Endless Biking
and nsmb.com have recently partnered to bring you riding insight and perspective
to help you improve your skills. EB will be answering question all year
long in the Inside line and once a month, we'll be posting a featured riding
tip on the home page. Topics will generate from the demands and question
received through The Inside Line and other hot topics.
Endless Biking is a North Shore based company focused on community and skill development in mountain biking for all ages and abilities. EB is owned and operated by pro mountain bikers Darren Butler and Kelli Sherbinin.
This month, we're going to kick it off with cornering,
one of our favorite topics of conversation and study. We've made it our
personal quest to understand the art and science of the corner and we are
going to share our findings with you. Hopefully you can use this to help
you ride more confidently at any level.
There are various corning styles and tactics and no two corners are the
same. You may be pedaling up an xc climb, railing a berm in the bike park
or trying to link a section of loamy goodness together and you'd approach
all of the corners a little differently. For the sake of keeping readers
on the same page, we're going to sample a moderate to high speed corner
which will require some leaning of the bike. Any other questions can be
handled in our new forum contribution in the Inside Line - where you'll
have EB advice and perspective on riding at your convenience, 365 days of
the year. *Remember; no two corners are alike and there are exceptions to
almost every rule.
You'll hear us bring this up over and over; riding is all about body position.
It's the same as skiing, hockey, soccer, surfing etc - you have to be in
good position to be successful. We'll break each skill down into components
and refer to neutral or ready state, which we covered in an archived EB
article.
Things to consider on approach
When approaching a corner you'll need to consider the entrance. What are
the hazards? Are you going too fast? Is there a berm, no berm or is it loose
or hard-pack? In almost every case you'll want to start your corners on
the outside of the trail, giving you the most room to work with (if turn
goes to the left you'll want to start on the right hand side of the corner...).
Identify the corner...
Once you've got your general line picked through the corner, considerations
of speed will come next. To get your speed in check, you may need
to tap your brake or even grab a full pull. You'll want to brake before
rather than during the corner. But keep your wheels rolling throughout
the corner for the best traction and suspension performance.
Body position is key. Equally weight both tires by staying centered
on the bike. Make sure you are looking where you want to go with your
torso/belly button (aka: 3rd eye!) for success in
corners. Crank those hips around to really look ahead to where you
want to go.
As you go through the corner you'll have to choose your exit. Look
for your line. Does the trail open up and get faster or does
it have more turns? Does this corner lead to more turns or does the
trail straighten out? You've maximized your space in the corner by
starting from the outside so you should have some room to work with
if you need it.
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Now comes the fun part. Lean your bike.
At low speeds you can steer the bike by turning the handlebars. At high
speed you will need to lean the bike to steer it. You can start to lean
your bike by gently pushing down on your handle bar with one hand. For example,
if your going to the left, push down on your left hand grip on your handlebar
and your bike will be begin to lean to the left. Bent arms and legs not
only help you absorb and stay low, they also give you more room to push
on your bar and lean your bike down and underneath you.
Now what about body position? What about foot position, isn't that important? It sure is. We'll answer one for you now and we'll leave one for the next chapter. Cornering can get quite complex as you can see, so we'll try to keep as simple as we can in each issue.
Body position, as mentioned earlier, is a critical factor in cornering
success. Notice how Kelli is leaning the bike slightly in the image above
but that her upper body is more upright? Kelli is maintaining a neutral/ready
position throughout the corner by using bike/body separation. Basically
you want to move your bike around, rather than your body. Notice how Kelli's
centre of gravity is directly above the tire contact point. Check out her
hips and eyes and notice they are looking ahead. This gives her maximum
traction while being in the best position for success. Use those hips!
Now we've come to the moment of truth - where we've put all of these pieces
together correctly and are enjoying the success of a confident corner....
Hold your position, ride it out, return to neutral. You'll
be still gently pushing down on the bar to lean the bike, feel your positive
traction in your tires, looking ahead with your head and torso to the line
you've picked. You can give the bike a quick tug on the bars to get it upright
in a hurry and if you add some pedal strokes as you exit you'll be roosting
to the next section of trail.
Any questions can be directed to info@endlessbiking.com
or you can ask them online under Endless Biking's Inside Line
Thread.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Kelli is riding a Scott Ransom 30 (available at Obsession: Bikes), with a full Saint groupo, Fox 36 fork and Kenda Nevegal Tires. Dakine jersey, pack and gloves and Kelli is sporting Ryders Eyewear and Shimano DX pedals and shoes.
You can visit Endless Biking at The Vancouver Outdoor Show on Feb 17, 18 in Booth 351. We will be unveiling our new logomark, daily prizes from our sponsors, as well as Spring specials. We'll be right across the aisle from nsmb.com. Click here to download EB's 2 for 1 coupon.
For contact information, visit endlessbiking.com or call: 604.836.2517.
