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Riding Flexed
Home » Mountain Biking » Essential Bike Riding Skills » Riding FlexedMy brother-in-law used to tell me that I needed to master how to ride my bike while applying the brakes. This may sound backwards, but I assure you it makes sense in the world of mountain biking. This essential skill will enable you to ride more technical trails and navigate tighter switchbacks than ever before.
The idea is that when you ride your bike with your brakes applied it is like you are one solid muscle. If someone were to ride slowly past a person standing up, that person standing would have no problem pushing the rider over if the rider were not applying the brakes. However, if the rider knew how to ride slowly, under control, while applying the brakes, then the person standing will have a more difficult time pushing him over. It is the same idea as someone standing before you in a ready stance and someone standing in front of you relaxed. If you caught the relaxed person off guard and gave them a push you would probably have no trouble toppling them. However, even if you caught the person in the ready stance off guard you would still have a hard time knocking them down.
Now apply these principles to riding singletrack. When you enter a section of trail that is narrow and has many close objects, such as rocks or roots, you must go slower than normal. This is the section of trail where you would need to know how to ride your bike while applying the brakes. By learning this still you’ll be able to navigate technical trails much better. It could be the difference between an exhilarating ride and a ride that has you on the ground most of the time.
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