3 Unusual Methods of Improving Your Riding Technique

We’re delighted to present this guest post from Ben over at Working Class Athlete.

1) Ride a hard tail for a few months

As dual suspension bikes become more affordable and common, the poor old hard tail is becoming more and more extinct. There is a whole new generation of mountain bikers that have never ridden a hard tail. If you are able to get your hand on a decent hard tail for a few months, either borrowing a mates or buying second hand, it is going to teach you a whole new dimension to riding.

A duallie makes your lazy. The input a rider needs for a duallie is a lot less than that of a hard tail. Which is a credit to the technology, but learning to massage a squirrely hard tail around tight single track will have you using your body position like a pro. It’s tough going in comparison, but when you switch back to your duallie after a good few months, You’ll be breaking all your Strava records.

2) Ride at night

Or should I say, ride at night with a good narrow beam head lamp. It’s this narrow ‘spot light’ beam that’s most important. Good, fast cornering techniques require the rider to look through and out of the corner, not at their front wheel. Riding in the dark with a spot light attached to your head teaches you this technique very quickly! Mountain biking in the dark is a different ball game, knowing where the exit to your corner is paramount to staying on track.
When you turn your head through a corner, your body follows and so does the bike.

3) Track stand everywhere!

Every chance you get, try and track stand as long as possible. If this makes you nervous being in clip-ins, loosen up the tension in your pedals so you can easily step out in a panic. Track standing is far more than a circus trick, it is a vital skill in mountain biking. Whether you are picking your way through a rock garden or sizing up drop offs, track standing will teach you ultimate balance and confidence required to improve your riding ability.

A good little game when your riding with mates is every time you stop for a drink or waiting for others to catch up, turn it into a track standing competition. Nothing motivates more than friendly competition.

Note: A track stand is balancing on your bike while stationary. You may have seen some cyclists stopping at traffic lights without putting their foot down, that’s track standing and it’s a great skill to have. If your struggling with track stands, try to face your bike up a slight gradient. Gravity will try to roll you back. Just apply enough pressure on your pedals to cancel out gravity’s effect. Turning your handle bars about 45 degrees helps a lot to.

If your technical riding is below par or maybe even plateauing, try some of these alternative methods and notice a real boost in your riding