How to ride DH safely and WIN!

PB Forum :: Downhill
How to ride DH safely and WIN!
Author Message
flag Giladgu
O+
Posted: Jul 15, 2016 at 15:37 Quote
Any tips on riding loose and dusty trails? I'm fine with riding in the wet and on most surfaces, but once it gets super dry it's as if I forget how to ride. I just stiffen up and don't move around on the bike. And Go slow
flag thejoeyreinhart
Posted: Jul 15, 2016 at 15:59 Quote
Giladgu wrote:
Any tips on riding loose and dusty trails? I'm fine with riding in the wet and on most surfaces, but once it gets super dry it's as if I forget how to ride. I just stiffen up and don't move around on the bike. And Go slow


It's definitely a different kind of slippery! I found just getting a feel for having both wheels sliding helped a lot. I rode some loose fall lines/ scree lines to help get a feel for things.
flag razj
Posted: Jul 24, 2016 at 3:33 Quote
This might sound stupid but i'll ask anyway...

I started riding a year ago with an enduro bike. Last week I got a DH rig (a Glory '13) and brought it to my local bike park. I felt I was a lot slower than my enduro and didn't really manage to tame the beast so to speak. It was the first time riding the DH and i'm not really familiar with those trails as well... but I kind of think I also don't know how to ride a DH frame, since I've always only known my enduro.

Do you guys have some tips to help me learn how to correctly adjust to riding a DH coming from an enduro?
flag gabriel-mission9
Posted: Jul 24, 2016 at 4:21 Quote
razj wrote:
This might sound stupid but i'll ask anyway...

I started riding a year ago with an enduro bike. Last week I got a DH rig (a Glory '13) and brought it to my local bike park. I felt I was a lot slower than my enduro and didn't really manage to tame the beast so to speak. It was the first time riding the DH and i'm not really familiar with those trails as well... but I kind of think I also don't know how to ride a DH frame, since I've always only known my enduro.

Do you guys have some tips to help me learn how to correctly adjust to riding a DH coming from an enduro?

Trust the bike. It can carry and even gain speed, where the enduro would be way out of its depths and trying trying its best to chuck you off into the bushes. You need to learn to let the bike run where you would be braking on the enduro, as the downside of dh rigs is that if you do lose speed, its much harder to just chuck in a few pedal strokes and get that speed back. You will be amazed at the number of trail features you are currently slowing down and carefully guiding your front tire through, that the dh rig will happily plow through like they arent there, if you basically lay off the brakes and let it.
flag ibishreddin
Posted: Jul 27, 2016 at 10:02 Quote
Any tips for riding in wind? Normally I wouldn't ride in 40mph gusts but it was a race and I got completely blown off track, dnf. Any help appreciated so I can avoid it in the future. Thanks!!
flag ibishreddin
Posted: Jul 27, 2016 at 10:13 Quote
Giladgu wrote:
Any tips on riding loose and dusty trails? I'm fine with riding in the wet and on most surfaces, but once it gets super dry it's as if I forget how to ride. I just stiffen up and don't move around on the bike. And Go slow

Line choice is crucial for riding corners in the dust. To not lose speed or slide out, setup higher than you think for the turn, even if it means onto slightly the outside of the trail. Once there, hit the corner "downwards", slam the apex and finish low. This will prevent sliding or scrubbing much speed, and obviously some corners are easier than others to do this...

Also, always remember to brake before the corners and let off when you are turning, you need your tires working for you instead of sliding. Think about exit speed rather than entry. I constantly have to remind myself of this if I start to blow out corners or go off the side of the trail.

The last few things I can think of is just try to relax and let the bike work like normal trust your side knobs and use hips to control the bike when it gets slippery, obviously easier said than done, but the mental aspect is the biggest part.
flag TreyDownhill
O+
Posted: Aug 3, 2016 at 6:06 Quote
ibishreddin wrote:
Any tips for riding in wind? Normally I wouldn't ride in 40mph gusts but it was a race and I got completely blown off track, dnf. Any help appreciated so I can avoid it in the future. Thanks!!

pretty tough! I ride a track that get's pretty windy too. I'd reccomend you stay as low as possible, and get very little airtime. You can manage to get blown around a tiny bit on the ground, but when you are in the air thats when crashes happen. There is little else you can do though, I hope this helps!
flag Haddow-B
Posted: Aug 3, 2016 at 6:30 Quote
My knee pads keep scunchibg behind my knee anyway to stop this
flag ibishreddin
Posted: Aug 3, 2016 at 8:46 Quote
TreyDownhill wrote:
ibishreddin wrote:
Any tips for riding in wind? Normally I wouldn't ride in 40mph gusts but it was a race and I got completely blown off track, dnf. Any help appreciated so I can avoid it in the future. Thanks!!

pretty tough! I ride a track that get's pretty windy too. I'd reccomend you stay as low as possible, and get very little airtime. You can manage to get blown around a tiny bit on the ground, but when you are in the air thats when crashes happen. There is little else you can do though, I hope this helps!

Will keep in mind. Thanks!
flag SeanBikes1029
Posted: Aug 25, 2016 at 19:43 Quote
Pelopants wrote:
there is no way to ride dh safely. only if you ride the brakes.

If you are always holding down the brakes you lose traction, thus making riding the brakes unsafe.
flag TheeWhiteKnight
Posted: Sep 5, 2016 at 1:50 Quote
I don't claim to be the best rider in the world, but navigating DH on a Pimping Hardtail for a few years helped when I rode the West Face of Ben Nevis for Cancer Research in 2015. See the video of this harsh terrain here:

http://bit.ly/See-Here-Now

Full armour and wrist braces were absolutely critical and saved a broken wrist for a badly sprained on as you will see the resulting crash on the Vid.

If you enjoy the video, share with non-MTB friends/family who may wish to donate to CRUK thanks Wink
flag Paveldh
Posted: Sep 20, 2016 at 2:20 Quote
https://youtu.be/9WmUXB_r4Fo here is what happened to me when riding wearing just a sleeveless shirt. Always wear long sleeves to avoid road rash. Smile
flag TreyDownhill
O+
Posted: Oct 3, 2016 at 18:30 Quote
cannymickeles wrote:
Hey, try http://www.steamwalletgifts.com - I got free steam wallet card here! Get yous too in less than two minutes!! Everybody is already using free steam cards from here.

get out

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.013624
Mobile Version of Website