'breakthrough' Techniques

[sammyd173]

Great stuff! At least once per event I miss a gate because I get confused. Closing your eyes and being able to complete the section mentally is a great idea.

[totty79]

I might get better results if I closed my eyes.

 

Not so much a breakthrough, but don't overlook the value of being taught a technique. Learning from videos has it's limitations, it is far easier for someone to observe and instruct you.

I made far more progress in 3 hours at Bumpy than I did in maybe 10 sessions by myself.

[jml]

I might get better results if I closed my eyes.

 

Not so much a breakthrough, but don't overlook the value of being taught a technique. Learning from videos has it's limitations, it is far easier for someone to observe and instruct you.

I made far more progress in 3 hours at Bumpy than I did in maybe 10 sessions by myself.

 

I also find that setting up the GoPro and videoing my riding has helped me understand what my riding looks like off the bike, I can slow down the footage and really break down the mechanics of the technique and where I'm going wrong. This is a great tool that you and your coach can analyse after the fact. 

Edited November 6, 2015 by jml

[sammyd173]

Floater turns. When the front wheel is up in the air, you can accelarate the rotation with a combination of pulling the bike closer to your body and the front wheel higher. Similarly you can slow down the floater by leaning back away from the bike and putting the front wheel lower. A bit like when you spun around on a tire swing as kid - lean back and legs out slows you down, etc.

[hrmad]

You've got to trust that the bike will grip, I often find myself dabbing when I don't need to because I'm nervous about going across a camber or turning down a steep slope. Speed up your frames per second in between sections by going a decent pace and it increases your reaction time in the sections, meaning you can adapt to rough terrain and make quicker direction changes. Keep the bike going, keep momentum and be determined not to put a foot down!

[trial bike]

My "breakthrough" moment was discovering how to wheelie.

I always used to try and "pull" the front up. bending my arms and in reality pulling myself towards the front, weighting it, and pushing the wheel landwards.

A tip I read or saw on line was to "push away" from the bars, thus pushing myself away from the front, unweighting it.

What a difference.

Sky high wheelies just like that.

 

Problem now is... as soon as I get it high, my natural reaction is to bend my arms and lean forward to stop myself falling off the back.

Natural self preservation.

Cannot break the habit.

Still trying though.

[iconic558]

When I do a slow full lock turn I turn my head far enough so I can see my rear fender, this brings around my shoulders and sticks my ass out the other side... the first time I did it I couldn't believe the difference it made, it was a real "aha" moment for me. It is always great when you are riding with a more advanced rider and they give you tips like that to help illustrate what you are doing wrong.

Great tip, tried it this afternoon!....along the lines 0f "look where you are going, not where you are".

[sammyd173]

Use your knees to static balance. Bending your knees and squatting lower on the bike can stop it falling over. Also moving your knees from side to side across the tank is a great way to maintain balance, rather than using bar pressure.

 

I find that going up obstacles with the knees in tight works better than flaring your legs out. You might think that having your knees pointing way out gives more stability, like a tight rope walker holding a pole, but for me the effect is the opposite. If you go up something with your knees closer together, or ride in a straight line with them in, then it's easier to flick one out for balance. If both knees are already out you've limited your correction options. Try both next time out and see what works for you!

[crashpotato]

Yes I know. Very old Topic but I thought I'd give my two cents anyway. One thing I just recently noticed was when doing very tight turns and corners. Everyone tells you to steer with your feet. And that is correct. But your upper body makes a tremendous difference too. Really focus on looking very far into the corner, really relax your upper body and move it with the bike and the handlebars. Keep the shoulders parallel to the bars and don't be afraid to lean into the corner just a little bit so you stand comfortably and relaxed mostly on the outer footpeg. That really helped me dealing with tight turns but also with the a bit faster ones on the trail! 

[v1nn1e]

Been watching Dan Thorpe's video where he demonstrates practicing full-lock turns.

I've added that to my exercises - I've found it's a good exercise for co-ordinated clutch, throttle and front brake control. It really makes you move your weight to the outside while allowing the bike to drop to the inside of the turn - great practice for keeping your balance whilst in a weird position!

[scifi]

Lost just one mark in a trial when the sandy rut that my front wheel was in did not put me at the right spot for the next rock, so had to dab to lift the front over the rock.  On the next laps the rut had worn into the correct direction.

I also find that tacking rocky stream sections quickly, reduces the desire to put your foot down.

[scifi]

Also just thought of another one...  If footing is needed, put your foot in front of the front wheel spindle, that gives more time as the bike travels forward.

 

[rr62]

7. Hydration - You should not only be drinking during a trial but you should be fully hydrated at least 12-24 hours before the event and maintain good hydration throughout the event. When consuming liquids do it slowly and let your body catch up and tell you it's had enough. If you just gulp down fluids you can start to feel a little bloated/tired/full.

Love this comment (thanks JML and not sure if any irony involved...) - most trials in England are on a Sunday morning. So always pre-match preparation on a Saturday with pre-match 'sports beers'. I'm always well hydrated at least 12-24 hours before, but may well have gulped down fluids and will definitely still feel marginally bloated/tired/full. Mind you, I've never knowingly drunk during a trial.

[bikerpet]

One that came to me after a lot of very mediocre attempts and watching lots of video is the clutch timing for Zaps.

I used to think the clutch came out as you started the "jump" movement up and forward, I never got much pop. 

It finally clicked that there are two parts to the "jump" movement - forward, then up in an L shape and that the clutch timing coincides with the up. Letting the clutch out later, as the "up" begins, made a huge difference to the lift I get.

I now think of it as a four step process:

1. pop front wheel up toward obstacle
2. compress/drop down & back, and at the same time twist the throttle. Somewhere around 2 & 3 the front wheel contacts the obstacle.
3. pull your hips/body forward to get yourself moving toward where the bike is shortly going to go. Hold the clutch in through this step.
4. start jumping up, drop the clutch and close the throttle.

I'm still working on getting myself to really extend up and let the bars come back to my hips, but I think that's the next step in the progression.

[v1nn1e]

I'm still struggling with proper double blips.

What I've found is that I can get over small/moderate obstacles without the front wheel touching down. It's the usual timing issue where I get too anxious and do the second blip too soon.

So, to try and break the whole thing down I started by putting a sequence of markers down on the ground in a flat area. I then practice coming towards them and single-blipping to get the front up, then waiting, waiting, waiting until the front touches down, hopefully on the marker, before applying a second blip.

I've now started to try adding in the suspension bounce as the front touches down, before adding in the second blip, which I've found surprisingly challenging!