In the grand scheme of things I’m fairly new to mountain biking,
3 years really, spending the first 2 years 6mths in mid Wales, been spoilt for trail choice and riding almost everyday, more often than not solo, luckily I did have enough guidance from fairly expirenced riders but its only in the past 6 months since moving to Nottingham where my riding has been reduced to almost nothing that I’ve considered coaching,

I’m just not sure how bad/good I am, I figure there’s no harm in having coaching but with who and at what level?!

Everyone needs training. Even full time Olympic athletes have coaches.

Well the Pro’s have coaches, so that tells you something.

I went to see Jedi about something unrelated to training. While I was there he adjusted my brake lever position and explained why and got me improving my cornering and ability to leave the ground.

That was about 10 minutes on the bike and not formal training. The cornering and brake lever bit I still use when riding.

I would recommend the occasional training/coaching session. After all, it doesn’t seem to harm the pro riders

Sound points, I’ll get on it.

Find a group ride somewhere local and see how you compare with others?

Depends, Good training will improve your riding but I’d ask yourself why do you want to improve, are you not happy with some aspect of your riding? Any type of training will be of most benefit if its well targeted.

I’ve thought about doing a course a few times but I just ride for fun and for fitness, so whilst I expect that getting some coaching could make me a technically better rider, probably faster or able to tackle trickier terrain I’m not entirely sure that i care about being faster or technically superior.

For me it’s the sort of thing that If I got given a days training as a birthday present I’m sure I’d go along, enjoy it and hopefully get something out of it but I doubt that I would ever consider it a need.

You don’t need it- irrelevant what pros do, you presumably aren’t a pro and don’t plan to be one?

So take need out of the equation… You’ll almost certainly benefit, and you’ll probably enjoy it too. But for me, one of the big bonuses wasn’t so much tuition as confidence- as you say, who really knows if they’re good or bad? I knew I could ride a bike down a hill faster than most people I know, but I didn’t know how well I was doing it. Dirtschool and A Quick Release took out some bad habits and gave me some new things to build on, but mostly they let me know I was doing OK- basically gave me a reliable foundation.

It’s not for everyone- some people take in a crappy attitude, you’ve got to want to learn really. But I didn’t regret it.

Best fun you can have on a bike is getting better at riding a bike, and a good coach (cough-jedi-cough) will assess you and pitch the advice to your level before you can say ‘body position’

X2 about going with a positive attitude BTW

What’s to say I couldn’t be a pro with a little coaching?!

*Runs away with himself…….keeps running……….and Running

But seriously, appreciate the advice, of course it goes without saying that I open, empty mind will allow you to fill it with the correct knowledge, there’s always that risk that you’ll get a donkey know-it-all spoiling a group session which is why I’ll try 1-1.

Ask yourself this question;

“is my name Aaron Gwinn?”

If the answer is “no” then you’d benefit from some coaching.

Why not visit Stuart at forest freeride? He’s near you.

Edit: just noticed you’ve moved to Notts

You can learn a lot from books, dvd’s and practice. I’ve taught myself all of the basic bike handling skills (plus a few more) without coaching, but I can be pretty pretty stubborn if I want to learn something.

I’m a fairly decent rider, but if I’d had some coaching, I probably could have learned this stuff twice as quickly.

I’m now at the stage where I want a bit of input to tweak certain aspects of my riding, so am going to have some coaching.

As long as you get a decent coach I am sure you will get a lot out of it.

The coaching seed is already planted in your fertile mind. Water it and give it sunlight. 😀

Did a couple of days with Ed Oxley. Transformed the way I ride and I still think about and use his advice all the time.
Highly recommend.
If you can afford it, do it. Who doesn’t want to get better, do more etc?

I’m not interested in coaching, not because I’m super skilled or the fastest. But I’m happy were I am riding wise. I could be fitter but I know what I need to improve that ( time on the bike )
Not interested in jumps or riding anything more extreme, so whats the point. I suppose the fact the op is asking the question means he’s not happy, so perhaps he should go for it.

Ask yourself this question;
“is my name Aaron Gwinn?”
If the answer is “no” then you’d benefit from some coaching.

If the answer is yes, then either you have the same name as the best DHer in the world, or you already have an entire team of people helping you ride better!

Do you want to get better? If no, then a coach may change your mind or be a waste of time. My day with Jedi was awesome and I’m planning a revisit once a year of practice has elapsed.

I’m from Nottingham too, and I’m certain that I don’t ‘need’ coaching. I’ve just found a group of riders to go out with who’s skill level is far higher than mine.
I watch > learn > forget > fall. For me, I’d just try and get out more and with better riders that you can learn from. You may then gain a set of riding friends to regularly ride with.

Two ways: do you feel like you need it (confidence)? Or go on Strava and see how fast/slow good/crap you are (ego)…

Aaron Gwin’s coach:

Do you fall off a lot, are you slow and terrified of jumping. If so, then you probably do. Ignore all that, everyone could do with some coaching. It’s good to hear someone else’s opinion and to talk through how to correct bad habbits, ride better.

Aaron Gwin’s coach:

I am so detached from the ‘scene’ that I’ve never heard of Aaron Gwin but recognised Tomac straight away. 🙂