Right, the SO just got back from a skill course. With one BE and one world champ.
She really wanted to do that, she book it on her own, ask question talk to people and so an so.
At the end of the session, she said she was not very happy with herself as she managed very little of the track (when she usually can get from the top to the bottom faultless) and she learn very little she did not already knew.
Adding to the top that she's a complete beginner (we've gone out only a couple of dozen of times).
She find it being a bit of wait of money. Me I was going to book it with her but got told by riding mate I should not (you'd better off changing your tyres), well I am glad I did not.
Good point is she was able to do as good with her little dingy hardtail than the agni on their mega bucks bikes (very proud of her I am).

Skills course aren't how good a rider the teacher is, they're about how good a teacher they are. Some fantastic riders aren't good teachers.

Sounds like she did the wrong course with the wrong people. Julie did a course at GT with the girls from the hub and she thought it very good – and she is really a beginner as well

you have a waist of money? can I have some please?

warton sorry it's all gone in skill course 😉
Well one of the two organising the skill course is properly qualified to teach riding.

i went on one and learnt more in ten mins than i had in years. That said i went on one after a bad off to get some confidence back and it was crap. All down to the instructor. One was an ex bmx champ and very skilled the other was a great teacher , great rider too tho i might add . So much so im going back for more. Best upgrade to my bike ive ever made

Well due to the price of the course my next upgrade to the bike is going to be a proper front tyre 😉

Well one of the two organising the skill course is properly qualified to teach riding.

Properly qualified and good at teaching are two completely different things.

That's a shame Juan.
I've been on a beginners skills course. It shocked me to think that since the age of 6 I'd been riding bikes, but learnt more that day than I'd done in years.
However, after the course I couldn't do a lot of the things I was taught but my riding and confidence came on in leaps and bounds. So maybe she'll notice a difference in her riding over the next few rides.

I've since been on an intermediate course and that was excellant. Just got to get back on a bike now and practise all the these found skills.

Sorry to hear that. I got loads from my course and am still benefiting from it 6months on.

Right teacher is important – only a few can teach well and of those only a few can spot the needs of the client and adapt their courses to what is required.

I guess you need to go on recommendations, Jedi is universally adored on here. Now I love to go against the grain, when I had my skills course with him I was open minded and prepared to come back and slate him on here if necessary. But despite 30 years of riding experience, starting on BMX through to MTB, I learnt so much on my day with him that my only complaint is that he isn't my neighbour. Maybe you should save up for a Jedi course.

Well to be fair I was expecting a little bit more than the usual 'look ahead', keep your speed and gentle on the brakes (trust she get these two a lot with me already).
Well as she said, I wanted to do it, I have done it but I won't do it again.

Maybe you should save up for a Jedi course.

Do you know how much it's going to cost me to get jedi here 😉

Well due to the price of the course my next upgrade to the bike is going to be a proper front tyre

If you think a better front tyre can be better than a skills course, you need a skills course.

Usually when getting coaching i don't feel like i'm riding well as there is lots to think about, and i have often thought i hadn't learned much. The benefits come on the next few rides as the skills are consolidated and become unconscious.

Certainly better value than a mech or bars upgrade. New tyres always make a difference though!

Funnily enough I was on my very first skills course today after 12+yrs of proper riding, with Clive up at Mabie. He was teaching me skills that I had not even thought about. It doesn't convert you to a riding god in a day, but I found myself riding berms sweeter, moving around the bike better, cornering with more thought, picking different line & even managed a wheelie of sorts some thing I have never been able to do.

cheers Clive great day out and good company as well! 🙂

I have a 'waist of money'.

Many monetary pounds have been spent on fine wheat, hop and barley based beverages, in order to facilitate the expansion of my ever-increasing girth…

What?

With one BE and one world champ.

Erm, what's a BE?

Instruction is weird, sometimes it's just a personal thing eg. when I first started snowboarding I couldn't make out what the instructor meant, yet my daughter was following immediately. Another day, another instructor was the complete opposite. Both instructors were fantastic boarders and equally good instructors in their own way. It's just a case of finding what suits you, or in this case your SO.

BE brevet d'état it's the official certification needed to be able to teach cycling.
As for the tyre I think they really why wouldn't they help? Friend of mine got a new front one, and it's incredible how fast he as become. And that is after a month break on adoption.

"wait of money"

yeah, tell me about it!!

Try going to a 4X race and watch what tyres they use. Then catch those racers on their local dh trails, riding those same super light jump hardtails with comedy near slick tyres. Tyres do not make the difference if you know how to ride.

Try going to a 4X race and watch what tyres they use. Then catch those racers on their local dh trails, riding those same super light jump hardtails with comedy near slick tyres. Tyres do not make the difference if you know how to ride.

So why dont they use comedy near slick tyres on races?
EDIT So why dont YOU use comedy near slick tyres?

I use these for my 4x hardtail…

I'm not trying to make a debate about tyres, but your attitude of a tyre is better than money spent on training, shows you don't really understand what using your input to find real grip really is.

Funny the few pics I have seen of you on your flickr you're riding a maxxis high roller in 2.35 (probably soft rubber too). Plus I am not talking about blx/4x but more like natural trails.
After what I have heard as feedback today (more time talking than riding)I am not going to spend any cts on a skill course. As for the grip you are regarding your flickr a way better rider that I am so you are probably right I can't corner for shit, but I a still think a better tyre is going to improve my riding I have seen it from my own eyes.

I ran semi slickish type WTB tyres in the winter, and although they felt sketchy I continued as couldn't be bothered to change them and became quite a bit better as a result, through applied technique.

Juan – if you're not open to learning, then going on a skills course will, indeed, be a waste of your money.

juan, it's a combination of things. Technique is very important.

Juiced you're right, but paying someone to tell you to look ahead and lay off the brakes is a bit of a joke.
Druidh you may be right I still ride with my elbows in 😉

don't forgot to bend the knees. 😯

Bend the knees? inside or outside 😉

oooh err..

Juan – think you are missing out.

What do you mean bush?

I just mean thinking a tyre will improve your riding more than the right course means you are gonna miss out.

A tyre may provide more grip in corners, but when it washes out or skips suddenly over a rock or root, not having the right skills foundation will lead to injury. Where as having the ability to ride through it will keep you riding and improve your control a hell of a lot more than the perception that you are in more control justy because you have "better" tyres

If you're fairly new to cycling and simply don't have the free time to go and session bits of trail – experimenting with body position, braking etc then a skill course will save you a lot of time. But imo, you'll learn a heck of a lot more by trying different approaches yourself. Someone showing you the 'right' way to do something is all well and good, but there is plenty to be learned by doing something the 'wrong' way.

I personally wouldn't consider going on a skills course – not because my riding is flawless – far from it, but I know the areas that I need to work on and I'm looking forward to challenge.

I used to be the same but I totally believe in the benefit now

"paying someone to tell you to look ahead and lay off the brakes is a bit of a joke."

Not if you look down and brake too much!

I did a weekend of skills in a group with CycleActive a couple of years ago. The instruction was clear and well explained and demo'ed, but at the end I though I was rubbish and felt a bit disheartened because I still couldn't wheely or trackstand properly! However you have to remember that the skills they teach are textbook and far beyond what you actually need on the trail and it has been the gradual inclusion of those skills at a lesser lever into my riding since (lifting front wheel over drainage ditches, balance at slower speeds, confidence with using more front brake etc) that has been noticeable for me. If I did it again though I would go one-to-one………..and I think I will at some point – jumps and drops!!!!!

I highly recommend doing the RIGHT course for your needs!! CycleActive make it very cler on their website what will be covered…….

Not if you look down and brake too much!

Well that's true, but you forget to add if no one else tells you. Bush you may be right, but after what I have seen and owing the people I ride with I think I'll pass.

Eventually I may ask to my riding friends some advices about the few stuff I know I don't do "right" (mainly be more mobile around the bike), but then I am lucky enough to ride with some people who are actually very good (and I mean very good).

So going back to the original post she didn't manage as much of the track with the correct technique as she could doing it the way she did before what is wrong with that (unless the coach caused her to loose her confidence and that was the reason in which case it's just a bad coach)? If all she want's to do is have fun then a skills course might not be the best place for it as coaching serves to point out how wrong you have got it. Quite a few skills are counter intuitive hence will not feel natural (coming from being coached for motocross but it's the same principles for all coaching) hence when first tried it will not be as easy as what you are used to and you will need to practice those skills before you are as good as you were before, but you will then be able to elevate your riding to a higher level than before once you have learnt the "correct" technique. Coaching doesn't instantly make you better just like school the teacher shows you what to do then gets you to do it over and over (I think you need to repeat an action about 1000 times before it becomes natural) but it gives you the potential to be better.

If I've already lost you in that essay I'll summarise, coaching is the best way to get better but if you just want to have fun and your just starting to ride coaching might not be the best idea (I have never found it "fun"), if you want to be the next Steve peat you might as well get the correct techniques when you start riding as it's harder to undo old habits.

Iain