Reddit mentions of Mastering Mountain Bike Skills

I submit Mastering Mountain Bike Skills as a complimentary book.

One book to keep your bike in shape and another to help you get the most out of it.

I highly recommend getting Mastering Mountain Bike Skills.

get this book for everything you could ever want to know about bike control

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Mountain-Skills-Brian-Lopes/dp/0736056246

i wish i had started learning how to wheelie, manual, bunny hop and jump earlier (I still am learning to manual and bunny hop). sounds scary, but i'm talking, like, 1 inch off the ground jumps is all you need to learn in the beginning to really learn better control over your bike, which translates to better control at other points on a trail and being more comfortable moving around in the cockpit. it's by no means the only factor in bike control, but it helps a lot

i've been riding for a little over a year, and i just wanted to hit the singletrack as often as I could, so i skipped spending time learning those things early on- i just sat in my saddle on the ride up and then got out of it on the way down, but it took me a long time to get used to moving around and feeling comfortable in the cockpit, which i would have learned earlier if i had started learning the stuff i mentioned earlier on. the more comfortable you are moving around on your bike, the more comfortable you will be pushing your bike's limits as you progress

Read this book. It's over there on the sidebar even. There's good stuff in there. Don't target fixate - trees are not magnetic, you should not run into them. Have fun! Oh, and don't wear spandex.

An entry level hard-tail runs around $400-$600. If you don't know anything about bikes buying used can be a risky way to handle it, check out a real bike store and not Walmart

This book is a great starting point

Its not too dense and goes over a lot of bike differences in detail.

You're using your muscles differently that you are use to as well. Your road riding style is constant effort for long distances, where mountain biking is a lot of peak effort for short distances alternating with constant effort on the flats and lower pedaling effort on the downs.

You probably do some of the same things climbing and descending on the road, just not as pronounced as leaning forward on climbs and back on descents. Then there is turning which involves a lot of body movement on the MTB.

Generally I sit on extended climbs, but stand on short steep climbs since they usually follow a fast, short down and I'm already in the "attack" position.

If you haven't already, check out the book by Lee McCormick and Brian Lopes, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills. It's a pretty good read and helped me improve my mountain biking skills.

This. Try leaning forward more to give the front tire more traction. Also, if you are on your front brake at all it will cause it to lose traction and slide. Plus, you should buy this:Mastering Mountain Bike Skills It has all the answers to your questions.

I'm can't be bothered to argue this in-depth.

Dead-lifting static weight provides an insight into what I'm saying. You crouch in order to initiate the movement, right? Well, on a bike, you need limbs/back bent or you can't ride well.

Can you imagine surfing standing bolt upright? No way, doesn't make sense. For one thing, you'd be right at the end of your range of movement, and you're be unable to adapt to sudden forces. For another thing, the taller you're standing, the "tippier" you are. You're much less stable.

Actually, we're not talking about "slouching". Look at the legs of someone on a snowboard or doing martial arts. They stand under tension.

Can you link me a photo that demonstrates the correct riding position, as you see it?

Anyhow if you're really not comprehending this basic point, I'd recommend either this book, or this other book, or this video. If I don't convince you I would urge you to see what the experts have to say on the subject. If what I have to say comes as a surprise to you, I guarantee 100% you'll up your game with any of those instructional sources.

To make things easy here it is.