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Crashing On Easy Sections How Come?


hrmad
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Well, went to my fourth trial today, it's the 2nd one I've managed to complete all 4 laps. Score still probably hopelessly high, but it's all good fun. I decided to go on the middle route as it was an Easy/ dead easy trial and the bottom route wasn't enough of a challenge. I did manage to crash several times, in places no else seemed to be crashing! What gives?

But I'd rather challenge myself and get a high score rather than do something easy and clear it.

I was nervous for the first two laps, started getting angry at myself on the last two and became a bit more aggressive, which helped loads as I forgot about being afraid. I also went quicker between sections, which was really fun and helped me to get to know the bike better.

The main places I was giving away points were on tight turns and up hills. Absolutely hopeless with up hills, I never seem to get enough power on, or use too much and end up spinning. I've included some photos of my crashes, the hill doesn't look that bad and there was plenty of run up. There were ruts at the bottom of the bank which were distracting and I kept wheeling half way up all the time, so ended up paddling. I fived this section 3 times, last time made a determined effort for a three.

It's really frustrating, do you guys find that? Stuff you can breeze through or over in practice somehow become impossible in competition? Any tips for climbing hills? And another thing, I get all wobbly at the beginning of a section, is it because I'm using the handle bars to balance and not the pegs?

But it was a good day, I did clear a few sections. I had fun riding between them and the last two involved riding up a stream, which was a lot of fun, really enjoyed that :D

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Edited by hrmad
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You look good in practice at home. But what I can tell from the pics is you drop your shoulder and suck the knee in when in trouble. You have got to trust to stay firm with the proper stance. Weight back a little and drop the heels and bend the knees on climbs. I love the wheelie as you are still game!

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All I can say is Don't grip the bike to tight , keep your body and inertia going where you want it to be , the bike should follow ...

Wish I was there , looks like some fun .

Glenn

Thanks Glenn, yeah it turned out to be pretty good fun by the end of the day :)

You look good in practice at home. But what I can tell from the pics is you drop your shoulder and suck the knee in when in trouble. You have got to trust to stay firm with the proper stance. Weight back a little and drop the heels and bend the knees on climbs. I love the wheelie as you are still game!

Thanks lineaway. I see what you mean about the body positioning, it all seems to go to pot in a section though! More practice and some ryan young vids might cure it, ta for the advice

Looks like a good day

Yeah, once I got my confidence up it was great fun. Seeing some familiar faces and having a chat with the guys in ques was nice too.

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The smile is priceless!

The most common problem I find with new riders on an uphill is leaning too far forward. This is a case where centering front to back is not always what it seams. What a beginner will usually do is big blast of throttle and weight over the bars to keep the front end down. Bad idea. Weight too far forward unweights the rear wheel when it needs it most. Go out on a non-slippery day and try two modifications to your technique.

1. Squat down on the bike. Stay low to lower the center of gravity. The reason a bike will lift up the front end on a hill is the center of gravity is moved back closer to the rear wheel contact patch and moved up relative to the rear wheel contact patch thus acting as a lever. Just like a wheelie on flat ground, it's hard to get the wheel off the ground but as it comes up it requires less acceleration until you hit the balance point where no acceleration is needed. By squatting down on the bike you are keeping the additional mass of your body lower in front of the rear wheel reducing the pivot effect of acceleration. It takes some practice but you will get it quickly enough.

2. Try to keep your rear over the back wheel. Yeah it sounds counter to point 1. They actually work together as the rear wheel needs weight to spread the contact patch to increase traction. Watch the riders who just crawl up the hill you have trouble with. They will use a lot less throttle and their butts will be on the rear fender. Think pressure. When you get to a slippery hill to practice get the feel of weighting and unweighting the rear wheel. Do this by pulling up on the bars. Yeah I know it sounds stupid but it works. When you are pulling up on the bars you unconsciously lean back into the proper position to weight the back wheel. Try it a few times and you will get the feel of making and breaking traction with the rear wheel. Once you have that control you can choose where to accelerate and where to coast. Again watch some videos of the top guys and watch them work body position on a climb and listen to where they apply throttle.

Also watch your tire pressure. In sloppy conditions 2.5 PSI is perfectly acceptable with a tubeless. Remember when you are fighting for traction a larger contact patch is your best friend and the contact patch at 2.5 PSI is going to be twice what it is at 5 PSI and I'm pretty sure that if my 220lbs doesn't cause a lot of flats at 2.5 PSI you aren't going to have a problem.

The only other thing I can add is transition smoothly. A quick weight transfer on an incline had better be planned for an obstacle because any energy put into the suspension will affect traction to a much greater extent on an incline.

EDIT to add, One other critical bit for a beginner. Don't dab with your weight. I see the one picture where you are too far forward but you are also dabbing with your entire weight on the leg. Result will be instant spin out of the back wheel. When you are on the hill practicing weighting the back wheel try intentionally dabbing but keep it light. When you dab on a hill you MUST keep weight on the back wheel or you lose all momentum. Practice dab as a balance correction not a side stand. Only as much of a touch as you need to get back on line and then back on the peg where that weight does the most good.

Edited by dan williams
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Your stance and body positioning look about right.

Perhaps experiment with the handlebars back a shade, not much say 15 to 25mm at the grips.

Tyre pressures maybe a shade too high / hard. What pressures are you using?

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OK one more analysis bit. The two shots where you're entering and in the streambed, note how you're steering by dropping your shoulder. You can see your center of gravity is inside the contact patch of both wheels so if you lose momentum instant dab to the inside. Remember steer with pressure on the bars and pegs and try to stay centered. Bend that outside knee and elbow while straightening the inside knee and elbow..

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The smile says it all.....it`ll get better only 4 trials it`s not easy but take your time your obviously determined and not a quitter good luck.......

Thanks :) I think I must be some kind of masochist, haha

The smile is priceless!

The most common problem I find with new riders on an uphill is leaning too far forward. This is a case where centering front to back is not always what it seams. What a beginner will usually do is big blast of throttle and weight over the bars to keep the front end down. Bad idea. Weight too far forward unweights the rear wheel when it needs it most. Go out on a non-slippery day and try two modifications to your technique.

Hi Dan, thanks for your advice, your posts on centering have been really helpful too on other threads. Unfortunately everything is slippery at the moment, but getting used to the bike sliding around isn't a bad thing. Points 1 and 2 I'll keep in mind and experiment next time out practising. I could balance the front wheel on a step at home to practice the body positioning in the mean time. In answer to you and dadof2 about 3.5 in the rear tyre. And thanks for the advice about dabbing, another thing to experiment with. And you're right about the turning, pictures are great at capturing faults. So I've put my weight to the inside of the turn? By bending my outside knee and arm it will change where the weight is? Thanks

Thanks dadof2 I'll try bringing the handlebars back as suggested to see if it makes a difference

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Uh balancing the front on something will help you get the feel but you really have to try it on a hill. Slippery is the best centering practice. Riding on a sheet of ice really lets you know when you're not spot on.

Will do probably mid week, I'm lucky that a farmer will let me use his land. A couple of acres worth of grassy and woodland hill climbs and descents. Riding the bike it feels like the more you relax and try to balance the way you would walking or standing the better it feels, if that makes sense.

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HRMAD as a beginner I shouldn't be doling advice but I can pass on something that's helped me.

Before entering section- 3 deep breaths

Remember this acronym "S.K.U.L.L."

S- Squat down

K- Knees bent and out

U- Use all the real estate in a turn

L- Looking ahead and through obstacles (not at the front tire!)

L- Loose throughout, don't tighten up!

I try to run through this checklist before every run. It has helped this beginner a bit, let me know if it helps.

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