Beginners Mountain Biking Skills

If you can ride a bike and love adventure, you would surely enjoy the experience of mountain biking. Though it can be dangerous when compared to normal biking, you can reduce the chances of getting hurt by practicing some basic skills of mountain biking.

An ideal location to practice would be a steep hill that will help simulate the real time situation but do not lose heart if you cannot find one. You can even practice in a park, school or around your house. Wherever you may be, ensure that you get enough practice before hitting the incline. Here are some tips to help you.

It is important to get a feel of your pedals. This is critical especially if you have a bike with a toe clip. Start with sitting on your bike with one foot on the ground and practice to move your foot away from the pedal. Follow this up with practicing the same movement while riding the bike.

The next important thing to perfect is your posture while sitting on the bike. Your arms should be bent slightly and the body should be relaxed. Your leg should be extended 70 percent to 90 percent when measured at the bottom of the stroke on the pedal.

Get to know your gears better. They can make all the difference. You will find that it is harder to pedal at higher gears since they lead to higher speeds. The lower gears are easier to pedal and should be used in specific situations like climbing hills. If the hills seem to be steeper, ensure that you change the gears before actually getting there.

While you are at it, you should also practice negotiating another important move, which is dropping down a curb. Start practicing at lower speed by standing and coasting off the curb from the upper to the lower level. Once you are comfortable doing this at lower speed, increase your speed gradually and keep practicing till you are completely at ease with this maneuver.

Coasting is another important trick that needs to be mastered. You should not be sitting on your seat but actually standing on your pedals when practicing this. Your knees should not be locked and your arms should be bent. Once you get a hang of it, make this move a bit harder by shifting your body to the rear of your bike.

The last important move that needs your attention is pedaling while standing. Lift yourself from the seat while standing on the pedals and then crank them around. This should be practiced on flat ground as well as on a hill. Ensure that you practice this in a higher gear when you are on a flat ground and shift to the lower gears if you are practicing on a hill.

Though these maneuvers might sound simple, it is important that you put in enough time to practice them. It may take you some time to be comfortable with these, but rest assured it will add up to your confidence levels once you hit the dirt!

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