M AY 2 019 mbr 89
THERE’S AN
APP FOR THAT!
Dirt School’s coaching
app lets you see
the right and wrong
techniques in slo-mo.
H
ow do confi dent riders
make technical sections
look so easy? How do they
carry speed without looking
like they are trying? And
how does a regular mountain biker
ride with more confi dence? The
answer to each of these questions
may turn out to be more obvious
than you realise.In this issue we’re going to show
Laura how increasing the time you have
to react can be the secret to unlocking
control than you’ve ever dreamed
of. We’ll look at options around line
choice and why you might want to use
more of the trail. And we’ll talk you
through specifi c drills and techniques
that will give you the control you need
to ride with much more confi dence.THE COACH
ANDY BARLOW
Before joining Dirt School
Andy liked to win things — races
like the Scottish XC Champs and
the Scottish Downhill Champs.
Since 2009, though, he’s coached
some of the world’s best riders
with Dirt School and helped
bring on the BASE MTB course at
Borders Colleg
the Tweed Val
But what Andy
really likes to d
communicate t
pro techniques
everyday riderTHE PUPIL
LAURA BAILEY
Having started out cycling
behind drop bars, Laura found
her true calling when she
swapped tarmac for trails. Now
completely hooked on mountain
bikingshe’shoping to graduate
a couple of
ine riding
idays to one
he toughest
uro races
e calendar:
tler’s Crankworx
ro. Gulp.SET YOUR
BIKE UP
While suspension set-up, tyre pressure
and saddle height all have a big impact
on how your bike will handle on a
trail, something as simple as how you
position your controls can sometimes
be overlooked. The general rule of
thumb here is that you want all of your
controls at your fi ngertips. Having your
brake levers mounted too close to your
grips will mean that you’re crowding
your hands on the bars and will, in turn,
force you to put your fi ngers closer to
the pivot, meaning that you have poor
leverage. Moving the clamp in towards
the middle of the bars by 10 or 15mm
will mean that you can pull the brakes
with one fi nger, and that fi nger will
be right on the hook at the end of the
lever. You’ll be able to use less force
to achieve the same power because
you are maximising leverage. Most
brake levers will also have some kind of
adjustment that allows you to move the
blade so that it sits perfectly in the fi nal
knuckle of your fi nger. With this set-up,
you have more control with less eff ort
and a more secure grip on the bars.Laura: I’m OK on the fl owy stuff but
I always feel like I’m stalling on the
technical stuff.
Andy: How often do you session the
things that you struggle with?
Laura: Never. We just keep on riding.STOP AND SESSION
This is so common. When most of us are out on a continuous loop we usually
have no intentions of riding any features more than once. If we come across
diffi cult or challenging sections of trail we’ll muddle through and just keep
going. One of the best things that we can do to progress is to stop and session.
If you had to put your foot down, or you stalled on a particularly tight turn, get
off your bike and go back up for another go. The aim here is to approach it with
a specifi c goal in mind. This might be to come in slower, use more of the trail, or
to be conscious of your body position. Either way, study it closely, work out the
best approach and then ride it more than once. If you can get through it clean
on your fi fth and sixth attempt, then when you encounter the same feature on
your next ride you’ll be far more likely to ride it clean. Sessioning diffi cult trails is
the best way of learning how to improve.Laura: What sort of stuff should I look for to practise then?
Getting off your bike
and having another look
at something is the best
way of making progress.Fingers on levers. When
you rest your hands on
the grips, the brake lever
should fall right into
your index fi nger.