I have been looking at ‘how too’ videos a lot lately and there is always the same pieces of advice floating about. Thinking about my own riding and what piece of advice I have been given which has made the biggest difference in my riding.

I’ve come up with ‘don’t squeeze the brakes’ as the best piece of advice I have been given. Sounds simple but is really hard to follow in practice when you feel like the bike is running away from you on a quick descent.

Which made me think, what is the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

The more odd sounding the better!

Have you thought of golf?

look along not down. .

do it for enjoyment

Laser cock!

“Arse back, elbows and knees loose.” which was given to me by a good mate before he pointed me down a skree line in a quarry. Close second is “Look 5 foot or more in front of your wheel.”

Don’t ride to the top of a hill, ride over it.

It never gets easier, you just go faster.

Chin up, look along,

Steer with your hips.

In order to make a small fortune in the bike business, you need to start with a large fortune.

It’s not about the bike.

Have fun!

It’s all bollocks.

Look where you’re going not at the ground

“I’m going really fast” isn’t a reason to pull the brakes

laser cock!

Richardthird – any elaboration on that?

qwerty –

It never gets easier, you just go faster

– one of my favourite quotes!

The look ahead advice is a good one, very useful too!

Depends what the person does naturally and what level they are at.

Look ahead, not what you are going over. If you look at a tree, you will probably hit the tree.
Look around the corner, not straight ahead, turn that head, i wanna see your chin on your shoulder in those tight berms.
Lean on the inside handlebar.
Try and relax.

There are loads more, but I find any more than 2-3 things and it won’t stick with them.

Look for the hinges on gates. That way you can always ride up to the end that opens. Sounds obvious, but I see so many people ride up to the hinge end and scrabble about for the latch. Once you out that they can usually see the hinges from a distance they find gates a lot less frustrating!

It means point your groin where you want the bike to go in say a tight switch back..ie turn your hips

Look at where you want to go not at what you want to avoid.

Nah it doesn’t!

It’s all about riding nude with a laser strapped to your cock. When riding past Ramblers you must do fake laser noises. Pew Pew!!!

If you can’t grasp turning your hips in tight switchbacks (Alpine Switchback), put your outside foot forward which will help rotate your hips into the corner.

I think making laser noises as you pass people should be standard beginner advice from now on. Nothing else.

Pew pew!

commuting IS training
breath out and relax your grip
bikes go where you look not where you steer
weight the outside pedal
coasting is a pernicious habit
use both brakes
speed comes with technique not testosterone

I’ve had “stop fighting the bike , its better than you ” said in an encouraging way by a much much better rider than myself , he was right . Between the grip of death on the bars , heavy handed braking and not relaxing I was choking the bike .

Ignore any advice from someone telling you how to ride something they can’t ride.

If it seems like a bad idea it probly is.

If you believe you can do it, you probly can; if you believe you can’t then you’re defnly right.

Braking doesn’t slow you down.

“drop your heels” when riding down steep stuff always seems to stick in my head

Best bit of advice I’ve received: Drop your heels on descents.

Advice I often give to others: Go faster than you think you should.

Go loose.

Always remember that you first loved riding. Long before the upgrading/’perfect bike’ bug bit your eyes and pocket and nibbled away at your ride time.

Pedal damn it

Don’t listen to the (doubting) voices in your head – prove them wrong.

‘straighten legs a bit, heels down, flatten back with aim of having it close to parallel to top tube, elbows out and bent’ – the lasting words from a coaching session which make huge sense if only I could remember to do it 😳

The fastest way to become a faster rider is to ride with faster riders.

If you do anything enough times you’ll become good at it.

‘straighten legs a bit, heels down, flatten back with aim of having it close to parallel to top tube, elbows out and bent’

For ducking under a low-hanging branch?

If you do anything enough times you’ll become good at it.

Yes, but……

If you do it wrong over and over, you’ll just get very good at doing it wrong.

Learn to do it right, even if it it feels wrong. That’s you unlearning the ingrained bad habit.

Keep practising doing it right until it feels right.

Then practise it until you get very good at doing it right.

I see too many people (in all sorts of semi-technical sports) get told the right way to do something, try it a few times, find variable results because it isn’t well enough practised and ingrained yet, and then say **** it and go back to doing it wrong because it feels right.

ignore anything you read on stw

He who has most fun, wins.

buy these forks from the classifieds – they’ll change you into a riding god even if you never actually touch the bike again.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/marzocchi-44-rc3ti-140mm-of-buttery-smooth-plushness

Sod it just ride it and see what happens.

Heels down, eyes up!

Don’t train[i]try and get fit[/i] on the bit’s you enjoy.

Riding round the same trail every day will get you fit, but you’ll be bored of it by the end of week 2, after which you’ll never want to ride it again. Riding on the road* will get you just as fit, and you’ll actualy want to go out and ride.

*or going for a run, hitting the gym, commuting, doing 100 sit ups.

Relax, hard.

I think that was about biking, might have been at my last doc’s appt. 🙂

Relax.

Then relax some more.

Then shut up

Look down the trail at these in order, Entry – Section/Apex – Exit