I thought would be easier, but she keeps using the front derailleur to shift instead of the rear. When she does, she doesn't switch cogs all the way and the chain grates against the derailleur a lot :(

Basically, we'll just have to work on that a lot before hitting the park again :/

[Catrin]

Sounds like a good beginning! As someone who just learned how to ride 3 years ago, I think you made a good choice with the grip shifters over triggers. I must, however, admit I am biased in favor of good quality grips anyway. Shifting is hard to learn - mainly because they go opposite directions :) Is there a local park with very low traffic roads that you can use once she is ready for something more than the parking lot?

[brigada]

The shifters are SRAM X7, so she's off to a good start I think. I read somewhere thst the only difference between X7 grip shifters and the more expensive models is in the casing+rubber design, the mechanism is the same.

Also, this park I mentioned has a flat section with wide pavements too, before you go deeper into the park where there's very mild singletrack. I think it will be a good platform for getting the hang of everything if we just avoid the weekends - it's crowded then, and the little kids are everywhere on the paths. I'd rather not place anyone in danger!

[Catrin]

The shifters are SRAM X7, so she's off to a good start I think. I read somewhere thst the only difference between X7 grip shifters and the more expensive models is in the casing+rubber design, the mechanism is the same.

Also, this park I mentioned has a flat section with wide pavements too, before you go deeper into the park where there's very mild singletrack. I think it will be a good platform for getting the hang of everything if we just avoid the weekends - it's crowded then, and the little kids are everywhere on the paths. I'd rather not place anyone in danger!

I've used SRAM X7, X9, and currently use X0. There IS a difference between X7 and X0 - but mainly in weight and the size of the actual grips. I've not noticed a significant difference in operation. X7 was a very good choice, I wouldn't go any lower than that because the quality goes downhill fast below that level.

Right now she needs as much practice as possible, I am glad to hear the singletrack there is very mild. Keep in mind that what might seem mild to you may not seem that way to her :) It is a blessing you've access to a mild trail - is there any exposure (drop-offs)?

[ridebikeme]

Like everyone has mentioned, simply let her accustomed to the bike first and foremost. I don't see that the V-brakes are an issue; we all rode them for many years without a lot of issues. You could swap out the pads as someone else mentioned, but if te brakes are set up correctly, I wouldn't worry about stopping power. Back in the day, these brakes were used at mountain bike resorts and did well...I worked at one and saw these bikes daily, and we didn't have any issues with the brakes.

It's exciting that she is learning to ride, have fun!

[Becky]

Kool Stop pads are available through Amazon. Make sure to get the threaded kind with the nuts.

Why is that? I've always just bought the ones that fit the brake pad holders for my brakes...wondering if there's something I'm missing. (Sorry for the threadjack!)

[Becky]

Suppose I could be wrong! But the smooth holders without nuts are more 'old style' and the posts are often too wide to fit. (BTW, I have extra, smooth old-style canti claws by Kool Stop if anyone needs them. One package I opened, the other I didn't. Neither are used). :D

Oh, now I see. I've always just bought the pad inserts that fit modern v-brakes, not the pad and carrier together. Thanks for clarifying.

[brigada]

Thank you all for the tips, they are super valuable in these noobie times :)

The other day she survived her first crash. Looked bad from my spot, but she's fine, just a few scratches and a bent pedal cage. The helmet did its job and I was so relieved that I insisted she gets it right away.

Thing is, this only happened because she is stubborn - she went down a slope that was new to her and lost control of the bike when she hit the rocky bumps at the bottom. She insists on riding ahead of me because "she can't see the obstacles if I'm in front of her", instead of following my lead and learning that way. I mean, I'm still a noob to proper trail riding myself, but I spent all my life riding bikes, occasionally hitting the trails with my dad who has been racing locally for over a decade so he gave me some useful tips very early on. I think it would benefit her more than she thinks at this stage to try and emulate some of that.

[indysteel]

Perhaps you could put together a little skills clinic if your own to help her learn the basics. There are some decent tutorials on the web to help get both of you started. I hear you in terms of watching you from behind, but haven ridden behind my husband a fair amount myself, it's better that I learned to read and watch the trail myself than watch him. If nothing else, go out to the trail and do some session work. Meaning, stop and practice skills on specific, instructive parts of the trail. Have her watch your technique and then have her try it. If she's resistant to learning from you, ask her if she'd be willing to work with another rider. Perhaps you have a friend who could help her.

[thekarens]

I love being able to follow the line of a better rider, but there's very few people I trust enough to do that with.

[OakLeaf]

The other day she survived her first crash. Looked bad from my spot, but she's fine, just a few scratches and a bent pedal cage. The helmet did its job and I was so relieved that I insisted she gets it right away.

Thing is, this only happened because she is stubborn - she went down a slope that was new to her and lost control of the bike when she hit the rocky bumps at the bottom. She insists on riding ahead of me because "she can't see the obstacles if I'm in front of her", instead of following my lead and learning that way. I mean, I'm still a noob to proper trail riding myself, but I spent all my life riding bikes, occasionally hitting the trails with my dad who has been racing locally for over a decade so he gave me some useful tips very early on. I think it would benefit her more than she thinks at this stage to try and emulate some of that.

Wow, glad she's basically okay ... I'm sure she's sore, hope she feels better soon.

Speaking from the POV of someone who doesn't MTB but who learned to ride (street) moto as an adult ... I think there's a place for both leading and following. So very, very much about learning to ride anything on two wheels (or anything at all at speed, no matter how many wheels) has to do with learning where to look and how to keep a wide focus. When following, even a moderately experienced rider can get distracted by the rider ahead to the point of losing focus on anything else. (That's how I T-boned an oncoming minivan in the middle of a tight right-hander ... but I digress.)

The easiest way to learn from someone else's lines is to follow closely, so staying farther back when following isn't that great of a solution. I do tend to agree with thekarens that you need to REALLY trust anyone you're following - not trust them in an abstract sense, but have a gut confidence that their skills are 100% adequate to the task. As indysteel suggested, that can bring out relationship issues ... think of all the taboos surrounding teaching a spouse to drive a motor vehicle.

[indysteel]

My husband and I had this conversation several times when I was first learning to mtb. Consistent with Oak's comments, sometimes I would purposely follow him, sometimes I would purposely lead. It can help to follow someone, but IME, it can also become a crutch. It's not a substitute for learning how to pick a line on your own ot how to use the appropriate body position to deal with a given obstacle. Mimicing someone is different from learning how, when and why to use a specific skill or body position. I also think following my husband sometimes made me ride at a pace that was above my skill level and that, in turn, would incite panic if he started to get away from me. So, instead of thinking about the trail, I was fixated on making up that distance. That's not really where you want your head to be as a new rider.

It's not that I don't think following someone has it's place in learning how to ride, but I again think it might be better used in targeted session work than in a regular ride.

[brigada]

I like these points of view, thanks for sharing! I see what you are saying about following in my lines. Since I'm still learning myself, I'm not too comfortable in the position of the tutor, either. I do like what Indysteel suggested regarding specific bits of trail to tackle. I think I can do that, at least with some smaller downhill sections. Perhaps we should start with the slope she lost control on, so that she overcomes any leftover tension quickly? It's really not too bad even for a beginner, so perhaps I could go down it a couple times and then let her try it herself?

In fact, perhaps I could get my dad on board as the resident tutor when he comes to visit. When I was younger, we'd pass the entire xc race trail and I'd follow in his lines. I haven't fallen once so I guess he was doing something right. If not, I guess we can always join some mtb club and ask for a beginner friendly group ride :)

[Irulan]

If not, I guess we can always join some mtb club and ask for a beginner friendly group ride :)

If you are a beginner yourself, this sounds like a really good plan. The last thing. You want to be doing is passing on any potentially bad habits. I always recommend a skills clinic if you have access to any.

[indysteel]

Do you have a local club? If so, reach out to them now; you both might benefit. Beyond that, watch some online basic skills videos together. My husband is largely self taught and while he's a good rider, he's not schooled in how to break it down for me. That's why I started with a clinic. I know you may not have something like that in your area, but there may be other local riders or coaches who can help. For that reason, getting plugged into the local community could prove beneficial. Otherwise, access online resources for basic skill building.