Did any of you have to choose between two bikes for the day? I’ve got a choice of 6″ skills compensator or trail type 130mm HT. Both get ridden around the Peaks fairly evenly with no real reason for taking one out over the other than which needs cleaning or tweaking.

Similar question for pedals. I’ve been on SPDs since god was in short trousers but recebtly started playing with flats. Not had any problems with them so far but do find I fidget a bit to get my foot in the “right” position.

Your (sensible) thoughts please.

I have been on a skills day but with the dirtschool guys at glentress. My thoughts were

1 I am looking to impove my skills, i’m gonna take the bike that doesn’t compensate for my possible bad habits.

2 I am going to be doing things i have found difficult in the past, i am going to want the option of getting off/away from the bike quickly.

So my vote is Hard tail and flats

use the bike to want to use. flats or spds. it makes no difference 🙂

what he said ^^^ he is going to know far better than me [there isn’t an embarrassed smiley]

I want to use both! Life would be more simple with just one bike. What the heck, I’ll take the cross/commuter.

I have an XC bike I want to be able to ride up hill and around corners
I have a jump bike I want to be able to jump with
I have a fully rigid SS fixie which is no use for anything other than showing off so I would probably leave at home.

‘if’ MrsWCA let’s me do a Jedi course – is it okay to bring a couple of bikes and swap during the day?

Rusty, what was dirt school like? May go on one of their courses soon. Ta.

🙂 bring the bike or bikes you wnat to ride and i bet you don’t change 🙂

I took a mid-travel bike on the jumps course and a DH bike to the singletrack cornering course. As it turns out it doesn’t make much difference – it’s all about the rider.

yep. XC race singlespeed or 140 mm hardtail.

took the 140mm hardtail with flats – not that used to flats.

i think i would hve felt a bit ‘over the front’ on the race bike. the hardtail is a bit more upright.

lots of that is physocloigical though…

i only have my duster 😉 but i loves it 🙂 tis what i will be going on jedi’s skill course with 🙂 it has flats though 😉

I didn’t bring a bike at all! I just ran up and down the trails mimicking the movements that Jedi was teaching me. Got a pretty fast time too!

At the end of the trail, jedi followed me down the trail on his bottlerocket to see my improvement, but just ran me over.

pmsl@travis 🙂

I used a singlespeed 456 on 100mm travel. No problems at all.

Had the same concern before going. Hardtail is my personal fav. for riding and keeps it honest, however full suss. gives some degree of insurance in reserve.
I went with the full suss. Jedi got me clearing a genuine 10ft gap jump, which I am unsure I would have ridden on the hardtail. Albeit if I had taken both bikes I would have liked the option to switch between the 2 and suspect having nailed it on the full suss I would then have tried it on the hardtail too.
If I went back again for another visit, suspect would take full suss. again (140mm turner 5spot nothing massive).
Think a slack bike helps with what he can get you riding, my turner has an angleset fitted and sits low with a CCDB.

Out of the 4 MTB’s I own I’ll be taking my favourite one, the one that I’m most comfortable on (with SPD’s as that’s the way I ride normally).

I see no reason to change anything from my usual set up unless something is not set up right

I’ll take a pair of flat pedals and skate shoes in case I do ride the bigger stuff, but I don’t think they’ll be used. I’ve not ridden with flat pedals in years

I see it as a just another opportunity to have fun on a bike (whilst learning stuff)

Oh, what tyres for a Jedi session…. 😉

I took my BFe and the skills day was its first ride! I would probably rather take a hardtail anyway, as in my mind if you have the skills to do the jumps and drops etc on a more “minimalist” bike then when you get over to a bigger bike you’ll have even more confidence to ride the same or bigger stuff 🙂

take the hardtail, you want to learn how to do it without skill compensation.

ride the pedals you usually ride

I’d take the cleanest / best-running bike, IME HT or FS doesn’t matter.

I had 2 sessions with Jedi last year – took my 130mm HT 1st time because my FS rear brake needed bleeding, took the 120mm FS 2nd time just because I’d not used it for a while & was about to use it for a long-distance ride.

For me there was no difference at all to the learning experience on the day, nor to the skills learned or retained, and I personally didn’t find any skills “compensation” in having a FS; the skills apply to all bikes, I’ve even noticed an improvement in footwork and looking when on the road bike.

Re: pedals, personally I’d go with whichever you’re most comfortable with.

Beware, IME it’s surprisingly mentally tiring so I’d worry more about taking something to keep you awake when, 20min into your journey home in the car, your brain shuts down to absorb all the info and the gentle thrumming of the engine sends you to sleep!

Enjoy the day, I personally got an immense amount out of the sessions (thanks Jedi!).

PaulGillespie

I found dirt school really good to be honest, I went on there trail high school wit my cousin and we wen’t over alot of stuff to do with general trail riding:- flat conering, berms, using the trail to get the most out of it, small drop off etc. Have a read of the descriptions of the corses they do as they are pretty accurate. Andy Barlow is a good guy, was alway able to explain things in more than one way if someone wasn’t getting what he ment.

As i said i really enoyed it and found it really usefull. My email is in my profile if you want to ask any other questions.

I did my session on my covert, because I needed the covert the next day to ride afan. I actually think I would have been best on my BFe as I reckon you get a better feel of whats going on..

edit: just read what everyone else said about hardtails – that’s what I wanted to say but couldn’t find the words 😳

Take a Scoot, no chain and fully ridged is the way to go.

I read that in a coaching book i got for a tenner so it must be proper good.

As per the above, take the one you feel most comfortable on. Ditto pedals.

I took my hardtail and rode flats as that was what I was most comfortable with.

However, I doubt it would make a blind bit of difference really.

Its really not about the bike in this case…

As for tyre choice, its something you really wont be asking about again afterwards.

Just remember that are trails are living things and that roots don’t exist (least not when you are on them as its too late then)… eh Tony? 😉

you know it metalheart 🙂 🙂

I rode my cove stiffee, mate rode his orange 5. Both thoroughly enjoyed the day with jedi regardless of the bike. Just enjoy, it’s a lot of fun.

will i be alright on my Appollo x26? the rear suspensions getting a bit stiff but i’ve taken the stickers off and given it a good coating of gt85 🙂

I think I was on the course with Nickf

Bikes went from 6″ inch all mountain to Nick’s singlespeed 29er (wierd bars? Have I got the right nick)

I don’t think it made any difference in terms of what you get out of it

I did think that being lighter or rubbish I was holding people up cos it took ages for me to get the speed to do the tabletop (hence double/gap cos its the same) and I thought I was higher up the slope to clear the gap Nick cleared several goes earlier than me

So if you’ve got a choice of bikes I’d go with the faster one assuming you love both.

But… You will have a great time and learn loads about yourself that goes beyond MTB

My daughter (7) learns physical stuff the way I do – she can listen and understand – but it just doesnt lead to her changing what she does – she has to feel it * – thanks to Tony I’ve been able to explain to her trampoline and horse instructors and even if it still takes her she’s at least they are less frustrated 🙂

*actually this may have been why it took me ages – I am just a slowarse when it comes to learning and change

reading this thread (and others) about Jedi – should we not change your name to Yoda? 😉

Im going to take my 250cc trails motorbike when I go

the guy on a fully rigid on that day was john ringo reynolds iirc 🙂

Thanks Rusty, sounds good.

I think I was on the course with Nickf

Unless you’re my wife, son or daughter that’s highly improbable!

pmsl@nickf 🙂
i have only just dried out i think

Had the same dilemma (FS/hardtail flats/SPDs), think Tony’s advice was to bring what I was most comfortable with so I went with FS/SPDs, don’t think it would have made much difference though apart from the in-the-air bits as I’d only just started playing about with flats again and that probably would have affected my confidence.

I had the same issue/concerns before my Jump & Drop course and Jedi just said ride what you want to ride ? 🙄

I had been riding SPDs, but playing with Flats…

I chose to ride flats on the day, with DC skate shoes and Ive not gone back to SPDs since 😯

we had a damp day, not raining but the ground was pretty claggy and the bottom of the hill after the jumps got rather interesing when stopping, but I can honestly say, inspite of being well out of my comfort zone for most of it, I never once thought:
I wish I was on “X” tyres
I wish I was on spds
I wish I was on a Full suss
I wish I was on something different…

For the only time I can remember, all I was thinking about was riding what was there in front of me on the 2 wheels I was using…

It really wont matter, what you are riding, what tyres its wearing, what pressures they are set at, what fork travel you have, how big your brakes are, what shoes you are wearing, flats or spd`s, sun or rain……… you will have a fantastic day and be doing stuff at the end of it that you never thought possible when you see it on arrival.

Without a doubt, that day was THE single best spend I have ever made in the persuit of this hobby… No bike upgrade or bit of shiny new kit has ever come close to giving the improvement in my riding that a Day with Jedi has given me……

HTH Dom (Just a happy customer (And ex sceptic I should add) no other affiliation 8))

Should Add, that I was struggling to do what Tony asked on arrival, and I felt very stupid failing to ride over a stick 😳

But 4 hours later I was happily clearing a 12′ gap jump off the Log booter, which Tony had said we would be when we walked past it earlier in the day…..
The standard response to that comment from all of us was “Yeah Right ?!?!?”

I`ve not done another Gap jump since (Not really blessed with trails like that at home) but the skills learned on the day have helped me no end in general riding, and I now have the start of a skill set to deal with drops and jumps when I do encounter them on the trail 8)

EDIT: In answer to the OP first question I used a Ragley blue pig HT set around 140mm I think and Flats

that was a fun session dom 🙂

Which bike do you like the best and ride the most – use that I’d say.

I don’t get all this skill compensator thing. A corner is a corner, a bunny hop is a bunny hop, a jump is a jump no matter what bike you are on.

I recently did a jumps and drop course with Tony after not really riding properly for 20 years on a blur but I reckon I could of gained the same results on my 96 GT avalanche or a 80’s GT bmx.

The bloke knows how to get you moving/learning or just awakening what you all ready have.

Thanks again Jedi.

archibald, was a pleasure 🙂

jedi – Member
that was a fun session dom

It was indeed fella 😆