Mountain Biking 2017!

[coskigirl]

Did they recommend riding flats? I just started mountain biking again, was having a lot of trouble today engaging one of my cleats with the pedal. Had to ride lots of loose, sandy downhills with one foot loose (not by choice). Kind of scary. Was thinking flat might be easier to deal with, but I'm also a roadie and am so used to clipless.

The debate on flats vs. clipless on mountain bikes is long standing. I too am a roadie and very used to my clipless pedals there and had clipless on my mountain bike for awhile. But, as I learn the technical skills required I found myself worrying too much about whether I was in or out of my pedal in case I needed to do a fast bail out and then if I wanted to be out I often just had my foot slide back in freaking me out even more. I really feel like I've made some significant progress since I went to flats because I can push the envelope a bit more.

 

[luliski]

The debate on flats vs. clipless on mountain bikes is long standing. I too am a roadie and very used to my clipless pedals there and had clipless on my mountain bike for awhile. But, as I learn the technical skills required I found myself worrying too much about whether I was in or out of my pedal in case I needed to do a fast bail out and then if I wanted to be out I often just had my foot slide back in freaking me out even more. I really feel like I've made some significant progress since I went to flats because I can push the envelope a bit more.

Thanks. I may try this too. Do the flats work out ok for climbing?

 

[UGASkiDawg]

Does girls mean "daughters" or "daughter(s) plus wife(wives?)"? Just curious, and curious what the ladies thought (and for the kids, their ages). Were you all in the same lesson group, or separated? Did they separate by skill level or interest at all?

And hey - what did you learn??

It was just me and the two daughters. Bekah has no interest in cycling. We did a private 2 hour beginner lesson for the girls sake at the Frisco bike park. We spent at least 20-30 minutes with the bikes up on some 2 foot ladders just talking about and practicing positions for riding effectively and for the girls checking sizing. My bike fits pretty well but I knew that already. Olivia's bike (Rocky Altitude Small) also fit her almost perfectly. Alexandra on the other hand is too small for her bike and with 29" wheels it even worse. I expected that but we talked about options for a kid whose likely to sprout up 6" or more over the next 18-24 months. There are many cheap ones and there a lots of really expensive ones. We then practiced braking and turning in the parking lot for 45 minutes. He had us driving the pedals down and getting the tire to leave skid marks on our shorts in the braking drills. This was particularly hard for Alex with no dropper post and the seat inserted as far as possible and she still can't really get behind the saddle. (In the market for a used dropper post 125 or a 100 if there is such a thing if anyone has something) We practiced turning our belly buttons toward our intended direction. We practiced keeping our heels down. We did some slalom cone drills which is where I first started feeling the bike accelerate through turns. Then we hit the pump track for 20 minutes and for the first time I was able actually feel the bike working the pump track as was Olivia and again Alex struggled. As @coskigirl knows, when Alex can't do something she starts tuning out the instructor and decides she knows better and refuses to accept that she is not doing what's asked of her. It is mostly not her fault that the bike is too big so we'll just keep working on it. She's a beast climbing but the bike is too big for her to comfortably work it from an attack position. That will change and a dropper post will help. We spent the last portion of the 2 hours making a few laps through the table top jumps and such. For the girls, there was no jumping just practicing moving their body properly on the steep ups and steep drops. For me it was a little of both practicing body position and actually jumping.

My biggest takeaway was a complete change in my riding position (much lower and more balanced) as well removing effectively all weight from my hands. I need to practice my position more.

Did they recommend riding flats? I just started mountain biking again, was having a lot of trouble today engaging one of my cleats with the pedal. Had to ride lots of loose, sandy downhills with one foot loose (not by choice). Kind of scary. Was thinking flat might be easier to deal with, but I'm also a roadie and am so used to clipless.

He didn't suggest it but I really have a hard time keeping my heels down on the pedals and like others worry about being clipped in and it gets in my head and keeps me from being effective. He was clearly a believer in the idea that clipless only adds a solid connection to the bike and that unless you are an expert rider that may cause more problems than it solves. He does not ride clipless ever even when racing DH but recognizes that many great DH's do. In my case, I agree with him that is causing more problems than it's solving and had mostly stuck with clipless because of my roadie background.

 

[luliski]

Sounds like I should take a class AND try riding flats.

 

[coskigirl]

Thanks. I may try this too. Do the flats work out ok for climbing?

Mostly, yes. I've had a couple of occasions where I lost contact with the pedal and only one of those caused a full emergency bail out but that was more because I was in a bad place otherwise. It was about 100 meters from the end of my ride and by the time I got back to my car I was lightheaded and somewhat disoriented from heat.

 

[coskigirl]

I've loved both classes I took. I did a 2 hour one and then an all day one.

 

[luliski]

Mostly, yes. I've had a couple of occasions where I lost contact with the pedal and only one of those caused a full emergency bail out but that was more because I was in a bad place otherwise. It was about 100 meters from the end of my ride and by the time I got back to my car I was lightheaded and somewhat disoriented from heat.

Be careful with the heat!
I get a little panicked climbing on my mountain bike. Tempo is much higher than on road bike, and if I am worried about clearing an obstacle and whether or not I'll release in time if I don't clear, it's a problem. Also, my bike is such a beast compared to my road bike, I have to worry about keeping the bike from rolling back and knocking me over if I dismount on a steep hill. I had a lot of practice with this yesterday; I rode with my daughter (her first time mountain biking) and my 12 year old niece. I was following them and they were dismounting often on ascents and descents, causing me to do the same. That's probably why I was having so much trouble with my pedal.

 

[scott43]

Sounds like I should take a class AND try riding flats.

It depends as well on how you're riding. For instance, sometimes people will ride 10 miles of fire road to get to a trail and the trail is somewhat technical. Maybe clipless is a better choice there. If you're doing lift-serviced downhill..maybe clipless is not the best choice, especially if you're not that confident. My MTB riding is pretty mixed..a mile or two of double-track..some serious singletrack..some tough tech stuff. I use clipless and that works for me..if something is super tough and I don't feel like working to hard, I ride around it..or walk it..no shame in that. So get what best suits 90% of your riding and go from there. And confidence is a big deal..if you're not feeling it, don't go there.

 

[Crank]

Just a reminder about being kleated in with clipless pedals. First, you can and should lube them for easy entry and exit. Second, IMO, they should be set really loose, again for easy entry and, more important - easy exit! I can twist out of mine in a nanosecond.

 

[luliski]

It depends as well on how you're riding. For instance, sometimes people will ride 10 miles of fire road to get to a trail and the trail is somewhat technical. Maybe clipless is a better choice there. If you're doing lift-serviced downhill..maybe clipless is not the best choice, especially if you're not that confident. My MTB riding is pretty mixed..a mile or two of double-track..some serious singletrack..some tough tech stuff. I use clipless and that works for me..if something is super tough and I don't feel like working to hard, I ride around it..or walk it..no shame in that. So get what best suits 90% of your riding and go from there. And confidence is a big deal..if you're not feeling it, don't go there.

I don't plan on ever doing lift-serviced downhill. Most of the riding here is a mix of fire road and single track. I'm just getting back into it, and was never an expert, so I'm not doing anything too technical. But, I am finding that the full-suspension allows me to do much more than my fully rigid mountain bike ever did . I think it's probably worth trying flats (provided it's not too expensive-I did just buy two new bikes).

 

[coskigirl]

Be careful with the heat!

This was kind of odd. It was in the low 80s and I've ridden in hotter weather but for whatever reason it took a toll on my yesterday. I was sucking down water and even took an extended break in a shady spot. I don't think it had to do with fuel as I wasn't out that long and had just had decent breakfast before I rode. I left the trailhead and went straight to a nearby Sonic for an ice cold drink and an ice cream cone.

 

[luliski]

Just a reminder about being kleated in with clipless pedals. First, you can and should lube them for easy entry and exit. Second, IMO, they should be set really loose, again for easy entry and, more important - easy exit! I can twist out of mine in a nanosecond.

Ok, I was wondering about lube, can I use the same oil I use for my chain? They originally were set really loose, I think maybe the left one got too gritty yesterday since I was stepping in and out so much.

 

[luliski]

This was kind of odd. It was in the low 80s and I've ridden in hotter weather but for whatever reason it took a toll on my yesterday. I was sucking down water and even took an extended break in a shady spot. I don't think it had to do with fuel as I wasn't out that long and had just had decent breakfast before I rode. I left the trailhead and went straight to a nearby Sonic for an ice cold drink and an ice cream cone.

Was it humid? That's what really kills me.

 

[coskigirl]

Was it humid? That's what really kills me.

Nope. We rarely get humidity around here. If it had been then I agree, it would have been the culprit. Just for whatever reason my body revolted on me yesterday.

 

[Crank]

Ok, I was wondering about lube, can I use the same oil I use for my chain? They originally were set really loose, I think maybe the left one got too gritty yesterday since I was stepping in and out so much.

Yes. I use the same dry lube that I use for chains. Only lube my pedals like once a year.

Humidity kills me as well. We rode Saturday morning and it was in the 70's but super humid and sweaty.

 

[Wilhelmson]

The Deity Compound flats are a nice pedal that won't break the bank.

Ultimate frisbee and humidity kill me.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Just a reminder about being kleated in with clipless pedals. First, you can and should lube them for easy entry and exit. Second, IMO, they should be set really loose, again for easy entry and, more important - easy exit! I can twist out of mine in a nanosecond.

QFT. When I wrecked a couple Fridays ago, I don't remember the incident due to concussion, but my bike was 10 feet from where I ended up. I expect that I (and certainly have done so consciously) released from the pedals and 'tucked and rolled' leaving my bike to its own devices. My old Shimano pedals are set on their lowest release setting and I regularly clean and lube them. Basically drive train, shocks, dropper and pedals all get washed off and lubed after every ride of significance.

Ok, I was wondering about lube, can I use the same oil I use for my chain? They originally were set really loose, I think maybe the left one got too gritty yesterday since I was stepping in and out so much.

I use a dry chain lube (Rock and Roll Gold) on the chain and Tri-Flo on everything else (derailleur, pedals, stanchions). Wipe off the excess after lubricating. The only lube that matters is in the joints/hinges/pivot points of the devices that are lubed. Anything you can touch is just going to collect dirt and foul things up.

Regarding lubing your chain. Depending on where you live wet lube and more importantly EXCESS wet lube can attract dirt and reduce the performance of your drive train. Dry lubes are popular here in the West where we have lots of dust. Lube holds dust, dust make grime on the chain and grime decreases shifting efficiency. So I hose down the chain, shake of the excess water and lube. The lube displaces the water in the chain. Then I use a rag to dry the chain. The lube stays where it is needed in the bearing portions of the chain and is removed from the flat portions of the chain where it is not useful.

 

[luliski]

Nope. We rarely get humidity around here. If it had been then I agree, it would have been the culprit. Just for whatever reason my body revolted on me yesterday.

We rarely get humidity either, that's why it kills me. Maybe you just had a low-grade viral thing going on.

 

[luliski]

Yes. I use the same dry lube that I use for chains. Only lube my pedals like once a year.

Humidity kills me as well. We rode Saturday morning and it was in the 70's but super humid and sweaty.

Thank you! Do you live on the East Coast? Whenever I visit there I'm surprised at how intolerant I am of the humidity.

 

[luliski]

QFT. When I wrecked a couple Fridays ago, I don't remember the incident due to concussion, but my bike was 10 feet from where I ended up. I expect that I (and certainly have done so consciously) released from the pedals and 'tucked and rolled' leaving my bike to its own devices. My old Shimano pedals are set on their lowest release setting and I regularly clean and lube them. Basically drive train, shocks, dropper and pedals all get washed off and lubed after every ride of significance.



I use a dry chain lube (Rock and Roll Gold) on the chain and Tri-Flo on everything else (derailleur, pedals, stanchions). Wipe off the excess after lubricating. The only lube that matters is in the joints/hinges/pivot points of the devices that are lubed. Anything you can touch is just going to collect dirt and foul things up.

Regarding lubing your chain. Depending on where you live wet lube and more importantly EXCESS wet lube can attract dirt and reduce the performance of your drive train. Dry lubes are popular here in the West where we have lots of dust. Lube holds dust, dust make grime on the chain and grime decreases shifting efficiency. So I hose down the chain, shake of the excess water and lube. The lube displaces the water in the chain. Then I use a rag to dry the chain. The lube stays where it is needed in the bearing portions of the chain and is removed from the flat portions of the chain where it is not useful.

Thanks, @Doug Briggs. I live in California, so lots of dust. I have lube that the local bike shop recommended for this area. I need to get better about keeping my bikes clean (I try, but am not as diligent as I should be), and now I have two bikes to deal with (not complaining about that, though)!