As ever, bike measurement is all about top tube length (plus stem length and handlebar type) rather than the nominal size. I fail to understand why bikes are specified in terms of the height of the top tube – the saddle does go up and down!

If you’re unused to road bikes do get some first-hand fitting advice – a little bit out makes a big difference. Don’t go too long is my advice.

Adrenaline/Resolution are my fave tyres, which I’ll be going back to once I’ve gone through my current Conti MK Supersonics.

GlenP – I suppose what I was on about was I found looking further ahead than normal I went loads faster. The stuff I’d normally worry about (Braking bumps, roots and drops / jumps) didn’t really cause much of an issue. I thought they would if I didn’t give them the death stare as I got near to / went over them.

Yes. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. It is the very first most basic rule of mtb technique. We learn to ride bikes not long after we learn to walk, so we do the looking like we’re walking – checking for divots and trip hazards for our little feet, despite having 26″ round and squishy/grippy “feet” (wheels). Whereas we should do the looking more like we’re driving a car.

Doesn’t strictly work like that, Rockape63, because it isn’t purely about looking for things. There are many reasons to keep your head up and your eyes level. I think I’m letting my enthusiasm get the better of me though – if I go through it all on these threads I won’t have anything left over to sell!

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…

Apologies – you misled me with the looking thing. Hope you don’t mind me saying, but all of your riding will be transformed if you start looking way ahead and stop inspecting the ground in detail. It is quite surprising that the very first thing we teach novices comes very late in the day to experienced riders.

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…

Low (easy) gear, sit, be patient, look to the top.

120mm forks on a 100mm bike will not help.

As others have said, shuffle everything forwards – bum on saddle nose, chin over stem etc.

I push and the pedals go round

– try pushing circles and not just pressing down. If you ride spd you can try practicing one-footed to find out how complete your pedal circle is.

I’ve got a great visualisation for smoothing out your pedalling, but I’ve got to stop giving stuff away or I won’t have anything left to sell.

Have both bikes got standard forks and stems? What length fork is the HD designed for?

Like all cycling, take a puncture kit and pump, thus ensuring that you get no punctures. (Having also pumped tyres up to 100+ before every ride.) Chains rarely break on road bikes, I’ve found, so that’s not really a problem. A little multi-tool is a good idea because a loose headset or creaking chainring bolt can happen. I just have a little Agu seat pack with the essentials in, including a not-very-good lock just in case you want to pop in somewhere.

Deer are scared of everything – that’s how they are wired-up.

I’ll leave you to it after this post mk1fan – but looking 5m ahead is the reason they aren’t going fast enough.

Good luck with it, hope a world of fun and enjoyment opens up for “them”.

If you get stuck, you know where we are!

Even if you can’t see the trail surface, that’s how far ahead you should be looking. You will naturally scan up and down anyway but it is very important that you don’t put your main focus close to the bike and look up every now and then – other way round.

You’re kinda doing the right thing, except not 5-20 metres. 50-200 metres. Or more. Just the same as driving a car.

Sounds quite positive so far, but I think there are potential problems with the speed control going downhill – if someone is going very very slow downhill it usually means they are perceiving danger that doesn’t actually exist. In turn that means that when you introduce any other factor (narrowness, steepness, slipperyness, whatever) then they will tense up even more, look down even more and try and sit down and/or put their foot down – those things are more dangerous than what was originally causing the fear.

My tip is to work a lot on looking further ahead and not looking at the ground at all. Practice riding along and being aware of your hands without ever actually training your eyes down. Roll over tree roots (or find a handy log) and look through, not at. Once you are good at that the perception of speed is drastically reduced and you can move on with renewed confidence.

Kinesis Racelight Tk – exactly the qualities you’re looking for – very versatile and fast without being twitchy.

Here’s mine: Kinesis Reader’s Bikes – mine

Kona has massively dropped top tube, so that dimension will tell you nothing.

My similar vintage Explosif, which is also 17″, fits me like a glove – I’m 5’8″ and a bit.

I think I’d better chip in a bit less, BigDummy. Apart from coming over as a smart alec (I don’t think I actually am like that) I’m giving it all away!

Foor virtually all corners: outside foot down and all weight on that foot. Bikeradar thing is about cornering level-pedalled on downhill switchbacks and what he’s suggesting is that if you lead with the outside foot (rather than having it down) it is easier to twist your hips to face the way you want to go.

Cornering is a massive subject and it makes a huge difference once you build up the correct techniques. It is massively more useful to corner well than it is to learn a bunnyhop or wheelie, for example.

A proper skills session will reveal very much more than just discussing it (but I would say that, wouldn’t I?).

As for braking in the corner – don’t do it! If your confidence starts to desert you mid-corner then look further ahead, turn your hips to face the exit, and stand harder on that outside pedal.

Don’t see why you want something slacker? Bit of a silly fad started by the mags if you ask me – nothing wrong with a bike that steers, esp if you aren’t doing super steep “dh” riding and love your singletrack.

Whatever you choose tho, do try before you buy.

m_k – personally I don’t think you’ll learn anything valuable at all by going fully rigid. Just my opinion, but I think it would tend to get you picking smoother lines, which aren’t necessarily better lines. Plus I am absolutely certain that the pressure of riding rigid would have you looking down to closely inspect the trail, which is a terrible idea. My old Explosif is set up rigid these days, but it doesn’t get much use!

As for getting off the front of the bike – that means riding on your feet and not leaning on the bars. I could tell you more, but that would be on a professional basis!

You get what you pay for mk1fan, and a four hour session is about one third of the price of some new carbon rigid forks (plus I would say that the forks would only be temporary anyway). You are doing the right thing in encouraging to get away from the front of the bike – the difference is that we have the experience of thousands of level one sessions and can very quickly build up the technique in exactly the correct way. We honestly do get hundreds of pleasing comments from people who are genuinely surprised at how far they can progress in just one session – its all about getting them safe, smooth and assertive so that they can go about their riding with confidence and really start enjoying it.

For a fraction of the price of another set of forks you could pay for a skills session which would give her masses more confidence. A fully rigid bike will need more ability to ride, not less – what she needs is to learn how to ride on her feet and not all over the front of the bike, and that’s exactly what we start with on level one skills sessions.

We are in Surrey Hills – allbikedup.com – or I would recommend any other outfit using the CTC system which is very progressive yet powerful.

Bit odd to get the helicopter there – from the bottom of the path where he fell (the junction with the gates) one only needs to turn right and down the gulley to the road. It would be an easier carry downhill to the road than up to the top, I’d have thought.

Having said that, whoever takes charge of the first aid should be respected and they got the guy off safely which is all that really matters.

Too many people go too fast down that rooty rocky bit – it is thick with walkers all the time and should only be done at a very sedate roll. It is safer and more discreet to nick into the woods to the left and through the bombhole (or around the chicken run).

Everything is riding beautifully. We couldn’t do the digging because it just turns to dust at the moment, plus several of us have been putting time in on Yogurt Pots (which, though I say so myself, is blimin’ excellent now). Obviously you may well find the odd puddle over on Orange Claw Hammer, but apart from that near perfect.

Descents more fun? I don’t get this current obsession with slack bikes. For normal singletracking (which usually includes corners) a bike with good responsive steering is much better.

I think you’d have to go some to break the frame – although the warranty might be in question if you did. The handling will definitely be altered though, sorry to contradict. The steering will be more ponderous, especially going up hill. Personally, I like a bike that goes where you point it.

If they’re air forks you can reduce pressure to give increased sag, but in my experience it ain’t ideal.

SIDI come up small, but usually buy the correct size.

The new Kinesis steel looks nice too (see Bikeradar).

Could be a stiff link in the chain. Or maybe the freewheel – skipping freewheel feels very much like chain slip.

Individual anecdotes are pretty useless really though (including mine I guess, although I do see the wear and tear on thirty odd hire bikes every week) because it isn’t a big enough sample – I’d be more inclined to listen to the bike mechanics who actually get to see what breaks and what works. They all seem to favour Shimano.

aP – crikes! you must have long arms and torso.

As with all bikes, the size is expressed in a totally useless way – the height of the bike is pretty irrelevant, since the seat pin does go up and down! I’m a shade over 5’8″ and I like a 53.5cm top tube with a 100mm stem and compact (drop) bars. Stem length and handlebar type are very important, because they can vary more than the difference between frame sizes.

I’d have thought you would need something like a 52cm top tube with maybe a 90mm stem and compact bars.

Personally I think hybrids are pointless, so I won’t comment on that save to mention that you need a longer top tube to get the handlebars where the hoods would be on a proper road bike.

Aubergines sliced lengthways roughly quarter inch thick, oiled and grilled just enough to go bendy – use to wrap around large cubes of mozzarella plus shreds of basil and slices raw garlic. Hold together with cocktail sticks and pop on the bbq until cheese starts to escape. Make plenty extra, because everyone will scoff them.

You let the dog on the seats? Why?

Shimano everything without a very very good reason to change, that’s what I say. The SRAM rear mechs in the mid-price range a re just made of cheese – complete rubbish. I can see why people like the SRAM chain join link, but on the other hand I prefer a chain tool and in my experience a properly joined XT chain will last as well as anything else.

I didn’t say it was intuitive – I said the article is very clear and easy to understand. The additional force needed to deform a larger softer tyre is taken into account in the feature, and is easily countered by the other benefits.

Very interesting (although I had seen it before).

Not sure why it makes no sense to you? The article explains the reasons. On the road a harder tyre rolls more easily, but off-road lower pressures mean the tyre is more easily able to conform to the texture of the ground – hence less resistance. Since lower pressures also afford more grip it is a win-win.

Is it chewing all those pies that makes his jaw so big? Or something else? Hmm.