New Trek Lush 29er Questions

Hi Ladies,

I was casually looking for a mountain bike, and picked up a 29er Trek Lush SL as an impulse buy (I only went into the shop to rent a bike). It was my size (14.5) and a screaming deal.

I am 5'1, 110lbs and primarily a road rider. When I tried to follow my friends through through tight corners on the trail that day, I had trouble. It was probably my lack of experience, although at the time I was cursing the 29 inch wheels.

A couple of questions:

Any pointers for making those turns?

The bike weighs 29lbs. I had the shop order me some Stans Crests to swap out for the stock wheels. Am I missing another obvious weight saver that would make this beast easier to handle?

Thanks!

from my experience--speed is your friend. The slower I would ride, the less in control I felt especially through turns. AND as they say practice makes perfect.

I haven't done any mountain biking in years and don't have a 29er. So possibly this won't help at all. But I used to ride with kids a lot and we always had to remind them to "look where you want to go." To me this was more important for mountain biking than for road cycling -- I would find myself fixating on the obstacles I wanted to avoid (like the two trees on either side of the narrow trail) rather than the actual trail that I wanted to follow.

And yes practice is important. Sometimes it can help to keep trying the thing you're having trouble with over and over. Go through the turn, stop, go back, go through it again.

Thanks Ladies:)

I went on a long ride on intermediate trails this weekend, and hit the switch backs just a little faster. It definitely helped!