What's your best MTB tip? (CONTEST: win $40 from PricePoint.com)

I work nights and about 4 am checked my messages. My husband had called and his story terrified me. He recently bought a new bike and is quite smitten with it. About 11 pm he decided to take a spin around the neighborhood. He was cutting through a park and suddenly hit the ground. He said he had no time to even put a hand out, and landed on his head. He hit the side of his head from the ear to the temple, soft and vulnerable. He doesn't think he lost consciousness, but laid in a bush for a long time because it hurt too bad to get up. He was still clipped into his pedals. Being a nurse, he rode home and checked his pupils in the mirror. I am so grateful that he didn't lay in the bushes all night with a head injury. My tip is, to WEAR A HELMET!!!

My mtb tip is; don't drink too much water right after a ride.

After a 20-miler with friends, (the whole time I took sips from my water bottle) I drank over 2 water bottle's worth of water. Bad choice. I ended up loosing my South Beach Diet Meal Replacement bar (with a LOT of water) a little later. I felt fine after that, but I learned my lesson.

So, don't over-do your water intake right after a ride.

EDIT: Also, give yourself time to spare before a race. I almost missed mine today.

My best advice would be to never bike alone if you can avoid it. Too many "unforseen" events can happen and if you are alone - you may be put in a dangerous or life threatening position. If you have a buddy or friend with you - they can get help, call for help or assist you if you are hurt or unconscious. When you are alone - that is it - You are alone! If you do bike alone please tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back(and stick to your route).
*also carry a cell phone if possible.

When climbing a steep hill, try to keep your elbows level with or below the handlebars. This makes it easier to drive the tires into the dirt and keep traction. Also, if you need to shift your weight more to the back of the bike it makes it easier to do so without going too far back and losing traction on the front tire.

I learned a lot of great tips from some mountain bike skills training I took from Lee McCormack (www.leelikesbikes.com). One that I think is super important -- and greatly improves the flow of my riding when I do it -- is to look where you're going. That is, don't look too closely at stuff directly in front of you; look further out so your mind is planning the next move out. Let your peripheral vision deal with the stuff your wheels are currently going over, because your brain has already registered what's coming and can deal with it. It's no different than skiing, really; you don't stare at the snow 6 feet in front of you, but rather look further down the slope.

My natural inclination when I get into technical sections is to focus too closely on what my wheels are rolling over -- looking down too much instead of what's ahead just down the trail. When I remember to look far enough ahead, I find I can flow nicely down the trail, including the tricky bits. The harder the terrain, the harder I find it to follow this advice. But when I do, things get a whole lot easier.

ok heres some advice, when ur cliped in, make sur u unclip before you stop.

I agree 100% with Steve's comments. Picking a good line is key. The same can be said for steering through a corner. Look at where you are going, rather than what you are riding over. Your balance and direction naturally want to follow your line of sight. If you look through the corner your balance and direction will naturally flow through the corner. This isn't just true for corners. It is true for any spot on the trail. If you're concentrating on the trail and not the ledge you are riding next to you'll naturally follow the trail. However, if you are scared and concentrate on the ledge your balance will be off and your direction will naturally want to go towards the ledge...

The only other advise I would share is that above all else you need to trust yourself and give yourself time to experiment. I'm a believer in seeking knowledge, but ultimately what matters is what works for you. Get advice, read tips from websites, magazines, and bike shops, then use what works, customize stuff that kinda works, and blow off stuff that doesn't help you at all. Not everything applies to everyone and no one source should be considered the bible. It took a long time for me to figure that one out and now I have my own style of riding that I trust because it is MY style...

There are a lot of ways you can get an "owie" when dealing with a mountain bike. Endo's and clip-in-clip-out mis-maneuvers come to mind. But here is another one that many of us may not keep in the forefront of our minds. Disk brakes get hot. Real HOt! On my last ride I was resting and casually leaning across my bike. Accidentally I touched the side of my calf against my sizzling hot disk on the rear, just after doing a lot of downhill running. At the sound of a "sisss" and a bite like a wasp, I discovered what I had just touched. Good advice.....don't do it!

Hey Bud,

Great Tip! You got my vote as the winner!

I had a similiar incident. About a year ago I rode a trail called Barr Trail in Colorado Springs which takes you to the top of Pikes Peak. Well, after getting to the top of the 14er I had the pleasure of riding the trail back down to the trailhead. The descent treats you to over 10,000' of elevation loss in 10 miles. Needless to say my front disc was red hot.

The last few hundred feet of the trail is a hike-a-bike over stairs. I lifted the bike on my shoulder and branded my quad with my front disc. I had a perfect brand for about two months of half the disc. you could see the disc pattern on my skin it was so bad.

As you said, it isn't something that remains at the forefront of my mind. Even though I know better I still feel the sting of the hot disc from time to time when I lift the bike on my shoulder after a good amount of descending.

One of the best things I've ever learned about is momentum. As a newbie, I was often slowing down for technical stuff. Momentum carries you over the difficult rocks and roots. Going too slowly often results in losing balance. If you've got suspension, it's often better to keep up a reasonable speed. Also, going uphill, if you can spin really hard over technical bumps and lips on the trail, you can carry yourself over and then recover as you get over the obstacle by spinning lighter. (I guess another tip would be to do intervals to help your muscles have these bursts of speed.)

So, don't forget the big Mo. Momentum, that is to say, forward movement, is what keeps your bike up and the rubber side down.

My tip has to do with new bike setup. Just because you have done your research on a particular brand, don't assume the bike shop knows what they are talking about unless they are very thourough. i.e can point out specifics on that particular bike or brand and how it may vary with other brands/setups.

Too many times in the excitment of getting a new ride the rider is handed the keys and is just walked out the store with no direction on suspension setup, tire pressure, seat adjustment, pedal tension, and quick release workings. Has this ever happened to you??

Just the other day, my buddy bought the same bike as mine (teocali super) for $2000 and he just picked it up and left with no direction on anything. $2000 and not a word on what he just bought and what to do with it! His rear shock had no air in it and his tires were at 20PSI. I used to work at a bike shop and we considered it mandatory to show all customers the innerworkings of bike. It was a matter of liability! Guess not anymore.

So:

take the time and ask more questions post-sale instead of just presale. Make sure you do a thorough walk through on the bike and setup when you get home. Find the "middle or neutral" settings on your suspension, pedals, pressures and work from there if you don't have a starting point. And/or of course, consult your local forums (www.yourmtb.com plug!)for user experience and setup tips for that particular brand. Bike setups and geometry are, of course, very different across all brands and even within the same brands!

Peace, love, and Mountain-ness

e

Do NOT wear underwear under your padded bicycle shorts!

I know its late but I feel its valuable info. LOL

Yeah, that can be pretty embarrassing... I've seen some pics, and I have sworn NEVER to wear Lycra shorts.

"What can you do with a road bike?"

all ways charge your cell phone the night before! and remeber to take it off the charger in the morning in case you get crazy lost or get hurt or MAYBE BURN YOUR SELF VERY VERY BADLY On DISC BRAKES but the point is bring your cell phone

Avoid the ever Growing, Naturaly Wild,............... Face Plant

howzit,

tell me what is the best set-up for a mountain bike for a beginner, seat hight and bar height and so on so you dont get that stif back

thanks,

Don't mash those pedals while climbing. Try and to make "circles" with your pedal stroke. On those long painful climbs, I concentrate making perfect circles all the way to the top. I think it helps divert some of pain and agony during because your concentrating on something else.

This will save you between 1-4 minutes in a race... When your chain is in the smallest front cog and it falls off (between the cog and the frame), what do you do?

- Hop off and hand pedal till it gets back on? No!
- Hop off and pull the chain on by hand? No!

What you should do is to push as hard as you can with your thumb on the front dérailleur so that you are shifting, hard, to a higher gear. Pedal as you do this and the chain will jump right back on!

This will literally save you a lot of time in a race because you can afford to get off the bike, unless you absolutely have to.

keep the rubber side down