Remember when you were a kid, and the world seemed all new to you?
Out of everything that your kid’s space was adorned with, indeed, your bicycle must have been the most friendly and your favorite.
And that is why it is correctly stated that a bike grows along with the kid.
Foreword
From childhood till adulthood, the craze for biking in an individual grows, and that intense passion eventually brings him to the edge of learning mountain biking.
But before you begin, it is mandatory to know, understand and practice the mountain biking tips for beginners in order to get faster, better, and perfect with the sport.
As it is stated, “Begin from the base to be at the helm”.
There is extremely everything when it comes to learning about mountain biking tips for beginners.
That importantly includes the skills to practice and the safety measures needed to be kept in mind before hitting the terrains.
The entry-level mountain bikers usually tend to make several mistakes while riding for the first time.
But with a deep understanding of all the mountain biking tips for beginners, everything would go as smooth as it is meant to be on the journey towards perfection.
Hence, this article is for all-mountain biking lovers who look forward to learning all the aspects of mountain biking and mountain bikes.
This piece of work unfolds all the best tips and tricks of mountain biking for beginners in the field.
So, give this one a good read till the very end if you really wish to learn much to pursue your passion for becoming a savvy mountain biker in no time.
What It Needs To Begin With The Journey?
A very important thing to know before you embark on the journey of mountain biking is to understand the purpose behind your will.
Mountain biking is a kind of sport that demands passion, hard work, dedication, fitness, and flexibility.
At the beginning stage, you must be well prepared for all these factors. Rest the advanced level skills would develop with time and practice.
The art of biking begins in childhood. With time an individual keeps crossing through the different stages of it.
Casual biking in the neighborhood or on the city roads is far different from what mountain biking is.
Riding over a flat and smooth surface with almost minimum obstacles seems a great activity, but gliding over the most challenging trails and terrains with maximum speed in an excellent controlled manner is not a child’s deed.
Mountain biking is all about that adrenaline rush experience.
Mountain biking is an extremely fun and adventurous sport that is equally intense and challenging.
While riding over the rough and rooty terrains full of rocks, dense grass, mud, dirt, and much more, you need to be well-trained and aware of all the measures that need to be followed to stay safe throughout the ride.
There are a number of essential mountain biking tips for beginners that are required to be understood and practiced before you embark on the journey of mountain biking.
Hence, underneath is a list of such mountain biking tips for beginners for your ease and convenience, which would help you over in the path of becoming savvy from a starter.
Mountain Biking Tips For Beginners
A list of some basic but highly important mountain biking tips for beginners is mentioned below.
These are religiously needed to be understood before going off-road mountain biking over the toughest of trails and terrains. So let’s get started.
1. Prepare Yourself First
Before initiating the journey of mountain biking, you need to achieve a decent level of fitness and fortitude.
That means that you must be initially prepared and capable enough in maintaining and controlling the speed momentum alongside keeping yourself safe from the severe falls and crashes.
This level of perfection can be simply achieved by practicing riding for a set level of time duration daily.
Also, taking a balanced and healthy diet and staying well hydrated during the practice sessions boost your internal stamina and overall physical health.
2. Invest In A Suitable Mountain Biking Clothing
Although clothing style is a basic necessity, it is very important for it to be suitable in the case of mountain biking.
For beginners, the clothing essentials must be comfortable, breathable, water, and windproof.
The fabric must be soft and durable that may face harshness and resist damage during off-road biking.
While biking initially, the clothes you wear must be of proper fit and comfort that could enhance the performance on any type of terrain.
Hence for a better biking experience, beginners are strongly advised to invest in the best quality biking clothes, accessories, and safety add-ons like helmets and kneepads.
3. Keep Your Body Position In Accordance To The Terrain
At the initial stage, the biker must practice positioning his body to get through the trails and terrains comfortably, safely, and efficiently.
Generally, while riding through the non-technical terrains, the rider must keep his body in a neutral position, which mainly includes the pedals kept level, and your body weight is evenly distributed over them.
While being in this position, the rider must keep his knees and elbows slightly bent, and the index finger should be held over the brake lever accurately.
You also need to be completely focused on the path that you look forward to following.
While riding through the non-technical sections of the terrains that are pretty intense or steep, the rider should practice the attack position.
Quite similar to the neutral position, while learning the attack position, keep the pedals leveled and keep your body weight evenly distributed. But the knees and elbows must be deeply bent.
The brakes must be gripped with the index finger, and the focus should be on the ground.
The major factor is that you must keep the hips shifted to the rear of the seat, and your back must be positioned parallel to the ground.
4. Learn To Focus Ahead Not Down The Terrain
It is an essential tip in mountain biking to look in front while riding and never downwards on the ground.
Keeping a focus ahead towards the exit will always keep the rider safe from the risk of falls during sudden turns or jumps.
That also helps in predicting or assuming the further obstacles to be encountered on the trail.
Hence, with a practice of looking further ahead in the front and not staring down the wheel or the ground, the rider may ensure a safe ride without getti8ng the speed affected.
5. Apply The Brakes Lightly And Efficiently
The major factor to know about the braking system of mountain bikes is that they are extremely powerful and efficient and hence require less power to be applied.
The mountain biking tips for beginners regarding the braking system states that the braking must be smooth and controlled.
Using the front brakes lightly with one or two fingers is enough to stop or modulate the bike’s speed while riding.
The rider must never apply sudden brakes with maximum grip, as that may result in a severe crash or skidding on the ground.
Always practice the force and grip of the fingers according to the different types of braking systems of your mountain bike.
6. Do Not Just Settle In The Saddle While Riding
Never adopt the practice of all time sitting and pedaling the mountain bike while starting to learn the basics of mountain biking.
While riding on the tricky tails, the beginners must practice standing on the pedals with slightly bent knees and elbows, along with maintaining the body weight.
That would let the bumps and thumps get absorbed efficiently, keeping the biker comfortable and prevented from the strains over his back and shoulders.
This practice would also make the biker much faster and confident as he would be able to maintain better control over the bike.
Hence, keeping the sitting time minimal during mountain biking, especially while descending, is a significant factor to be known by beginners.
7. Practice The Art Of Cornering
The entry-level mountain bikers must efficiently get skilled in the art of cornering to glide over the rough and bumpy trails and terrains with utmost safety.
That is important because the riding speed is highly affected through sharp turns.
The best way to master cornering is using less energy and maintaining the speed while turning.
Moreover, the bike must be leaned towards the ground, and your body must be positioned upwards in the opposite direction of the bike.
Keep your head straight towards the path in front. Most importantly, while cornering, always stay easy on the brakes and apply them before taking the turn to stay safe from the fall.
8. Learn To Keep Safe And Handle The Fall Attentively
While you begin with the journey of becoming an advanced-level mountain biker, there are chances you may experience several falls or crashes.
All that you need to do here is learning to minimize the damage and handle the fall attentively.
If you fall off while riding at a faster speed, try to keep your arms inside, as that would keep your wrist or collarbone safe from a severe fracture.
Moreover, learn to handle the fall gracefully. If you face any such situation, get up, dust the dirt away, check the bike’s components, especially the drivetrain, and get on the journey if all is good with you and your bike.
To better handle such situations, it is also advised to carry a necessary toolkit and a first-aid kit while biking.
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Conclusion
Before you begin with the journey of mountain biking, remember a terrain needs not to be a mountain always for learning to get over it.
That could be your neighborhood, open grounds, or even your self-created or custom-made track near the household.
Hence, all you need is sheer dedication, passion, zeal, and strong will to learn about mountain biking. Rest everything comes later.
Generally, it is a thumb rule to make yourself fit initially to be eligible for whatever you are looking forward to pursuing.
In the case of mountain biking, the riders must be well prepared physically as well as psychologically to handle the challenges and the pressure while biking at the maximum speed over the rough terrains.
If you are one passionate individual looking out for ways of achieving such and similar goals, then we are there for the rescue.
This article is created with a deep intention to help out the entry-level riders who look forward to achieving expertise in the field of mountain biking.
It includes all the basic as well as the eminent tips that are needed to be known by all the future mountain bikers.
Mountain biking is undoubtedly a perfect balance of physical and mental stability.
Similarly, this piece of work maintains the balance of few general and technical tips that ought to be known by beginners in mountain biking.
Hence, a thorough read, understanding, and practice of all these facts would help them to be savvy bikers in just no time.
You should also learn about How to be a better Mountain Biker? or Read More on this topic to be confident.