I was rather tired yesterday so didn’t ride the mountain bike. I’d ridden 164 miles on my scooter on Sunday to Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire dales with a group of friends and was surprised how much it exhausted me. Today I started by replacing the bottom shock absorber bush and mount, which had developedContinue reading “Enjoying a trail ride.”
How it used to be.
I’ve been giving the handling of my mountain bike a lot of thought recently and made some changes to try to improve things. Bikes have changed a lot over the last 7 years or so. Wheels have generally become bigger and tyres wider. Bikes are longer, throwing off their road bike geometry which persisted forContinue reading “How it used to be.”
Technique.
I’ve ridden a few times recently where I’ve concentrated on my riding technique. I’ve also looked at my bike setup to see if I could benefit from any changes. I’ve lowered my tyre pressures because I found that I could improve the grip on corners yet after a fair test found the bike not toContinue reading “Technique.”
Tyre pressures and speed.
I have always believed that higher tyre pressures offer less rolling resistance so make bikes quicker. The counter argument to this is that lower pressures give you more grip on corners so allow you to maintain more speed on a twisty trail. As usual I’m only thinking of tyre pressures of mountain bikes, here. IContinue reading “Tyre pressures and speed.”
Trail skills.
My last ride has left a big impression on me. I only rode locally but instead of timing my ride or parts of my ride I just concentrated on how the bike felt. I’ve ridden for so long that I don’t really expect to develop any new trail skills. I ride in the same wayContinue reading “Trail skills.”
Becoming one with the bike.
You can just sit on a mountain bike and steer it along the trail. It’s an enjoyable way to see the countryside. If, however, you want to improve your speed and general competence you need to become one with the bike. The bike has to be an extension of your body through which you senseContinue reading “Becoming one with the bike.”
The mountain bike press.
I bought my first mountain bike magazines in 1992 and found that the US mag. Mountain Bike Action was the best at the time. The UK mags. seemed to be too orientated towards the youths, not the adults but were in other ways more relevant to the developing UK MTB scene. Cross country racing eventsContinue reading “The mountain bike press.”
Returning to the source.
Today I contemplated riding to the Egg Hillock. My last ride was memorable, having made a climb which I hadn’t achieved in years. The problem with that was that if I didn’t make the tough climb it would all seem like a waste of time. I decided instead to return to the source of ourContinue reading “Returning to the source.”
A recovery ride, or not?
My last ride involved a fully committed section of trail which took over 15 minutes. OK, so it was a mainly downhill piece of trail but if you want to do it quickly you should still be maximising your effort when the trail turns down. Not only that but I had to get to theContinue reading “A recovery ride, or not?”
For the ride. For the ultimate ride!
I’ve quoted from the movie “Point Break” in my writing in the past, as in the title of this account. The movie centres around surfing but it could perhaps have been written about mountain biking instead. Surfers and mountain bikers often seek that ultimate ride. Just as a lack of the right waves may hamperContinue reading “For the ride. For the ultimate ride!”
Mountainbiker 