Negoiating Switchbacks

[Catrin]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike...tchback-Turns/

Catrin - Just off the top of my head it seems that you report an awful lot of endos. In my decades of riding and observing both my own and others' crashes, most are to the side. I think I've gone over the bars one time in decades of riding, but countless times every other direction. My husband has gone over twice but one time was his own stupid fault (trying to do a nose wheelie without thinking it through ).

Are you focusing on getting your butt back? If so, focus on getting it back more.

I've not had a actual endo. Yesterday was the closest - but even that was more in a diagonal sideways direction. It was just silly, we had just entered the trail and had barely gotten started when I got distracted and apparently grabbed that front brake I would like to say that it was caused by erosion and the large amount of dust on the trail due to the drought but that had nothing to do with it.

Thanks for the tips and advice, it is getting embarrassing the trouble I have with switchbacks when I have far less difficulty negotiating roots and rocks...as long as they aren't in curves

The video is quite helpful and I will watch it a few more times this weekend before I leave Monday. I think that I might be trying to steer to the inside of the curve and using too much brake...perhaps. I've some practice cones and can do some tight turning grills in the grass.

[Irulan]

for me the two things that really made a difference were the front brake moduclation, and getting up and back

[indysteel]

Catrin, did you mention that one of your riding friends was going to ride with you a day or two of your vacation? If so, perhaps it would be helpful to session some of Limekiln's tight turns and switchbacks with her. Watch her navigate them going both north and south and then have her watch you as you work on them. Perhaps she'll be able to offer some feedback.

[Catrin]

Catrin, did you mention that one of your riding friends was going to ride with you a day or two of your vacation? If so, perhaps it would be helpful to session some of Limekiln's tight turns and switchbacks with her. Watch her navigate them going both north and south and then have her watch you as you work on them. Perhaps she'll be able to offer some feedback.

Sadly that fell through, she has to work instead. Darned job, they decided she needed to travel instead. I agree this would be great if any of my other riding friends are available - I am checking to see if someone else can make it.

It isn't all of the tight turns on Limekiln, just the significant switchbacks - and one direction more than another but that makes sense to me. I think it is going to hold me back until I can address this....and I suspect it is more mental at this point than anything. It is in my head now that those turns are a "problem" so therefore they are

[Artista]

Catrin, this may sound like a kooky question but are you turning your handle bars enough to get through a switchback? This question comes from my own personal experience. I was initially trying to get through tight turns on my mountain bike by leaning as much I do on my road bike. My handle bars were usually pointed almost straight ahead regardless of how tight the curve was. I started negotiating switchbacks better once I started turning my handle bars more.

Speaking of switchbacks, I had forgotten about focusing on where I wanted to end up rather than looking just ahead of my front wheel on switchbacks. Today I focused on the exit of a couple of tricky switchbacks and rode them faster and much more smoothly than I've ever been able to do in the past.

I'm anxious to use this focus trick on a switchback that stumped me on my last ride. I tried that switchback three times and kept stopping at the same spot. Now I know that I was looking at the apex of the curve where I was mostly likely to ride off the trail. Sure enough, my bike started heading off the trail every time I approached that spot. I'm pretty sure that I can ace that switchback next time by focusing on the exit of the curve rather than the apex.

[Catrin]

Artista - I think you may have hit on the problem! When I was finally able to get a good ride going last week I focused on several of those problem switchbacks - especially the ones that don't have a drop-off at the apex of the curve.

I remembered the advice here about focusing on the outside of the curve rather than the inside - and of course looking through the curve. It went much better, so that does seems to indicate I've either been under steering or trying to take the curve like I do on the road (hadn't thought about that).

I also figured out my problem with several armored crossings. I made myself ride them and found my problem hasn't been with the actual armored crossing, but the switchback right after them. This was good to finally figure out The switchbacks are much easier going downhill, so I can obviously ride them - I just need to keep working at it.

[Artista]

What's an armored crossing?

If you find that you've been leaning more than turning your handle bars, be careful about reminding yourself to suddenly turn those handle bars part way through a curve after you've already begun leaning. It's a near fool-proof way to get your bike to skid out sideways underneath you. Ask me how I know