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I tend to have my saddle a touch more forward on mtbs so I'm more comfortable when the bike is angled up slightly. I'm rarely riding along flat ground- it's all straight up and then back down. Loose sand is a lot about staying relaxed to let the bike move around a bit and looking where you want to go. In a corner, if you can, get on the edge where it's harder packed or follow a rut.
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Aug 16, 2021 19:34
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I have a sram 1x drivetrain where the chain tends to drop or make weird noises if I backpedal. Is that possibly a B-screw issue?
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Aug 16, 2021 20:02
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Yall are right but I'm personally a bit wary of using language about "putting enough weight on the front tire" when describing descending technique without a lot of ancillary info about proper body positioning, as it's easy to interpret as "put weight through the handlebars." Yes, you need weight on the front tire, but the correct amount of weight is usually whatever gets put through the bottom bracket when your weight is centered over it. Staying centered over the bottom bracket regardless of climbing/descending/cornering is generally going to get you 95% of the way there. Learning what that feels like is a good reason to take a clinic or work with a friend on picnic table body positioning drills. Have your bike held in the climbing/descending position and work on hovering your hands over the bars. That's the weight distribution you should generally be shooting for, plus hinging at the hip (a LOT) while maintaining that balance point to get low. Same principles are at play in corners and in dynamic situations, and having no weight on your hands will allow you to maximize the bike's movement underneath you while you stay centered.  
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Aug 16, 2021 20:09
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Spime Wrangler posted:
Interesting point -- I would think lots of people would think of this position conceptually as moving weight back when the ground pitches down, while "weight over the bars" would be moving weight forward from there.
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Aug 16, 2021 20:22
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It's definitely a lot of people's intuition, but the more useful frame of reference for forward/backward is the line from the bottom bracket through the center of the earth. You generally want your center of mass to stay on or close to that line, then the bike can do whatever underneath you and you'll always be right where you need to be. We spend a lot of time reprogramming people on this concept at our clinics. It gets more complicated when you add in dynamic maneuvers but they're all much better understood from a baseline of weight-over-bottom-bracket = neutral.
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Aug 16, 2021 21:12
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When going through sand, I try to pedal through it. I've had good luck trying to keep a direct line and just pushing hard to get through. Some of the poo poo I managed to ride through forced other riders to walk, so ymmv but it works for me.
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Aug 16, 2021 22:41
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Spime Wrangler posted:Yall are right but I'm personally a bit wary of using language about "putting enough weight on the front tire" when describing descending technique without a lot of ancillary info about proper body positioning, as it's easy to interpret as "put weight through the handlebars." I would disagree with weighting the front not being weight through the handlebars, every modern bike I've ever ridden has benefitted from getting weight through your hands and having your center of mass in front of the BB, especially if you are going down hill. The longer reaches and short CS and slacker angles result in bikes that really need a bit more through the bars to get the right balance, and I'd say the vast majority of people get behind the bike vs in front of it. Getting being the bars generally means people push forward through them, locking the arms and making the bike act like a toboggan as the front pushes due to little to no weight down through the contact patch. Being centered/in front (some weight through the hands) keeps the arms active to lean the bike over, keeps knees in a position to allow the bike to lean, etc. I see what you are trying to teach as far as balancing on top of the bike with pulling or pushing on the bars to keep from falling off the bike, but the person in the second picture is too far back for really any activity descending related other than braking through a really steep and slow section. Their weight is far enough back and they are constraining the bike in a way where the only method of turning the bike is turning the bars, which will break traction on the front and cause it to push.
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Aug 16, 2021 22:41
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meowmeowmeowmeow posted:I see what you are trying to teach as far as balancing on top of the bike with pulling or pushing on the bars to keep from falling off the bike, but the person in the second picture is too far back for really any activity descending related other than braking through a really steep and slow section. Their weight is far enough back and they are constraining the bike in a way where the only method of turning the bike is turning the bars, which will break traction on the front and cause it to push. I'm by no means any expert so grain of salt and all but in my experiences I have to agree with this take. Up until like 3 weeks ago I was entering downhill berms in the position of that second picture and I never felt like I was ever in control. The front wheel would lose traction, fold in and I'd OTB. That happened to me like 3 or 4 times this year. Finally, I realized that when I'm hitting neutral grade or uphill berms I was handling them just fine. I thought about why those worked and I realized it was because my weight was further forward. I decided to try keeping my weight forward more in the downhills and after that it was like I flipped a switch and everything started to click. Feeling gravity force me down into the apex of the corner and all that. Could I still be in that position but it just doesn't feel that way? That is a very real possibility. Maybe it is more dependent on the bike geometry that we realize? I sure as hell don't know. All great advice though.
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Aug 16, 2021 23:57
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The enduro I’m signed up for this weekend has just canceled all the pedaling transfer stages, just downhill stages with lift rides between them, due to smoke. Another excuse to N+1 with a DH bike, right?
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Aug 17, 2021 03:22
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meowmeowmeowmeow posted:I would disagree with weighting the front not being weight through the handlebars, every modern bike I've ever ridden has benefitted from getting weight through your hands and having your center of mass in front of the BB, especially if you are going down hill. The longer reaches and short CS and slacker angles result in bikes that really need a bit more through the bars to get the right balance, and I'd say the vast majority of people get behind the bike vs in front of it. Getting being the bars generally means people push forward through them, locking the arms and making the bike act like a toboggan as the front pushes due to little to no weight down through the contact patch. Being centered/in front (some weight through the hands) keeps the arms active to lean the bike over, keeps knees in a position to allow the bike to lean, etc. I get where you're coming from and again - you're not wrong. But weight over the bottom bracket is absolutely the gold standard for your neutral position on the bike. It's taught by pro DH and world cup XC coaches at our clinics, it's one of the only skills taught by Lee McCormack these days, and it's very much what you want to build around. Telling newer riders anything else with any less precise, standard language can create serious misconceptions about where they feel they should be on the bike. It's difficult to put that kind of advanced skillset and the associated proprioception into words in a way that is useful to someone learning the skills or trying to improve, even if it has occasional applications on bikes with aggressive geometries on aggressive terrain. What you're describing are the kinds of adjustments you'll make once you have a strong command of the basics. Bike geometry, terrain, dynamics, and riding style will all require adjustments around the mean, but the mean is weight over the bottom bracket, including pumping berms. 95%+ of the force you impart on the bike on average should be going through the pedals. The rider in that photo is doing the drill for the first time and has a fair amount of ankle-/knee-bend and hip-hinge left to put them in a full-on descending position, and this is a seriously aggressive downhill angle they're simulating, even if it looks mild from the side in a field. They're actually in a surprisingly good position and would be able to ride from this spot no problem. Seriously it's worth trying out yourself, even if you're an advanced rider. It can be really hard to feel what being perfectly centered is like without isolating it using a drill like this one. Take a look at this photo of Aaron Gwin (it's hard to get a full side-on shot but this is close enough).  It's fundamentally the same position: hips back and hinged, knees bent, arms somewhat extended but bent and ready to absorb impact. Even if he's got some weight in front of the BB, the way to teach this skill is to learn to put your weight through your feet 100%. You'll learn the rest from there. Furthermore, learning to keep your weight over the bottom bracket teaches you key skills for momentarily dipping into these more extreme regimes and then transitioning back to flat or climbing very quickly. Most riders won't spend most of their ride going fall-line down 25 degree slopes, but transitioning between shallower slope angles. That's the fundamental concept behind Lee McCormack's obsession with his riprow. Obviously, ride how it works for you! I only interjected because there's a tried-and-true progression for teaching body position, and moving to helping someone manage their front-end weight distribution without first establishing this part is like jumping 3/4 the way through the semester and can lead people down the wrong path.
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Aug 17, 2021 04:24
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Steve French posted:The enduro I’m signed up for this weekend has just canceled all the pedaling transfer stages, just downhill stages with lift rides between them, due to smoke. Where is this, where can I sign up?
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Aug 17, 2021 04:45
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VelociBacon posted:Where is this, where can I sign up? Northstar, California, this weekend, it sold out right away and the transfer deadline has passed
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Aug 17, 2021 05:02
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Spime Wrangler posted:*snip* I think your longer explanation elaborated on some of the details not in the first bit and we agree more than I thought at first, that second photo is sorta a bad example when compared to the photo of Gwin (1st time trying vs WC racer so make sense). The guy might have his weight through the BB but the rest of his body position is too far back to do anything but roll straight forward and hope he doesnt need to turn or absorb anything else, if he stays back there hes only along for the ride and doesnt have much control. Like you said, you need to be able to push and pull the front end to control the attitude of the bike and when your weight is too far back you can only pull (poorly, because you cant transfer any weight so its just jerking against the inertia of your torso) which really harms bike control. Gwin has his hips a couple inches in front of the first guy, can reach the bars with enough room to push/pull, and would have weight through his hands to support his upper body if the front wheel was on the ground. I also lead with weight the front for most cornering advice because the vast majority of people ride off the back especially when uncomfortable, and the front end losing traction and tucking the front end feels like going OTB and can lead people to ride further off the back and continue to tuck the front. Its kinda funny how losing traction on the front and washing out can feel like the classic rear end over teakettle otb even though they have very different mechanisms and causes of the crash.
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Aug 17, 2021 07:51
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When I had a coaching day in July I was taught that weighting the front the vast majority of the time is done through the pedals and body position, not the hands. I can see when you're doing flat turns or quick turns you push down on one side of the bars to dig in the side knobs and get the bike leaned, but for most of the time you should be in a good elbows bent attack position with your chin pretty much over the handlebars. The coach showed me a good way to tell if you're doing it right. Find a slight slope, get in the attack position and then just lightly pinch the bars with your thumb and index fingers so you're barely holding on. If you're in a good position you should be able to roll along like that, with your balance going through your feet and not having to rely on your hands too much. He also filmed me going round berms, and I was leaning back way more than I thought I was. It takes some real active thought to not instinctively lean back in turns like that, and I would recommend everyone to see if they can be filmed to check out their own technique, it helped me so much.
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Aug 17, 2021 08:37
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anyone here got a spare 29 wheel they want to sell?
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Aug 17, 2021 23:51
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Yes.
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Aug 17, 2021 23:52
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hit me (what/where/how much/how busted)
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Aug 18, 2021 00:21
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I have one, but it’s the opposite of the hub you need.
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Aug 18, 2021 02:04
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Oh yeah rear wheel btw sram
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Aug 18, 2021 02:45
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I'm rider #4890. Got back from the practice ride a little bit ago and the course is easier than I was preparing for. I'm feeling good about tomorrow.
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Aug 21, 2021 03:29
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There’s a couple on a tandem racing the enduro at northstar this weekend. I don’t even know what category you’d even enter or how you put one of those on a lift but there they were. They’re probably in mine and I better not be slower than them. If the race even happens, they shut the lifts down this afternoon due to smoke, so if it isn’t much better tomorrow I can’t imagine it happening, which is a bummer.
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Aug 21, 2021 04:18
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One of the things about body position is that its going to be pretty unique to you and not anyone else, thats not to say there are things you do and dont do, but i would take postitional advice with a pinch of salt. Ive seen the hinging technique played up recently as an alt to the 'attack position' - in the past the attack position has been seen as some thing you always do and now its the hinging technique. Both aren't really wrong in any way and (to me) its really about energy management - you probably do the attack position and hinging technique a lot depending on what surfaces and terrain you are on - if you get tired you make mistakes. Being able to get down a trail without feeling like your are exhausted might be the objective for a lot of people. About front and back bias on the bike - i think a lot of riders might not know exactly how they move on the bikes, it cant really be simplified into some light hands heavy feet doctrine, especially since bikes have natural front back biases in their design - from XC which might be 60 40 rear to DH 70 30 and the terrain varies greatly(steepness). You will at some points need to press or weight the front down when turning - either for really quick turns or longer turns that have grippy spots in between tree roots or some other circumstance . So what i mean about moving on the bike is compressing into a turn or into a steep faced jump - a lot of riders(myself included in the past) can actually be moving weight backwards and might not realise this- focussing on moving the knees forward when you compress(and not the rear end moving backwards) gives very predictable results in terms of weight bias in front and rear(basically not changing it). This can mean a big difference in feeling in circumstances like these - eg. your front wheel washing out or the OTB feeling on bigger or steeper faced jumps. I dont know if this will be helpful to anyone - its a bit wishy washy, but i would be wary of any set in stone rules when it comes to biking.
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Aug 21, 2021 19:09
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Aug 22, 2021 04:45
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Context of this dumb thing we did in Breckenridge today:   It was actually fun. Sun, views, pushing bikes, big climbs, big downhills, me literally not being able to keep pedaling a mile from the car...
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Aug 22, 2021 05:54
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So good
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Aug 22, 2021 14:32
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Race was awesome yesterday. I ended up 5/7 in my class and something like 77/100 overall in the category (they separated our class times from the rest of the category for some reason so I'm estimating). The communication wasn't great, there was a lack of obvious race officials and combined with newbie nerves resulted me in being a goon and starting in the wrong wave. The very last wave, actually. It was a 3 minute penalty, basically. It is what it is but I'm just disappointed I missed out on racing with my peers. Despite that it was awesome. I was passing fools. The only person to pass me was a 15 year old girl. The course opened up to a straight double track section and she just smoked me. Absolute queen poo poo. I'm 100% going back next year.
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Aug 23, 2021 02:52
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Hell yeah, all of that rules.
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Aug 23, 2021 04:30
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Nothing new but I took a nice ride up one of the nearby mountains. Kind of hazy still despite some recent weather so I didn't take many pictures No real access down into that part of the valley and I'm right on the northwest edge of the rattlesnake wilderness right there. Just bears and stuff. That pointy one on the right is stuart peak, 10 miles from the trailhead, so I'm pretty far back there. Oh yeah then I saw some bears when I was riding down. I actually just caught a glimpse as I was coming off the run and going into the trees and then stopped and went back.  That's two rides in a row I've seen bears. Then I got a beer at the bar. You can take the chair up on the weekends but I just ride around the back on the road. jamal fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Aug 23, 2021 |
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Aug 23, 2021 05:37
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Steak posted:Race was awesome yesterday. I ended up 5/7 in my class and something like 77/100 overall in the category (they separated our class times from the rest of the category for some reason so I'm estimating). The communication wasn't great, there was a lack of obvious race officials and combined with newbie nerves resulted me in being a goon and starting in the wrong wave. The very last wave, actually. It was a 3 minute penalty, basically. It is what it is but I'm just disappointed I missed out on racing with my peers. 
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Aug 23, 2021 16:15
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Steak posted:Race was awesome yesterday. I ended up 5/7 in my class and something like 77/100 overall in the category (they separated our class times from the rest of the category for some reason so I'm estimating). The communication wasn't great, there was a lack of obvious race officials and combined with newbie nerves resulted me in being a goon and starting in the wrong wave. The very last wave, actually. It was a 3 minute penalty, basically. It is what it is but I'm just disappointed I missed out on racing with my peers.  I'm thinking of trying an enduro race next season. Never raced bikes before but despite not being very fast it sounds like a blast.
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Aug 23, 2021 19:36
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Do it. You might be faster than you think and its cool to be at an event where everyone is supportive and shares a passion.
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Aug 23, 2021 22:06
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Yeah I think i'll check out the local races next season and see which ones have a pushing 40 not hardcore class. I'm liking this slightly moister weather turn in BC over the last few days. Climbing in the mist is neat.  Slippery roots making a return less neat.
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Aug 23, 2021 22:55
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mashed_penguin posted:Yeah I think i'll check out the local races next season and see which ones have a pushing 40 not hardcore class. I'm liking this slightly moister weather turn in BC over the last few days. Climbing in the mist is neat. Where is that? I want to go there.
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Aug 23, 2021 23:02
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Burke Mountain, Coquitlam, BC. Don't come here its awful...  Some great trails there. The climb is a bit of a grind on old fire roads but it isn't too bad. Around 500m of vertical to be able to get a linked descent all the way down to the bottom. Some of the local trail builders are super creative and there are significantly more trails than what are on trailforks if you get out and explore. Happy to show anyone around if they are in the area and want to check it out. https://www.trailforks.com/region/burke-mountain/?activitytype=1&z=13.4&lat=49.31350&lon=-122.73413
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Aug 23, 2021 23:24
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I live in Utah and have decided to sell off my 2019 Trek FX 3. I bought it thinking I would really enjoy riding around the streets and.....no. I REALLY want to do off road stuff and cannot with the bike I have. I figure I can hopefully get around MSRP back since it has very few miles on it, no scratches and in pristine condition The more I go on hikes and state parks, the more I want to bike some of the trails. Trying to do research between different bikes, but these are available in my area: Trek Roscoe 7 Specialized Rockhopper Expert 29 - 2021 Cannondale Trail SE 4 Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 -2021 Cannondale Trail 5 Trek Marlin 7 Specialized Rockhopper Sport 29 Marlin 7 Marlin 6 2022 There are some other ones available but I'm trying to avoid 27.5 wheels for....reasons I guess Price range is 800 to 1500'ish Gotta look up trails to hit after nailing down a bike but excited to go do some biking. I REALLY would like to hit up all the parks I got in this state and plan trips to hop over to Colorado, New Mexico or whatever.
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Aug 24, 2021 02:41
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mashed_penguin posted:
I wouldn't worry about being fast, how is your climbing endurance? I tried an Enduro 4 years ago or so and couldn't complete the climbs. I'm not in shape and thought it wouldn't be that bad but 800M later I was gassed.
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Aug 24, 2021 06:16
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I'm working at it. A 600m climb is easy enough but I haven't done any climb days bigger than that. Most of my rides are a couple of hours and done if I'm peddling. My bigger descent days have all been shuttles. I'm going to try and ride Lord of the Squirrels in the next few weeks which is significantly more vertical than I've ever peadled.
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Aug 24, 2021 06:58
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mashed_penguin posted:I'm working at it. A 600m climb is easy enough but I haven't done any climb days bigger than that. Most of my rides are a couple of hours and done if I'm peddling. My bigger descent days have all been shuttles. I would recommend looking at previous BC Enduro race loops and taking a day to see how you feel doing the whole thing. The closest one was in Abbotsford at Vedder, here's the link for the 2019 race. Note the 1600m (5250ft) of climbing. This is ~20% of the height of Everest. I did the one in Vernon, it was raining and I actually had to walk two sections which was embarrassing, I hadn't pre-ridden the course and didn't have the confidence to hit two of the blink rock chutes in the wet. It was a little like that slab chute at Whistler on upper joyride.
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Aug 24, 2021 07:20
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Steak posted:Despite that it was awesome. I was passing fools. The only person to pass me was a 15 year old girl. The course opened up to a straight double track section and she just smoked me. Absolute queen poo poo. I'm 100% going back next year. 
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Aug 24, 2021 08:30
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Steak posted:Race was awesome yesterday. I ended up 5/7 in my class and something like 77/100 overall in the category (they separated our class times from the rest of the category for some reason so I'm estimating). The communication wasn't great, there was a lack of obvious race officials and combined with newbie nerves resulted me in being a goon and starting in the wrong wave. The very last wave, actually. It was a 3 minute penalty, basically. It is what it is but I'm just disappointed I missed out on racing with my peers. Glad you decided to do it and had a good time.
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Aug 24, 2021 12:36
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