TECHNIQUE
64 mbrMARCH 2018
HOMEWORK: THE ENDO
An endo is another really good trick to have up your sleeve. Although you’ll
hardlyeveruseit,itcanbereallyhandytopivotyourbikearoundontight
switchbacks,forexample.Tobeginwith,tryjustridinginastraightlineand
firmlyapplyingmorepressuretoyourfrontbrake.You’llnoticethatyouhave
tobraceyourupperbodyquitealottoavoidgoingoverthebars.Asyoudo,
try and lean ever so slightly forwards and into it. As long as you’re slowing
down abruptly, you should notice that your back end goes light enough that
itcomesofftheground.Ifyoucangetthehangofthiswithalittlepractice,
thentryturningslightlyasyoudoit.Thiswillmeanthat,asyourbackend
comesofftheground,itwillswingonewayortheother depending on which
direction you’re turning. The rest is just practice!CORNERS
Slowin/fastout.That’sthe
golden rule. Get all your
braking done before you
tip her in. You want to be
able to gauge your traction
so that you can apply more
pressure to the trail by pushing
gradually with your legs as you
go round. Done properly this
will mean that you ‘pump’ your
wayouttheexitandpickupa
lot more speed. None of this
control is available to you if
you’re on the brakes.Skiddingroundcornerscanbea
lotoffun,butberespectfulofthe
terrainyou’reon.Youdon’twanttobe
causing unwanted erosion in places
whereit’sgoingtocausedamageor
raise tensions. Knowing how to skid
properlycanbeausefultooltogetyou
out of trouble, though. You never knowwhen you’re going to end up fish-
tailingdownascreeslope,orslipping
onsomeclay.Ifyourskiddoesstart
gettingoutofcontrolyoucanalways
release the lever and your bike should
straighten back out again.
QMATT SAID“Ithink we’ve finally
found where my real strengths lie.”SKIDS ARE FOR KIDS
WHEELIES AND
MANUALS
Inordertolearneitheroftheseyou’regoingtohavetomaster
your rear brake. If you’re not covering it you’ll run the risk of
loopingoutandlandingonyourbum.Ifyoupullitinapanic
then you’ll slam your front end back down hard and it will all
beover.Coveringtheleverwithonefingerwillallowyoumuch
morefeelandmodulation.Youalmostwanttogopastyour
balancepoint,thenusetherearbraketoloweryourfrontend
underbraking.Onceit’scomebackdownyoucanpushyour
frontendbackupagainbypedalling,ifyou’redoingawheelie, or
just pumping with your legs if you’re doing a manual.
Having done all his braking
onthewayin,Andycan
nowenjoyamuchbetter
feelingofcontrolashe
sinks into the turn.Skids are for kids.
Matt: “I rode it out.”You ’ll learn
wheelies and
manuals so
much faster if
you can trust
your rear brake.Withalittlepractice
youcanpivotround
more and more.