Mastering Mountain Bike Skills 3rd Edition

328 Pages·2017·17.397 MB·English

by  Brian Lopes, Lee McCormack

i
Chapter Title
Third Edition
MASTERING
MOUNTAIN BIKE
SKILLS
BRIAN LOPES • LEE MCCORMACK

HUMAN KINETICS
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Lopes, Brian, author. | McCormack, Lee, 1969- author.
Title: Mastering mountain bike skills / Brian Lopes, Lee McCormack.
Description: Third edition. | Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, 2017. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017004842 (print) | LCCN 2017016082 (ebook) | ISBN
9781492544500 (ebook) | ISBN 9781492544494 (print)
Subjects: LCSH: Mountain biking--Training.
Classification: LCC GV1056 (ebook) | LCC GV1056 L66 2017 (print) | DDC
796.63071--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004842
ISBN: 978-1-4925-4449-4 (print)
Copyright © 2017, 2010, 2005 by Brian Lopes and Lee McCormack
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any elec-
tronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and record-
ing, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
The web addresses cited in this text were current as of March 2017, unless otherwise noted.
Acquisitions Editors: Justin Klug and Jeff Mathis; Developmental Editor: Anne Hall; Managing Editor: Ann C.
Gindes; Copyeditor: Patsy Fortney; Indexer: Dan Connolly; Permissions Manager: Martha Gullo; Senior Graphic
Designer: Keri Evans; Graphic Designer: Dawn Sills; Cover Designer: Keri Evans; Photograph (cover): © Ale
Di Lullo; Photographs (interior): See Photo Credits, p. 303; Visual Production Assistant: Joyce Brumfield; Photo
Production Manager: Jason Allen; Senior Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Illustrations: © Lee McCormack unless
otherwise noted.; Printer: Walsworth
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Third Edition
MASTERING
MOUNTAIN BIKE
SKILLS
CONTENTS
Introduction ix
1 CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON
1
Buy the Right Bike 2
Hardtail or Full Suspension? 3
Which Wheel Size Is Best for You? 6
Choose the Right Bike for Your Riding Style 14
Understand the Bike’s Geometry 20
Customize Your Bike for Your Riding Style 22
Bike Setup 26
Suspension 41
2 BECOME ONE WITH YOUR BIKE
48
Get Ready to Suck Less 49
Master Your Body 49
Learn How to Touch Your Bike 53
Get Into Attack Position 55
Now Get Out of Attack Position 58
Find Balance 60
Stay on Your Feet 61
Loading and Unloading 65
Mounting and Dismounting 68
3 CONTROL YOUR SPEED
70
Slow the Heck Down 71
Don’t Let Your Lizard Run Your Brakes 73
Know Your Stopping Distance 76
Brake With Intention 78
Battle Braking Bumps 79
iv
4 MAKE GREAT POWER
81
Pay Attention to Posture 82
Basic Seated Pedaling 84
Master These Pedaling Drills 85
Standing Pedaling 88
Sprinting 89
Make Mad Power With These Tips 93
Spin to Win 97
Training Tips From a Pro 98
5 CARVE EVERY CORNER
101
Understand the Basics of Every Turn 102
How Bikes Turn 106
Master the Art of Changing Direction 107
Ride Smart Lines 109
Lean to the Right Degree 112
One Foot Down or Feet Level? 117
Inside Foot In or Out? 118
Rail Berms 119
Carve Flat Turns 121
Survive Off-Camber Turns 123
Conquer Switchbacks 123
Skid Into Loose Corners 125
Pump Berms for Free Speed 126
Deal With Drift 126
6 RIDE DOWN ALMOST ANYTHING
129
It’s Simpler Than You Think 130
Coasting Down a Hill 132
Rolling Down a Ledge 133
Flying Off a Drop 137
Wheelie Drop 140
v
7 RIDE UP ALMOST ANYTHING
143
Common Climbing Errors 144
Keys to Easy Climbing 145
Pedaling Up a Hill 145
Transitioning From Flat to Steep 147
Pedaling Up a Steep Face 148
Floating Up a Vertical Ledge 149
8 PUMP BUMPS FOR FREE SPEED
151
What Is Pumping? 152
Pumping Step 1: Arms 153
Pumping Step 2: Legs 154
Pumping Step 3: Arms and Legs 155
Add Pump to Your Riding 157
Pumping a Berm 158
Pump Tracks: The Hottest Thing Since Singletracks 160
9 WHEELIE, MANUAL, AND HOP LIKE A BOSS
163
Lift Your Front Wheel 164
Lift Your Rear Wheel 168
Get Over Small Obstacles 170
Hop Over Large Obstacles 171
Lunge Onto a Ledge 173
Pull–Push 175
Kung Fu Power Wheelie 176
Real Bunny Hop 178
Pump-Manual 180
Pump-Manual Hop 181
Pedal Hop 182
10 MIGHT AS WELL JUMP
184
Learn to Jump 185
Dial Your Jumping Style 195
Handle All Sorts of Jumps 199
vi
11 AVOID INJURIES
211
Chronic Injuries 212
Acute Injuries 213
Stay Out of Trouble 214
Common Mistakes and Their Fixes 218
So You’re in Trouble… 225
Top Exercises to Prevent Injury and Improve MTB Performance 228
Rip It for a Lifetime 234
12 HANDLE EVERY CONDITION
235
Unnecessary Roughness 236
Slippery When Wet 240
Soft, Deep, and Loose 242
Avoiding the Rut 243
Riding the Skinnies 244
Fatbiking in Winter 247
13 FLOW ON ANY TRAIL
250
See Better to Go Faster 251
Pick Great Lines 254
Dial In Your Speed 256
Ride With a Reserve 257
Commit 257
Match Your Line and Speed to Your Skills 259
Find a State of Flow 262
Know Why You Ride 264
14 RACE LIKE A CHAMP
267
Strengthen Your Mind 268
Enduro 274
Pump Track Racing 279
Dual Slalom 282
4x 284
Downhill 287
Cross-Country 292
24-Hour Races 294
Glossary 298 Photo Credits 303
Index 304 About the Authors 308
vii

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the third edition of Mastering
Mountain Bike Skills. With time comes
change. The MTB world is forever
changing, so get ready to improve with the times!
If you’ve read the first two editions, we’re sure
you’ve learned a lot and come away with some
great tips to improve your riding.
Well, this third edition is going to give you even
more to learn, practice, and understand. We’re
here to help you become a better all-around
mountain biker.
Mountain biking is awesome! Even when you
do it wrong—afraid, tense, and tired, like most
beginners—it’s the greatest sport ever.
Well, guess what: When you learn to do it
right—confident, fluid, and powerful—it’s even
more awesome. You can explore beautiful places
with like-minded people, get in great shape, and
most important, access very high states of Flow
(with a capital F).
In his skills classes, in which he has met thousands of riders of all levels, from first-timers
to world champions, Lee has discovered some essential truths:
1. No one has it mastered. The best riders stay the best because they keep growing.
2. Everyone can get better—first-timers, timid beginners, seasoned enthusiasts, and
top pros.
3. The better you get, the more fun you have.
And with over 40 years of experience on a bike
as a professional cyclist, Brian has acquired the
knowledge to help you achieve all three.
The following are our goals for this book. We
want you to:
Have more fun on your bike. More confidence.
More safety. More air. More speed. However you
define fun, we want you to have it. Remember:
As long as you’re learning, you’re having fun.
Apply the 80/20 principle. Eighty percent
of your results are from a core 20 percent of
the skills you learn. Rather than describing a
random assortment of tricks, this book focuses
on the core skills that help real people ride
ix
x
Introduction
better: the essential movement patterns that you can improve,
combine, and apply almost everywhere you ride. You’ll be amazed
at how simple great riding can be.
Use this medium to its full benefit. This being a print book or an
e-book, we can’t interact the way we can in person or online, so it’s
harder to help you with your specific issues. This book describes
the techniques and learning methods that can be conveyed in this
format. The great thing about a book is that it can provide context,
and it’s permanent. We encourage you to come back to this book
often. Read a short section; then take your new awareness to the
trail.
Develop a solid skills base. All great riding is built from the bottom
up. This book focuses on the essential, universal skills that help all
kinds of riders on all kinds of terrain. We start at the bottom of the
skills tree and work our way into the branches.
Follow the path to mastery. To our knowledge, there are no magic
tricks at the top of the skills tree. As you improve your core skills,
you learn to execute them with more precision and power, and
to combine them in interesting ways. In this sense, riding is like
painting. Once you master the primary colors (aka movements),
you can make any color you want.
Have fun!
LEARN TO LEARN
As much as you already love mountain biking, just wait: It’s about
to get way better, especially if you follow these tips about learning:
One thing at a time. Whenever you’re out riding, concentrate on
one skill or one component of a skill. Always start inside your own
body: drop your heels, hinge your hips, and relax your elbows. Once
your body is working well, shift your focus to the trail: look ahead
in the corners, stay low over the jumps, and press into holes. Think
about executing the move as perfectly as you can. Soon, you’ll be
doing it without thought, and then you can move on to the next thing.
Don’t let bad habits ruin your life. If you’re a normal person, the
first time you encounter a gnarly descent, you’ll subconsciously
push your head up and back (away from danger). This is the worst
Schooled By Brian
thing you can do in terms of bike control! But, you’ll probably sur-
With this new edition comes both new vive. Your brain is simple. All it wants to do is (1) not die and (2)
techniques and a new kind of sidebar called make babies. If you ride improperly a couple times, Bam! you’ve
Schooled by Brian. Brian is one of the best (if created a habit. Keep in mind:
not the best) mountain bikers ever. Because • Once a habit is burned into your brain, it’s there forever. It’s
he is so phenomenally strong, skilled, and like having a “discussion” with your wife. At some point, your
confident—and he processes so much data brain reverts to 11 years old, and you can’t stop yourself from
so quickly—he perceives riding differently saying stupid things. The same thing happens when you
from the way we do. These Schooled by reach your next gnarly descent. You know you should be low
Brian sidebars give you his elite perspective. and balanced, but you can’t stop yourself from pushing your
head up and back. Do this enough, and you will get hurt.