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Off road riding, especially the fun stuff,
invariably involves navigating over tricky obstacles. If you bash into
a log or rock, it will halt your
progress as the front wheel compresses into the object (and attempts
to catapult you off your bike or throw you sideways). Being able to unweight
your front wheel is an essential skill for a good time in the hills.
You'll be able to travel faster, and avoid nasties like snake bites (compression
punctures) and buckled wheels.
There are two skills to learn:
1. The "Clean and Jerk"
Imagine yourself leaping into the air Michael Jordan style. You bend
your legs then straighten them - exploding skywards. The same principle
applies here only using your arms.
i) As you approach the obstacle, lift your
butt off the seat and move your upper body forward and down over the
handle bars. This compresses
your body like a loaded spring, plus compresses the front tyre and
your shocks.
ii) Quickly push away and back from the handle bars.
iii) When you run
out of travel in your arms, bend them again to pull the bike towards
your chest, lifting the front wheel off the ground.
When linked together
in a continuous fluid motion you can snap the wheel in the air at a
moments notice. Just the ticket for high speeds
and unexpected water bars (gutters).
2. The Wheelie
Before getting excited about this one, best you re-visit Lesson One
about braking. You need to keep a finger on the rear brake - because
when you get this manoeuvre really dialled the only way you can avoid
flipping right over backwards is by touching the rear brake. It's
also advisable to practice without your clip-less pedals - allowing
you to abandon ship in a hurry.
The idea is to get the bike to accelerate quickly
underneath you - causing the front wheel to lift into the air.
i) Select a gear that will
enable you to strongly accelerate the bike from a slow speed. This
all will happen with a single power stroke,
ie. the pedal moving between the 1 and 6 o'clock positions (see hill
climbing). Too high a gear will result in too little acceleration and
no wheel lift;
too
low a gear and the power stroke is all over in a jiffy causing only
minimal lift.
ii) Once you've figured out which gear is right
for you, practice applying a single explosive power stroke while cruising
along the flat. Pulling
against the handle bars will help apply more grunt to the pedals. If
you can keep your arms straight then your weight will be more towards
the rear of the bike which will help the lifting effect.
Timing is everything. You need to anticipate the obstacle - so start
the move with your pedal in the 11 o'clock position. By the time your
brain sends the action message to your leg the pedal will be ready
for the power stroke at the 1 o'clock position.
This is best executed at slower speeds
and is especially suited to gnarly hill climbs. Obviously the bigger
the object, the more grunt
you'll have to invest in the manoeuvre but in general it requires only
minimal energy. And it sets you up nicely for unweighting the back
wheel.
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