MX Ridetips

THE TIPS GIVEN ON THIS PAGE ARE TO BE USED AS A REFERENCE ONLY. THE INFORMATION BELOW MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE CORRECT BUT MY PROVIDE A GUIDELINE ON HOW TO IMPROVE CERTAIN RIDING SKILLS. REMEMBER THAT USING THE PRINCIPLE OF "LOOK & LEARN" MAY GIVE YOU PLENTY OF INFORMATION THAT WOULD OTHERWISE NOT GENERALLY BE SHARED ON OPEN PLATFORMS.

MOST IMPORTANT: Ride at your own pace! Trail Riding is not racing, there are many factors to consider such as your terrain, your bikes capabilities, your capabilites and the people you ride with. The important thing here is to be able to finish your ride so that you will be able to join the next one. Speeding is dangerous and as your experience grows so will the pace at which you ride ride, so be patient and learn!
	CHOOSE YOUR LINE! When I started trail riding, one of the first things I was taught was to focus further forward and not just in front of your front wheel. What happens is that if you concentrate to hard on the object you want to miss then you will purposely ride into or over it. You need to exercise your brain that once you have seen it, you need to put it into memory so by the time you get to it your brain will automatically inform you to avoid the object. This technique is extremely helpful with technical riding. Not only do you need to choose a specific route that you anticipate to be easier but you have to avoid the obstacles in your path in order for you to overcome them. You will also notice that the slower you ride the closer you concentrate on the path in front of you. The faster you ride the further away you concentrate on the path in front of you. This helps you to react and prepare for the ever changing terrain that you might encounter or to allow you to re-access your choice in the path that you have chosen. In technical sections and very rocky terrain this technique is especially difficult and takes a lot of practice. When the terrain is very loose under your wheels the natural tendency is to focus just in front of you which then doesn't prepare you for changing path or terrain.
	STAY UPRIGHT! I am sure you have heard of the phrase "Getting Into A Rhythm". There is nothing better then having the feeling of total control when you ride your bike. The ability to become one with the bike. There are many riding techniques that can be explained but I just want to concentrate on one for the moment. The one that I am talking about is keeping your body perpendicular to the ground. This is where you let the bike lean into the corners and allowing the weight of your body to apply a downward force on your wheels and not a sideways force. Once you have a sideways force and you have no lip or berm then your wheels will slide out underneath you. The objective of this exercise is to allow the bike to change direction and to maintain maximum grip on the surface, especially with loose gravel.
	STANDING! Getting into the habit of standing when you ride your bike will increase your control 10 times over. Standing allows your body to absorb uncontrolled motions from your bike. Allowing the bike to move under you, reduces the exposure of your body having to deal with continuous erratic movements, therefore allowing you to sustain longer periods of riding difficult terrain. Standing also allows your legs to act as shock absorbers giving you greater movement in traversing difficult obstacles. It is often been compared to riding a horse. It basically boils down to the fact of letting the bike do the work and you riding the bike.
	MOMENTUM! Whether you are riding rocks, sandy riverbeds or even mud, you need to apply an even throttle in order to get through these types of terrain successfully. When riding very rocky terrain it usually helps to be in a low gear, preferably 2nd or 3rd so that you have enough power to climb over them. Loose rock is even more difficult as they tend to move under the wheels causing you to loose your balance from time to time. In keeping a constant speed with enough power will give you the balance and the momentum to get through. In very sandy terrain one needs enough speed to get the bike on top of the sand. If your speed is to low you tend to have to much resistance on your wheels when they are being pushed through the sand instead of being on top of it. What's important is to keep the bike free under you. Don't force the bike into a line, look for areas where the sand may be more compressed then usual. Sometimes it helps to follow the exact line that the bike in front of you has created. Mud! I will be honest, I try and stay away from it as far as possible. In most cases it is very difficult to determine how deep it is or how far it stretches. As bike tyres have a very small surface area one tends to get stuck more often then not. However if you are forced to go through it then pick a low gear, get some speed and stay on the power till you hopefully get through.
	TRACTION! Good traction will never let you down. If you are a trail rider like myself then intermediate compound tyres are the best that will suite most types of terrain. As you should know by now, front wheels do not wear down as quickly as the rear wheels. One could easily go through 3 tyres on the rear before changing the front tyre. Bare in mind, because they last longer the tyre starts to cure and become less elastic. This will ultimately affect your handling in corners where front wheels have the tendency to slide out. Therefore keep an eye out on how brittle your front wheel is. Even though it might still look good, it probably is time to change it and you will notice a marked difference in your steering and handling of the bike. Most MX bikes have a 110/100-18" or 19" rear wheel. Wear on the rear wheel will obviously be far more prominent as this is your drive wheel. There are many brands on the market, yet in each category they all basically do the same thing. However certain brands have various tread patterns and the compound of the rubber may vary from category to category. The categories being: soft, intermediate or hard. Most enduro riders will use intermediate to hard compound tyres. Having a fresh tyre on the back is always a great experience. It's like almost having a new bike. You get through difficult terrain far easier, and when the surface is wet you just have so much more grip. Basically when you have used 66% of the tread it is time to consider buying a new tyre. (Click here for a couple of choices).

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