logo
logo
Sign in

Mountain Biking: Some Basic Tips for Beginners

avatar
Fort Myers Cyclery
Mountain Biking: Some Basic Tips for Beginners

Cycling in the mountains is surely an energetic activity. Cycling (BMX BIKES CAPE CORAL) requires you to consistently shift your weight forward, rear & side-to-side. As the obstacles are encountered, it is totally up to you to keep the bike upright. Here are some tips for beginners on how to do that:

 


Braking

 

When we’re in a dangerous or confusing situation, it is intuitive to lock up the brakes. We do it in our cars, on our road bikes, and you’ll do it automatically on a mountain bike (MOUNTAIN BIKES CAPE CORAL). Locking up the brakes & skidding is almost always the 1st stage of a crash scenario.

Your bike has 2 brakes, a front & a rear. While riding you need both brakes. Oftentimes the tendency is to exclusively use your rear brake, but the front brake provides excellent control as well as stopping power when used properly.

Try to brake before obstacles, not in the middle of obstacles as the bike will “stand up” and stop turning. Try to evaluate an obstacle before you reach it, then once you commit, let go of the brakes & roll on through until you’re clear. Break again on the other side if you need to.

 

Shifting

 

Gears are also there in your bike, please use them. Most of the time when we’re learning how to ride a bike off-road, we concentrate so much on keeping the bike (BMX BIKES CAPE CORAL) upright that we forget about making it easy to pedal.

Whenever encountering an uphill section, shift your bike into a ‘low gear.’ That implies the chain should be on the biggest cog on the rear wheel. This is going to permit you to turn the cranks more easily. Your legs will be spinning faster than the bike is rolling forward but you will be able to make it up the climb without having to stop for a rest.

 

‘Ready’ position

 

The ready position must be your default position on the bike. Stand with your pedals level, & your elbows bent and weight centered over the bike. You have to remain fluid & relaxed; no death grip on the bars! This go-to position permits the bike (MOUNTAIN BIKES CAPE CORAL) to move around underneath you & leaves you able to tackle the terrain ahead.

 

Climbing

 

You require traction but also good steering to get up steep hills. For traction, you need to put your weight on the back tire, for steering you need to put it on the front. Move to the nose of the saddle, then drop your shoulders low & as far forwards as possible, tuck in your elbows, and pull down & back on the bars as you pedal. If you feel the back tire or say the rear tire is spinning then shift your body weight slightly backward to keep enough traction on the back wheel.


collect
0
avatar
Fort Myers Cyclery
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more