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Corner Technique
- Thread starter Travace
- Start date
Ok. I picked up a thing or two and I reinforced a thing or two from what I read so far. Somehow, from your line and question I am guessing you are wondering how to string that into your riding and get confident at cornering. There is no single approach as far as I am concerned. But there is a pretty single approach to make anyone better. Corners you have been around in practice, are going to be handled way different on a track than something you just saw, havent seen today yet, or something on trails that are shared.
I tell anyone to use two things to get better. one is a set of pylons. it can be used oil containers filled with water. you are going to practice doing figure 8's between them. slow at first and just far enough apart for you to get your feet back on the pegs. if you want to really increase the way you "burn" them, do about 3 sets of 6 circle donuts before you start a 3 minute drill of the 8's. move them apart to where you have to shift at least once and use the brakes between them. to begin with I try to separate braking from turning, but before long you will find that dragging a little brake on the front in a high traction environment can pack the front end down and make it easier to tighten a line. It can also knife you under fast enough that your foot is stuck under the bike. Learn to use your feet as little as possible.
Paved parking lots make a great place to practice that in low traction environments.
To begin with you wont use much brake because they are close together. After you develope this you should be sweaty in 3 minutes of it. Keep increasing the intensity. You will find that getting into something too fast won't scare you anymore. Catching others gets easier and easier.
Then we can talk about passing.
Do this each time you ride before you do the bulk of your riding and practicing, you get more out of both that way. it makes anyone faster who isn't already doing it.
Asking anyone that is primarily desert or cross country oriented has always been entertaining to me, so after you do this enough time to back in to any corner you see or go in straight and make a diamond point out of it and leave it early, go entertain yourself by asking.
On turning right to go left: This pertains to putting the bike in a "lean". If you want to turn left and particularly early in your leaning, push the left hand bar to the right. Notice I didn't say turn the bar to the right. sitting straight up and pulling on the bar on the right side will do more right turning than left. So push smartly on the left bar, throw your weight in other words at the left bar, head goes with it, lean in a bit, push down on the right footpeg and feel how the bike slings itself left. Go do similar to the right.
Put that in your workout on the 8's. Play with doing donuts to the right as well as the left.
Skate shops have some nice wrist protectors, and if you arent' dropping your bike to begin with, you aren't getting as much out of this as you should.
I tell anyone to use two things to get better. one is a set of pylons. it can be used oil containers filled with water. you are going to practice doing figure 8's between them. slow at first and just far enough apart for you to get your feet back on the pegs. if you want to really increase the way you "burn" them, do about 3 sets of 6 circle donuts before you start a 3 minute drill of the 8's. move them apart to where you have to shift at least once and use the brakes between them. to begin with I try to separate braking from turning, but before long you will find that dragging a little brake on the front in a high traction environment can pack the front end down and make it easier to tighten a line. It can also knife you under fast enough that your foot is stuck under the bike. Learn to use your feet as little as possible.
Paved parking lots make a great place to practice that in low traction environments.
To begin with you wont use much brake because they are close together. After you develope this you should be sweaty in 3 minutes of it. Keep increasing the intensity. You will find that getting into something too fast won't scare you anymore. Catching others gets easier and easier.
Then we can talk about passing.
Do this each time you ride before you do the bulk of your riding and practicing, you get more out of both that way. it makes anyone faster who isn't already doing it.
Asking anyone that is primarily desert or cross country oriented has always been entertaining to me, so after you do this enough time to back in to any corner you see or go in straight and make a diamond point out of it and leave it early, go entertain yourself by asking.
On turning right to go left: This pertains to putting the bike in a "lean". If you want to turn left and particularly early in your leaning, push the left hand bar to the right. Notice I didn't say turn the bar to the right. sitting straight up and pulling on the bar on the right side will do more right turning than left. So push smartly on the left bar, throw your weight in other words at the left bar, head goes with it, lean in a bit, push down on the right footpeg and feel how the bike slings itself left. Go do similar to the right.
Put that in your workout on the 8's. Play with doing donuts to the right as well as the left.
Skate shops have some nice wrist protectors, and if you arent' dropping your bike to begin with, you aren't getting as much out of this as you should.