Cornering Tips
* I like to put my weight to the inside and pedal through comers. It's like applying the gas in a car as you go around a curve it helps maintain traction." - Silvia Furst
* You may not have the skill or experience to risk putting a foot down at 45 mph, but at slower speeds an outrigged limb can help you through a sharp turn. Almost as much as the foot, it's the low and wide stance that will keep you upright and on course."-Missy Giove
* "I put the emphasis on getting my weight on the outside pedal A lot of people put their outside pedal down, but they really don't push on it. I put a lot of weight on it and carve the turn."-Jason McRoy
* The expert - or showboat - way to ride a down-hill switchback is to nose wheelie through it. Here are five steps for flashy switchbacking:
1. Enter the turn wide, on the high side of the frail. Coast at a walking pace. Test your brakes. Make sure they're working predictably before you drop into the steep part.
2. You're going to pivot on the front tire, so make room for the rear to swing around by steering into the apex of the corner. Your weight should be slightly (just slightly) rearward. Keep the inside pedal (the downhill one) bark for leverage.
3. As your front tire reaches the apex of the corner, dig the inside grip down and back and move your torso forward, Pinch the front brake lever firmly and give a little hop with your feet. At this point, your rear wheel should leave the ground (EGAD!). You'll soon know if you've hopped or squeezed too hard. If so, get up and fry again.
4. In midflip, push the inside grip ahead. This twists the rear wheel around the corner. It also tilts the bike away from the abyss, which keeps you from overbalancing and falling to the outside when you land.
5. Because of your considerable lateral momentum, you need to land the back wheel far enough around the corner that you don't get "high sided" over the edge. This is one of the trickiest parts of the turn. Once you "stick" the landing, the rest is cake. Just pedal away with a big stupid grin on your face.
* Stop pedaling as you enter a turn and keep your cranks horizontal, Unless you think you'd enjoy catching a pedal on a bank, rock or log. On smooth surfaces, however, you can keep the outside pedal down to improve traction. Brake before the turn. Locking the levers in a turn makes you more likely to skid. Even if we don't cuddle the dirt blanket, your rhythm and swoop are disrupted. It's more efficient and, for some reason, quicker to brake before entering a curve. For instance, a rider who surfs an entire turn at a smooth 15 almost always gets through quicker than one who enters at 17 and brakes. (Advanced riders brake later in turns. How the hell do they do that?)
* If possible, try to plan your path to approach wide, cut inside across the turn, and exit wide. This reduces the sharpness of the curve and minimises the amount of lean you'll need. It also lets you ride a more direct line (you go almost straight through the curve instead of turning), which helps traction on loose surfaces. Of course, you won't always have this luxury - sometimes your line is determined by the width or conditions of the trail.
* Lean into turns. Press down on the grip that's on the inside, and angle the bike over. At slow speeds, or for tighter corners, you'll need to steer slightly inward, too. Don't worry about being tentative and not getting much lean. As you gain confidence in your traction, you'll slant more. The key is to slowly build speed and lean. Too much of a jump in either, and you'll skid.
* If you're arcing wide in a turn, cut tight with elbow and knee swings. Your instinct might be to crank the handlebar inward. Sometimes this works, but sometimes it turns the front tire in a direction your momentum doesn’t want to go. Things get messy. Instead, pop your limbs toward the inside corner. It's swoop time.
* When you're leaning in a turn, you can stick your bike to the ground with body weight for additional traction. Used correctly, your weight can drive the treads into the surface and counteract the sideways forces that want to push your bike out from under you. One method is to push down against the outside pedal. Some riders stay seated and transfer their weight straight down through the seatpost. Others move the bike underneath them until it's on the inside track and their body rests outside. Even the opposite bike outside, body inside - and be effective. What's the best method? Depends on your speed, your tires, your juju, the turn, the terrain....
* 180 around a 6-inch cone is the hardest turn in the world. Practice that and you can do anything. Put the cone down in the middle of a field, then ride toward it at 20 mph. Brake 10 feet from it and see if you make the turn. If you do, brake at 8 feet, and keep reducing the distance until you overshoot it." - John Henderson
* Because off-camber turns slope down on the outside of the curve, inertia and other things conspire to throw you off the trail and down the hill. Going slow isn't a sure cure. Your bike will still dive out and down. Try riding an inside line, and also leaning the bike out while your body stays in. Good riders can turn their front wheel 90 degrees, then hop the rear of the bike around - jumping the turn instead of steering through it.
* Switchbacks are like hairpins Trailbuilders blaze them when the slope is too steep to go straight up or down. Here are three hints to get you through the next one:
1. Steer wide, so the pitch is less severe.
2. At the apex (where the turn is most pronounced), cut inside.
3. On way-tight switchbacks, some riders counter-steer. As you approach the turn, lean and steer in the opposite direction you want to. When you enter the turn, quickly lean and steer inside. Do it right and your rear wheel will turn tighter than your front wheel.
* Round your turns in a smooth arc to maintain momentum. Don’t zigzag. Lean your body more than your bike to speed your way through abrupt changes in direction."-Juli Furtado
* In corners, pick a line that can handle your speed. If you're going fast, the outer side usually holds you better."-Toby Henderson
* If I don't come out of a turn on the very outside I didn't go through it fast enough."-Tony Henderson
* Accelerate out of corners. Jam on your pedals sometime after passing the apex but while you're still in the arc. Do it right, and you'll feel as if the turn is flinging you out onto the trail. You can learn to recognise the right moment by practising on a smooth (and preferably soft) turn. Try to begin pedaling closer and closer to the turn's midpoint. Don't feel flung? You're waiting too long. If you stick a pedal in the ground, or find speed but lose it before exiting, you're not waiting long enough.
* In banked turns, don’t hug the inside edge. It's usually off-camber. Instead, ride up on the outside edge of the trail don’t be afraid of that bank. The outside edges help you turn, so the handlebar stays straighter while you lean.
* If your turns suck, you're probably making one of these three common mistakes:
1. Too little lean or weighting to maintain traction. Trust physics and your bike. Lean and press. Lean and press.
2. Too little confidence. The bike makes adjustments on its own. To the uninitiated, these feel like wipeouts - in waiting. So they hail. Ride it out. You'll be surprised.
3. Too much speed. If you feel like you're doing everything right but you still can't stick the turns like the rest of the group, then don't. You're a novice. Enjoy it while you can. Someday you'll be expected to ice every move.
* The apex of a turn is the point where the turn is most pronounced its peak. How you ride through the apex affects the whole freaking turn. Here's a look:
1. Early-apex turns are the most popular kind. This is a mistake, but it's easy to understand why. Most riders start to turn as soon as they see the turn. This leads to "over-turning," where you've turned so much so early that you’re forced to move inside, brake, and end up slowing down too much.
2. A mid-apex turn is the fastest kind of turn-where the apex of your travel coincides with the physical apex of a turn. You ride to the widest point and change your direction of travel there. It is a kind, gentle turn that sweeps you through a curve.
3. Late-apex turns are excellent when you want to pass somebody in a corner or scare the bejesus out of one of your riding buddies. You brake late in this turn-this slows you down-but you usually come out ahead of the next guy. These turns are great on banked surfaces, which help you exit at speed.
* You may not have the skill or experience to risk putting a foot down at 45 mph, but at slower speeds an outrigged limb can help you through a sharp turn. Almost as much as the foot, it's the low and wide stance that will keep you upright and on course."-Missy Giove
* "I put the emphasis on getting my weight on the outside pedal A lot of people put their outside pedal down, but they really don't push on it. I put a lot of weight on it and carve the turn."-Jason McRoy
* The expert - or showboat - way to ride a down-hill switchback is to nose wheelie through it. Here are five steps for flashy switchbacking:
1. Enter the turn wide, on the high side of the frail. Coast at a walking pace. Test your brakes. Make sure they're working predictably before you drop into the steep part.
2. You're going to pivot on the front tire, so make room for the rear to swing around by steering into the apex of the corner. Your weight should be slightly (just slightly) rearward. Keep the inside pedal (the downhill one) bark for leverage.
3. As your front tire reaches the apex of the corner, dig the inside grip down and back and move your torso forward, Pinch the front brake lever firmly and give a little hop with your feet. At this point, your rear wheel should leave the ground (EGAD!). You'll soon know if you've hopped or squeezed too hard. If so, get up and fry again.
4. In midflip, push the inside grip ahead. This twists the rear wheel around the corner. It also tilts the bike away from the abyss, which keeps you from overbalancing and falling to the outside when you land.
5. Because of your considerable lateral momentum, you need to land the back wheel far enough around the corner that you don't get "high sided" over the edge. This is one of the trickiest parts of the turn. Once you "stick" the landing, the rest is cake. Just pedal away with a big stupid grin on your face.
* Stop pedaling as you enter a turn and keep your cranks horizontal, Unless you think you'd enjoy catching a pedal on a bank, rock or log. On smooth surfaces, however, you can keep the outside pedal down to improve traction. Brake before the turn. Locking the levers in a turn makes you more likely to skid. Even if we don't cuddle the dirt blanket, your rhythm and swoop are disrupted. It's more efficient and, for some reason, quicker to brake before entering a curve. For instance, a rider who surfs an entire turn at a smooth 15 almost always gets through quicker than one who enters at 17 and brakes. (Advanced riders brake later in turns. How the hell do they do that?)
* If possible, try to plan your path to approach wide, cut inside across the turn, and exit wide. This reduces the sharpness of the curve and minimises the amount of lean you'll need. It also lets you ride a more direct line (you go almost straight through the curve instead of turning), which helps traction on loose surfaces. Of course, you won't always have this luxury - sometimes your line is determined by the width or conditions of the trail.
* Lean into turns. Press down on the grip that's on the inside, and angle the bike over. At slow speeds, or for tighter corners, you'll need to steer slightly inward, too. Don't worry about being tentative and not getting much lean. As you gain confidence in your traction, you'll slant more. The key is to slowly build speed and lean. Too much of a jump in either, and you'll skid.
* If you're arcing wide in a turn, cut tight with elbow and knee swings. Your instinct might be to crank the handlebar inward. Sometimes this works, but sometimes it turns the front tire in a direction your momentum doesn’t want to go. Things get messy. Instead, pop your limbs toward the inside corner. It's swoop time.
* When you're leaning in a turn, you can stick your bike to the ground with body weight for additional traction. Used correctly, your weight can drive the treads into the surface and counteract the sideways forces that want to push your bike out from under you. One method is to push down against the outside pedal. Some riders stay seated and transfer their weight straight down through the seatpost. Others move the bike underneath them until it's on the inside track and their body rests outside. Even the opposite bike outside, body inside - and be effective. What's the best method? Depends on your speed, your tires, your juju, the turn, the terrain....
* 180 around a 6-inch cone is the hardest turn in the world. Practice that and you can do anything. Put the cone down in the middle of a field, then ride toward it at 20 mph. Brake 10 feet from it and see if you make the turn. If you do, brake at 8 feet, and keep reducing the distance until you overshoot it." - John Henderson
* Because off-camber turns slope down on the outside of the curve, inertia and other things conspire to throw you off the trail and down the hill. Going slow isn't a sure cure. Your bike will still dive out and down. Try riding an inside line, and also leaning the bike out while your body stays in. Good riders can turn their front wheel 90 degrees, then hop the rear of the bike around - jumping the turn instead of steering through it.
* Switchbacks are like hairpins Trailbuilders blaze them when the slope is too steep to go straight up or down. Here are three hints to get you through the next one:
1. Steer wide, so the pitch is less severe.
2. At the apex (where the turn is most pronounced), cut inside.
3. On way-tight switchbacks, some riders counter-steer. As you approach the turn, lean and steer in the opposite direction you want to. When you enter the turn, quickly lean and steer inside. Do it right and your rear wheel will turn tighter than your front wheel.
* Round your turns in a smooth arc to maintain momentum. Don’t zigzag. Lean your body more than your bike to speed your way through abrupt changes in direction."-Juli Furtado
* In corners, pick a line that can handle your speed. If you're going fast, the outer side usually holds you better."-Toby Henderson
* If I don't come out of a turn on the very outside I didn't go through it fast enough."-Tony Henderson
* Accelerate out of corners. Jam on your pedals sometime after passing the apex but while you're still in the arc. Do it right, and you'll feel as if the turn is flinging you out onto the trail. You can learn to recognise the right moment by practising on a smooth (and preferably soft) turn. Try to begin pedaling closer and closer to the turn's midpoint. Don't feel flung? You're waiting too long. If you stick a pedal in the ground, or find speed but lose it before exiting, you're not waiting long enough.
* In banked turns, don’t hug the inside edge. It's usually off-camber. Instead, ride up on the outside edge of the trail don’t be afraid of that bank. The outside edges help you turn, so the handlebar stays straighter while you lean.
* If your turns suck, you're probably making one of these three common mistakes:
1. Too little lean or weighting to maintain traction. Trust physics and your bike. Lean and press. Lean and press.
2. Too little confidence. The bike makes adjustments on its own. To the uninitiated, these feel like wipeouts - in waiting. So they hail. Ride it out. You'll be surprised.
3. Too much speed. If you feel like you're doing everything right but you still can't stick the turns like the rest of the group, then don't. You're a novice. Enjoy it while you can. Someday you'll be expected to ice every move.
* The apex of a turn is the point where the turn is most pronounced its peak. How you ride through the apex affects the whole freaking turn. Here's a look:
1. Early-apex turns are the most popular kind. This is a mistake, but it's easy to understand why. Most riders start to turn as soon as they see the turn. This leads to "over-turning," where you've turned so much so early that you’re forced to move inside, brake, and end up slowing down too much.
2. A mid-apex turn is the fastest kind of turn-where the apex of your travel coincides with the physical apex of a turn. You ride to the widest point and change your direction of travel there. It is a kind, gentle turn that sweeps you through a curve.
3. Late-apex turns are excellent when you want to pass somebody in a corner or scare the bejesus out of one of your riding buddies. You brake late in this turn-this slows you down-but you usually come out ahead of the next guy. These turns are great on banked surfaces, which help you exit at speed.
Labels: cornering, mountain bike, tips
posted by Norm at 9:31 AM
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