Improving my confidence..

[Mitten]

Hey all I've been riding mtbs for over 20 years but always just for fitness/fun but least year I broke the bank and bought a duelie (Polygon N8 from a online shop). Now I really like the bike but I'm an extremely nervous rider, I really lack confidence... I've joined a small work rabble group that goes for a weekly group ride. I'm the slowest by a mile. I'm 40 and usually the youngest rider as well. The other riders just seem so much more fearless going through Rock gardens, dodging between trees at dangerous speeds and always going for the big jumps. A particular jump on one of the rides I've never had the balls to jump over and always elect to ride around..
I've watched a few YouTube videos on techniques and cornering but I just can't get my skills up, everytime I push a bit the bike might slide or get out if shape and boom I'm back to square one. I'm not unfit and usually overtake my friends on the climbs but once we start descending they leave me in the dust..
Just wondering if there is some advice on riding faster? My biggest issue comes from my younger brother who broke both his arms 10 years ago in a MTB crash and took years to fully recover. Everytime I ride past rocks and other jagged objects my mind tells me to slow down as landing on those things is really going to hurt..

 

[Dales Cannon]

It is different for everyone. First things first, dont give up. Second only you can decide what you are comfortable with. Going out of your comfort zone is fine but if you have a bad crash then your confidence will be shot. With jumps etc spend some time trackside watching others. Get a feel for speed and line. At the end of the day if you cant do it so what, enjoy riding.

Ignore anyone who says if you dont crash you arent going fast enough. I am a lot older than you and three years ago was reminded how long breaks take to heal and the pain associated with it. Just a rib or two and sternum. Lots of guys here have much worse than that and bounce back. As I said we are all different.

My nephew was a sponsored supercrosser and had a bike provided with all the good gear. He built a track down the back of the farm and would hammer that thing. I had quite a few rides but mostly was one gear slower. Down the deeply rutted hill he was be in 4th powering down with front wheel in the air. I could do 3rd but if you dropped the front wheel then it was barbed wire fence time. Similar with the jumps but I got there though I jumped so far on one i used all the suspension, all my knees and elbows and almost all my jeans and shirt!

 

[Flow-Rider]

Sounds like you're on the right track with looking at YT videos but some things that can help is going back to the rockgardens that you actually ride, by yourself and watching other people go through them, (note their line choice and body position on the bike) then repetitively session them yourself without the pressure of other riders. Rockgardens can be tricky at first and it if gives you more confidence buy some quality knee & elbow pads, I've found learning how to catch the bike from falling and being as loose as possible not tensed up helps. If it helps you any, maybe a few lessons from an instructor might work.

 

[Daniel Hale]

Hey all I've been riding mtbs for over 20 years but always just for fitness/fun but least year I broke the bank and bought a duelie (Polygon N8 from a online shop).

took me ages, i came from rd, where i could have smashed the group i was riding with but was much slower than them...havepoor balance & took 12 -18 months,
# getting a slacker bike with more travel gives more confidence, one of our locals has gone gone from an xd duallie, to a 150mm scott genius, it has given him much more confidence, he will now attempt jumps.
#.one of the things which helped me, was getting a plus size tyre hardtail, the 2.8 tyres just gripped so much better than the shite i was running, tried new things which i transferred back to the old bike..
#other thing i did was push the outside bar into a turn, ie turn left, push on the right bar grip into the turn, i had a habit of losing the front wheel
# rock gardens get low & chicken wings out

 

[yuley95]

Staring at the things you don’t want to hit/crash into is a hard habit to break but you have to try and train yourself to look at the exit and aim for that. All you really need to do is scan the obstacles as you approach then focus on the exit.

Try it in a short section first and repeat it. Challenge yourself to flow through a little faster each time. Get really low on your bike, knees and elbows bents and let the bike move around below you while you keep you head and chest as still as possible.

Worth keeping in mind though that you might never get faster but as long as you are out with mates having fun then you’re winning

 

[Milpool]

I reeeeeeally need to work on some skills. I'm still super unfit so I'm more regathering on the downhill but I suck at berms and just get left for dead. I think I need seat time to get confidence in my tyres too, I'm sure I'm just a pussy. Gonna start the YouTube sessions I think.

 

[born-again-biker]

Everyone is different.
Don't worry so much about other people's speed/skills... focus on just beating your previous level each time you ride.

I'm no expert, but I can offer a couple of bullets that help me.

- Once I realised how much speed/chunder/rock/abuse a modern dualie can handle I just started plowing rock gardens with reckless abandon.
Your bike and tyres are way more capable than you think they are.
Stay loose like a drunk. Don't death grip - u can't steer.

- lean the bike over, but keep your body less leaned over. drop the outside pedal and push down into it as you round the turn. practise these things one at time until your ready to combine them in the flow.

- biggest one for me. look further down the trail all the time....and look around/thru corners.
On a road motorcycle we call it "the disappearing point". The aim is to give your brain box as much info as early as possible. it buys you time.
Avoid target fixation - it's deadly. You go where you look. So don't fixate on ambulance obstacles. Constantly flick your vision to the spaces between the gnarly shit. (easier said than done fo sho).

-absolutely OWN your local trails. every rock, root and berm. your locals are your confidence blanket. it's where you test and tune. where you have little victories. and then you take that practise and confidence with you to other bigger, badder trails.

HTH.
Keep at it. You'll unlock 20 years of experience & progress like a demon.

 

[beeb]

One thing that's counterintuitive with rockgardens and ledges, is the more you can stay off the brakes the 'safer' they are. Obviously you don't want to overspeed and lose control - but try to get your braking done early in the flatter sections so the suspension on your bike isn't getting bound up by the brakes over larger individual rocks or ledges, then get lower (with both arms and legs) over the bike so it can rock back and forth a bit and do its thing to take the edges off for you.

Cornering is a whole different bag, it's all about weight placement, especially with the front end. Like Daniel Hale says, make sure you try and weight the outside of the bars heading into and around the corner, not just pushing the inside side of the bars down as only doing that will basically just try to push the wheel out from under you.

Need to practice lots of little details, then the start to all fall together.

 

[Tubbsy]

Staring at the things you don’t want to hit/crash into is a hard habit to break but you have to try and train yourself to look at the exit and aim for that. All you really need to do is scan the obstacles as you approach then focus on the exit.

- biggest one for me. look further down the trail all the time....and look around/thru corners.
On a road motorcycle we call it "the disappearing point". The aim is to give your brain box as much info as early as possible. it buys you time.
Avoid target fixation - it's deadly. You go where you look. So don't fixate on ambulance obstacles. Constantly flick your vision to the spaces between the gnarly shit. (easier said than done fo sho).

This, absolutely.

Also, although it might seem obvious, is the bike fit right? If it’s on the small/short side it can accentuate the ‘staring over a cliff’ feel on bigger obstacles.
Are you running the longest dropper post possible for you frame?

 

[The Reverend]

A lot of great recommendations here.
It is almost inevitable that you'll crash at some point or another but protection, strength, flexibility and of course skills and confidence will help reduce the chance of that happening and you being injured.

Take your time, and practice / session the bits that you can't do, do well, or with confidence.

You don't have to do it all the time or make all your rides a white knuckle affair but definitely take time to break it down and repeat it.

Have some of your friends explain what they see you doing if they're better than you.

Positive affirmations work. Don't fixate on what can go wrong, concentrate on what can / will go right. And if you're watching videos of crashes, stop. It all contributes to making you feel apprehensive.

What helped with steep sections and rock gardens was staying off the front brakes and keeping loose / balanced.

If all else fails, get some training / coaching. It can be very helpful to have someone who knows what they're doing train and teach you.

One thing I will say is that I find confidence isn't a constant, so if I'm riding a section I've done before and I don't feel like hitting it, I won't. I've nothing to prove to anyone, least of all myself and I find hitting features without conviction is the easiest way to get into trouble.

Stay safe and have fun!

 

[Tubbsy]

One thing that's counterintuitive with rockgardens and ledges, is the more you can stay off the brakes the 'safer' they are.

This is also great advice. Go too slow and obstacles more confident people glide straight over will bind you up and pitch you forward.

 

[Plankosaurus]

Theres some spectacular advice in here, not much to add really.

Keep riding with others, sometimes the combination of perceived peer pressure and monkey see monkey do can get you over the line.


And don't look at the rotorburn injury thread

Sent from my G8441 using Tapatalk

 

[nzhumpy]

So much good info above..my advice...you're overthinking it a bit much and it's got into your head, just relax and keep off the brakes - momentum is your friend- if you have your suspension sorted the bike will look after you.

 

[Chriso_29er]

Get down to you're local BMX or pump track and session some corners and jumps.
The slippery surface allows you to learn the way the bikes can move around and how your weight transfer affects traction.
Finding a nice safe flat corner can also help to dial in you're cornering skills, let the bike slip around a bit and have a play.

Rock Gardens are all about staying loose while trying to keep the bike as smooth as possible, agree about the brakes mentioned above, you want to try and keep the bike light, so you load it up in smoother areas so you can lift it through the rougher sections.

 

[Paulie_AU]

Ignore small details just ride and concentrate on the main line. I.e look ahead not down. Tyres and bike will get through most stuff.

Years ago dusk DH runs really showed me what speed was possible when you couldn't see the small details.

 

[Lazmo]

Are you running tubeless?

 

[Mitten]

Thanks for the help. I think I'm just to rigid in the corners, I need to relax and look ahead not what's directly in front. I did an advanced motorcycle riding school years ago and the instructor said the same thing about not been too paranoid about what the bike is doing. Relax the grip and let it sort itself out.
I have a few days off next week and intend to do some solo practice at the local bike park. Bit unsociable but I sort of do prefer riding by myself anyway..

Are you running tubeless?

No, stock tyres and inner tubes. I did let a friend with a lot of XC racing experience ride my bike yesterday, he said my tyres were a bit too firm which was probably not helping with the bumps or grip.
I'm also pretty big, about 195cm tall and 115kg and all the guys I ride with are 'fun size'.. Probably a good advantage in this sport.

 

[Lazmo]

Go tubeless... WAY more grip. You can run lower pressures and the feel and feedback from the tyres will give you much more confidence.

And yeah, look way ahead to where you want to go, and loosen your grip on the bars so the bike can ride itself.

 

[Lazmo]

Plus, who cares if others are faster. You’re not racing. You’re riding. Having fun and enjoying your riding is really what matters. Faster is not always better, faster is just faster. Sometimes faster is a constant stream of near miss experiences with zero time to enjoy the ride. There will always be someone quicker, let them go. Have fun and enjoy your ride.

 

[pink poodle]

Hey all I've been riding mtbs for over 20 years but always just for fitness/fun but least year I broke the bank and bought a duelie (Polygon N8 from a online shop). Now I really like the bike but I'm an extremely nervous rider, I really lack confidence... I've joined a small work rabble group that goes for a weekly group ride. I'm the slowest by a mile. I'm 40 and usually the youngest rider as well. The other riders just seem so much more fearless going through Rock gardens, dodging between trees at dangerous speeds and always going for the big jumps. A particular jump on one of the rides I've never had the balls to jump over and always elect to ride around..
I've watched a few YouTube videos on techniques and cornering but I just can't get my skills up, everytime I push a bit the bike might slide or get out if shape and boom I'm back to square one. I'm not unfit and usually overtake my friends on the climbs but once we start descending they leave me in the dust..
Just wondering if there is some advice on riding faster? My biggest issue comes from my younger brother who broke both his arms 10 years ago in a MTB crash and took years to fully recover. Everytime I ride past rocks and other jagged objects my mind tells me to slow down as landing on those things is really going to hurt..

You are a good bloke and bring value to the lives of those around you.