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Dirt Bike riding tips & tricks

Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
jeeper said:
In my half delusional and incoherent state at about 3:00am this morning I wanted to wrap my legs around my pillow, so I pre-loaded my knees for the best results... Then I was proud of myself because I knew no one else would be able to pre-load their knees as well as I did!
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Ha ha that's funny! I wish I were as cool as you
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Best Wheelie 'training' instructional video I've seen... focuses on the beginning steps and builds up from there. Good stuff! I want to go practice right now... wish it weren't raining.

[video=youtube;wEC8dw06WuY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEC8dw06WuY[/video]
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
I have tried looking for videos that explain the importance of standing up while riding, but haven't found any! This is pretty basic information, but IMO something that gets missed sometimes. I've gotten better, but now & again I find myself sitting mostly due to tired legs.

Basically, whether you're riding in deep, sandy whoops or over rocky, loose singletrack it's always a good idea to be standing on the pegs. This way the bike can move underneath you and you have control of the bike by moving your body side to side or back and forth as needed. Your legs become a part of the suspension and by standing, the bike works with you. If you try riding difficult terrain while sitting down, the bike is going to buck you all over, it will wear you out quickly and there's a chance you'll pile it up after getting bucked off the seat! Siting down makes the bike work against you and will wear you out faster!

Another thing that relates is foot position on the pegs... you're best off riding with the balls of your feet directly on the pegs. This lets your ankles act as your body's suspension in addition to the rest of your legs and keeps your toes out of harms way. When you need to shift and brake, move your foot forward.

One last thing while I'm thinking about it... something I picked up from our recent Moab ride. Climbing BIG ledges.. sometimes you can't loft the front wheel before a big ledge. One thing I picked up was leaning back as far as I could, stretching my arms out and stay on the throttle, taking weight off the front end. The front end won't deflect as much and if you keep your momentum and line, you'll go right up!
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Greg said:
I have tried looking for videos that explain the importance of standing up while riding, but haven't found any! This is pretty basic information, but IMO something that gets missed sometimes. I've gotten better, but now & again I find myself sitting mostly due to tired legs.

Basically, whether you're riding in deep, sandy whoops or over rocky, loose singletrack it's always a good idea to be standing on the pegs. This way the bike can move underneath you and you have control of the bike by moving your body side to side or back and forth as needed. Your legs become a part of the suspension and by standing, the bike works with you. If you try riding difficult terrain while sitting down, the bike is going to buck you all over, it will wear you out quickly and there's a chance you'll pile it up after getting bucked off the seat! Siting down makes the bike work against you and will wear you out faster!

Another thing that relates is foot position on the pegs... you're best off riding with the balls of your feet directly on the pegs. This lets your ankles act as your body's suspension in addition to the rest of your legs and keeps your toes out of harms way. When you need to shift and brake, move your foot forward.

One last thing while I'm thinking about it... something I picked up from our recent Moab ride. Climbing BIG ledges.. sometimes you can't loft the front wheel before a big ledge. One thing I picked up was leaning back as far as I could, stretching my arms out and stay on the throttle, taking weight off the front end. The front end won't deflect as much and if you keep your momentum and line, you'll go right up!
Click to expand...

All great advice and all things I continually find myself needing to work on. I've really found what you said about ledges to be especially true and helpful. I've found that if I'm not in a position to actually loft the front wheel, to atleast shift my weight back, get on the throttle and don't chicken out (i.e. see it through). So many times I see guys hit a good ledge, the front pops up a little and they grab the clutch, brake and take a foot off. Where if they had just stuck with it, almost every time they would have made it just fine.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I'd love it if someone could find a video like that. Standing up is my number one skill that needs improvement.
After the Moab ride I decidedly need to play with my suspension more and set it up for enduro riding
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
One major contributor to my poor riding technique is the bike setup. Being 5'9" with a 28" inseam makes me all torso. Combine that with a short reach and I look plain goofy. Currently I'm riding on freestyle bend bars for as much height as possible, but it still doesn't feel right. I know for the right price race companies will set up bars, pegs, etc. At this point I'm tempted to consult the pros. Does anyone have good input for setting up a new bike?
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Tonkaman said:
One major contributor to my poor riding technique is the bike setup. Being 5'9" with a 28" inseam makes me all torso. Combine that with a short reach and I look plain goofy. Currently I'm riding on freestyle bend bars for as much height as possible, but it still doesn't feel right. I know for the right price race companies will set up bars, pegs, etc. At this point I'm tempted to consult the pros. Does anyone have good input for setting up a new bike?
Click to expand...

You have to do what feels right to you. I don't think you can pay someone and tell them, "set it up" and come back to a bike that feels right for you. If you feel like you're hunched either sitting or standing, get some bar risers. A set of Tusk ones are less than $30. I like my bars pretty high. I get the KX High Bend and on my last bike I had custom lower clamps made to raise it another 2" or so. It felt fantastic while riding. My current bike feels similar to my last one but I don't have the custom lower clamps. Another thing that may or may not help you is shaving your seat. It sounds like you have pretty short legs, I think that would help. Another thing you can do is get adjustable foot pegs. I think it's Fastway that has pegs that you can adjust in one of three positions, low, neutral, or tall so you can setup your "cockpit" to your liking. It can take a while to figure out what you like, but only you can figure that out. Next time you're out, really think about what would help you feel more comfortable/confident.
 
SpeedyVic

SpeedyVic

Registered User
Location
Logan, Ut
Tonkaman said:
One major contributor to my poor riding technique is the bike setup. Being 5'9" with a 28" inseam makes me all torso. Combine that with a short reach and I look plain goofy. Currently I'm riding on freestyle bend bars for as much height as possible, but it still doesn't feel right. I know for the right price race companies will set up bars, pegs, etc. At this point I'm tempted to consult the pros. Does anyone have good input for setting up a new bike?
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Have you considered getting some pull-back risers such as these:

rox_10_2in_han_ris_oem_bar_mou_slv.jpg
rox_10_pro_off_set_eli_blo_ris_slv.jpg


I don't like the design of the ones on the right cause I can see them slipping every time there is a crash. Either of these would get the bars up and back closer to you. I don't know what you could do about the pegs.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Good advise guys thanks. I have considered doing a larger bar riser but wasn't sure if it was the right way.
Dwight rudder recommends removing the bars from the bike, and stand on the pegs in the 'attack' stance with your eyes closed. At the same time your buddy stabilizes the bike and measures center of clamps to center of your hands. I've done this before but it was before I knew about large bar risers, ill have to try again.
Has anyone on here lowered their pegs? Have you had any issues with low clearance?
 
V

Vonski

nothing to see here...
Location
Payson, Utah
Tonkaman said:
Has anyone on here lowered their pegs? Have you had any issues with low clearance?
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Sorry for the late reply, I just barely saw this... FWIW, I have adjustable pegs that I've set at the lowest point (approx. 1/2" down). I'm 6' tall and most of my height is in the legs, not torso, so the lower pegs have been a good thing for me. To answer your question, i haven't noticed an increase in hitting my pegs, but theoretically i "should" to some degree.
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
Thanks for the replies guys I have been considering playing with the pegs to counter all the bar height I want. Looks like a good idea
 
Tonkaman

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I'm just trying to find a more comfortable standing position. My thoughts are to drop the pegs 1/2" so I don't end up with huge bar risers. I already have freestyle bend bars and am thinking I still want an additional 2" of rise. Just a thought for now
 
TJDukit

TJDukit

I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S.
Location
Clearfield
Just watched this video today and thought of this thread.

[video=youtube;4yMkLQP8lyw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yMkLQP8lyw&feature=share&list=PL8F0981B98 726601A[/video]
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
that was a cool video Brian. Good one to remember when teaching noobs. What an awesome place to hone skills too (it didn't hurt that it was totally empty).

Is the Jordan River OHV park similar?
 
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