Having just watched the STW video, I have noticed that recently I am looking more and more down at whats in front by the wheel... why ???
I dont think I use to do it, but how far ahead should I be looking ?
Its a bad habit that I want to shake off!
I do it myself. Thinking about putting a sticker on my stem:
"chin up, heels down"
If I can read the sticker, I'm not doing it.
🙂
Its almost like a trance.......my eyes just get drawn to the wizzing wheel...then I realise what I am doing and look ahead, but then its eyes back on the front wheel again !! 🙁
Do some night riding - you wont see much and learn to not worry about it.
I think night riding is the worst option - it makes you look where your lighting is brightest, which tends to be nearer. I just look as far ahead as I can see teh trail, what comes inbetween I've already seen and compensate for naturally somehow.
which tends to be nearer
Adjust your light?
"chin up, heels down"
I've got a syncros headset cap that says 'look up, eh!'
I've got an old Bonty stem cap that say "Cheap, light, reliable, pick any two".
Nothing to do with this thread though.
coffeeking - Member
I think night riding is the worst option - it makes you look where your lighting is brightest, which tends to be nearer.
That's soooo wrong. night riding is great for training yourself to process what is coming up on the trail and making a decision on how to overcome obsticles.
do you ride with a DX light by anychance?? i find that their beam spread is relatively narrow which gives a really bright spot which you could be looking at...as opposed to better quality lights which take this into account.
Sounds unconnected but try raising your brake levers up a little so tey are not at the 45 degree down angle that everyone seems to use. It tends to help you keep yourself a bit more upright and looking ahead
That's soooo wrong. night riding is great for training yourself to process what is coming up on the trail and making a decision on how to overcome obsticles.
Not IMO. Been night riding and day riding for many a moon and find I look far closer during the nights as even with 60W of halogens the end of the beam is closer than I look on a day ride, and I find bike lights head or bar mounted really flatten objects, which means you don't find it harder to see the obstacle for what it is, so you just career over it as if it wasn't there, or were significantly smaller.
Adjust your light?
Regardless of how many lumens I throw at it I can't get my beam to bend with the flow of the trail or extend as far as the eye can see.
Eyes fully [i]along[/i] the trail, not down at it.
Best way to practice is when it doesn't mater - ride up hill/along flat never taking your eyes off the horizon, and just keep on doing that all the time. Then when you go downhill you've got a much better chance of keeping on doing it.
I do this, so have to constantly tell myself to look up. Invariably, as soon as I do my riding improves.
It's just remembering to keep looking!
Sounds unconnected but try raising your brake levers up a little so tey are not at the 45 degree down angle that everyone seems to use. It tends to help you keep yourself a bit more upright and looking ahead
That was one of the things that Jedi suggested doing when i did a skills session with him, as i was looking down at the wheel the whole time. It's certainly helped me.
high5 grahamb. how's the riding going?