Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 69 total)
  • What’s your best DHing tip???
  • Bushwacked
    Free Member

    Getting focused on doing some more DHing and improving my fast / technical skills.

    What one (or maybe more) tip(s) would you pass on in your experience?

    Kuco
    Full Member

    Don’t crash 😉

    chvck
    Free Member

    PEDAL!

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    Doug
    Free Member

    Follow someone slightly quicker than you. When you get as fast as them, find someone else to follow.

    fingerbike
    Free Member

    drop the saddle low.

    twohats
    Free Member

    Stay off the brakes.

    thepodge
    Free Member

    your bike is capable of more than you are

    Milkie
    Free Member

    Look up, not down. (not literally) 😆

    MrAgreeable
    Full Member

    Eating lots of hormone-laden processed meat will give you the necessary aggression.

    Trimix
    Free Member

    Focus your mind, relax your body, improve your reaction times and fitness. Practice individual skills one at a time. Get someone to give you constructive criticism.

    MrAgreeable
    Full Member

    Check your armour is doing its job by getting someone to administer round-house kicks to various parts of your body.

    sharki
    Free Member

    Do chainless runs and learn to pump the trials.

    nasher
    Free Member

    keep your weight central…..not far back..

    mccett
    Free Member

    One finger braking
    Dont hang on for dear life
    The bike will make it even if you dont think it will
    USE the bike to get down the hill, dont just be along for the ride.

    schwimoid
    Free Member

    Stay loose! Dont rely on your suspension to do all the work, Move about and try and make the bike flow over/around obstacles, pick the smoothest lines possible,

    Completely disregard that voice in the back of your head that says “I could get hurt”, “What happens if”, “Should I”, “What are the risks” etc etc. Its when you doubt yourself you end up crashing.

    Also the faster you get the easier it is!!

    kimbers
    Full Member

    go high on off camber roots relax your wrists and ankles and let the suspension do the rest

    carry your speed less braking more pumping chainless is a good idea is an eyeopener too

    Kuco
    Full Member

    pick your lines carefully.

    mike_check
    Free Member

    learn to pump dips and berms and manualling dips and little rooty bits, learn to unweight the bike so you can clear rocky/rooty bits and little jumps without losing time getting too much air. Basically learning to carry as much speed through/over obstacles as possible as it can often be hard to get much pedalling in over the rougher stuff. Ride to the edge of control, you will slide out and go down a few times but tbh that’s part of the learning curve.

    v10
    Free Member

    Dont brake in corners or off camber, let it roll and it WILL grip.

    Look well ahead and also where you want to go, if you look at that big evil tree stump you will naturally ride into it 😆

    Relax, let your arms and legs work with the suspension not against it.

    Also a fine line knowing when to let the bike have its own way and when to reign it in and correct it but you cant really teach that.

    Bushwacked
    Free Member

    All good, I was thinking earlier while riding that I always look about 2-3 metres infront of the bike so I tried looking about 10-15m ahead and ignore the state of the trail directly infront and I just flowed over it. Felt great!

    snowslave
    Full Member

    wear lycra

    dooge
    Free Member

    practise. Ride the same sections over and over. Try new lines. Follow the lines of the fastest riders. Keep the bike setup as you want it, not what you think it should be.

    adstick
    Free Member

    – pump and learn to keep the bike on the floor as much as possible.
    – lean the bike hard into corners.
    – look ahead
    – ‘session’ the same run.
    – follow good riders
    – sounds silly but… don’t brake (or brake less)

    jonb
    Free Member

    Turn off your fear.

    rob1984p
    Free Member

    relax, get loose, you will stay higher longer

    jedi
    Full Member

    enjoy it

    chvck
    Free Member

    Ride.More!

    (Not implying that you don’t ride enough or anything!)

    Bushwacked
    Free Member

    Cheers for the advice – had a good ride about an hour ago, whizzing down the techy runs round me!!! feel like I’ve improved overnight!!! 😉

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    watch freeride downhill videos to get pumped before hand – seasons is a favourite.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    Block from your mind the crippling arthritis in later years from all those broken bones and dislocations as you set yourself up for that next jump.

    Olly
    Free Member

    Relax, dont tense up

    mushrooms
    Free Member

    Do lots of it 🙂 …and try and be relaxed and smooth.

    glenp
    Free Member

    All good, I was thinking earlier while riding that I always look about 2-3 metres infront of the bike so I tried looking about 10-15m ahead and ignore the state of the trail directly infront and I just flowed over it. Felt great!

    Much, much further ahead. To the horizon, literally. Head up with your eye-line level.

    If you’re going to have a go properly why not go for a proper coaching session? Several top downhill riders have done the CTC instructor course – Rowan Sorrell for one, plus plenty of others. Not sure where you are based, but Llandegla is good for that.

    Having said that, if you’re used to looking only a couple of metres in front of the bike then a more general skills session would be a better place to start. I hear there’s a good outfit working out of Surrey Hills…

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    Dont brake in corners or off camber, let it roll and it WILL grip.

    I’ve had a few wipe-outs that would disagree with you there!

    scruff
    Free Member

    I’ve just bought my first Full face helemt for a bit more confidence when pinning my local triple black pirate trails.
    Trying to jump far enough to get a good smooth landing like the big boys, carry more speed through corners, not slowign down before technical bits. Confidence and practise is the key.

    djglover
    Free Member

    Learn to pump the ground, also pump through berms. Keep your weight on your outside pedal in flat or off camber corners, unweight the bike over roots. Walk the course and watch elite / expert riders to find the best lines. Don’t drag the back brake, brake with the front brake just before corners. Learn to jump!

    RHSno2
    Free Member

    Make sure you are wearing this season’s best gear. Its all about how you look 🙂

    Ride a lot, don’t take it to seriously, laugh, do it on your own and with friends, enter some races, mix it up, drop, dodge, dive, drop and er dodge.

    Bushwacked
    Free Member

    Guys – thanks for the advice.

    Having said that, if you’re used to looking only a couple of metres in front of the bike then a more general skills session would be a better place to start. I hear there’s a good outfit working out of Surrey Hills…

    I should say I can handle a bike, just haven’t done much DHing before as roots, off camber and steep scare me a little. But from the skills I’ve got already I feel I should be able to adapt easily…

    david_r
    Free Member

    Buy a red coloured bike. Red bikes are faster. FACT.

    pedalhead
    Free Member

    Buy a fantastic bike that’s totally wasted on you and hope that makes you better. At least, that’s what I’m going to try this summer.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 69 total)

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