What's your one technique tip for a newbie to MTB?

Buy more bikes, you cannot ever have enough.
Buy more bling, bling makes the ride better, therefore makes you better.

Procrastinate, read forums, read reviews, read about trails.
 
20 20. Vision

Use your peripheral vision, look 4/5 bike lengths ahead.
Brake late and turn.
Put all your trust in your tyres.
Never go last in a group :laugh:
Never take yr inside foot off a pedal when going hard into a corner, use the bike and yr body to counteract the major catastrophy that is about to happen :faint2:
Ride with a massive grin and yell as much as you want.
 
Doing a session or two with an instructor (private or group) is a worthwhile investment. Much easier to learn techniques when someone's showing you how out in the real world.

Also, knee pads are great because 40+yo knees & skin don't heal so quickly (speaking from experience). :crutch:
 
Actually that is a really good thing bloodpuddle= get instructions from someone who is a good rider and teacher.
My wife and I did that recently OS. been riding mtb since 1991 and never formally done that.
1.Taught us how to use the front brake and go as slow as possible w no skidding on steep rutted terrain.
2.How to get off the seat and tip the bike over in the corner with weight on the outside pedal.
3. To scan ahead and keep momentum on really rocky ground.
 
Super overlooked but I reckon correct braking dude!! Do it right and you'll actually corner faster carrying your speed out and won't crash as much. Go in at mach 10 on the brakes, locking up and skidding you'll eat it a lot, bugger the trail and piss people behind you off.
 
heel down
bum as far back as possible
I think most noobs including myself going OTB is the worst thing
 
defy1 said:
heel down
bum as far back as possible
I think most noobs including myself going OTB is the worst thing
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that kind of depends on the gradient and the bike set up. If you don't have a dropper post and ride with your seat way up then you have no option other than to get your bum back as far as possible. With tour seat dropped you can get your centre of gravity lower and not have to adopt such an extreme rearward position.
 
"Trust your tyres - they'll get you around"

Best cornering advice I've ever got.

Of course there are a lot of elements to this, such as:
..get good tyres
..set at the right pressure
..body positioning
..keeping off the brakes (expecially the front)
..body positioning; and
..body positioning
 
johnny said:
Learn to (flat) corner:

Get behind the seat, point hips in the direction you want to go, drop outside heal and push forward on the pedal to keep some weight on the front wheel. Lean the bike, not the body, let the side lugs of your tyre do their job.
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The bike came with Maxxis Ikons, not the biggest side lugs of tyres I've seen. I've been trying to flat corner and have been through some slippery stuff without falling over, but would it be easier with tyres with bigger side lugs?
 
TonyMax said:
The bike came with Maxxis Ikons, not the biggest side lugs of tyres I've seen. I've been trying to flat corner and have been through some slippery stuff without falling over, but would it be easier with tyres with bigger side lugs?
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Generally yes, but then other thing may become more difficult.
 
TonyMax said:
The bike came with Maxxis Ikons, not the biggest side lugs of tyres I've seen. I've been trying to flat corner and have been through some slippery stuff without falling over, but would it be easier with tyres with bigger side lugs?
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See if there is any group coaching available. You'd be suprised at how effective a two hour corner class truly can be!

I'd get used to the limits of these tyres first, then look at HR2, DHF or Magic Mary's etc.
 
Tyre pressure. Coming from a roadie/tri background you'll be kind of ingrained to pump them way up. Fine for road, very much not fine for dirt; you'll be bouncing & slithering all over the country side. Drop the pressure as low as you can while still maintaining control. If you go too low the tyres will get squirmy and handle like a bowl of jelly, plus you'll be more prone to pinch flats, particularly on lumpy stuff. Start at the low end of the tyre manufacturer's recommended pressure range and experiment from there. Set your rear a few PSI harder than the front, firstly because the back of the bike is more heavily weighted, so needs to be compensated for; secondly, the back wheel is more likely to be bashed around harder - you lift the front over a bump & slam it with the rear instead - so you need a bit more air for bump protection; and thirdly, coming back to the original point about grip, slightly higher rear pressure can make the back end just a little bit more playful, which helps keep the front planted & pointing where you want it to go, and a rear drift is easier to control than a front drift.

On hills, keep your weight toward the high end of the bike; bend your elbows & pull yourself forward when climbing to keep the front wheel planted so you can steer; when descending push yourself to the back of the bike to keep the rear wheel on the ground, so you don't descend on your face.
 
mooboyj said:
I'd get used to the limits of these tyres first, then look at HR2, DHF or Magic Mary's etc.
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VERY dependent on the type of dirt you're on. Fairly smooth hardpack is generally best tackled on fairly fine treads, such as the Ikon (but be warned, widespread feedback of the Ikon is that while they roll well, they give little warning when they're running out of cornering grip & ping you off pretty quickly when they do). Heavier, chunky treads like those listed don't handle hardpack well at all, because the big knobs can't bite into the ground, and you end up with a lot less rubber on the ground, so less grip. Fat treads work better in softer, looser & wetter stuff where fine treads will just pack up.
 
Lose some weight
Don't over inflate your tyres
Rest your feet over the centre of the pedal (flat pedals)
Buy flat pedals
 
I now try and take out just one or two things to focus on each session and just focus on those.
It's easy to get out there and all those hours of video ive watched and all those techniques I thought I would nail next time out go out the window and make all the same mistakes I always make and ride like a muppet.

So I'll now go out to have fun and try and utilise all I've learned previously but will really focus on say cornering for the day because it's easy to get overloaded and forget everything especially if your chasing your much faster buddies down the hill. Works for me anyway.

Most of all just have fun and it really doesn't matter if you make it to the bottom a few seconds behind your mates. They don't give a stuff.
 
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