| Beginner Mountain Bike Skills | | | | |
| | | | Dropping down a curb |
| Mountain biking is an exciting sport that can | | | | |
| beenjoyed by anyone who knows how to ride a | | | | Try finding a curb where you can easily get |
| bike. | | | | to theupper portion of it. Practice at a |
| | | | moderate speed,standing and coasting right |
| Compared to the average bike ride, it does | | | | off the curb from theupper level to the lower |
| presentsome danger. Therefore, you should | | | | level. Try this atdifferent speeds until it |
| master thesebasic skills before you hit the | | | | becomes second nature. |
| trails or thedirt. | | | | |
| | | | Once you practice these techniques and get |
| You can practice these beginning skills at a | | | | thehang of them, you'll be able to hit the |
| localpark, school, bike path, or simply | | | | trails feelingcomfortable on your mountain |
| around yourhouse. If you can, try to find a | | | | bike. Even though itmay take some getting |
| location witha steep hill. | | | | used to, it'll become secondnature before you |
| | | | know it. |
| Get a feel for your pedals | | | | |
| | | | Cross Country Mountain Biking |
| Practice moving your foot away from the | | | | |
| pedal,first while sitting on your bike with | | | | Cross country mountain biking is cross |
| one foot onthe ground. Next, move on to | | | | country atits finest. Where free riders and |
| releasing andreplacing your foot while | | | | downhill bikersuse four wheel bikes and ski |
| pedaling around for abit. Those with toe | | | | lifts to get them totheir destination, cross |
| clip and clipless type footpedals will want | | | | country bikers get tothe top of the mountain |
| to spend a bit more timepracticing. | | | | by the ride. Though freeriding is very |
| | | | popular, the life vein of the sporthas always |
| Sit and spin for position | | | | been cross country biking. |
| | | | |
| Simply sit on your bike and pedal around. | | | | Just as cross country riders are a different |
| Youshould keep your arms slightly bent. You | | | | breed,the bikes they ride are as well. The |
| shouldalso adjust your seat height so your | | | | cross countrybike is completely different in |
| leg is 70 to | | | | many ways from othertypes of mountain riding |
| | | | bikes. The premise forcross country riders |
| 90 percent extended at the bottom of every | | | | is speed. Everything abouttheir bikes |
| strokeon the pedal. Keep your body relaxed, | | | | revolve with the idea of making thebikes |
| as therewill never be a position where you | | | | faster and faster. |
| should haveeither your knees or your elbows | | | | |
| locked. | | | | Bikes used in cross country mountain biking |
| | | | canbe fully rigid frame, hardtails, or even |
| Shifting gears | | | | fullsuspension frames. Through the years, |
| | | | the crossover to full suspension has become |
| Get a feel for shifting gears with your bike. | | | | very popular. |
| Thehigher gears are harder to pedal and will | | | | |
| gofaster while the lower gears are easier to | | | | The weight difference between free ride bikes |
| pedaland will help you ascend hills. As you | | | | andcross country bikes are considerable. |
| get tosteeper hills, its best to shift before | | | | You'll beextremely hard pressed to find a |
| you getto the hill rather than while your on | | | | bike that weighsmore than 24 pounds, and even |
| it. | | | | that weight can beheavy. Free ride bkes |
| | | | weigh close to 40 pounds,which makes the |
| Coasting | | | | difference in weight pretty close. |
| | | | |
| You should spend a bit of time coasting | | | | If you've never tried cross country mountain |
| whilestanding on your pedals, without | | | | biking,you'll probably find it to be a break |
| actually sittingon the seat. Keep your arms | | | | from theordinary. Even though this type of |
| bent but don't lockyour knees. Now, try | | | | biking involvestrails, it's normally the type |
| experimenting with shiftingyour body towards | | | | of terrain thatbeginners wouldn't want to |
| the rear end of the bike. | | | | ride. Involving hillsand rough terrain, |
| | | | cross country biking offersquite the rush. |
| Pedal while standing | | | | |
| | | | For mountain bikers everywhere, cross country |
| You should get as comfortable as you can | | | | isthe way to go. It offers you a new |
| withpedaling while standing on your bike. | | | | assortment ofbikes, new areas to bike, and a |
| Try liftingyourself off the seat while | | | | new twist tomountain biking as you know it. |
| standing on the pedals,then crank them | | | | If you've beenlooking for a mountain biking |
| around. You should try this inhigher gears | | | | rush, cross countrymountain biking is what |
| on flat ground then again in lowergears while | | | | you need to be experiencing. |
| on a hill. | | | | |