what experienced cyclist avoid on their mountain bikes

Posted by tan xiao yan on


Even if you are brand new to mountain biking or cycling, in general, there’s no need to go out there and show yourself up as a beginner. Maybe you’ve decided your new passion is mountain biking. Maybe you’re just want to do some special riding that more interesting than road biking. Whatever your reasons, and whatever your motivations, there’s no need to embarrass yourself by doing things that more experienced riders think is daft.

But remember that, everyone has to start somewhere, and everyone at one time didn’t know how to ride a bike. Most of the advice in this article is given lightly, maybe some of these tips will help you out, and maybe some won’t. Perhaps some of this will remind you what it was like to be when you were starting out if you’re an experienced rider now. Either way, be kind to beginners. They just want to know how to ride as well as you.

You don’t use your front brakes.
But you should. It’s actually the more important of the 2 brakes you have on your bike. Now, if you full on use it at the wrong time or go full strength, you can in the wrong situation flip yourself over the handlebars. But it also helps you keep control of your bike and drastically shorten braking distance, so learn to use it before you need it. For example, did you know that your front brake accounts for up to 80% of your downhill stopping power? The trick is to put your butt to the rear of the bike when you do it.

You have completely the wrong type of bike for what you’re doing...
It happens. You want the best bike you can afford so you walk into the bike shop with a back pocket full of cash. Of course you do. We all do. But you need to buy the right bike for what it is you’re doing. Don’t buy a full suspension downhill bike unless you intend to do only Downhill Mountain biking. They’re heavy and not designed to be pedaled up hills.



If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t cover yourself like a gear junkie...
I mean, if you can, sure go get yourself some decent gear, but don’t go buying full body armor and all the jazz if you’re just starting out. Firstly there’s no point, and secondly, there’s nothing more disheartening than suddenly realizing you didn’t actually need those $200 cycling gloves...

Tension. You just look tense, and you feel tight and sore when riding.
If you find yourself suffering from stiff and neck shoulders and your hands feel sore and tight, just relax. Ease up on that old handlebar death grip you got going on there. You are holding way too much tension there. When riding for obvious reasons, holding onto your bike is important, but suffering from these complaints is a really common occurrence from both beginner and experienced riders. Stability and control of your bike should be coming from your core, while your arms, hands, neck and shoulders should all be nice and relaxed and chilling. Try it and see if it makes a difference for you. Just go ahead and ease up there.

You lie about how you broke your bike to the shop guy.
No bike is indestructible, and accidents will happen. But don’t lie about it. That’s something beginners do. Besides, experienced bike mechanics have seen it all a hundred times before in any case. Tell them the truth. If the damage you did to your bike is different from the story you just told them, your bike mechanic will know.

mountain cycling

In general, when it comes to mountain biking or cycling, you have no idea about any terminology.
When they talk about mountain biking, get to know some basics about what people talk about when they talk about mountain biking. In many ways, it’s bit like being able to talk about sports. If you can throw in a few key phrases about the off side rule, or terms like ‘offensive line backer,’ you can bluff your way through any boring sports related question. The same can be done with mountain biking. Throw round buzz words like ‘Strava,’ ‘Clipless shoes,’ ‘Gator skins,’ and ‘I actually preferred “26” but “29” isn’t so bad.’ You do this you will pass muster in most mountain bike circles. This advice stems from the fact that I firmly believe no one else really knows what they’re talking about either.

Don’t wear underwear with cycling shorts.
You might think that’s disgusting and unhygienic, but your undercarriage will thank you for this. Your boxers won’t curl up and chafe, and you feel more comfortable, and that all important panty line will be nonexistent, and you also won’t look like you’ve wrapped a towel up in your crotch area.

You wear Cotton shirts.
Cotton is great for when you are not seriously working out on a trail, but it can really hold you back when you are. Cotton clothing will leave you soaked from sweat, and you could catch a chill and cause an injury or get hypothermia if it suddenly gets cold because the sun disappeared behind a cloud. That’s why you should wear MTB appropriate clothing. Proper sports clothing will wick moisture away from your body, and you’ll also not smell so bad, and you’ll be warmer and dry off quicker as well. Some of them even come with zipped pockets.