Tag: <span>unweighting</span>

I’m thinking my next Thick Skull Mountain Bike Skills instructional series should be about unweighting/unloading, paying most attention to rear wheel unweighting and rear wheel lifts.

Many intermediate/advanced riders I see rely only on their suspension for small-to-medium obstacles and don’t seem to realize the problems that this causes, eg, loss of traction, fatigue, etc. And then they also miss out on some of the fun that a gnarly section of trail or a technical obstacle can provide.

Here’s a 15-second video clip from last October when I was experimenting with some parking lot drills on my hardtail, first showing rear wheel unweighting over some small firewood and then a rear wheel lift up a curb (no front wheel braking):

Learning to ride

Learning to ride

rock ledge at Leb's Tedman's Curve rock ledge at Leb's Tedman's Curve rock ledge at Leb's Tedman's Curve

I first tried this rock ledge in the XX section called Tedman’s Curve at Lebanon Hills MTB Park about a year ago.  It seemed impossible so I’ve stuck with riding between the rock and the tree when I’ve felt like a challenge beyond the typical ride-through.

But two weeks ago, I decided to try the ledge again and video my attempts. I made it on my second try. When I got home and looked at the video, I saw how it clearly showed what the difference was between my failed attempt and my successful clean.

So I made a 4-minute video that explains it, hoping that A) the learning burns itself into my brain and muscle memory, and B) others might be able to benefit from it.

Warning: For those of you who can bunny hop over ledges like this with your hands tied behind your back, this video isn’t going to do you any good. Move along, nothing to see here.

httpv://vimeo.com/75139794

Learning to ride Video