# how do you learn to cycle off road properly?



## Virtual DBP (2 Oct 2009)

My middle one is wanting me to take him mountain biking but i don't have a clue how to technically ride off road. 

i do have a very basic mountain bike, but i only ever ride road bikes so can anyone suggest the best way to learn how to ride trails properly.


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## Mr Pig (2 Oct 2009)

When I find out I'll let you know! ;0)

First of all, get out and play...


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (2 Oct 2009)

just take your time. or join a club or get some patient riding buddies or you can find a local training center or a registered guide or watch videos and study the pro's.

hth


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## Cubist (2 Oct 2009)

If you dn't mind paying for the privelege you could Google "Mountain Bike Skills courses", and you'll find beginners introductory courses at Glentress as well as many others. 

Personally I found that a map showing permissible routes (bridleways here in England-- don't know if access is different in Scotland) makes it a bit more fun to explore routes for yourself, and at the end of the day the instinct not to fall off and hurt yourself will give you all the limits you need. Kids tend to be braver though, so watch them on steep rocky stuff. 


I started last summer taking my kids to easy green and blue routes and building confidence, before joining a club and doing weekly rides with them.


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## marzjennings (3 Oct 2009)

One hint I can think is to get your weight off the bars. On a road bike with drops you've got a lot of weight forward and resting on the bars. Which is fine because a root or rock isn't going to grab you're front wheel and send you over the bars while on the road. So sit back and don't lean on the bars. In fact go a step further and get used to lifting the front wheel just a bit, not a full wheelie, just enough to lift over rocks and roots. 
Also be prepared to stand up a lot more on when off road. Body position is important to staying upright as trails dip and rise.

There's some good videos on youtube that can be of help.


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## Panter (3 Oct 2009)

This book is a great help although I can't recommend getting some professional training highly enough.

It's not expensive when compared to the cost of a lot of bike upgrades, but it will give you skills you can work on and carry with you forever.


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## lukesdad (3 Oct 2009)

Take mr pigs advice get out and play. Dont get to technical skills come through practice forget the courses and the books common sense rules.

when you come across something you cant get your head round come back on cc and ask about it, youll get plenty of help. learn at your own pace.

Ive been riding and racing off road all my life and Im still learning.

get to it you ll both love it. Regards.


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## 02GF74 (3 Oct 2009)

start with dirt flat paths and then move to to more tricky stuff.


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## PaulB (3 Oct 2009)

I know everyone will agree with me when I say don't bother, it's not worth it. Mud, rocks, boulders, the risk of hurting yourself miles from help. Stick to road biking. 









What?


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## Mr Pig (3 Oct 2009)

PaulB said:


> The risk of hurting yourself miles from help. Stick to road biking.



I'm a lot more scared of the roads than the fields! 

Playing off road is a lot of fun but I'm rubbish at it. I go down steep hills very slowly and walk over stuff I think might throw me into the scenery. I still fall off quite often ;0) Provided you're going slow enough you can usually laugh it off but I've seen mates come off at speed and it looked really sore. 

What I'm saying is just take your time and forget everyone else. If you go out with other, more experienced, people you can find yourself tempted to go faster than you're comfortable with because you don't want to look like a numpty. Trust me, better a whole numpty than a busted hero!


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## the_bing (4 Oct 2009)

a good piece of advice is "watch the gap and not the obstacle", meaning if your trying to avoid a rock/log/sheep then concentrate on the route AROUND it, rather than keeping an eye on it all the time. otherwise, for some bizarre reason, it just seems to draw you towards it (?). i always remember this and i've been MTBing for about 16 years now, it's served me well. it's the only 'rule' i stick to and share with anyone, bar that, go as fast or as slow or as reckless as you like. it applies at pretty much all speeds, being rather more necessary the faster you go (it can hurt otherwise)

tyre pressures need to be lower for improved grip (but beware the snake bite punctures when you clout rocks with your rear wheel!). when going uphill off-road it's better to keep your bum in the saddle so your weights over the rear wheel. cleats are good for quickly hopping over stuff (but not essential).

o2gf74 is right with starting easy and then progressing.

i disagree with paulB, nothing is better than riding a filthy route in autmn/winter, getting proper clarted with mud and vegetation and sweat, coming home, hot shower, nice big cup of tea and cake on the sofa. bliss. my girlfriend thinks i'm an idiot

bing


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## Virtual DBP (4 Oct 2009)

cheers guys...

going to take the kids to glentress and have a go a the skills loop and green trail with him.

however, do you think this bike is good enough? - or should i just hire one when i get there?

http://www.haslemerecycles.co.uk/images/Bikes/96.jpg

it's a claud butler stoneriver, but it's an old one (2004?). i'm sure from 2005 onwards they had more of a downslope on the top tube. also, mine is quite big, not sure if mountain bikes are supposed to be a bit smaller on you?


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## maurice (5 Oct 2009)

They're meant to be the 'right size'. But you can get away with (and some people prefer) a smaller size.

I've never been to Glentress but imagine the green route is pretty easy, you should be fine on that bike.


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## GilesM (6 Oct 2009)

Virtual DBP said:


> cheers guys...
> 
> going to take the kids to glentress and have a go a the skills loop and green trail with him.
> 
> ...




The green route at Glentress is very safe, wide enough for riding side by side in most places, very smooth surface, and no steep climbs or descents, it's just a very nice little path that twists through the trees. That bike will be fine on the green route. Much of the blue is also very smooth and easy, the blue descent from the top car park (best place to park for the green route) to the bottom car parks is a good stepping stone, it is smooth and free flowing, and has the option to get up a bit more speed, make sure you follow the blue route signs, the red, black and blue are all together for a small section then the blue heads off to the left, there are signs explaining that most of the jumps are graded red and they can all be avoided by taking the blue grade section to the side of the jump, I would recommend that your son follows the blue grade section to start with, some of the jumps can be big, and a bad front wheel landing is always possible. You will see one big jump on at the start of one section of Blue, Red, Black grade descent just as you cross a fire road, there are signs to tell you this a black grade jump, it can be a very big air jump, great fun, but I think quite a few have enjoyed the jump, but not the landing

Have a great day at Glentress, it really is a fantastic place to ride a bike, and the cafe sells great cakes.


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## RedBike (6 Oct 2009)

No offense but you'll probably find he copes a lot better than you. 
As you get older you seem to develop more fear (or should that be sense?). 

Stick to the easier routes to begin with and see how it goes.


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## daveyrunner (13 Oct 2009)

I recently tried single track for the first time in the Lkes at Winlatter. It was a bit of a baptism of fire but I just took my time and rode the same trail a couple of times which is a great way to build confidence and skills.

Also just talk to the other bikers there and they will be happy to give you tips


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## GilesM (16 Oct 2009)

GilesM said:


> You will see one big jump on at the start of one section of Blue, Red, Black grade descent just as you cross a fire road, there are signs to tell you this a black grade jump, it can be a very big air jump, great fun, but I think quite a few have enjoyed the jump, but not the landing



When I was there last weekend this jump had gone, it has been replaced by a smaller one and a couple of extra berms, strange as it had only been there for about 12 to 18 months, however the good news is that the extra berms mean that you are going much faster as you hit the next jump (wide table top) which is nice.


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## mintsauce (27 Oct 2009)

I'd always suggest professional coaching. 

Don't rush into this though as you can waste a lot of money and gain little if you go with the wrong coach. Find someone who actually has the technical skills but importantly the coaching qualifications to indicate they have the ability pass on those skills in a coherent and relevant manner. 

Dependant on how serious you are, look for someone who is also trained in elite psychological and physiological performance for example.

Alternatively, a cheaper option and one which you can gain a lot from is that of the instructional DVD. This is just one example:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fundamentals-DVD/dp/B0006OQYZK

All the best!


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## andyhunter (7 Nov 2009)

to gain technical experience on the bike i just went head first into racing mtd then done both mtb and road racing and now just mainly focus on road racing. but you should start of going to any forrest and build convidence up riding over things you can or up things you can and then keep trying to go over or down more challenging technical stuff. do not rush into trying to do downhill technical stuff unless you have lots of skill as if your confidence gets a knock if you come off or faced with fear of coming off or not liking the look of something steep or challenging its not good. if something looks to hard it generally is, so start of easy and work up over time would be a good approach and try to vary terrain which over time you will pick up the best lines or approach to different objects your faced with to take risk or if your confident or the easy approach to pass something without putting your foot down or coming off. B). hope that helps.


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## Kirstie (9 Nov 2009)

Talk to Tony at UKbikeskills.co.uk 
He'll get you down anything, so to speak...


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## yenrod (9 Nov 2009)

Virtual DBP said:


> My middle one is wanting me to take him mountain biking but i don't have a clue how to technically ride off road.
> 
> i do have a very basic mountain bike, but i only ever ride road bikes so can anyone suggest the best way to learn how to ride trails properly.



*Keep riding off-road*


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## tradesecrets (11 Nov 2009)

Virtual DBP said:


> My middle one is wanting me to take him mountain biking but i don't have a clue how to technically ride off road.
> 
> i do have a very basic mountain bike, but i only ever ride road bikes so can anyone suggest the best way to learn how to ride trails properly.




It simple really easier than you realise


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## Valy (12 Dec 2009)

yenrod said:


> *Keep riding off-road*



Yes. 

Common sense as someone mentioned before - just has fun and be aware!


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## yashicamat (19 Dec 2009)

A few simple things (which are fairly obvious anyway) will help things along too; keep reasonably firm tyres to avoid pinch puctures, give the handbars an upward tug to "pop" the wheel up a bit if going over a small vertical obstacle (e.g., a wooden erosion board across the trail) - it helps to make the transition a bit smoother, watch the pedal position on channels / large rocks etc. to avoid catching them, think ahead with gearing so you don't hit a really steep slope and find yourself out of time to change through the gears, until you know the bike really well, brake well in advance of sharp corners as trying to peel off the speed on a loose surface while cornering can be entertaining . . . all obvious stuff really. If you do any moorland riding, be wary of puddles / peaty channels; they can be a lot deeper than they look and can nicely drop the front wheel down enough to send you over the handlebars, not painful usually, just embarassing and will get you wet too.

Just a few thoughts.


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## Sheffield_Tiger (16 Jan 2010)

"*how do you learn to cycle off road properly?"

*You don't need to learn that. You need to learn to fall off. The rest will follow naturally 

Oh and remember how to spot marshland aheadand don't be frightened to get off and push


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## Sheffield_Tiger (16 Jan 2010)

"*how do you learn to cycle off road properly?"

*You don't need to learn that. You need to learn to fall off. The rest will follow naturally 

Oh and remember how to spot marshland aheadand don't be frightened to get off and push


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## Debian (16 Jan 2010)

Sheffield_Tiger said:


> "*how do you learn to cycle off road properly?"
> 
> *You don't need to learn that. You need to learn to fall off. The rest will follow naturally
> 
> Oh and remember how to spot marshland aheadand don't be frightened to *get off and push*



Or carry if the mud is the wrong type and front fork mud clearance is not good enough


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## Debian (16 Jan 2010)

Sheffield_Tiger said:


> "*how do you learn to cycle off road properly?"
> 
> *You don't need to learn that. You need to learn to fall off. The rest will follow naturally
> 
> Oh and remember how to spot marshland aheadand don't be frightened to *get off and push*



Or carry if the mud is the wrong type and front fork mud clearance is not good enough


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## the_bing (17 Jan 2010)

i've been MTBing for nearly 20 years now. no-one showed me how to do it. just get out and give it a go. start on easy tracks, and you'll soon want to progress. yashicamat's advice is good. theres plenty of books on the subject if you want to get geeky about it.
get out there and do it! don't fear the mud, it's good for the complexion


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## the_bing (17 Jan 2010)

i've been MTBing for nearly 20 years now. no-one showed me how to do it. just get out and give it a go. start on easy tracks, and you'll soon want to progress. yashicamat's advice is good. theres plenty of books on the subject if you want to get geeky about it.
get out there and do it! don't fear the mud, it's good for the complexion


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