Mtb Instruction & Skills

[Artista]

My biggest problem with reading & watching YouTube videos is getting the information from my brain to my body. Just like when I thought I had my weight properly positioned over the bike only to have my instructor figure out that I was subtly positioning my hips so that the bike was weighted in the wrong direction. That may sound pretty brainless to a very coordinated & experienced mtb'er, but it's not always so straightforward for the less coordinated among us...like me

Indy, your comment about your wrists being cocked before DH repositioned your brake handles may be the answer to my wrist pain when I ride the circles. I'm going to have my fitter take a look at my wrist position when I ride the brakes.

[indysteel]

My biggest problem with reading & watching YouTube videos is getting the information from my brain to my body. Just like when I thought I had my weight properly positioned over the bike only to have my instructor figure out that I was subtly positioning my hips so that the bike was weighted in the wrong direction. That may sound pretty brainless to a very coordinated & experienced mtb'er, but it's not always so straightforward for the less coordinated among us...like me

Indy, your comment about your wrists being cocked before DH repositioned your brake handles may be the answer to my wrist pain when I ride the circles. I'm going to have my fitter take a look at my wrist position when I ride the brakes.

I'd really like to take a few additional lessons myself. I have a couple emails out there to instructors from the clinic, but haven't heard back. It would be nice to get some one-on-one help.

[Catrin]

I'd really like to take a few additional lessons myself. I have a couple emails out there to instructors from the clinic, but haven't heard back. It would be nice to get some one-on-one help.

Yes, this! It would be fantastic to be able to do this. Funds are.....tight right now so I don't know that I could make it work right away but would like to do this at some point.

[indysteel]

Yes, this! It would be fantastic to be able to do this. Funds are.....tight right now so I don't know that I could make it work right away but would like to do this at some point.

Just ride with Tania for free!

Tania's actually one of the people I emailed--at Jonathon's suggestion. I sent it on Monday and haven't heard back just yet. I'll resend it next week or just email Jonathan instead with the hope of greasing the wheels. I also emailed an instructor from B'ton. I have no idea what someone would charge, but I think it would be worth it to me. Short of that, I'll just do the drills and head out with DH to BCSP when we can.

[Artista]

I'd really like to take a few additional lessons myself. I have a couple emails out there to instructors from the clinic, but haven't heard back. It would be nice to get some one-on-one help.

I THINK that personal instruction made a big difference for me. The circle drills are really improving my outlook on hairpin turns, but I won't know for sure until I get back on the trails. Besides, I still have one more lesson to go. Depending on what we cover next time, I may be off of the trails & drilling for longer than I thought. This is killing me. I really want to get back to riding technical stuff but I'm tired of crashing. And then there are the clipless pedals to get used to. I won't try anything technical until I can get out of the pedals 100% of the time under controlled conditions. That should set me up for getting out about 75% of the time in actual riding conditions.

[indysteel]

I THINK that personal instruction made a big difference for me. The circle drills are really improving my outlook on hairpin turns, but I won't know for sure until I get back on the trails. Besides, I still have one more lesson to go. Depending on what we cover next time, I may be off of the trails & drilling for longer than I thought. This is killing me. I really want to get back to riding technical stuff but I'm tired of crashing. And then there are the clipless pedals to get used to. I won't try anything technical until I can get out of the pedals 100% of the time under controlled conditions. That should set me up for getting out about 75% of the time in actual riding conditions.

Out of curiosity, have you thought about just ditching the clipless pedals for the time being and using platforms/BMX? I'm not using clipless at the moment and likely won't for a while. Granted, I'm not doing much where clipless would really be of help at the moment either.

[Catrin]

I have no idea what someone would charge, but I think it would be worth it to me. Short of that, I'll just do the drills and head out with DH to BCSP when we can.

I am thankful that a couple of women have told me we can ride together, but it would be nice to know what a formal 1-on-1 training session would cost if it should turn out to be needed. I've emailed one of the professional coaches that live in Indy to find out, really just for the information. I need to get this dog bite bill settled!

Out of curiosity, have you thought about just ditching the clipless pedals for the time being and using platforms/BMX? I'm not using clipless at the moment and likely won't for a while. Granted, I'm not doing much where clipless would really be of help at the moment either.

This is a very good idea. I've no intention on clipping in for quite some time to come, not on the mountain bike. I've some great BMX pedals - they will tear your legs up without protection though so I have shin guards. I was self-conscious about the shin guards before the sessions started Sunday, but was quite thankful for them before the day was over.

If I had been clipped on Sunday on the trail my falls would have been much worse - and at the intro/beginner level I don't think we do anything where that would be required. So, for now, I reserve my Frogs for my other bikes.

[indysteel]

I am thankful that a couple of women have told me we can ride together, but it would be nice to know what a formal 1-on-1 training session would cost if it should turn out to be needed. I've emailed one of the professional coaches that live in Indy to find out, really just for the information. I need to get this dog bite bill settled!

I'm not sure whom you emailed, but if you hear from them and they do offer lessons, let me know. While the clinic's website does mention that some instructiors offer additional coaching opportunities, it doesn't give specifics.

[Catrin]

I'm not sure whom you emailed, but if you hear from them and they do offer lessons, let me know. While the clinic's website does mention that some instructiors offer additional coaching opportunities, it doesn't give specifics.

I certainly will, I believe she coaches for a living so I've no idea what it might cost or her availability, but it seemed worthy of a question. I will email you when I get more information.

[Artista]

Out of curiosity, have you thought about just ditching the clipless pedals for the time being and using platforms/BMX? I'm not using clipless at the moment and likely won't for a while. Granted, I'm not doing much where clipless would really be of help at the moment either.

Yes, I considered staying with platforms & am not ruling out going back to them. The problem is that my skills are advanced enough that I'm taking some pretty bumpy obstacles like rock gardens on moderate hills, small ledges, etc. (These aren't the obstacles that are causing me to crash, btw.) My feet are already bouncing around on the platforms. My instructor & awesome-bike-shop-dude-who-mountain-bikes are about the same size as I am, which is pretty small. (OK the bike-shop-dude is a few inches taller but we probably weigh about the same.) Based on their experience, they're both concerned that my feet will bounce off of the pedals as I begin taking even bumpier obstacles. Having a foot bounce off of a pedal in the middle of a very steep & technical rock garden could cause an even worse crash than not being able to get out of clipless pedals on the rare occasion that I actually have some reaction time.

In truth, the idea of mountain biking in clipless pedals has my nerves on edge. I've given it a lot of thought, though, & have come to the following conclusions:

• It seems that most crashes happen so fast that I'm on the way down before I have time to consider what to do with my feet. That means that I would probably be unable to prevent a crash even if I could get my feet out of the pedals before I hit the ground. That's sure been the case with the platforms so far.
• I wonder if we attribute too many crashes to clipless pedals because one of the last sensations that we remember before hitting the ground is that our feet were tugging at the bike. Again, it would seem that by that time, it would be too late to prevent the crash by getting our feet loose.
• It seems that most of the falls that can legitimately be attributed to clipless pedals are the slow speed falls or tip-overs where we actually had some reaction time but couldn't get our feet loose. These slow speed falls are usually pretty harmless.
• I do have big concerns about being more seriously injured in a crash if I hit the ground with my feet still attached to the bike. I choose SPD's with multi-directional release cleats for my mountain bike for this reason. I've already tipped over a few times with these pedals & my feet came loose the moment I hit the ground. I can't say as much for the Frogs that I love on my road bike & the Candies that I couldn't make friends with.

So all of this makes perfect sense in my head but fear still strikes my heart when I think of taking my SPD's on the trail. I'll probably carry my platforms with me on the first few trail rides so that I can change out in the middle of the ride if I think it will keep me safer.

I'm also seriously considering getting a remote control seat post. The post would allow me to lower the seat a bit & ride unclipped over or around some obstacles. It would also be awesome to be able to lower the seat when starting out on both downhills & uphills. The remote control would allow me to quickly raise my seat to the best riding height for uphills once I got going. The posts are pretty expensive though...like $300.

[Catrin]

What about a good set of BMX pedals and real grippy shoes like Five Tens? I've been told the soles of these shoes are SO grippy they really grab onto the pins of the pedals and won't bounce off. I am considering a pair of these shoes for myself.

I am considering the same remote control seat-post - but not this year. Once I have the basic skills under my belt and my trail riding to fall ratio reverses then I will do this. Because of my fit needs other than inseam, the saddle height on my Jamis is going to be well above my bars and I think that will make things easier later on to be able to get the seat post out of the way easily when I need to do so.

I couldn't justify it at this stage, even if I had the money...

[Artista]

What about a good set of BMX pedals and real grippy shoes like Five Tens? I've been told the soles of these shoes are SO grippy they really grab onto the pins of the pedals and won't bounce off. I am considering a pair of these shoes for myself.

I am considering the same remote control seat-post - but not this year. Once I have the basic skills under my belt and my trail riding to fall ratio reverses then I will do this. Because of my fit needs other than inseam, the saddle height on my Jamis is going to be well above my bars and I think that will make things easier later on to be able to get the seat post out of the way easily when I need to do so.

I couldn't justify it at this stage, even if I had the money...

Thanks for the suggestion. I have BMX pedals & grippy shoes on my back-up list if the SPD's don't work out. I knew that shoes were less likely to slip on BMX pedals but I hadn't heard that they were less likely to bounce too.

I found new, remote control, seat posts on ebay at a slight discount. The discount isn't big enough to get my business from my LBS, though.

How's that lower handlebar thing on the Jamis working for you? I thought you would do a more upright position on your mtb because of your hands.