In sailing they are:

1) course
2) sail set
3) trim – fore and aft
4) balance – side to side
5) centreboard

These are the basics that beginners are taught, but they still apply to pro racers as they all effect speed and handling.

1. Balance
2. Fitness
3. Skill
4. Map reading
5. Cake

Ok let’s have a stab at this in no particular order:

Stand on the pedals
Look up to where you want to go
Brake in straight lines
Lean the bike not the body
Speed will carry you through

Don’t forget your bike

Ask Jedi.

Oh, and there are 8!

Drinking.
Eating.
Arguing.
Eating.
iDieting.

I’d elect not being scared to fall off as pretty good skill

eating cake.
wearing armour outside the cafe.
constantly altering your shock/fork.
dropping your seat for anything that’s not uphill fireroad.

and the most important one of all skidding in the carpark

being able to get on the bike (some amateurs struggle…)
being able to get off the bike (some pros struggle…)
being able to pedal
being able to steer
being able to brake

or the STW version

Grass-appraisal
flaming
trolling
eating cake
drinking beer

I’d say

Looking ahead/line choice
Weight distribution
Energy Management
Speed control
Cake

Off for a ride now, so I’ll check.

Colour co-ordinate components.
The ability to blame your equipment for your own Inadequacies.
Being able to double the size of any obstacle when recounting the ride.
Being an expert in engineering/metalurgy/physics when asked technical questions.
A sixth sense to know the best place to stop on a trail to cause maximum annoyance to other users.

Ability to move around on the bike
Gear changing and selection
Mental control (line selection and that)
Endurance fitness (Fuel and water intake)
Mechanical ability

Wind
Water
Earth
Fire
Heart

CONFIDENCE
CONFIDENCE
CONFIDENCE
CONFIDENCE
CONFIDENCE…….

it is essential and will get you through most things on an MTB, BMX etc

Experience
Fitness
Line choice
Confidence
More fitness

1. brute force.
2. ignorance.
3. ………
4. ………
5. matching lycra? 😕

how you have your feet
where you look
how you have your body set
how you add and control speed.

thats the physical oh and smile 🙂

misunderstanding
moaning
fannying around
sneering
bickering

having fun

Falling off is a true skill

cake
bacon butties
tea
excuses
soil

1. Leaning your bike against your audi in a trail centre carpark
2. Referring to your bike as a ‘rig’ and multiple bikes as your ‘quiver’
3. Telling people that you’re able to ride anything on a ridgid 29 inch penny farthing
4. Telling other cylcists how you ‘owned’ a DHer on the descent
5. Moaning about walkers on cycle tracks before going off to ride a ‘cheeky’ track

😉

1. Skids!
2. Wheelie
3. Stoppy
4. No handed
5. Bunny hop

50 WPM. Definitely on here anyway.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1. Enthusiasm
2. The ability to enjoy the ride regardless of terrain
3. Not giving a fig about how fast someone else is
4. Not giving a fig about something that someone else can ride and you can’t
5. The urge to go and do it again after every ride

I sometimes struggle with 1 & 5 but I’m working on it 🙂

buzz-lightyear – Member

Ok let’s have a stab at this in no particular order:

Stand on the pedals
Look up to where you want to go
Brake in straight lines
Lean the bike not the body
Speed will carry you through

surely they aren’t skills, but guidelines or mantras….

i’d go with…

1. bunny hop
2. cornering
3. trackstand (helps a lot with bike handling, IMO)
4. riding drops/step downs
5. pedalling off/getting off the bike on a steep incline (am often amazed at how some people have now idea about this. people trying to scoot along to get enough momentum so that they can start pedalling or trying to step off the bike from the side – both manouvers resulting in a comedy (but sometimes painful) fall).

surely they aren’t skills, but guidelines or mantras

Yeah fair enough

Faffing
Making excuses
Obsessing about tyres
Lying about how awesome you are
And most importantly, raging on teh internetz.

Faffing
Making excuses
Obsessing about tyres
Lying about how awesome you are
And most importantly, raging on teh internetz.

🙂

Experience riding every thing you can
Fitness makes it more fun
looking ahead
speed is your friend
dropping your ankles and wrists keeps me on my bike more 😀

BASI (British Ski/Snowboard Instructing people) are the masters of this stuff. My mrs reckons it’s like joining a cult. You have to be familiar with:

The Fundamental Elements
The Five Strands
The Central Theme

The fundamental elements apply pretty well to mountain biking too:

Body management
Control of speed
Control of line
Flow

(sure I’ve forgotten one there)

So is tyre selection one of the essential skills or not?
I’m confused.

right view
right aspiration
right action
right effort
right mindfulness
right concentration

1. Technique.
2. Composure.
3. Knowledge of equipment (of yours, not the latest thing out there)
4. Humility.
5. Enthusiasm.

Northwind
Cleary numeracy isn’t one of them 😉

alpin,
dont confuse skills with techniques

nick1962 – Member

Cleary numeracy isn’t one of them

I reject your outmoted number system

How about:

Smooth climbing
Technical climbing
Braking
Cornering
Weighting & unweighting

plus maybe:

Nutrition
Trailside repairs