A Manual of Beginning to Advanced TechniqueWarning! This book contains information and techniques that can cause severe damage to the environment, to others, and to yourself. Damage to the Environment: Some will criticize this book with its descrip- tions of dyno-moves, skid turns, pivot turns, etc., as being irresponsible and even dangerous to the sport of mountain biking. Everyone loves the racers, the em- bodiment of dynamic riding, but some feel we shouldn't teach beginners to be too dynamic because they'll automatically abuse the environment. The problem of slob riders mutilating trails is not a matter of too much information, it's a behavior problem. Some places can be ridden wildly (active timbering areas, race courses, powerlines) while some shouldn't be ridden at all (most trails on rainy days, designated wilderness areas, etc.) It's up to the individual rider to learn the difference and ride accordingly. Environmental awareness, safety and courtesy should always be your prime consideration in this decision. Damage to Others and Yourself: Fun Hogs wilding on high-speed metal contraptions across irregular terrain create a recipe for danger if ever there was ‘one. Each rider must recognize the danger inherent in the sport and accept responsibility for his/her actions on a mountain bike. As for selFinflicted injuries, it all boils down to simple physics: the faster you go, the harder you hit. The rider alone controls the severity of any crash. Remember...Gravity: It isn't just a good idea; it's the law. Copyright © 1992 by William Nealy All reserved rights Printed in the United States of America Fourth Printing, 1994 Published by Menasha Ridge Press 3169 Cahaba Heights Road Birmingham, AL 35243 Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data Neoly, William, 1953- Mountain bike: o manual of technique / by William Nealy p.cm ISBN 0-89732-1146 1. All terrain cycling. |. Title. GV1056.N43 1991 91-40292 796.6-de20This ‘bool is “cledicated to Holly, who loves me anyway..Acknowledgments Fo their Siguificavt contributions 4) mountany bike techwigue avel humow , special thavles to Bruce Tillev, Bob Sehlivgev, James Tovreuce. » Johamy Cake , Davie Vecaiow, Govelon) Somevel , Madison, “Terrence , Heury Unger, Tom aan 2) ” Biauclons, Bavnie Wallace Toba basbous, Dave Schone David Taunser, Daniel wkllece , Mark Zusick, Tim Blomenthe , Waynie Bob Colwell , Cn Eavle , Mile Jones ant ee at NOC. laveatest Saitfulaess aud be ome? me! The secret of met From Ife is F enjoy NiefescheTable OF Contents Introoluetion Leavwing To Ride Armed avd evous Leg / Powertrain Basic avec Advanceel Moves Crash Wrsdom Rieliag Seciets of the Tétally Honect Philosophy , Ethres , Surviva And Some Stupid Bike Tricks Glossary as 37 63 a Mt 141 SFSeat Sreewhee! : ©) ate Forks aka."tear Sprekat 469 J thingie" Ftout hub Frout shifter “jesus wut" Derailleur Spokes Aka. “tear 2 5 rim Shifter thingie” 3 Prowonnedl ‘olé-raile@e" / chair Chaiy Ring Cake. "Fout by mest normal SRY toe clip spraket “Frou elooker*, people. chains aka "chinese toe cuffs" "chain wheel " Note: for “Sing leWacl "Dail ] Anatomy ) sublvact one " fade" $rom the above illustaton...This book is aw attemat to make. advanced vieliug skills move accessible to the geweal mouwtaiy bike-vid- ing popvlation. Mountain bilking is ax) inheveuty Sun) thing to ole auc its also a foxy thivg tp lean to olo.'In fact, the esseuce of mountary biking i's “leaming te do’ not just doing. To ewtvy-level avd rov- ice my. bikers, what follows in this bool may seem in credibly complex ancl bewrldesinug. The tuth of the ma is: If you vide a lot avd never veacl a wove aboot it, youll leavw to vide a mountain bike well osmosis give sufficievt on-tvarl expereuce . This boolk, ly, ray provide a few shortevts ow te mountain ey e. leaning cowe . The most important thing 18 to IDE! Movutain Bling 1s simple! Te prove. it, below is an ultva-vefinect Synopsis of this evtive book... © Ride geatly. @ Foeus your weight ov your feet, uot He seat. @ Use your whole bocly L propel He bike. on your a i lenpect Ke w bike well-marvtaived, Weara helmet Ride viele vide !Learning ‘To Ride.. ( Basic Concepts * ‘Terminology )Leamina, To Learw boas un veh es is or the. self-instuctec experiential vaniety . To wr’ uw Viole progressively harder » harder stuff, wipe out a kt awd leary re your mistakes (see below). Evewhally you wil fais your body o react quickly auel instuefvely % a wide vanely of obstacles aud feed Lone Aitions eshile having loads of Saw. Moumtaiv biking is @ Never-ending leawiva process aucl as lowg as youre having fun you ave ay the leaming cuvve. Gee below). skill ew * Fa * * mer i i Ty _ [tnovntains Bike Teaming Curve 5The golden! wle of successful self-teaching 's “Ge. Kind Te Your Studevt!" Becoming your ouwal Nazi Drill Jalstructor tons The learning process into wovk, Once. you Yemove Som the. process you start claws the slip- very slope. of veingorced failure aud feosning vegiession. Pedal, you #16) Weenie |Meve!) SO, before. you begin a FS, | Youre gouna, how self-Haining session RELAX, log or dit = dais aint Wall Street: You cant lose viding a mtv. bike. IF you ale workin on a techwigque wel you fail twe ov thee times 1) 2 vow), STOP!! Do somethi else sty agai latev: This is, called "Training To Fu'lure* Te Pe ete eg IF you push a ining Session) beyoud Hee successive failures you are” Waining Te fal"* As you become move adept at self-teaching and pushin yl appropriately youll be able tp disceval where at bemeficial) Haining eats avel bad Cregressive ) Having begivs .[ Hint: lack of fun mares the spot. 1 Tailor Haining sessions to your ability. If your beelelies ale Sloativg over IShameter logs but youre wiping ovt ow 6" fogs ,Dowt throw yoursel F er ly ‘at re! [ogs ! Start wit logs you caw ole # work your way up mere meastally Cexaryle: 4" logs then 6" logs Hews 9" logs, ete. ). Youll Find Hat eace youve mastered the basic small log hop , svecessive olameters will have become a ploblem of amplifications Lapplying more + more wer t your hop] wot a problem of Funclameutal teckaurgue, Philosophical Focus Point I: Te eat a whole elephaut fake many small bites anol leam to love leftovers . Piateewltcal Focus Pout ID: You cast spell "Fmelameutal ‘wittovt wa * Training Te Failure - positive piogiessive Haining; pushing the pe ennelope. Training Te Fail- wegative vegressive Haining jmore pain thaw Son, 6Instinctvali zing Riding Skill... The int) Bile. Leaning Theary states that all acquired (leaned ) Viding skills ave essevtiqll, "body knowledge “ evolved via” experience. From "baaly knowledge. ° ini other words, as a vider gaius trail com- mice. 9 moves up He skill ladder $1om Novice to ex- pert, he/she is Uncousciously Converting meatal constrects (skills) into instinctive tespouses by skill repetition (prachze, training experieice. ). You can speed op the skill mstuctal- ization process by making it a covscious experieuce ave Training To Faibre in ‘a Suy-oriewted covtext Focther, all poteutial mtv, bikers ase cleatecl UNEQUAL! IF you happes to be a “boely genius"* hike Wichae| Jorolan’ ov'll be EB hopping Hasit buses withiv fiffees mia- oy like me youll be lucky a 6" log at speed woiMost getty creamed in) your Sitst year oF viding. Fortusately , ever complete geeks like me can) become mar- ginal “body geniuses “given lots of practice and on-trail expesieuce . Lets examive the actual po- cess of comvertinig specific goals (brain lkwlowledge.) insto specific skills (bedy PED) Zi kwowledge ) L Sigs 1+2, next page ] . chael Jorday ties Gdhen) you confioat your Sst mouwtary bile... hoppable obstacle an a frail you'll ly go they a Sairly common mental /physical stimulus analysis-rvesponse cycle: your eyes see He obstacle aud tell your bvaiy about if. Your braiy avalyzes velocity , height of obstacle, ete. and commands the body to veacta certaiy * “beady gous athletically gifted This team does not ‘imply Hat a So-called “body genius” cant also be a "meatal gevivs ’ 7way to theorehcally overcome the obstacle (fig. 1). The problem. is, obviously, this methocl takes time! If you start thivkiig 2 secoudls before the log youre going to be initiating your hop From a prove positon 10 feet past Ke bog , 1F youte net knocked out in the ctash. Cleasly, winking (avalysis) has to be virtually eliminated from He stimlus->cespouse cycle . The trick is to create a log-hopping protocol and train it in until it is internalized » instinchve. One approac’ to His leaning situation would be to step, tink though the neces Sary moves , thew have a go at He log at a slower than Normalvelocity. Keep doing it until @ youre hopping the log perfectly each time at speed © you fail two or thee consecutive. times [Training Te Failure] or © you stop having Suv. By stopping before Swstration’ sets ial auc doing something else you avoid meatal blocks aud keep the experience Svesh.|F you apply this vatioual leaiug process to each biking challesge you'll edveate your body vickly ane effectively eal have loads of fux along the way ! In, Bike Leawiny Process focus earn 1. Stop » formulate a plan, 2.Make the challerge appropriate aud inctementer (, 3. Execute the plaw to @ Success (yo!) @ Failure (Hie cousecvtive failores)' 4 Analyze the failure + move oy to something else . 5. Have FUN J! ! Forther wotes ons" Training Te Failuie~ To keep growing in the sport you've got to lear to posh your slall evvelope while avoidiug serious injury and/or temisal Fwstation (mewtal block(s)). Thus, aining to failure is Not training q?to sip nctovear / pene destruction. Iin talking about a healthy dialectical teusiow betweeu your existing skill level auc your potential slcill level ( temperecl , of course, by moderation). For example Im a Fairly inept tvials vider bot | eayjoy tying the occasional trials trail to test existing skills awd ferkant lear) somethirnig, Neu). Avy tide’ cas) contiually challeuge himself/herself by vidling a little Faster and jumping a litle higher . As loug as’ the challeuges ave juciemental avel limited to two or tree failuies per challeuge ,the vider vemaivs ov the fun phe and gets better aud better. Keep in minol this is all one dudes opinion ave what worlds for me may wot work for you. This is but ove of many paths to mountain bike Nitvana.Comparative Poychoanatomy 101 Ltt bare, crawls horimtal Sy, fi lal $ e pical Novice Typ of ES ; q (wt) Linear analyfical | | | | —_———> Hrinking ; body tespons~ Focused on immecbiate 6 ding “B morkel oe ¢ therfore “ »? “Commands " wenn eR) ee Neel svecessivee / a sits moet moves ) \ ° M Motion = a moves Cl > exaggerated , = te tie > : — fisvalizahion) LON Ae Ms 4 Typical Honecl-To-The-Bon) Expert Type ze Reacting instinctively Cbooly + acting directly on vise! informatio) ——— Focused out to event ” a horizon , anticipating Several moves -The EZ4 cate ie To Mosevlo- | whereby the anatomica( eis Acie wee veacler cav ty Z to figure. out what the hell ae author menus whe he talks ae of muscle Slexioay.. yZ “y cose’= asm muscles »-teuclons "% ~, completely velaxecl , $lacevel Arm Irtecally haug! waging from Skeletal strvcture (humerus ). _Semi-flexeol “~ hawel gvippina, bar Fiemly, ao muscles auel teudous be- ginning to Contract. Also pelea to as “Muscles Neutval”. This is the museolar State to be iN whew violinig. “Glexed "= tendous almost fully eed muscles 50% contractec The am 1s oloing almost maximum wWovk,“Sully $lexed". muscles folly contractecl » Feaddoas vigicl . Maximum Worle, : Relaxed = muscles avcl tendons suddenly veleasec| to Flaccidity. [See "Dyno- relaxation " ( Following 95.2] « "semi- Slexed- skeletal strwcture Supported by mosevolatveeRes eg thoes A idev viding “loose” one leq locked, spi ight, weight camad ow akelehel eee ©). Rides hits me ee shock travs mitted tho seatoost- ( to skeletal stucvre vider is ejected Som bike Tee eats Wisdom") ” Ricler vieliug semi~Slexecl, boaly weight supportecl “by mus culature, jorwts wwlecked’ » spine bowed 4 absorb 4 wide Yange of shock. May shole is absovbed by bigest muscles (legs) because viders weight is Secusecl on pedals... I+Swallowing a bump b Wo~velaxation .... BS @ Aus Gilly of $lexed ovtSeated Opew Qa sition Daowhill Form: Lean back. Slide’ **.. back o seat if *. Necessaty. * oF Stawel if aecessary.Your avemge mtv. biker will spel about 60% of his/her vidivg time IN the Opeu Seated Position. “Open” meaus velarecl , comfortadle axel anatomically gplead out. "Closed" (see below) means awatomically com- pacted awd semi-rigiel , usually Sov aerodynamic veasons. In the open seated position the vider Is ina wevtval muscular attitude above the waist, absorbing shocle, leawing , steering anck working the brakes. From this position the vider can tuck fov maximum ofeed or Staud for greater powey » coutyo! instawtly . This sition lies exactly cevter on He achon) /Wen/- action) Batons a ee i q-1|@ Elbows relaxed , grea a 90° aigle ,absorbias Shock. @ Hawels cradling eins fiemly wichelly we wweigit ow bars.@ Back bowed slightly to absorb shock .@ Weight distibvted between seat ari pedals , almost Never fully on seat [see “Stance” ] @ kwees $lexed never lockeot! L see“Crash Protocol" J ® Feet shghtly Pigeostoecd , weight Centered on ball of foot. Fecus of ‘Cone of Movement" centered on seat. LSee "Cove of Movement": ] Closed Seated Position [a.k.a. “Tuek"] bott ow seat, weight 4 "ow pedal | hovizowal (usually )The Hancliig Open Stance is the most active » Oynamie. Posinoa) on a mtw. bike . The viclev is off the seat with his/her weight on the pedals. All muscles are Semi-Flexeol [See “muscle Temivology"]. The “Cone of movemeut "is huge compared to sibiig and the body becomes a giant shock-absovbev. Fig. 1| © Back semi-bowed to straight. @ Elbows out, absorbing Shock, ready te jerk or shove [See "Armed anol Caugecous 1 © Hauds geippinig Firmly » working with feet for extva power [See jy. 30 @ Gott off seat, centeved over seatpost. © Feet slight- ly pigeontoech 19 2 of weight ov feet. © Cone of movement Soevsecl on) bottom bracket: $ig 4 Standing Closel Stance - This isa stauding lemi-tvek used mainly for high speecl clescewts over vough or loose surfaces. D Ah- Wooo ! Slightly Katoek-laveed, Sect pigeouitoed , Slt lanaaua tile Cade hortonial thighs greg 99% of weight ia yetCone of Movemeatt- The amount of lean a vicler caw exert ow hisher bike is cletecmiuecl by the focus of his/her stavce: in a seated positions, the Cone of movement is focusecl on He seat [$ig! I aval is velatively Small. The greater the obstacle ,the larger the cone of movement must be to surmovwt it[See $ig.2, opposite .] OD Ma Conlehead gez: "A crxcial Cowcept! 20Fiom a staneliug position the cone of movement is huge compared sitting, This gives te rider au exponentially greater Number of options in tems oF leans , weight shifts anel coutrol. $ig. 2Armed Awol Dangerous... (Basic Arm Theory )Armed anc Dangerous Ams are Sor steenig, tight? Finctionally spealaiig, actual steering is mevely a. pavt-time job. The real work ams perform is suspension and balance . Leasing the optimal combiva tions of aim stiffuess aud Hexion is the key to good trail Bad Aim Technique T: aims locked , handle bars c > , go “a $s Front whee! meets rock. Loose Font ~~ ae ar BalerAll About Steevivg...[The cteative mty. biker has oF options whey it comes to changing ditechos ON his [ her bike... amg O'Nowmal Steering" This is simply tuwing the haudlebacs in Combination with a slight insicle lean) at low to medium speeds. The tesult is a wide vovnded semi-circular tum. UStS Get 1 the habit of EEEEEIE Qe? weeny ‘he ceaules . horizontal whew turing! [See p4.9a] @ Banked Steering - A move dywamic techwigve utilizing & Ploneuncecl insicle lean) in combination with a slight tun of the bars. You caw micvo-adjust the tum cliameter within the tun by Using arm/| guiays b ‘ightew a tu...OCoumtersteering ~ This is a lean/ steer away from the olesirect turd goin 4 immediately into an inside lean /steer. The result is @ Near-90" change of ditection’, angled not rouneect. Counter- steering 1s a low to med. low-speed maneuver. Excelleast for off-camber 2 and vltva-tght tunis. @Abroptly toe bars @ Note tire tracks: into cove, lean inside., Front tice -dotted line vear tie - Soliol line @ Braking Tors * Just before the wheel avd leaw hare insi vight angle tum. to, lock the , ide For a ceamahe (> $y) 1 _—='sides lip Lock rear brake here lean Hast wheel fuse owas havel ivside. peat erat EE *Exveme Eo-Hazard, use Juolicvally ! aeAll Rho ToA5 ha lee wh a No brakes... Flot Torn MoS hk PON UNFamassisted Rwer Stokes | Iu somal pedallivg o- sider Cawnot exevt move. Force, On the pedals thas @ [she weighs, vsvally ovly a fractions ereof. But a Strong pull ov the hawellebars in conjunction cit havol pedal stokes allows the vider to exe: greater thaas ~ booly weight on the cranks. $igs. 172] {Fig nasistel Redalling By USING aN aym-pull iv opposition’ to the clusnuiarl push on He pedals you ada Hremeudlous power by in- creasing Your leverage on the powertrain). Pulling on the right grip againsT @ right i 7 side assist "ancl gives you ‘almost maximum tovgve... Te |Arm-pull assists ave altos 3 done Som a StandinigTo achieve absolute maximum power aud torgue , pull harol ow He grip opposite. the peolal stroke. Ths increases the leugth of your bedy lever. Using “oppose arm assists also causes HE bike to cant (see below) [See pp 44-45) The veal beveSit oF using opposecl aim assists comes into play whew youreclimbinig uphill on a heavily-obshucteck ail: youre combing maximum thrust with maximum cant to climb hard while simyHaveously weaving the craules around _vocks , roots and eter grou obstacles :3s ]use arm anol leg “swings " when barking fo micvo-adjust your bikes attitude iv the tum... [Woie on Leanls| Leaving is wot the same as *Toacling” but loading 13 almost always a Kino of olynamic lean.Vertical Loading [Unloading The next diagrams show Several methods of loading aucl uyloacting ave or both wheels to aid in crossivg or hopping & variety of bu obstadles, [Front Wheel Micto-hop] This is dynamic weighting of the Svout wheel to pop iF suddenly av inch or 50 off. He ground. Alse lead-in te the Wheelie Hop. 5 X (} Ovtflex, Ghove ) “a Fiovt Wheel Micio-hop is oseful for : clearing small obstacles at high seeds...| Peete @ havel pedal shone + get 2 dlyno- wheelie ! Wh 33Horizontal Loaditig /Unloadisig | Once the bike is airbome and unweighted (See “Ceadpowt") you caw shove the bars Sotwaid anol votate the bike Frame in space, lifting the vear wheel off the ground. AO Terk back on bars Soiward ’ a 2\ to (aise Frost wheel votate Same ‘, Rey o ft / Le Sie, Ge PWN DR SSE cr Re ea A} Ni a OWBvING\ This is aw oblique jew usecl to Tiferally pick up the font wheel ano place it to Uther side of fv.) its original positon] [See “wheelie pivot show "p7H 1. Loael wheel. 2. Hard I stile to assist 3. Unload lift anol move whee! ride.Basic. Haudlebar) By pushing ancl pullinig on opposite te Conk vips you Caw rotate the Siam Tofque eet orenel the short axis oF the bike . Terquina, the bars is mainly used in powev cavhivg but ne “Deaclpoint " you can! use. sudclen ee torque fo twitch the bike upright after a Near knockdowa) (Fi9.2), Sd 3sLeg / Rowertrain Theory f%. 15 all iy’ legs ( 37Basic Leg Theovy...| Your legs function as @ Your power source ana your mara) suspension. The trick J's te tain your legs fo perform both Sowe- tions simultaseously all the time. Ow trarl, the advanced miu. biker never veally puts all his/her weight on the seat ever wher “hil "seated . By keepivg your legs sem/-flexeA Full-time si g your weight is always focused. = ow the pedals and the seat Wee becomes largely super Fluous Zg a except as a veferece point. lf «&@ drive shaft youre viding seated with the SN ee wight amount of leg Flexion , aN @ ‘ov will be able to move from ‘O e seat to a semi-croxhed upnight position (the stavdaid al pare id an easy Fluid motion . 1. secret of exellest leg techwigue is gear shiftin go as to maintais a Fairly constant cpm. on He 4, combined with a couskiok anol appropriate amount of pressure ow He pedals [ see “Shift Disciple"), For example, if jovte climbing a super-steep pitch anel you accidleartally vop twee gears ov the douushift you will loose tracton, balaue x vhythm (at best!). If youre @ duele, you might vesultiugly Sin yourself singing Seprave with the Viewwa Boys'Chair. Obviously, you_wawt fo learn to avoid shifting foo low/'toe Sar] foo Seon. Fluidity and finesse ate what count in on-bail shifting, Not brute stveugth ! Heres a highly eclucational leg techwigue experiment you cau) ty... Cheb hea ye take your seat off hide it iv the bushes anal vide about au hour on your faverite wail. IF your legs are Fully blow after aboot 15 minutes you are olefinately 38a‘Seat Junkie {" Pot your seat back on awel concentrate on siding with only half your weight on the seat. You Should Finel this much less exhausting they. viding seatless,as well as being Smoother obstaclewise . You have just demowstratect to spur gs the covect amoevwt of seateol leg- Flerions for on Wail vse. The wext Hick fo teach your legs is the “micro-vest” This is a fechuique whereby each leg gets a teeny litte nap on the backsrcle of each craule vevolotvons ( see below ). 7 ( 2 ze yg Big fot Ges eo% 2! { yt e Bix /f ( #128 Right Foot Micro-rest Left Foot Micro-rest This may seem insigificaut at Fist but ova half-mile pls uphill one it ial works if dowe wight! |F youre using the v stoke to lift he “vesting leq" you ave doing it wioug. Mdeall you want to Guldouly Seles the teshug leg aed do the lifting with your abdominal muscles. A micto-rest woiks by allowing avtevies ane veins in a havel-working musde group te expand between contractions to allow addshoval inflow of oayae and outflow of CO, and lactic ac, Keep in mine. that micvo-testing is a specialized tehuigue fo be useel cccasionally uvder duress. Good pedallivg techuigve vequiles both legs to be {fa yf working : one le. hing 7 clips alow) the pre { _ mee, lifting_ vp —> a Qo Note: thcvo-cestivg Haus horns WHO} 8 anaewbic musde achwity into Normal Fedalling aerebic. muscle achiity! Ve_Techwigue " alThe ultimate test for good leg technique is steep "pitch climbing." While humping up a ynulti-mile. Fire- road upgrade “is a test of mere. endurance anol shifting strategy , climbing a short, steep , ivtegularly- surfaced uphill section) of trail veqvites the vider to dynamically combine maximum power, maximum shocl- absorphon , Superior shifting and advascecl leans techniques pecfecthy to veach the tep still ov He pedals. There ave two divergent philosophies on optima| booly position for serious climbing sieatious : 0 Chnbing Seated School - these guys say to hovker lown) on ‘the seat avel pedal furicusly to top avy hill. @ Climbing Standing School- these guys insist that clinbin upright i's the one’ twe way to conguer all steep uphii| stelches. Both techniques work piett well and Te vider who can master both styles will eHfechiely olouble his/ hev options Sor approaching all climbing situations. Both styles have their dvaw backs as well as streagths... Climbing Seated Arguably the best vovtine climbing chaligue especially on loose surfaces, because your body Coe position is ceuteved anol oF Stays very stable, insuiug ant! nae excellent Gee tig However, if the up- Go" gtade is iconsis tent aw! bumpy, ot 'f youre using Too A low a gear, you will probably bum cot your legs long before you teach the top. Clim ihe ciewing Is much less exhausting Phans climbing seat- ed in too low a geav!!Climbing Standing Climbing, upright success Sully veguires mastery OF Fwo basic principles: D Not shifting tro low initially ane during the climb ,theveby losing trachow and /or leg strength, Som Spinnin) pedals at excessive Ypms , dO having a pecfect situational leax * (see elow ). =) b ated a Eaclinlg, sseight too far Forward. Rear wheel breales loose... ) > panceggh J *etational lean A vaviable lean) acapt- ing {0 small chauges in pitch. Bad TecwiqueL-] “Ger Cl imbing fanding, if Sa Weight fearward 4You get a lot mote power from climbing stavding buf most of your mental energy is wasfed on) manitaiving perfectly ceutered weight \G dlistibutoal. Also, energetic. staudi Z pedaling makes the bike vustable \ axd more hkely to lose tvachon on feose surfaces... Where climbing standing veally excels is on vey Steep s uneven tials graces . Alenyrtian suck a grade Seatecl veguires the rider fo stavts stay in) too low a gear or to shift up »clowsl one gear to maivtain) constant paclal vpm. By stauding aud slayivg in a velatively higher gear without shifting , your pedal caceuce will vary some bot ovevall smoothwess will “ be far superior to Climbing seatect. Standing, you always have much more available power ! - Also, climbing Standing ona veal bumpy vpgvade saves lots of wear and teav on ones Aaughty parts 1!A flaininng maximum faction) on la_steep, loose-but- even upgrade... O Show eee to Apptopriate climbing gear, Not Necessarily He lowest gear! ly). IE you reall, b i ow ‘ise “fo @ standing position but keep weight over “° the Seat. . LL s+ Hamsitons onto - : to He upgiade. “qe: While you always wavt to be Fluid whew moving From Seated To standiyg aud back, Normally on) a haved upgrade you will only be moving from seated to standing because moving $rom staudivg fo sitting causes a diamahe vet loss of power. Once you stand on a Steep pitch, Vemain staveling aud_ avoid shifting atall! s You always lose. mo- Bo meutum and power whey you move From standing to sittivg ov a steep ungrade! 43AdlVvanced Leg Techniques: Ratcheting awa Canting J At some point iv your mtw. biking Caveey youre sute to entountera stietch of trail so Sestooned with vocks + voots that Nor- mal peclalling is impossible because your peclals, crauks , chainwheel avel derailleur ave hauging PEt) tails you can keep your pedals +cvawks clear of glounel clutter by keeping your cvauks more or less level ancl pumping the pedals up + clownON upgtacles where ratcheting is impossible “cant” the oie ow He clown stroke ~ oe of He pedal avo gaiy 2" v . Y [This is a sl-me F move $0 use as hi of adblitional groun. inet @ gear as you caw! AS g cleavauce for peclals op to |" for tHe chain- wheel and olevaillerr. You cau Combive vatchet strokes and ‘Cavt" moves + deal with the gnarliest tervain imaginable... Canting your bike is alco a good way to Sit your hawellebars thew tees “Spaced chser Together than handlebar width... 45Using Legs + Aas Te Loacl/Unlad The (Wheels... [ By sudlevly shifting your weight For- ward and backwavel ‘you cau dynami= cally affect He behavior of your bike. A has Sordard weight shift with a harol dows ward pouch on the handlebars loads (compresses ) the vont wheel Sor a Fovt wheel hop anol, whew airborne , lifts the vear wheel ( $ig.1 s Fiout Wheel Loading cee Leachva In On the Ground: Loading both wheels compresses your fies to set yo for a buany hop ($i9.2,@). Unloading both wheels I’fts the bike te deadlpoint Fov vadicdl aerial man- evvevs... (41g. 2, ).Leadivg the veav whee! enhances a wheelie ov, wher aivborNe , yaises the frout whee! Sor a goocl lanlinsg attr 2... You cau alio doa vear wheel hop (a telatively useless bike Hick ) by jabbing your butt foward the heaclset and luwging Grad IF you do this at low speecl combined with a lockect Front wheel you Can) act- ally do @ Front wheel pivot turN (another velatively uséless bike trick compared to other fualing options ). (Rowtheel Piva Tow "kyi ince | Whew a climber executes a dynamic Dead point lovge to a havelhelel beyoudt his/her veach , the actual grabbing of the hold is timecl to co- incide with the “deadpoint} the instant at the peale of the lunge when the climber js sospencled IN Space between Going up ancl coming owas ( Fig |) 2) 'N@ Longe ! 1 @Grab hold 7 K at ‘deadpoint ” Mtn, bikers can use deadpoints feo. Whew wWe do hops andl lawwch off bumps we experieuce peniods of weight- lessaiess , often of much gteater duration thay a. climber cas) achieve. — Note: the abrupt powev-move used to Eahee Q,, veach “dleadpoint" is asually called <4 Ye, a “dlywomove " WeightTessiiess, “Deadpoint” of weightlessnessThe deaclpoint isa key comcept iv the mastery of the buwny hop, wheelie hep ancl most aerial maneuvers... Q Jerk bike higher of Q@ ge (unload wheels) Qo iam ceil CD. (Bysamic ( coil) Wheelie Hoy shove bars feavard OThe sectet heve is bec [utheelie. Hop e dead point. weightlesswess, so thrust » with Be, bar It5 easier to peak a move at “dleachpouut "because it- takes far move energy to set in motion any obyect weg several huucled poouds (curb weight of you plos your bike) thas) it does fp set mw motion ans object weighig a $e ourres C yoo » your brke at “deadpoiut") You cay learn ‘deaclpoiuhiug " by pogoinig on your bike until youre achieviv distinct ports of weightlessness at Ke top of each booce. Now if just ow mater of adding mote power to your lunge Ccyaiomove"), 4?. einl, Qu-tail shifting is wa: Shift Discipline differeut Som tredivonal™ ead bike” Shifting : while a voacbiker strives for avelatvely constayt pedal cadeaxe in his/her shifting, the mtw. biker 1's forced y the extreme variability of the tevain to create “ad hoc'styles of shifting ancl pedallivg to deal with Flviel cizumstances . Fav example, given the same pitch on a trail, two viclers may select two fuuclamentally olifferevt yet equally effective ad hoe styles to veach the goal. 000 —: " Rassive Active" 53.1] , > ? Style This vide” elects to stay iva low gear and coast onto the hill, beginwing te pacal when he slows clowa evough. $or optimal purchase on Ws pedals, downshifting as weces- sary fo veach the top. This could be descwibed as a " Rassive-Achive "ad hoc style (fig. 1), The vider below upshifts ov the approach ancl climbs Rs 2 Stavcling clown shi thing eR fr as wecessavy. 1G. “Ackive Active StyleThis could be describe as an “Active -Active “approach « the vider pedals aud shifts all te way thiovgh while the "Passive-Active" vider does his shitting ane pedallivg ina burst. The best style is He style Hat suits you and your particular citcums fauces. Rules of Gooel Shift Discipline : ‘Role *)- There are wo ules , only options ! "Shift Option X2- Use your gears y ae what tHeyie ere . Shift Option ®3- IF you stay ov the middle chainwhee/ aud middle ears you Can Voduce chaint-weaw aud virtsally elimivate “chain suck." Shift Options ¥4- Maintain) a smooth cacleace anol couseve evergy by viding Seated ancl going theugh te gears Cmoclerate up-giades of severe up-gracles with loose surfaces) Shift Option *5 Maintaiy smootsuess > fluidity while ataiy- ing maximum climbiug torque by staudinlg on te peclals on the highest gear you can folemte, aud avoicling /minj ising Olown-shifts ( ultra-steep bumpy Uipade, pall Sure e), Shift Option *6- Save the gv ear Sov the ver of a hill, Move from seated + $ Lis positions la. / font €7~ Whe anticipating a standing climb , decide on the optimal gear for tHe gmole aul shift t te wert ighest geav ! This compeusates for a psychological avomelie wherei the gear the sider pre-selects Sora stanoliidg climé is ied always ove geay too low, Tift Option *8- Use the graany gear mivimally ow harol climes J Pedalling way ne fas q ultimately Lae move exhausting thad peclalling har ave slow. Shift Option ¥F- 1£ youve bouncing ove bumpy teviainy at moclerate t high speecls , shift oa higher thay we- essary gear to maintain tension on your charu (see chai suck") Shift Qpfiov%® Avoicl using te Sout shitter to Aowushi ft vader harol standing peclalling circoms tances! ( see “Redalling Air" Following pages ). slBig Chainring aka. "tree crampon Middle CI haimtiug aka. oe gear” aka" DRIVE” Small Chainting a.ka.Frout Granwy Gear” aka, “Low" The avthor refers to gears jest ike mawva|- Shift automotive gears: |$ gear = "lou" ( | Freewheel / small gear ov cheinskect ), 6% pater Csmall gear on Freewheel / large gear ou chai wheel) Shifting fom a high gear to a hwer gear is a "dowshitt” Som a low geav te a high gear 1s an “upshift.” , Consegueuces of Poor Shift Disciphise : ¥ 7 Leg_Burw -What happens whey your legs get oxygen) Stavecl anol lactic acie ovevolosecl from pedalling either too fast in a teo- low =e gear ov too hare in a too-high my, ; ne gear. IN both cases the muscles of -- , ; the '65 ave over-coutvactecl to the exteot that jwfloy of 0, ave outflow * of CO, » lactic acidl ave vestvictedl. The vider 1° must lear to chose the optimal gear(s) for Guy Sitoations avd modify his/her pedalling techurgue build “micro-rests" info the pedal Nokes, SX“Redalling Avs etc. var To attempt a hard pedal stroke on a < foo-low gear thereb losing ones Footug ov the pedals ave often imparting suffident wobble to the fvame to cause a cvash (See Fol loosing pages), "Beartrapped"- What happens wher a loose pecll comes back around and hits The lower leg. Avoiel this paiv- ful malady by using toe clips aud shifting s0.as to elimuate “pedalling air." [See "Tee Clip or Not “Tee Clip “] NU A z/ e ss"Pedal! ing Steep Up Aiv"ona Rides elects to coast at high speecl outo pitch , inteudl- ing to begin pedalling iv a low gear whey momevtom bleeds off a "gear speed" Rider commeuces pedallivg too soon for the gear, loses it...has to bail out. fRedalling Aiv'On A Downs hift J umile velatively infie- wt 1 howash'ft ( hi Fler), ling ai apes ono Meee dounle P eb ttocoeder Wty. oe Far) pedal presswe to clouwshift s ona steep grade... =) BS “Forty "year-olel infectious “+ elisease specialist Dre David Tanner dlemoustrates the - CONS ApONCES of "Redallinng Ac."Caterpillaring | While coasting is perkectly acceptable vnde most condifiovs , $ailure pe-select the cov- vect ger for whe you tesume pedalling cay Wesult in. Cluster dowushifhinig athe Susiovs ling tr compeasate for the hood selection . Viewed Fon a dis- tance, the vider appears to be creeping down He frail like av iweh-woim caterpillarwg » f. $ast-slow , $ast slow, ete , Above is a qieat example of bacl avbipation) : the wher tries to fuke the hill too fast iva foo high geav. He/she bleeds off foo much speecl before vesominy peclalling .The gear 1's too high, so the vider clowmshfts in search of a do-able gear avd Ke clelay causes him/her fo lose it al- together. A better appeach woul be to skip the coashg pavt auel run smoothly clowu though the gears with a_much steadie~ pedallivg cadexe. going fast ov "g bumps iv te low Wi a gear. IF you geseally ~A keep % the Per Gears on bumps a : there will be move tevsioy on the chav 3 malting it muck less likely to Floa betwees the chaivstay avd He tire.Leaming "“Auticipaton) "] Gooel es ow he Frail is veally aa a matter of lodiiug aheack, Veading the tewain, ec plawwing Cina mater of seconds , usually } the cowect sequence of moves necessary ‘to ovetcome the obstacle (s) ahead. This may sound complicated but, iv actual practice, usvally iswt You stav a complex-looling Wail secton the most aifficult move. Needlecl and time every Hing backwaves from there . The most difficult move ov a que shetch of Wal is a"peak move" All other wecessary ly movements ave built around His move in a Flvicl move Sequeace. Here the vider “fix spots the “weak move" two tums ahead. Anticipating a Slow-speed stavdivg wheelie hop he clowa- shifts to gvauwy gear two bike lengths from tHe obstacle andl concentates on timine the pedal rotations so hell ‘have the cranks level whe he jedes te front wheel on- fo the obstacle...Wath a veally gool vile wegohate Q quavl streted of “Frials 4 SF The mney Hoy yall oohee, 1s how simple te vider makes it look . Heveiv lies Ke esseuce of mastenvg He have stuff: simplicity ave Negotiation. The advanced vider “veads" the Futvre- Frail ancl cavforms body aud bike to He obstacle , Flowing over it wth the abscute minimum of moves aud exevtion. Watch a novice try to fore the same steted of trail: he/she invaviably tries fo beat the trail into submission) with $lailing body-moves anc inereclible exertion only to lose it from sheer exhawshos andor loss of faction) From overpowering the bike. Don't ty force the tail, $it yourselF throvgh rt! Heres wheve auticipahion) comes ty. On a fricky seth of tail your average novice quickly Falls vichm Hs “worpoising "= instead of dlviving the bke , Ke bike divs them! IF yevie viding dow a fail at a deceut speed (8-12 mph) ancl hit & series of obstacles , you will lose contol of tHe bike if you ty te veact serially to each obstacle ! Figuvatively spealiivg, your brainy gets fortler and Sucther_behive the hahee aud you go boom ! 57On the other hauvel, tHe advancecl vider vides fo- cusedl several moves ahead , Constavtly pushing tHe bike towavel an ever-vecechivg goal. Reccton fo av immecliate obstacle is automatic. ‘and piecovscious ("body knowledge") For the most part. In other wovels , He advanced vider isu't vealy veactive, fo obstacles so mock as he/she is following Q Series oF pre-programmed beely moves while simoltaweously programming the vext Sevies of moves. 4| Not Porpois ing All tus may sovvel complicated bot yoo do st every day... for instance , whes you avive a cav youre wot Yeacting fo the pavemest immecliately ts frout of He wheel’ and thiviing "steer... brake... gas... check He speedometer... steer... ete" unless youre my mom. A Normal olviver is just smoothly cvvisivg aloug subcousciously adapting to the voad ave probably listevive to lou rok and voll while vabbing at his/her boy /gicl itd . All of whic ) fvally , brings us to “focus: Whey youle leamine, to min. bilce’ Cor drive ov ski’ or kayak, ete ) you tered to focus ow the wext immediate obstacle anel scieed out everyting else . This works ox at Sirest wher youre going slow bot once you move te higher aud higher Speeds , bike speed at some point exceeds bra sespeeol , causivg you to pomo'se ancl lose couvtvel. Thi’s Selective close-Ffocus | call "mievo-focus "| Uneler the vight exeumstavces micvo-focus cau be useful (see below) but most of He time a vider shoulel use “macvo-Focus," looking at te wwhele tral fom limmectiahely beveats the bike fe the event hovitow Cmaximum sight Aitauce ). IF youre seeing this way youll finel youself anticipating, wot veacting. ions Is veserveel for “weale moves" ow pastivlavly challeverve “tvials"stethes of hail. [Micron focus] ge WN a Macro-fecusSummary: Leaning “Autepation " QOlook at the whole trail ahead of you. [macvo-fecus ] @Conceshate on the peak move(s), [ micro- Focus J @ Practice by repeating difficult trail sechous , subtracting all vaecessary vider'movement. “move minimalism" ] @ Strive to cut total exertion ona given pitch t the bare miv- imum to conserve. energy and keep the bike “still This will greatly enhance your Smoothwess # Fluidity. [energy minimalism © keep your mind at least one bikeleugld, ahead of the bike ! (see below .a. Basic And Advanced MovesThe most challenging pact oF mouutaiy bitcing '$ learning to deal’ uth the huge variety o obstacles we intentionally encounter on trails and elsewhere. Overcoming most any obstacle for- tunately , veguives connecting Ctchaininig") only a Few baste moves. Itcloes get pretty complex ashen youre aHempting a loug sevies of potaclen ow @ typical "fun" “tials trarl" However, once youre clealing with a com- bination of obstacles, the number of hal obstacle solutions "available te you grows exponentially. Until viding the gwarl She becomes instivetval Cattaiv- ment of “Booly knowledge" advanced level ), you may wavt to stop aud literally plas ovt a stiategy on trail sec- tions with major obstacle combinations . Study the stretch, formulate prow solution (chav of obstacle-selving moves), fe. Wow... creek cressing , oleep SS muol dodge the tocks, hop the log , cant He boulders... whew! Obviously the owly sane voute fe "tials frail” mastery is to start ut on Simple, easy tevain , instuetualize the basic moves awel move up the skill ladder iuctemes- tally. If you Hyvow yourself at obstacles six notches above your pecsoual skill level, youre goiug to Mget hurt and, © get $wstvated to the extent that whew you Caare physically » mentally ready for mote olitficult obstacles youll have te overcome ‘some psychological obstacles Sirst . De challenge yourself ontra'l but use the’Role of Fin "(“Am | having fuss ov is this a psycho-serval ego evisis 2") to aveiel Unwecessavy mental obstacles, You probably donut have to look much farther tax your frout yard for the basic obstacles to practice your basic, moves on... = © Down the steps - €Tra'l Eguvaleut" , or "TE." voeky stairsteps ) - © OFf the plaster + curb - ‘ x ("TE"= medium height muth=crop-off) ~ \ a s Qup >over He core (TE.- log hop/ledge hep) — ov’ @ over a lanclscaping timber (TE.- log hop) ; © Up the curb into gavolens CTE. ascewding vocky stairsteps ) © Over the garolew wall into dbriveway (TE.~ going off a meclivm adlop-o Dover He lane scapinig timber (TE.- log hep ) @Up He steps CTE + Ascending @ large vockpile ) OOF He porch (TE, - going a big ledge) ; ara tine in the face by ay angry spouse or Spousal equivalent, TE. : @ncousteving au ertremely hostile Jaucouwer ov intractable vauger, TE.*: having a veally bact ezash! &Prout thee! fee - This is lifting Fhe Front wheel by polling vp on the bass onal a has peclal stroke iia low gear. The Frout Wheel Hop is the fovarlation move Sor the wheelie) wheelie hop , log hop ancl the pivot form, Concentrate on bringing the 2 evanks level after the pedal stroke to avoid ground clutter ” aul to set up Sov alyxo-moves. Wy, ates Front thee! Hop + Reav wheel Lift - After the Sout wheel 15 vaisedl , bounce upward fiom level crauks aud poarch He bars forward , vaising the rear wheel (at least, theo- vetically ). Adlel energy to the bounce aud a bar punch and youve got the vueli mentary "Wheelie Hop” she. sil svhee wie Secale SS vy wy” ~ > AS “ :Tito Wheel Hop - Bounce ov He pedals ina pogo- like manner to compress the wheels and bounce them off He grounel @ few inches. This is the vudimeutary bunny hop... Climbing, Lean - Clim6 some shallows steps ( rouncleel edges fe prevent pinch Flats ) stanaling upright with a pronounced forward leav. Do Mis very shiv at First! Going up steps Is a great urban) Simulations of a vock-stud led uphill tials stretch . A climbing lean) , done well, is a fairly complex Combinatons of bar lifting » werght shifting ave delicate peclalling. 67Rear Lean Move -Go off a Gs) ° Cijhaanaal small dion stauclide , RIS ee Sluielly moving your tevs0 4 bebivd He seat thea back up- ow lauclinig. Go very slow it at fist, concevtratig On A smooth weight aus - Ser. Move te higher aud higher speeds aud ado av upwarel pull to He bass gr pee cross the ws lip of the clrop So o you lanl ow both a epleels ae . Ga veally mushy laudi WZ spots adel ee bar itt i $0 you laud rear wheel first! Front Wheel Aerial Lift- Find a vouucled hump ov small upgrade with a soft grassy vumout. You can vide off His obstacle several ways at aifferevt speeds to simulate a variety of on trail dyo-moves; eB a, 1. Hit the hump Stawdilg Clegs "Slexecdl "anid I'ft the bavs at crest. You should get some moderate air time and lane wrth both wheels hithn e found Simultaweously. Be sure get iv the habeh of absob- ing landivg shock in the legs, wot the avms, This “er anphies particularly wheas Wu youre lanclivg on loose ov mushy ground... the Frowt WA, wheel must be held fitmly we Wh. b keep it From forwivg Sideways on landing.a. Hit the hump stanclivg , at moclemte speecl ,avel dywo- velax your aims quel legs on) contact. You shoulel wot get air ancl your heacl shovld vemaiy level. This is “passive bump swallowing: The vpwavel motion of the bike on covtact with the hump bevuces te bike over the obsta- cle... vin level a. (contel.) Now approach He homy agai at moclerate speed. Let the hump compess the tives ,setting up a buawy hop. In- stead _of Velaxine +o absorb shock, you are masimizing the shock and Following Hire with aa upward luuge at cleadpoiut "to vaise the bike This is on bump saallowivg" [See '-fonisg a bowwy hop" pg. 1a] Wa 6?@ Now $or some massive air time... hit the hump"Slexeck” in @ pre-hop coil. As the Front wheel hits te top of te hump , uncoil your bacly and jerk the bavs upulard. You cay skip the pie-hop bouce because being “flexed” (no shede absorbcol by legs xarms ) causes “clywo-complession "of both wheels ancl, combined with the bar jevlc , yields tous of up-energy for serious Flight time . The havler and faskr you hit the hump , the higher and farther you Fly [ See: "@- Forcing & Buany Hop” pg. 11] Once youve honed this move sequeuce , consider adding aw inélight bar lift (done by mevely rolling back with the wrists) sos you dout lavd fut wheel first avel get splatterect ! a aad o> Oa tn Aetia| wrist-roll aS fov extra Stout wheel lft 70oviginel Vector Rear Wheel Pivot Meve - Ride to- ward a Corb ata night augle to tr. i the athe! vp ee Simultaneous BUI e bike to either side “Z change fo a wew vector by pivoti on the vear wheel.’ This is 7 the basic veav wheel pivot » \ tur which comes iy very WY! handy on uphill tals B::. picker. [ See. on ao "Wheelie Pivot Tom" OS ae follwivg pages ] ™Skicl Moves - Find some soft grounl aacl vicle across iF at moclerate speed. Lock the rear wheel and leay in the divechou you wish te turd. You should slide 90° around te Front wheel pivot poiwt ending perpenclicvlar your original direction). Adol coutrol by using Some fion wrong brake “let-ofs: aud a harder lean. All skid soe moves can have te : a negative impact on the Trail envivowment so be a- ware when sing them ! You Can minimize skid move impact by keeping your speed down whevevey youdo one. Brake Descending, Ideally a series of skicl moves without the "skid." Gveat he Going clown way-guarly twisting staivcase pitches. You wat to start ultra- slow) avel Slowly bounce your Way dows. Keep your veav wheel semi-lockec avd maivtain contol by selec- tively adding aud leting-ofF pressure ov the front brake ads. Leck the Srout wheel avd you'll do aw ultva-nasty heacl clab ! Needless to say, start with very easy dows- pitches util you master the /Y Z Z complex interplay oF vear leaning , selective Frou braking aol bedy Forquing, ke* aK : “4 feat Sines RE BN ee" aor os twee two ginae! 1AdWaniced Moves | Mie. a On trail , most ‘advancecl “ti moves" ave veally chains of easy basic moves done staccato on extreme teva Skidleled micro- braking port, 3 Rear Wheel Pant ! Pivot Torwie Vertical Sicle - hed | ea. an ta, |_slippiag | Pee . Vertical Sicle =Slipgin -a controlled sideways skidding escort. Rove, the violer continues level to bypass aw obstacle with sedious Sace-plavt potewtal onto the highsicle of the trail. Locking both wheels, he slides back onto He trail , letting off ov either brake lever fo maintain) momentum eel Ccoutro!. Eco-haz- avd ,use ov tock only Cexept iv dire emergaxies )! Wheelie Pivot Tova - This move allows a vicler to make up fo a 90° ford in half the leugth of tHe bike. oO Usually clone in a semi-seatecl stance ,a wheelie pivot tum works best on@ Pop wheelie , apply body tore to pivot bike ind the desived direction... @ Resume pedalling whew e FVOn) wheel hits the ground... Nyah wyah, Stupiel socks { @ Pedal orto wen vectov... 15Front thee Skiddled Torn - This 1s a trick move vsedl cioss The Fall le in control wale descewding. Perfect for decieasing (adivs tuins ancl soper-hight switchbacks where an inside leas 15 Coatraindicated. One of te vihmate tests of braking and leaning echwiques , hele He ricler endeavors to lock He fout wheel ou a steep downgrade and Swing The lear wheel 90° around it, all without going over the ( boHom~rt. ) ! This is a behinel-the - seat move done ow the edge of covWol! So use Carton atlemptuag _ Obviously bike all sliolded moves, it5 a) eco-hazavd % use it accordingly. (Betehed Fe Whee! Stideled Torn 1) Q Slow bike , get behivel seat... aye 7. QGekty locke tear wheel + rotate vont wheel across the Fall line auc : lock frout brake. mags = . Release vear (he) Ey" * : . brake ancl : : pivot Ground Frout wheel. “WV. ! Release both brakes after pivot. 2 Micro - Braking - This 15 Q specaleeol “| (TD i + subtle bralig techuiqve LG CPP> usually done. Avving Slow = = uy say trialsesgue descenaling. \ of, AB Both brakes ave applied alternatel GeO aud together Sor buef instiurts of bin’ te ae skid totus Negotiate alvops ov set up dywo-moves. "Let offs" Cguiek brake lever veleases ) give you the egvivaleat of micro-buvsts of power To ado wheel hops ov voll ove protruding rocks Jreots without having votate- the cranks in ground cluttered condihows. A front brake letofF going only a& bump will compess the tive to set you up Qa hop or pivot tums without your having to Jerk tHe bars tp lift the front wheel. Like most complex viding techuigues micro-braking takes lots of jrac- tice “on-tvai'l to master: 77Aclvanced Log Hopping: There ave tuee gooel methods for ae Po logs; L Froutpoiubing' He easiest), I. Slo Wheelie Hop ( wext easiest ), anol I: the Fast Wheelie Hop C most drffreult). y bo SQ TFrovtpoinhivg involves poppivg a wheelie , hiffi 0G. an Dosis fhe " hge' chanoving, aia Hal € wheel fs voll over the log. This 13 a ‘slo-mo move ai on Suggests vemoviug your seat eshile From a near-stop Or towarel log votil Cal Stout wheel Neatly @ieF touches it... } 18@ Execute @ front wheelie ancl Q Stick chainring into log. I€ yore going too Sast aud/or if youve Sorgottens fo lower tHe seat "you will Now be iv great pain... < @ Cowhinwe pedlealliny and vock fvame ovey top of log. ——»@ Contiwe pedal motion aud lean hare Sovuarel to tock the vear wheel over the log. < Ose a toe welge if necessary te clear log... ul ene Ceuter your becly ‘ over The bottom bracket _ not the seat when hopping logs! 90Slow Wheelie Hop... Similar to the frentpowtnng me- thool except you ty net to contact the log with He chainwheel , votating avouwel the $vont wheel hub instead. The Slow Wheelie Hop requires a mivor dyao- move in steps Mand @. O Rep wheelie... @bevel your cvanks , lean Sorwarol : aud bunay hop... pie- op compression) @As (ou come Up shove Travel forward on the bars to bring the vear wheel up and over the log... ———_—_—_ IF youve done Of it just vight “ i the year wheel xt will just graze iy the top of the % Jog going over! slILFast Wheelie Hop- Just lke tHe slow metro owky you leave aut contacting the log with He Sout wheel, votating iv the air instead. This is au ex- pect-leve/ dlywomove Veguiting sevious Commitment as the log i's approachecl velatively fast... 1f you serew up, youre” goama get hammered | OD Approach log at moderate to high speed s-execute Gag a wheelie... =~ Gs. Begin Compilession ~+— velease... Z Do your pre-hop com- gem pression, before the wheelie ancl release at te top of He wheel lft, @ As youre veleasing your hop compression, powed $orwarel on the bars to lift He vear wheel at deadlpoint... 8X@ haved on Front wheel USING your arms fo absorb Shock 0's you dont clo a face-plaut ( see bebw) The tuo most Iitsely vesolls of a botthed "Fast Wheelie Hop" ase... Q ¢ DSL" See "Crash Wisdom"US; ersclect Log Jumping using a Wheelie ges “Tora : Var towards 5D wichevor end of the log looks most optimal Sov a log-hop. Pop a wheelie ancl pivot back towavd the trail before you coviact te log. Rocke the bike over He lo O Basin anol cruise onward. (Pte wheele — tail shouldlem is too guavly - -_ looking, » pretencl youre climbing over a giant diameter [i fe... ancl strike it straight on without leaving the tail... @ Pivot He bike before the large chainwhee | its Ke log! Rede hard fonvarel to pull the tear wheel over the bog . stDiagonal Jumps Cosi me para bg shai wheel + He Yar’ will slide actoss the $ace of He bg... Q stellen" Ihe by Veeving aud crossing +. * the lag rerpaudicdker fo its oug mae “4 : an I$ the bg is wet ov mossy the augl of a athe becomes on you must hit the log at exactly 90° to make it! 1§ the trail is t0 | O Natvou) Sor a Veer, pull almost llel 4 He chagoval obstacle. bud execute a pivot tural with the bike lauding halfway acvoss » perpendicular to the log. [See “Suspeucled hog Jompivg a In a NON- log diagonal obstacle- coos ig rioaliog, the vide does ivot tow auol \: : ot nce ard json wont \. a elle a uae ve 2 vear wheel up aud over the dliag>yal lip. heel oFrh e bouny he Aalvanicecd Bonn) Hop... oie calle abasic move," it vequires advanced skills to oo properly. It is the foundation that most ow-trar'l dyso-moves are built vpow. The boawy hop cousists of two basic motion compowewrs : OD ciumeccnlly eritig the bedy while_simultaveously comptessing both wheels (fi4.1) and @ Unloading (veleasing ) the compressecl fires and Springing vpwarel to cleaclwowt CFi9.2). > 6. P See z The advanced boany hop adols aw additional move done. at ope C 19. 3,D*D)__ O Ene of velense Here the vider ywamically Lo)" Csee Fig. at) vecoils his/her becly to yr Start dynamic lrft tHe bre farther vecor'l... off the ground...@ dyvamic re-coil <- tt -.---tho cleadpowwt peas to boeny hop well caw be a fustating Aud Inforiahne experieuce. Wher yevie leaning, prac- tee pogervg at modesmbe specs, Carcestrate ov Siuchiv the deaclporwt avd clout wemwy about ge ttivg He wheels Ke grou ... [See "G-Forivg A Bay Hop” pg.lla J Impure Thoughts ———> il weer hop fi Hie Feelings of bury hoe e \ A Semineli's loca feel mop ~ Si Shing shteelle JX comaged by feet siippi F f Aen \ <—— painfel aoe ales aul fj \ att of ,) leaving 4 j eartt " rl I St l——— Pacts falling =. off bike : A Typical Beginning Bony Heppev] 97AcNaniced Rear Lean... Get way behinel the seat wher making a sucloler) transition) ivfo gravel, sand, mud, watey, Also move behivel the seat on precipitous olewn-giades andl doajt forget to move Forwavel whew you belfom-cut wy? and stavt uphill!Wisdom (Or: "How To Wipe- Out IN Aw Artful» Optimal Manes ") aU9 Cavtionia, wary Get in the habit of Nok.. Keeping your hauds on re] bars then iS You wipe out.. youll bteale Sener bowes that wg & peclal oy the y geen - gethng levered of f your bike...Learning Té Fall... One a the ful things Notice abat begins oe biking is, 1F vide Bf a Notma| sel¢- chal ig, mani net, you will be faking a lot of Falls initially. ov want % sunive the Novice level with a minimum of ialjucies its best to acknowledge Falldom s learns to fall artfully, ie: INQ Noal-iajociou $ > giace- Sul manner. As your viding Competauce increases, talls aut fone selatitely infie- ioush my ote has Hane that what ad- get 4 Nee Gall? lack su Srequeucy is made up in sheer ae S feaching ere He-eutie- layet energy better you vide the Sastev you go, tt the hareler Mi. Lebo good Sal ewe at tHe beginming er benefit you Fhooghout your mw. biking career ! Rie @EL1 cemember this $rom 2 whew | was a squirt! o‘The best way te pevert mtu. bike-velatect injuries is to leave the bike chared-up in the Carport acl watch golf on TV, Riding like a twit Ccouservatively ) will also cut dows on ‘accidents (Sig. 1) but wheres e Sw in that /? 0 of) 14 bettey walle} aS” eee Since the object of mby. bikiiug is to have way to much Sun witout paying too earl orf, most of us vide like maniacs at the very edge oF coutro! Cuheve politically cov- vect), “Thos, wipe cuts are velatively normal. How the ri- der veacts in a crash situation will pretty much dleter- mine the Seviousuess of a gives crash. Think of mtu. biking as a martial art of the defey- Sve variety like Tudo. One of the Sicst thiugs you lean in Jodo is how to hit the mat haved aud quickly tecover withoot getting hurt. Sueale into a gym witha wrestling mat ane leary how to fall. Concentrate on therunwii Front Flip" which simvlates the alveaded (aud common) over-the-bars bedy slam , the most potentially aiuto s mtw. bike accrent-type (Fig.2). In a low-speed Mials- pe over-the-bars Frout Flip you may elect to let go of bars auc alo a tolling Vault off well-Flexed arms a4encliug on your back (Sig. 3). Ty this ov the mat Som ie a warighl partion) cael ee tewavol ae hata . Youll prot Notice it i has iucranseot 4 b he point Hat Pi is best fe Liao ; to tuk avms inte your bedy and olo a rellina Slip , hitting Te mat ~ Waza “ 7 5 illustates why it 1s best to beep your hands ov He bars iv a moderate high. speed crash: iF you dont you'll probally break bok ams they land on your head (556)! Ractive wouning , Sout: Sligniig avel volling witout using your arms, on a mat (Sig. 4 ). You will know youve got it clown whew @ it doesa't hut much any ~ 95more auad® youre ercling upright in a low crouch . This is what you Omi te leppeu foleu you go over 0° the bars Lite tte As lef, ILE Be" PE eo SB at moderate to high speecls (£95). Whew you go over the bays at Bigh etal ‘ov will do ZL Front Flip! The trick is cleveloping Ke discipline to tuk your head bead your back ,havg oato He bars aud wll with it (See figs. 5e6 ). If you dowt ee will get eo feet ‘ Ena) A \ l h Pe 2 eames " the & \ £ you fy fo catch a@ high-speeol Fall La VanAnother excellert reason to haug ovto your bike iv any fall is a loose bikes proclivity to become a very gnarly projectile owing a wipe-out ! cae wy ae pie rat ae ‘eas scenario a vi vay Il. At very low speeds it is probably safe a to check Ne fall witha Fal soaps & last vest avarm . At medium to high speecls it is best to vemain attachee| to the bike , velax awel voll onto the grounel. This 1s sort of a modified “Parachute Lauding Fall" with the bike» cider hitting the gvounel Sequewhially, sprackiny out He shock. An ideal ground-contact seguence beO foot aud pe- dal @ calf» thigh» hancllebar @ hip-» forearm > arm—> shoulder. The bike itself absorbs much of the impact iv the pedal/cravk anal >. Ths the end of the hardlebar. . a Staying coawected to the bike aud telaxing aie the keys a painless Sideways Sall at speect ! You should practice this techn Oo @re soft torf D train) : a © 97out the understandable Tevdency te check the fall with yor arms. Repeat Hill youre (at bal?) a volling onto Ye “ 5 2 grovrd smoothly b = GSA wstth your arms aad Seet Yemaiing ~ Simly attached to ike. zt Over-The- Pm ea er eas O At medium to high @ Relax your booly ancl tk Speecls, wever atfemat it into a configuiahion that fo check a fall with — wovks with the vector of your ams | He Fall, set agaiust i! Aliays excleavour g rae attached @ tothe bike anc let the frame ab- Sovb most of the shoe of the Sal! WeA backward Fall (Fig.12) caw be checkecl with the Seet at avy speed up to 20.mph! As the bike goes vertical, havg onto He bavs, slide out of He foe clips , avel basicall: 5 yon behivd the. bike which 1's Now Up oA) one wheel (49.132 § This is a basic Py "Dywamic Dismooxt" ($ollowing pages 2. Most “olyyamre dlismovats' ate Saicly safe and caw be attempted any tine except whew the direchon of the $all endaugers << the head, neck, : or spine !! ~ GP.Dynamic. One great eae ’ I great way fo avoida crash isto litevally bad} oot before it happeus. It takes prackce to develog the timing 5 you imitate the bail-out moye early enough in the Geveloping crash. A too-late bail-out move caw actually amplify crash forces! Front Dismoont| (aka."Gar Hopping”) A low to meclim Speed Step-over move. To Heorefcally avoid a face laut. Done Wong )a bav hop almost guarantees P a gpectaculav Sace phut / D -Side Dismount-| Pony Expiess-style bailout wherein on Tiler vaults off hotizontal evanks to either sicle of the tube while still grasping the bars, Finish alecelerativg wsith , Vault off peclals ie seat {!This is probably the most wiclely useet mode of bailiug out off a min. bike . Its safe avd easy fo master.” Vaulting Rear Dismount| Good at higher speeds because beth hawds vemais) ov bars... I=) Legs shovlel evoss vear tite —" behind He seat /“7 As soon as you begin tearing bacle, go with it. Come off the peolals when He bike goes vertical your butt slides off the seat...The Motoreyclist's Laydowa Trick:| Ina iia desperate high-speed "Fixinig-te-cvash-aud-aie" te Sifuahon) Where you know you ave about to strike a pedestriay/avtomobile /ete. at very high Speeol, lock the year brake ana lay the bike ig This will Quickly bleeol off speecl aud put the bike frame betwees you aud the obstacle . By locking tHe vear wheel youll Hrow He bike into a sideways skicl aud aoid being lavuched headfirst into He obstacle. Again , stay attached to the bike » let the pedal and handlebars ee the — This will also Save you Some skin as you skid ow you side into We obstacle... a y O Lock year wheel... @lLay He bike clown whew Sidemays... _————— Slide into He obstacle . You can use your feet + a from going vader Vehicvlav oectacies Jere @ person of other organic obstacle. J D nat least youll hit ‘em low !Bst-cvash Psychic Trauma Recovery... After a. truly bacl mountauiv bike trashin) there's likely b be a period of depression wile the Sovmev vidler lies avouncl waiting fov the bones To kwit back together. The vecovering vider may even olevelo something akiy te a phobia“ velated to mowntainy brkinse ( $ig. 1 Janel may (ged forbid!) con sider sellivg his/her bike anol taking up some Neb- bish_vetvo-spov like voadcycling or hisbee Seotbal/, $ig.1, Typreal 4 000. fost-accidler 3 mindset... lowever, You can easily Pe net D make a bad’crash a positive Pnext time I'll goa lite expevience by analyzing aud ) slower. Need to work oy leawing Strom it™A crash — log-jumping can) britlg on) a conceptual leap |{ techuaye.... YZ in techwigque like a whack up- U Canit etait 4o iS Side the head from aw ole zen master: The Fellas pages document my mos Serious wipe-cuf 50 far and ah what | learwecl $m it The cras |. made a much better vider albeit q slower aval move consevvative owe... [*Fig.2 ] 105What | LeaynNed From AN Actual Cyash... Cwising Ow @ Favorite. dowuhill at about 30 mph. What | ohida' Kyous was that a veceut Flock had scouted ouf a section) oF He Sitevoack, wtling if ctossways aud exposing Nomerois Tombstove - Shle rocks, | was coasting asith my weight on the- seat, ctauks verhical at maximum Velocity whers 1 saw the washout too bike- leugths ahead. There was just enough tine 18 lock LO my brakes and Scleam...loosing my bike ow the First bowce and Flying head First into a laige. uptight chuuk of coarse vhyolite. At some print later in the day a pair of hikers Sourck me uncoucious ,20 feet from my bike... OXIDK Mewtains Bikers ! 6 ° 3 brokers (bs, aud “Taomecic. Meningitis” | hed plenty oF time te cautemplate the accident. — 4]So, besides Sot weaning a hebnet; Pridivg alone iy a tencte ate assuming tra:| condifioys vemainy Fixed over time , and viding to damied Sast , WHAT had | dove tedwigee-urse. to eb crashed and biwecl’? My analysis centelecl on my precctash viding postute... | dealizeol He way | was sith on my bike vithally guaranteed a catashophic vider ejecton IF fhe ties met any Sevious surface integularity such as an uptight tock, cot, ov a deep vet, | call this “ballistic posture’ the Tider 1s con- nected to the bike by gravity with No ; Flex in his/her ae «te absorb shack. (Fh Spine avhepats Haight weatt on Set Jeg lle When the frout wheel contacts a cs tut [rock /root-, shock. is trawsmiteel! upwavels 22 oe Huw the forks and frame .1f He riders arms, spine, avd ee legs ate locked the vider has q major tendency to hose contol of- the bike ancl to be lavacheol up aucl over the handlebars. Locking te brakes pre-crash only adds ewergy to the lavuch of He sider... losDynamic Poste Seine bowed — With alyslamic posture , your (the body gua Shock absorter)] ~~ body acts as a giant she ; Wp it, absorbing system This lesdts 7 Ostayig allched b He bike, and &) bouncing as a unit over Saicly large obstacles at high Spee. | always nde iy this Position offroacl at high speeds ‘50 I'll be Yeacly Sor unexpecteol \ 4rail anomalies. However, No . matter how good you tile you ale , Sometimes it is best \ te exercise good judgoneut weight oa ba ion of feet, slightly ts. prone uid el this! crauks level ates © eS *Ple-Crash, Brakinng| Iv most cases, Forget about: braking... Sicdlers > 709} Ng) lock-up braking usually puns a marginal contol sitationy info a Ne | sitvation. A bunny-hop and We fae cou! 18 he tele heel te mo et _heve... Fe" Y Too late Gail mary) Sider conceutiahing ee St Sor brakes | on Ke ead of | 3° aa 2 wake, Sheek is absobedA 4 wrists, ams, Spine , knees, thighs , ete. 109itoRiding Secrets OF TheRiding Sectets OF The. Totally Hoalect... What Follows is a collectod of tips, tricks, Acad knowledge auc stHange advice (all of which was, Jeane by repeatedly smashing into Hugs...) that may provile a shortevt on the path to Mountain’ Bike Nivvawa... © G-Fforcing A Bunny Hop - You cau cheat the complex boely english Vequired eh sndy of high velocity *@-forces to launch the bile off a bump or hum ov dip. Finck a fast downhill with a potevtal launch pacl , get going fast, compress your body before te humya (now- caamee and let the bump/homp loip compress the 1/e$... Co a buuny hop by Using @ combivatony e normal hop velease at the peal auel FLY! “Norma |” Aywo-release “Peak of lanes pad , marimum G-forces “Rre-hop Compression) " (nen-clynamic. boely coi!) make sure youve got lots Ties actually compressed of good ven-out below dywamically on Sace of homp, the launch pad as Hings bump ov dip cans get very ballistic... a@ Not Sallearing A Bump - IF you hit a bump at meclerate to high speek stancling uth spine stracght aud arms # legs locked you will achieve a double launch... From He bump ancl $iom your bike. ![Gee "Crash uiisclom''] @ Weatinig inciedlibly gaucly / tasteless costomery chen viding in the woods doving huyhvg season is not only av inbinsically cool ing to do i it may Keep you fiom geHing blow away by” slob huvtecs !Your bike looks okay ! Yo, Fred ? | How to tell if your budely is Serious! Injuled.-- Seriously injured, , OTake Fiepeut vest stops @ Drink tons of water. O Go Swimming of wading whew possible. O Take pee eet Cuter Bottle. Micro-Showers * You caw cool dou quickly by Squicting cwaler ow imer elbows, head, back of neck at. aud tacles of wees... Cte Ahhhhh ! * IE yore got water spare ! Ulater in your booly i's beter tan) water ov your bedy ! 14@ Chain Conservation... | You caw avoid chain suck, chain jump, broken chains anc geweral wear avel tear by Staying on your middle chainring anal using your middle y. Use your granny gear (small chaiv- ving ) for Geanmy condlfions only ! Youll be stencliug ON your peclals much of He hme but youll be having fewer chain problems. Whew rollina, Never ty fo Coon re a of kt fakes by teachin in behinch yor Sasi Eeyou! usRoll your bike avel use it Sor support Bike carried on) Shoulder~ oh - he Alluvial Hyeams are usually deeper thay they ave wide ! © Safe Quick-velease Hub Lever Aligumeut Always keep Your vie teloe hot levevs positionedt pavallel to the grovud avd porytec( teas- ware This will prevent accidleutal swagqine + ve- leasing your hubs omtra'l, A aceideytal hub release whi viclinug cay $e vather catastophie. to the vider... wnhoes seat aes at igh speed on pied Oat. Wf @ Watch Your teeth UY How to Six a Slat iv the boonies witout a path kit... Make a tovrniguet vwder the hele ‘ce of eo gat Bes OFA in of Ea len, hl alelicaté temporary patch ug@® "Tartchivg "a" twealted" bike .L see pg. 35] Appl opposite torque ow the hawdlebars and Flex beely tuto the Sall to bring the bike back under you... |The Greet Brake Debate | Or “How many figers per brake lever under what conditions ?” ~— Hiah Speecl, "Noemal Condifons mushy Condlifionls : Any Spee almost Saud, gravel , loose any terrain... Stone , mud ete ugIf you break a chain’ Way back in the boonies Cov pretzel a. cleraillevr, ete.) avel lack the proper tools for a reac vepair cont push your bike , scooter it ! “Ss You use kinel of 2. Crass-couuhty ski kick... @ AWvanceA Sootering Techui'gve... Looks aukesard but gives He vider beter balance: vider Keeps comect foot ow peclal ancl veackes around from bebined with Me other leg for See "Deraillevr Byoass Sugery " [ pg. 122] 120@ How to weed oot geeks ata glance... scogadile me! phe: -Uuseratcheot Chainstay haiastey ws : Hon Beginwer or Geek C[Experiouceel Rider): - @®|How To Tie Your Shoes| Getting a shoelace wrappect around Pe pedal axle or sucked into te chaiawheel isalways a Nvisauce aud occasionally a elisaster... Me Low Af i 4 \ | ky fi Doble the bowknet ‘ mY “aud ae the suiplos gh ‘th Suvi inte the ‘shoecufs around your ankle > on falDerailleur Bypass Surgery - IF you totally wretze| your derailleur way back in the boonies , donit de~ Spair, Simply whip oot your 7 bby 18 mm uxeuch aud chaintool ° BE’ avd take the demaillesr out of vs, , | fi the loop! | AS Five. mile. walkout, ohmy gocloh my gock / Youll Neck] Appropiiate OBreak the chasis fe Hewove devaillewr, @ Loosen wheel, @ Select the most surtable gear for pedalling ovt av Set chai) on thatgear [note you may have to experimeut ax little with the wext gear up or dow For good wheel aligumeut with proper chain tevsrov ] ,© Remove surplus links ancl te-join the chai) | @ Realign wheel avol check cha'y tevsion) (D Peclal on ovt. Db wot leave the dead derailleor lying ov the trail... itll make a great conversation piece aud/or paperwerght | WanQD Mtu. Bikers’ excuse. chart for encounters wrt vangers , cops, awed pissed-off lauclowalers.... Is this veally North, Carolina? Ne done it !! The $itst off-road trauscovtinevtal bike ride in . History ! ! Could Gartara. = walters helicopter Thank god you Foul we the le of bushy- “| haivecl pot Sarmers § Ima tracker Sor th ical experiments the alievs gave me this bike awe let me go vp here. Leolat it...Nobody builds bikes like taton this planet ! Qa) Wearing glasses or goggles whew ridiug in the woals will spave you lots of pain) (anclfov permanent eye 2% damage ) ariel ave you aw ultva- coo auva...eas !"'@ym shorts have a tenckucy |e Nose oF the seat in the crotch uyth oharbaake veuces whey He vickr goes te stavel on the Ped s. 0 0 Of I'll dazzle her with a wheelie hop..@PAlways drop your seat ow the Meky stufF!! Wanala see my kestrel ? | wast the least bit threateveA by" Thelma Auel Lovise"! My conclo has a hot tub...Weight-shift Stanudiv Clinéing* Here the vider shifts is/her weight $rom ove fay to the other, using booly weanlt to sopercharge the wormal peclal stroke . This duedght- shifting imparts a Side-to-sole stinging motions to the bike which is contvaindicated ov av upgrade with a vevy eight left loose surface because the Ffootprivt of te tires chauges oneach Swing. As a vole , wher youre climbing a leose- sorfaced opgrade you want to keep the bike as still as possible to maivtainy a coustawt “Footway t ' [Lr aka.“Houkiang "] &D For pevsistaut ivtevmitteyt mechawieal problems , bike exorcism may be wecessary | , ‘mudda wears lycra J > WP in Hell...@® Tech aloporn and Techropaianoia- “Tech sopavanoia." 1s the feeling of Techwo- inacleguacy vo eM ONE gets From veadiug foo many hyped-up product veviews in the Various mtw. bike magazives (aka, " techaropovw " ). white these pub- pore Ffovmation) , at best its 80% nee; The best (Gee..maybe my vims are too Narrow... bike i's the bile that Sthe braking does Seel a litte too cusp... Sits you, not some}... olimygoel , my bikes a DEATH-TRAO ! New Contaphion a wl'll never be able to sell it... | got iA veviewer touts as Cit! Il give it fo my gidlfuenel... Ze! Column) C, pessorral veasous : “tro busy” "too tized "foo bummeck oot over He plight VARS Colum) A, Bor c "too cold" of te Kurds)’ “Tring about “too wet” Hradivg ins my bike (see above) "feo diy * figh ui off a colel 5 ete. “borg atl “fo late" | "Need to ovechaul ft ‘i "too log | iy deraillese. " gage : arvide” | eon te acle F 1a?G0) Dealin) caith NoxJ- humans omaniic. obstacles... (ree Swipe ( tre Swipd ) v, To be | [You can slalom thw Struck a direct or glaucing blow by a tree or trees ina Spaces Nartouser than configu foul | Ur handle “3s Trees caw be contactecl in- tentioually in troly desperate Situations...@® | Troubleshooting Body Rain Headache - Norma | » see "Universal Cure" below oS, Ding, cuts, scratches, sions ete - Normal Lewes Back Rain) - seat too high ov bars ‘foo low or both, Stietch before siding iF +t persistaut. Havel Aain/Nombuiess — Grip feo fight, toe much ignt bu. bats. body en Sieg fecluigue —t Lower tre piessore (?). Excessive of Uvusval Sadelle soreness. J dork ow leg techuigue 5 get weight fo oF saddle js auto ged rime * leq-flex weeded ov bumps Lower tite pressure (7). Klee Pain - Vaise seat. Do harol [lid From stawdivg position). Do knee -lift warm-up exevtises. The Universal Cure ; Hot tub, close persona! acquaintance, Savorit beverage avd = _aspicis =@® How to keep ACCEPFORIES fastevect to your bike under yvough (Normal) conditions... Besidles bvain clamage, one siqificant side effect of haidcote a trail bombing is ; Fregueait loss oF ¢( @: valuable ) accessories “Bh , due to DB» "y Ln. off Most accessory retentions ‘ systems ow the marhet aienit veally engineetek , Sor serious min: bike “hell abuse”. Ht op % the vider to create his/her Own additional acessoly vestiaints... « / vibvation ~¢ " ce Wo! One. of He best ways To secure a pump to ur Srame is to use a ponytai/ tie acunol the pump andl seat stay. —_l. A small piece of pe < duct tape hes Rraiale From oltugstoves ov you but mp gers gidlfrieuds pia mer ron Peek 130Cyelo-computer vestaivt™ Systems. A Seu vubber bands Kept on your hanelle bars and. loopect oes the computer when siddivg works pretty well . You may have to experimeart with the robber bancls so the veadout ist obscuted. You caw use @ covple clops oF chav Siugertail polish or robber coment on the slide movut if you are very careful to avoicl getting glue on the electrical coutacts. IF your water bottle is always poppivg OSF you can caiesully tebeud the yack and/or adel oluet tape pads to inciease bottle-vacke ~~) A safety piri thi the Zippel eyes will Keep your tools iv He tool bag where they belong ! 131Rid A G3 »” C2) fide @) Bike! va / Usless yoo ave a gualifiedl bike mechanic. periodically take your bike + your : Friendly neighborhood bike Shop So7 a “tune up" *Obsewe the vy .°°. mechanic se you caw learw te do cee it yourself evewtually - If managemevt won't let you haug out in the shop with He gearhead working on) your bike fd a new bike shoo! *Towe Up - Close inspection) anol geveral tightewing up of the entire bike bya qualified mechanic. @ Establishive "safe" tail speect-"Safe" hail speecl rs Subject to a ‘lot of variables (surface , presaxe a ab- Seuce of orgauic » /norgawic. obstacles ete. ) but under most couditioas the Evet Hovizon "sets your speect. Eveut Hor- izon cay be cleGinecl as either maximum sight clistance ‘or min= imum dlistavee te a peak move". Whichever applies , the cicler shovled maintain a speed that will allow him/her b stop or Slow clomm) sufficiewtly te deal with whatever pops up ow his/ her event hovvzon’. On the opposite page (top) He vider is cvuising tre fast velahve fe his evewt hevizers. He hasait allowed" sufficiewt time to veact to trail variables. As speed ineveases , distance to the eveut horizon aecienten! 13a6) If You Gfivel yourself among a bouck of New Age looks, a skull-cap hastily ee fiom alemivum Soil will give He vicler some ywetechiony from geek-wave vadiaton !86) You can keep your saeake. across [thy shallow creeks and/or aly by rakheting @ Metaphovical “Moontain Music."... the movataiy is the vecovol * youre the stylus... * This is probably meanivg $l ouly to Hose of us who ave old ewough to know what av actwal “vecovel”is / 134Qs hasait got cliclelly to do with advauced viding echuigue but Im desperate... Woulel somebocly please builel @& movmtaiy bike with the derailleur in a less Vuluevable spot P! IF you tHivk about it, they couldn't have pickecl a worse spot te put it, dav- gling way down there uncer the Sveecsheel. Anyhow, | thought about it some overa fev bees axel came vp with this = Freewheel. » deraillerr elevateol , mountecl behiad your Name here $ixedl “oltive chain" Oleay..cactoonists should leave engineering, To engiwweets. Bot stil, it might work, 1 piefer alonivomr ot chiome-moly in a Frame. Please Ship te: Willian Nealy , Director Movutainr Bike Reseascs listitfe BEF Box 450 Hillsborough NC a7grs Thavks |! 135©Toe Clip Or Not Toe Clip (or “Why We Wear Chinese Toe Cuffs... ) Toe clip oy Not tee clip, that is the tion. Whether tis Wobler in the mind suffer the olngs aval contusions oF vuelipp'd riding, or to bind thy Feet against a sea of quarly singletiack ¢ and by these contraptions, vide SMe oer them with ease. Te clip... to slip No more ancl by clipping to evel th butfache avd the Housanol watwal shocks that Set ale heir to; tis ‘/ @ consummation lenovtly be honed. No clip, te slip — t slip perchauce to be trashed most - Ay, theres the vub... io ey Leaning to wear toe clips on the tail is la majov mountains bile vite of passage ,us- vally marking the Hansitionl from interme - diate to advancecl viding. Most people $incl toe clips (aka. "toe cuffs") to be very claustrophoby'c initially (see Sig-1). This is probably because most videss get in the ha- bit of catebing Falls by sliding their feet laterally off we peolals. : A foot will Not come out of a tee clip sideways ! The best toe clo escape move is to velox foes and posh straight dud o8 the back of te pedal — the ( literally rolls off he Rot M2), 1%The main advawtage of toe clipping ow tarls is a very secure Stauce which gives you a platform 2 some secious bocly english. Yosll also have move power ancl No matter how bumpy the trail ets, your feet will stay ow the peclals ! Sak on easy Hails with te straps loose andl slowly work your way up te have trails ancl sug Cnet fight!) straps. Your feet will get habitvatecl to the clips in the process. Use tees ete. for stability when getting into fe clips inihally (Fig.3). On smooth shetches prachce volling the pedals and insertivg toes ov He 154. 4}— a | ye TF youre stumped on a Serious Hide. Section), guit using He clips after the Fist few falls Ss ‘r Jl be able to » Hee Le tes: Exewtually your feet will crave being in foe clips ab all times. Youll also Sind that with proper stauce (fig.6) toe clips will en- hance busy hops aud make steep trails easier! ly agaist straps. dotted astows) 197@All aboot seat height... Seat too bw Seat eo high G) You caw get Cvisp Linked Tors by pomping up auc dows on the bike: weight down - makins the actual feed (maximum G-Forces ), weight up - sething the Sronst wheel info He wext turd (mivinun G-fores 2, This 1s great far high speed tree /vock glaloming ow velatively Sitm surkacer, deight es: down a Z 7, é ¥ eight Up — Cset tow) hy weight clown weight up by (set tum) ur AY, This is a linked +), series of meclerate dyno - moves... 13¢Philosophy, Ethics, Survival and Some 5 tupid Bike Tricks... 40Mtw. Bike Ethics Ethical Guideline #1 - Protect ancl preserve. the movutaiy bike environment... RIDE GENTLY! Ride iu desiqiatecl aveas only... Yepair all Wail damage you encounte/ or cause... use dyyamie viding techwigues only vader appro- priate trail cowclitions... avoid wet weatner trail viding J.ete. In shovt, take cave of the tail environment and rt will fake care of you. Ethreal Guideline ¥2- Ride Courteously ! Avoiel spooling of aliewating hikers , hovses, wildhfe and other organic ob- stacles. 4e you wavt fo viele like a maviac (we all do!) Finel an appropriate avea to do so, away from the geeks ! Whew you vide ,considev yourself the Supreme Ambassador Of The Mountaiy Bike Nation ! Pressure fo exclude mtn. bikes Svom the woods is Nef going away anyhime scow. Bley time a min. biker vides Ike a slob we all pay te price. | say shoot em ov make them be voacl cyelists ! Ethical Guideline *3 - Tale vespowsibility for your viding actions ! Repair fails , be courteous , veswe yourself, auel, Gov gecl's sake, clonit sie anybody! Every time some pinhead gues a landowwer , outhiter , equipment mawfactver, bike shop, etc... this sport dies a lithe. Face it, tis Is @ clanger- ous activity faking place in a potestially daugerous physical envitoument so people ave \ going to get hurt. It womal ! Obviously @ $aulhily manu factored caubilever arm... lin gouwa sue! 43The Philosophical Rrecepts OF Modera Mouatain Biking. .. wa whe af, ~ * What doesnt kill you makes you stionger.[Ow new! iene.) ¢--~y ter) vieling, the min Should preceeol the vider & ove bike length (Figuiatively spealcing Oo the Spittal Worl ag. 753 145Trail Repaiv ) Ethical Tras! Grooming, , avd Trail Etiquette... Al ( Wail Cl C hikers , a & equestians ) have a Neg- ative impact on the Hails they use. Being highly visible and Conshioversia |, Mountezin) bikers thave a Gpecal ici to protect and mawtainy the Wails Hey use . The easiest Som 0 trail maivtenance is Damage Revestion ; Always avoid slils , tide gently ane cavry wet sectovs ! You cau easily cany the Follourng teail tepair Hols whe you tide: folding pruning saw , garden trowel , avd/ov entenching fool. Donif forgeta pair of workgloves too! $olding prosivg ad A common foim of mouatary bike-relatecl vail damage is Ke dowwhill- skid-on- steep-tail- rut: becomes-gully Syxdvome . . Mig, ind A minor Hite ys vain /ronoft Aeon 1S organic Tot Bs ws golly, adang 4 crnes 2 M4, mater, ffAS Runoff Sloasing down the . fall-line of a trail causes Severe Sa erosion. You can create“water bars” to divert water latevally off the tail by O oligging a tewck ,@ buibling a berm, or © stepping wrth logs ov tees Couitidar Yeroutlug steep trail sections that fegvire. Coustawt maivtenauce... WA Another movataiy bike-vuluerable tail featwe is the boggy trail Segment. Eveutually His will become a boltomless hog wallow. You caw make suck sations videable by draining He tail ane 7 yng crosswise sheks to prevent ties fol into om savktinng, muck. If you cavt alva it, reroute fhe tai) or cawy the boggy part. Always get misread From the laudewwer/land mauager befue concocting — trail vepairs ! 47| Ethical Trail Grooming Justification % | - The cetowr amu the falls tree will clamage mosses > fems as well as Cause erosions ow He high side oF % the tail. eo Bini ieee SS IS $0 No mothe! min bikes eee ete a Fost one it Léxpert tals tiders u Seasiéle To cufor Not to cot. Just in case a futwe biker wants fo jump it, 1M make my cot Small » fo Ke side Cdletted live) [Unethical Trail Grooming | Indictment RR- Kuowing He bg was"in play", the cut could have Inelictment */ - Chain tooth, been ‘made’ to citer side fustead marks iuelicate the leg was oF Smack in the middle, /6"wide “iN " y " for a number instead of 4% of cych Vets LR A WON-permanentt <= one is Cam be seks Adeaduoocl iw minutes cal ck cf (I-establisheel anck causeol Tile ere erosion).Also works superbly wrth other ovganic te [se et like nvkers, joggers cour et. !] | Mountaiy bikes ave the new critters in the woods. Over time, horses will get habituated to vs but right now we are Frightening to most of them. IN a hovse/ Mtn. Bike en- counter always olismount aud give the horse the vight of Way. Haug well bade uutil horsepeson No- tices you. Usually they wll move off he frail to allow you to walk your bike part, Removut at minimum 100' past horse. Dismount aud stand on the doww- hill side of trail. Stay in horses line of vision, talk reassuringly. Remounit only wher horse 13 at least loo feet Quay... 149Anyone whe choses to vecieate iv the woods as a basic responsibility to themselves » their viding partuers to leam a Sew covet ibe sonival skills . The fered “s abundant ano usually Sree if you take the trouble fo Sind it... O “Oviewtating "~ Kelowing where you ave: the lie of the lave which way 13 Novth , which way is out ete. [This is a simpler skill thay “Oriewteering" which deals with divechous as a viral Sciewce. | ‘cod “Oriewtating” keeos fu Hive lost anol Sacilita self-estoe SE you piece ae @Emergenicy First Aicl - Free courses , Americas Reel Cross @Emergercy Bike Repair - Haug out wth gear-heacls ave leary how to keep your bike rolling with “chewing qum, ouet tape aud wire. Free! @ Sel$ Rescue - How to get un-lost, how fo set up ay emengeucy Shelter, buld a. Fire, Gud udater, food ete. Try the public library. Noor byain) is your most impoctaut prece of Survival eguipmaut! Evew if you have Spare pacts , bivy bags , Rambo kuives compasses , flaies, vadlios ete. , If youre making bacl decisions you are still basically serewed. Please take the hime to leary these slalls befwe you Need them ! Diess Fev Success! helmet liver ow Mx Frobably the most eee Meek gaiter > aspect of cltessiy acold oy pre, _ eather mtn. bile ride is fii Not wearing too mich! ot oe Ls si¥e, top]. IF its a vide, ski gles into a tee and ane ae location WISE Mm ikey- polypto, ete. will plas for all contingencies _— by carryiig adddifiosal clothivg such as wine pants , sueater, aol sockes, arol hat, aud au emegoucy bivi kit [sce next page]. Because of weather variables its best to have a preth vewatle = zz = layering System available to male Necessary thermal adjustmevts. 150If you get lost or hurt in the boonies in ‘inclement weather His cay Save your life anol tHe whole je weighs Govuces Note: obviously deve walling about an extreme pile of ally organic. material situation) heve . Uuless you are hurt, hypothennre, Cleaves, moss). Cover with ove and/or hopelessly last it is usvally best to keep moving rf af all possible. Ememency Givi Kit Contents ; ist(Hey, were wot bst, \ co] oele in Western” F } North Carolina! gH aes ow, "Demi-lost'" (see below) IF you spend a lot of time sidliig iy te boovies youle goaaa. get lost occasionally. There ale fio basic Jarieties 06 "Jost Demi-lost ane Mega- lost. Demi-lost 1's a state of being slgitly confuseel within) @ known) section of terrain (see ). Mega: lost is being totally clisorituteck in an esseutially unkaounl (to you) sections of tenain. If you Gollous a, See basic. Anti-lest protcols you eax effectively inoculate yourself From ever becoming profoudly Mega- lest: 1. Familiavize_ yourself with the general aver ull be viding in. If there isuta ma; available fo fale wikk you, Jook ata map and hy to fom a mental picture of 1 ( aven with self-rescue i mine... sas aeeth vung ME Sloat River to ie west Prominent mtw. tauge (5@ Always kisous chich sway 1s North (use compass f necessary)! @ Occasionally stop and ‘lool bad< uptrail for lanclmarks tx case you have vefvace your vo i. @ Never ever bushwhack blinel |! Leave a trail only as @ last resortand with a specific goal iv sight or within earshot Chighuay sourels power lines , distant buildiugs ete.) Remember, you can alever be twly Mega-lost staudivg ona fail! IF you leave a trail ,always mark your way so that you can easrly veturn to He trail if necessary. OmManage your time! if youre exploring an) uxfamilar area keep in mind ;"In-time eguals ouf-time Sometimes!" For example , 1f youve vide) a couple hours dowsshrll ito Some mystery tediaja/, youll Neel to allow a sizeable chunk of time plus the ovigival time-in) 40 compeusate Sora hoasg uphill vetuw!® Be piepaied + bivy when viding iv (emote ales. An injuty breakelown ar short period of demi-lostdom can put you iN a Iife-Hreatewivg situation. Cawyivg matches , food water , ex clothing ane shelley-making s caw save Your Ife! Isee. Pp. 151 J ONever move from relative. sheugth + relabve wealeess in an emergeucy situations. IF iff nearly dark avd your party is mega-lost , tite ,awel semi-chilled STOP Now ! Stay on te Hail, set up a shelter, build a File aril Conisc/ve your streugth : Tive., there ave times wher) it advisable to posh on inva bad situation (like 1f youte 2 miles ftom your truce ave ifs snowing ). er, 1€ You ave holy mega-lost, Pushing on in oleteviorativg conditions can kill you! @Dont panic ! Unless you're a total pinhead youll svevive . Think of yer situation as a gieat leaming opportunity !' @Aluays tell a vesponsible person *eshere youte goiug » when you expect to be back. The only thing corse thar being mega-lost js being Forgotten and maga- lost... @ Seek out good instuchoa iv wilclerwess survival, Fist aid, aud emeigency bike Vepair before you put yourself i) a qzivildeeuess Survival sitvaton). ' See Philosophical “Abt the guys at the bar tHe wight before! Precept’ a pg 14 153A First Aid Tale OF Terror... Onee upon a time in western North Carolina a. group of highly expericuced qutcborspeople were havivg a collective religious experience on some exceptional horse trails iv a remote, atea when suddenly... = ld call that aw anterior olisheation. ) fostingThey placed theiv fried on a clead with a dangling weight to place gevtle traction on the shoulder aud, Hey! You know) what. this is a broke [F{ collarbone , Not a dlisleation |! While acvaucecl Fist aiol training is a must Sor backe 4 z Mi uuth bikers, mouutain bike meclies Shull always be mindful of most important rule of emergency medicine ..."Do No harm" mtn. the. 195Anel Finally... Stupid Bike Tricks ! tiee lino at moderate velocity, Tay to time it so the loose bike oloesnt cause auy colla ‘eval civiliaw damage . Very weir visual effect !! “ee. aoe Si 156Bikespeak [ Selectecl Glossavy_] Yo, Dudle ! Lookin’ totally honed on Bout hacl it cleawet “til | porpoisecl an’ got head dabbed.... Acrggh ... lin bonecl ! Its “Cool , No Chi Chi," 'Traus:"| Nearly macle it n without puttivg my Feot cbwy > Tews: Hey, Sriencl | but | lost control anc You were looking very landed eal my Face.. Ouch! vaceful on this highly There is a seat in my vectum ! chwical section of Hail. Firstaicl wont be aeessary. Do you weed Sicst aid 2” /SFBike speak... Gerobic.- muscle activity Fueled by inspivecl oxygen. angerobic - intense muscle activity with energy provided witout oti hho of inspitecl oxygea). This is strenvous exercise con- Sined. to shovt bursts of activity. See "blown"legbuen) miciovest” blowy- to lose peal muscle Fuvetion (usually )after exteweled anaerobic. exeveise . Also, to exceel the credit limit oa your charge care , as in; “Sovty sic, your Visa caved 1s blow... bomb - te descevol a sectow of Warl at an exvemely high veloesty. boned - to clynamitally catch the nose of your seat in the. postevior portions of your anatomy. See “gvoin plant" buat hop - te pop He bike off He Grouncl by compressing both wheels avel bouncing ina pogo-like maxwev. Goth voieels ase the grovel simultaneously ! See “Wheelie Hoy" caterpillaring- jerky pedal cadeuce Fluctuating between very Fast awl Very slow. Extremely ive ficient peclalling ! ChiChi Cohee chee) Firstaicl ov First aicl proceedure . clean -to vide a difficult trail section without dabbing. clothes lined - kyockecl off your bike by a suspenelecl obstacle. crash '’n bury- Any onusvailly grvesome. mountain bike cvash. See “dab; “faceplant' “hammered” , ‘groin plaut “ete. dab - To inadvevtautly touch te groune with any portion of ones anatomy while negotatug & tail. Vaviations inelude foot olab, face dab, body dab , heacl clab, ete. decal point point of weightlessness veachecl after a olyao-meve. derailleur (“de-vail-er" dows South ) vear shifting olevice Hat conshivtes He Achilles Heel of mouutain bike engineering . Clownshift- any shift to a lower gear. See “upshift” jo - pre Fix clewokin diamatic videv- bike movement- Shovt Sor “olywamic." As in “olyuo-move } olwo-tun, ete . event hovi'zon - Maximum srght olisfauce ontvail ov mix- imem bvaking Jveaction, time. to a giver) obstacle. ceplayt- a “face-First cvash ny bur). Head olab. fall live - the Heovetical line dewohiug He most olitect way ofows a pitch or obstacle . Movutary bikes generally opevate best just off He Sall live when olesceucding or ascending. 160us voad (a.k.a. “five tal") Usually a vuste olovble tock 1 intencleel for vehiovlay access in the eveut of forest Sires. Excellent viding , geuerally. few hog - Type T molhjele Pevsoval'ty. Obsessively ruvoliect ras 2 number of "twill sports" mountain biking plus alpive skiing Vivew Vunainlg vockclimbing , ete. geek - beginner or partiwlavly inept movutain bikes: guarly - universal descriphve term inchcativg tervain that is ol'ffieult, techacal, steep , aud convoluted. gioinplaut = te strike pavt- of your bike (seat, top tube, bars ete) with your gvory ina crash ov Wear-ciash. hammeved(-violeut bocly-slamming cvash or the vesult of viding all clay oy a super-gnarly frail. hellvide - any particularly bacl tail or bacl clay ons @ trail. 4k.a "Bataan Death Ride ', “Exploratwy Ride", "Puke -O- Rama" helmet - Biain clamage prevestion clevice. worn by all vatioual mountain bikers . howe - polishing a move or sevies of moves by subhactiv exheaneous ar movement. a 9 honed a very adept vider (uncommon usage ). Usvally au in- Svlt aleseribing any adept. but- obseriously-egotistical vicler: howling ~ @ pedalling techigue whereby the vicley uses his/her beoly wer ay. te vetate He pedals on the cdlownstoke, legbury- to totally fry one’s legs by Foverng them to pev- Som an extenclook period of anaevebit activity. See “blown “picro-vest": limbo log - a log ov limb suspencecl over the tail at ap- Woxinately face level. Aka. “sweeper '' See “clothes lived load- a Ayamie werght shift to one or both ties just priov to a hop ov aywo-move.. Macvo- focus - The art of seeing the whole trail, wot just the avea immectiately in frout-of your bike, A vidler lacking maevo-Focus tends te porpoise . See “Micro-foeus | ‘pompersiug." wetic turnl- a olecreasing vaclius fury that contrifugally pulls you te He outside of He tury, offer off Ke Wail en- tirely ! Usually Seen) olescevding hight suitchback loops... J6lmechanic - any persou who actually knows what he/she. 15 doing whew working ony a bee Aka.“ gear-heacl } “bile doc “ete. Most of us vegular mouviaiy bikers ale in actuality “Semi- mechanic 5, avo thats ov eur good olays ! mieto-focws - to conceuWate fully ov the small jou of the tail immechiately in front of your bike. While micro- Socus is useful for timing » executing” peak moves", its best t> see the whole “tvarl in frout of you Cmaco-Focus ). wiicro-test- A specialized pedalling techangue wherein the vider dyso-velaxes bis/her leg on the upstroke fo allow onygeu to enter ana lactt acid /Co, to exit leg museles . Micto-vesting converts anaevobie. activity fo aerobre achuity. organic obstacle -There ase two basic types of organic obsta- cles; 0 “Sast organic obstacles'~ hikers , horses , deer, ete. aud @ "slow organic obstacles"~ trees , logs, voots, villes, etc. Fast orgaure obstacles aie to be avoided whew possible / peak move(s)- the key "move" a vider mus successfully execute to surmount a oliffieult stete4 of Hail. pitch- avy wotable uograde or dowugracle oy a Hail. pivot fur to spin We bike on one wheel via boely forgue. Frowt whee/ pivot tums ave possible but the vear wheel pivot is the Style mest commonly usecl ate al b Dovpoising - viding iv a Veactionary mauner; tesporcling to the Pie intel of maleiiug te ‘ike fespouel fe you. 9 punch - tr clywamically Joacl the havellebars aver the seat to compress the tise(s) for a hop. Yatechead - one who vaces moumtaiy bikes. A mild putrclowas to describe viders so into compethov that theyve lost their perspective on the Cosmic absulity of movutany bikiug. vunovt- avea just below a serious clowaigvacle where you attempt to vegaiy contol after a Sast jesceast. The louger the ruvout, the faster the desceut ! Siugletiacle- mow fain Bike Niwava.. avy tail the the asoads Natiow for a jeep. Stance - How the noe physically relates to his/her bike while viding. Your stawe largely cletermiues the handling 16xISBN 0-89732-114-6 WV i 1295) 512.95 A | Soft, 172 pages, 7" x 10° Mountain BIKE! A Manual of Beginning to Advanced Technique by William Nealy If you're looking for the ultimate mountain bike guide for the totally honed, welcome to William (Not Bill) Nealy’s world. Nealy’s expertise (acquired through years of crash- and-burn) enables him to translate hard- learned reflexes and instinctive responses into easy-to-understand drawings: drawings that will make you a much better rider. Nealy’s cartoon illustrations combine insight with humor and knowledge with humiliation. So, if you are ready to shorten the learning curve and master the advanced techniques of mountain biking, get ready to have some laughs and log a few miles with William Nealy. Menasha Ridge Press 0-89752-114-6 780897) a