Very cool site, I'll spend some time reading there. The book with Lopes techniques and thoughts on riding could be a interesting read. Think all us oldskooler types got the light hands from the rigid forks back in the ye olde days of MTB's and from coming off BMX's. I find there is a interesting balance now with full suspension working as well as it does today, you can really use it now and can really weight the bike to force the suspension to work and do its job, rather than the old ways of being very light on the bike. Bike design has really come on a long way and forced me to rethink my riding style somewhat. Have you been riding long Chainring?
Yeah, the book Mastering Mountain Bike Skills is a classic, at least lots of people talk about it. I've been riding bikes for my whole life, except for a 7-year hiatus many years ago when I first came to Spain, but those were hybrid and road bikes. Just got my first mountain bike 2 years ago and have really gotten into it. I've discovered that mountain biking demands far more skills that riding on asphalt, and I've risen to the challenge ha ha ha Sounds like you're saying that before with no or crap front forks you needed 'light hands', but now with very good forks and suspension you can weight the handlebars more. So how long have you been riding? Sounds like a long time. P.S. This video talks about cornering from minute 15 to 19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiQGFX_RlW4&feature=related
Yes indeed! a lot more technique I guess. Yes, in the dark ages you really needed to keep the front end light or you bailed, destroyed the bike quickly and/or your wrists. Really had to steer from the rear, using body weight and feet a lot more than now where you can choose not to alter your line, or to take air of lips. Way back you kinda had to pre jump lips to minimize air time, like we used to in BMX racing to pump the down side of jumps. Now you don't have to make such compromises now and can really let the bike do the work, the suspension, components and all the package is so much better. Definitely can choose to weight the front ends now and let the suspension soak the bumps, ruts, roots and stones instead of trying to float the bike over them. I'm still working on that, as old habits die hard. I don't weight the bike enough I think through roots, rocky sections etc and always trying to float it which actually works against the suspension nowadays. Ah, its too long amigo, haha. BMX, and ''trackers'' old 700c road bikes kitted for offroad, just some knobbly tyres and wide bars. They where funny and where destroyed every hard ride cranks and bottom brackets especially. That was before mountain bikes came along and been riding those ever since basically, so a long time offroad.
Hi Guys. Kanza´s introduction was some days ago, he had a problem when trying to PM somebody if I remember well... Chainring´s mind seems to be enterely on the Rallon! :rasta I´m still relatively new to the sport, so I have not formed any habits taht I can think of yet. So new that I even thought that the outside foot down was the rule to follow to avoid to clip your inside pedal on the ground. Well, that´s true when riding a road bike, but as seen, if you´re always dropping the outside foot, you must always make that move to switch for every corner... too much going on then. Leveled pedals, as you say, have some real benefits that I haven´t experienced by myself. I tend to follow the begginer´s outside foot down but since all corners and all bikers are diferent maybe we have to follow different techniques at different times. Sorry, not of great help here. Cheers!.
Here's a picture of me in action on my Rallon. Ver el archivo adjunto 2902740 Taken today in El Pardo. Interaptor, it's time to start improving your technique: we're going for a ride!
Yeah, count on me 4 that ride. But it´s not time to start to improve my technique... just time to start! Full stop. :cry: Take the photo below as an example and see how different our techniques are. Up to now my technique _it´s called the snake style_ is painted in blue. Chainring´s eagle flight in red. :meparto Cheers! PM on the ride whenever you Know.
Just for the sake of sharing out. Today I´ve completed my first serious beginner’s ride at CDC along with Chainring, Doohan and Rob. I wanna thank the three of you for being so pleasant, kind and understanding. It was a short but very intense ride in which I really felt like I was in a roller coaster, up and down on the bike… I was having so much fun that I didn´t realize time was flying and how much I was learning. WOW, this is cool!. I´m not a speed demon but riding up and going down is fun. MTB is also grabbing me as road biking did. Just a newb but now I know why it´s becoming a passion for more and more people out there!. Thank U guys. We´ll keep in touch. Cheers!
Hi Interaptor. Yeah, fun ride! And glad that you've been bitten by the mountain biking bug, because it's so much fun! I mean, wasn't going down the Somosaguas trail a blast! Going really fast by all these trees, and then the dips at the end. I've done that trail many times and it's always fun to revisit it. By the way, you did well considering you're a mtb novice: you were going along pretty fast. And the little things as well, for example the short steep downhill we did at the end. I think riding a mountain bike is a little like going on a roller coaster, but funner because you're in control... hopefully haha. Anyway, keep riding, and improving your technique, it's all part of the fun! By the way, did the picture turn out OK?
Yes, it did. Can´t show you because my phone connection cable to the computer is not with me right now, but I keep it in my minicard database. More pictures to be taken for sure, as it´s so much fun and that bug stings hard… You´re right, I did push my limits. Though I rode a motorbike some years ago, It was my 1st. ever bike-ride on that trail and even the first serious one, but I DO promise to come back asap to kinda harness the required skill and go for better and longer rides! I know this one was so piece of cake for you, just one small step, but one giant leap 4 me. Thank for your patience and tips, David. Cheers!
I´m working very hard on this moments with a lot of travels and for this reason I can´t post here. But I can see there are some one who enjoys a lot flying with his new bike. Take care friends!
Sorry you're so busy Armentano, when you have a bit of free time be sure to send us some posts and let us know how things are going.
Went for a ride today in El Pardo: a beautiful day, good company, but a bit muddy. In any case, here's a picture and a video of me doing a jump, I'm the second one on the video. [video=vimeo;41655990]http://vimeo.com/41655990[/video]
WOW! :shock: What can I say? Your skills and your Orbea are just the way to go suicide!. Be careful on that couple. They are a powerful way to cope with the obstacles, but always keep an eye on the risks!. As all you know, reality is harder than the pictures above!. When you go and see live how a downhill is, it´s much steeper than it seems to be from those pictures. That´s exactly what happened when I first saw La Cuesta De La Muerte at CDC. Cheers!
Have you ever used these front fork protection sleeves? Don´t know how effective they are in the long run… http://www.decathlon.es/proteccion-horquilla-neopreno-id_6314354.html
I was thinking about getting them once but someone (a shop attendant I think) told me that they actually do more harm than good because you get crud collecting on the inside of the covers. Looks like summer's suddenly here. Time to take plenty of water with you on the rides, and time to use sunscreen too, wouldn't want to get skin cancer, or just sunburnt.
It is summer time, sun protectors time, isn´t it? It´s also sweat time, especially when wearing kneepads and wrist or elbow protectors. Well, sounds like too hot, but the good news is that Madrid has not a great humidity weather to suffer from. All we have to do is to take advantage of the cool hours of the day. So, summer time equals to a strategic change in time riding!.
Here it is. An Orbea Rallon put to the test in a nice vid. At 3.30 it goes downhill in style! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Wg08fDllM
That Berg looks very impressive! I'll have to check it out sometime. And that's a great video, Interaptor. Wish I could ride my Rallon like that guy does. On Sunday I went to Patones with nine other people, though it looks like I have no pictures to show for it. It was a pretty hard ride in blazing heat. My first tough ride on my Rallon! I still love it! Though I had to make some adjustments to the brakes. The forum was closed down for 'repairs' yesterday, but I see that at least some people managed to get into it. In any case, today I ended up going for an easy ride in El Pardo and then the cdc with Rod.
