Biking Tips for Beginners
Becoming a real biking pro requires hard work, training, patience, and resilience. To improve your biking experience, consider the following tips.
Get the right bike if you want to enjoy the ride. If the fit is not right, you experience pain. Two elements are key for the right fit: seat reach and height.
Proper reach means your torso and arms make a 45-degree angle over the bike frame. Too short, and the knees get too close to the arms. Too long, and you might get a sore back as you reach for the handlebar. Get a seat height high enough to give your knees a slight bend when your foot is at the pedal stroke bottom.
Now that you have the right bike, you need to master ascending and descending slopes or trails. For example, stay seated when going uphill. Standing out of the saddle only helps when ascending steep slopes. Remember, however, that standing out might make the rear tire spin out due to loss of grip, especially if you are riding on loose terrain which requires traction to climb.
Gear shifting is critical for your safety and smooth riding. Before you shift the gear, go easy on pedaling to ease the pressure on the chain. On very steep slopes, the front end may take a little weight and even pop up. Just slide on the saddle and bend over the bike handlebars to exert more weight on the front tire and keep yourself grounded.
Rolling downhill, change into the bigger chain ring. This stops the chain from bouncing off, especially when descending a bumpy trail. This also safeguards your legs from getting injured by big ring teeth in case it disengages from the pedal.
When rolling down rough and challenging descents, avoid sitting on the saddle. Standing on pedals and straddling the saddle allows your legs and knees to take the shocks of the bumpy trail on behalf of your rear.
Most descents call for maximum focus and concentration if you are to reach the bottom in one piece. Focus allows you to see any root, groove, rock, bump, or hole along the bike trail or route. Wandering thoughts can have the bike wandering off the trail with its associated risks.
Braking, especially when going downhill, needs critical alertness and a high level of distance judgment. Equally important is the amount of pressure to apply on the brake levers. Apply too much or suddenly, and the bike can easily flip over the handlebars. Too little pressure could see you ramming into objects.
The more the weight on the tires, the more braking power it will have. When rolling downhill, the front tire normally carries more weight. Therefore, using the front brake helps you avoid skidding. To gain maximum control when going downhill, shift your weight over the rear wheel as you increase the rear braking power. This helps balance the power of both front and rear brakes.
Some items are essential when biking. For example, a mini pump may sound pretty obvious. But if you get stuck by the trailside with a deflated tire and your arm-pump is not working, a mini pump can salvage the situation.
