I think the majority of people ride too far back. The front wheel needs much more attention (read: pressure) than we give it intuitively, especially with slack head angles and long bikes.
And then there is the point of ellbows out: It is necessary. But it is also necessary to have movement in both directions.
My way of thinking about this is: On a bike, 80% of the mass is the rider, and 80% of that is the torso and head. If this mass is stuck in any corner, it limits the amount the whole system (i.e. bike + rider) can move before it looses control - this is true in both directions. The same way that a trophy truck has 50% negative travel, the rider needs to be centered in his or her "travel" - that is arms and legs.
A dirtbike on a pump track is great training for this - you can't move swiftly ony pumptrack if you rely on suspension. Once your riding posture is where it needs to be, you have the ability to "pull the bike towards you" on the uphill part of a hump, and push yourself perpendicularilly off the inclined plane on the way down.
On a FS bike, you want to acheive the same thing - a "resonance" with the bike and terrain. Release pressure on the way up, and push on the way down. This generates the flow in your riding - you work with the suspension, not against it. And it most certainly isn't possible when you aren't centered in your "travel" - because then, you are stuck with reacting instead of acting.
May 30, 2020, 2:29 p.m. - kain0m
I think the majority of people ride too far back. The front wheel needs much more attention (read: pressure) than we give it intuitively, especially with slack head angles and long bikes. And then there is the point of ellbows out: It is necessary. But it is also necessary to have movement in both directions. My way of thinking about this is: On a bike, 80% of the mass is the rider, and 80% of that is the torso and head. If this mass is stuck in any corner, it limits the amount the whole system (i.e. bike + rider) can move before it looses control - this is true in both directions. The same way that a trophy truck has 50% negative travel, the rider needs to be centered in his or her "travel" - that is arms and legs. A dirtbike on a pump track is great training for this - you can't move swiftly ony pumptrack if you rely on suspension. Once your riding posture is where it needs to be, you have the ability to "pull the bike towards you" on the uphill part of a hump, and push yourself perpendicularilly off the inclined plane on the way down. On a FS bike, you want to acheive the same thing - a "resonance" with the bike and terrain. Release pressure on the way up, and push on the way down. This generates the flow in your riding - you work with the suspension, not against it. And it most certainly isn't possible when you aren't centered in your "travel" - because then, you are stuck with reacting instead of acting.