Riding rock gardens on a rigid

[ChrisEyles]

@Cumisky nice looking bike, I like that a lot And SS too, eh - I'm not quite ready for that yet!

I actually quite like that feeling of having the fillings (and eyeballs) shaken out of your head on the rough stuff... not so much on the high-speed rock gardens maybe but the rest of the time I feel somehow cheated when I'm riding that HT 29er.

So... unweighting - check, quick prayer before launching off - check, falling off from time to time - check. I think I must be doing it more or less right!

 

[Bodhbh]

Been riding and racing hard tail for 28 years rigid for the first 5. You toughen up or the under carriage knows how to hide.

This is not a helpful tip apart from blowing your own trumpet.

 

[screenman]

This is not a helpful tip apart from blowing your own trumpet.

You should read the posts before getting your post numbers up, it was in replay to this line.

"Padded shorts? Haha, I'm guessing you've not done much rigid MTB riding "

 

[Jody]

Its been 20+ years since I did any rocky DH on a rigid but there are a few things that can help. Make sure your saddle isn’t at full XC height if you want to hit at speed, as although its possible it won’t give you much room for maneuver. Try to position yourself slightly rear but low to the frame. The key is to be low enough to aid stability but leave enough room for your legs and arms to compensate the hits. Be prepared for your bike to move under you a lot.

1 basic skill for most MTB that will aid you is a wheelie. It can get you out of big trouble and is not just for kids in a car park.

 

[Jody]

This is not a helpful tip apart from blowing your own trumpet.

Did you have any tips yourself?

 

[Crackle]

I'm so glad not to be riding a rigid now, that I can't imagine doing it voluntarily but......line, it's so easy to get knocked off line that's it's crucial, especially uphill and stay off the seat!

 

[ChrisEyles]

Thanks for the tips @Jody (and everyone else!). Since I only encounter rock gardens on red routes at the trail centre I've always got the saddle down at least a bit, which is essential (for me) to deal with the rough stuff. However I usually save getting back on the bike (behind the saddle) for the steep downhills, do you reckon this would help on slightly flatter rock gardens too? I sort of assumed it'd be good to have a bit of weight on the front wheel to keep from being knocked off-line so easily? Maybe I'll give it a go at lower speeds and see how it feels.

I'm getting used to the bike moving under me a lot like you say, and have got over the early days of having a rigid death grip on the bars and locked stiff legs to match.

As for wheelies, I'm not quite there yet. I can manage a pretty respectable front wheel lift that gets me over rocks/puddles/steps, but keeping the front wheel up for any real distance is still beyond me. Sometimes I hop the front wheel over for the first large rock I encounter on a garden, but anything further along I don't have the control to try and lift over. It's on the practice list, along with learning to bunny hop (which I currently can't do for toffee).

I was out today on the bike for a very quick spin around the two little trails in Plymbridge woods (they're literally a 5 minute ride from work, so I've been going most evenings over the last few weeks), and it was so much smoother and less rocky than the Haldon trails I felt like I'd suddenly become an awesome rider

 

[Crackle]

I was reminded of this thread yesterday when I forgot to unlock my suspension downhill. Nothing like a rock garden, just a few downhill sleeper steps but the bike behaved completely differently, which I wasn't expecting, my foot shot off the pedal which immediately rotated and stopped at my shin!

 

[oldstrath]

Thanks for the tips @Jody (and everyone else!). Since I only encounter rock gardens on red routes at the trail centre I've always got the saddle down at least a bit, which is essential (for me) to deal with the rough stuff. However I usually save getting back on the bike (behind the saddle) for the steep downhills, do you reckon this would help on slightly flatter rock gardens too? I sort of assumed it'd be good to have a bit of weight on the front wheel to keep from being knocked off-line so easily? Maybe I'll give it a go at lower speeds and see how it feels.

Probably not that far back, as Jody says, you want enough front wheel weight for stability, but getting the saddle down out of the way allows you to move easier if needs be.

 

[Globalti]

In about 1989 my brother and I rode a huge tour starting in Glen Nevis on a full rigid Specialized Rockhopper and an equivalent Saracen. For the first couple of miles of the ride we carried the bikes on our shoulders, then we squelched through knee-deep bogs for about five miles, then we rattled down a Land Rover track with rocks the size of babies' heads for the next few miles to Mamore Lodge, where we drank two pints of shandy and a pot of tea each before falling asleep, exhausted, on the lawn. When we awoke we felt shattered and had to do a big climb before rattling on down the military road where we threw ourselves in a burn and squealed, a lot. Both our headsets worked looose with the hammering the bikes received.

I'm sure that suspension forks and a little experience on nutrition and hydration would have made the trip a lot easier for us.

 

[ChrisEyles]

@Crackle haha, yes I know that feeling of eye watering pedal-to-shin contact well - even with all my weight going through my feet I still get bounced off from time to time. I'm getting some bigger platform pedals with pins in soon to try and help, but I suspect they will merely serve to make the moment of impact more excruciatingly painful

@Globalti - actually, that sounds pretty good to me, bogs and all. If you're in the mood for it and have a slight macho/masochistic streak (which I do, for better or worse) those sorts of adventures can be great fun!

 

[fossyant]

If I get another MTB, it will be a bouncer with a dropper seat post. I've done the MTB course near the Velodrome on my fully rigid 90's MTB, the only really scary bits are the 18" drops on a steep descent, with a seat post height set up as my road bikes - not easy to get over the back.

 

[screenman]

@Crackle haha, yes I know that feeling of eye watering pedal-to-shin contact well - even with all my weight going through my feet I still get bounced off from time to time. I'm getting some bigger platform pedals with pins in soon to try and help, but I suspect they will merely serve to make the moment of impact more excruciatingly painful

Surely being clipped in is better for off road, at least I find it that way.

 

[ChrisEyles]

@fossyant I'm dead keen to have a go on a decent FS bike if I get the chance - and dropper posts sound like a great invention, ditto remote lock-out on the suspension. Then I'd give rigid SS a go on the 90s bike (so I'd struggle with the ups as much as the downs haha). Budget and space means it ain't gonna happen for a while though!

@screenman I've never actually tried clipless on the road let along off it. I was thinking of putting on clips and straps like I've got on all my other bikes, but decided against it when I sped up a bit and started having to dab on the odd corner. It would amuse onlookers when I fell slowly sideways having stalled in one of those darned rock gardens though

 

[screenman]

I find being clipped in give you more control on the bike, more points to pull up on.