# Efficient ways to improve bike skills



## oldcolonial (Aug 28, 2018)

So its obvious, spend more time riding on trails and you will get better at it. Beyond time, what have others found to be helpful to building bike handling skills? 

Group rides, Mt. Bike club events, video channels as sources for on an off bike drills, paid coaching, instruction, workshops, etc. I am interested in hearing about things that have worked for other em "experienced" riders like myself.

BTW, I am also not interested in hearing, ride a SS, rigid or uni. All things I have done.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

Practice trials skills. Track stand, rolling backwards, wheelies/stoppies, bunny hops. All things you can practice on your driveway that will transfer to skills on the trail.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

what Train Wreck said

what vastly improved my skills ? city riding at night, hopping and screwing around on staircases, jumping curbs, riding the curb, riding the painted line, doing 180 degree front wheel pivots, getting up on top of, or over, jersey barriers. all that fun stuff. sneaking in a parking garage and trying to ride the spiral up ramp backward....

goofing off for a few hours a week is what you gotta do.

the next other thing I can think of is motorized dirt bike riding. you learn to blast around at speeds on a moto in the dirt, bike handling the woods becomes like slow motion. true...moto riding will totally enhance pedal bike skills, you'll dare to do more and go faster on harder looking chunk as your brain will be used to the terrain flying by from the moto riding. reflexes will be quicker, you'll size up what's coming better...etc 

you cannot really go slow on a moto, it's a disaster...but you can on a bike. a moto will learn ya quick that speed is your friend in bike control, not going slow

obviously this depends on the specific time/date/location but speed=control most times


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## Fairbanks007 (Sep 5, 2009)

Try finding someone who's a better rider than you and is willing to let you follow them at a pace that's maybe just a tiny bit out of your comfort zone. Bonus points if they're also willing to stop and session tricky sections of trail and/or obstacles with you. Post up on a social media site specific to your area what you're looking for and I'd be pretty surprised if someone doesn't step up to help you out.

Riding is experiential, you have to do it to get better at it. Reading about it, talking about it, watching videos about it can't take the place of doing it. Spending some time on a better rider's rear wheel, watching their line selection, body position, braking etc. is one of the quickest ways to improve your skills.


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## dc40 (Oct 4, 2013)

Pickup a dirt jump mtb and/or bmx 24" and start dirt jumping, skate parks, pump tracks and/or enter bmx races...


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## funkle (Sep 11, 2006)

The biggest progression in my skills came from a one on one lesson with a guy named Ian Massey (in the Bay Area). He focuses on a few core techniques that involve lateral stability and front-to-back weight transfer. He also set the bike up much differently than I was used to - very stiff - no more cadillac suspension. And he put me on platform pedals. Learning to apply those skills and get used to the new setup took several months as I had to totally change how I had been riding for the past 30 years. But it was a complete game changer. I'm floating over really techy stuff with confidence, and am a hell of a lot more crash-proof. I don't feel like I will ever endo again.

I recommend seeking Ian out if you're in the area. I could try to outline the techniques, but it is better learned with direct coaching.


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