Recommend mountain biking books

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by verdugist, Jan 14, 2016.


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  1. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

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  2. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
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  3. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Forgot to mention that's the book I just ordered and waiting to read. I think it's dated 2009 but still seems useful.
     
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  4. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    2012. It was written and compiled by real mountain bikers. One of the authors is Steve Messer of OTB and CORBA fame.
     
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  5. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    So I bought a slightly different book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0897326466/?tag=imtbtrails-20

    Your cited book has different author(s) and is spiral bound and is copyright more recently.
     
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  6. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    I've never read a book on Mountain Biking Skills.
    I certainly would never suggest NOT reading skills books. However, I do strongly suggest less books and more riding with people that are "at or above" your skill level if you are looking for the most bang for your buck.
    1) You will be riding as oppose to reading which in "my book" (pun intended) is much more fruitful.
    2) You actually get to see live/real time how it's done. Besides, even after reading a book it's going to be trial and error. Right?
    3) You get to ask questions you can't ask a book.

    You have gotten this a lot from folks on imtbtrails, "Just get out there and ride!"
    This aint no ITT classroom! Bike on, means Bike On!
    imho... Mikie
     
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  7. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    You don't see in an actual group ride, however, that the guy ahead of you is (hopefully) not front braking in the sandy corner, for example. But yes, I get your point. It was not my idea to start the thread actually. Apparently it was a joke that I didn't get on the other thread. So I was punk'd and that's fine I'm not complaining...
     
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  8. Danmtchl

    Danmtchl iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Bakersfield
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    2020 Trek Fuel EX 9.7
  9. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Well...
    I don't know about the Book Joke or getting punked, but I can say this...
    If you have not figured out your front and rear brakes by now, then a book is a good idea. I use my front brakes when I want to stop Now, and in combination with my rear brakes for scrubbing a lot of speed into a corner when needed. Otherwise my rear brakes are used the most, and that is for steering my rear wheel to point the bike in a new direction.

    But when it comes to good singletrack lines, I study the guy in front of me and evaluate the line he takes. If it's good then I follow, but if I see a better line I take it. The guys I ride with are fast and very skilled. So most of the time I trust their lines unless I see a faster one. Chunky, rock rollers...etc. I watch them like a hawk and follow their lines until I trust myself.

    Get out and ride with smaller groups of good guys. You may walk your bike a lot at first, but you will gain the real time experience and get bolder as you find guys you can trust to provide good lines and advice.

    WAYYYY better then any book.:thumbsup:;)
     
  10. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    There is no substitute for this, but I would get rid of the "at your skill level" part. Ride with people who are better than you. Watch what they do. Don't overanalyze about how many PSI to use when pulling the brake lever on a fire road, or the optimum path your foot takes while pedaling.
     
  11. Erik H

    Erik H Member

    Location:
    Altadena
    Name:
    Erik Hillard
    Its good advice if you can keep up and actually be able to watch. I find that people who are faster and better then me are out of sight and I don't get much out of it from a learning aspect. Now on a fitness level, yes, I'll agree that riding with others in better shape will help you get in better shape. But bike skills?
     
  12. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Thanks. I agree. I have a hard time keeping up on the climbs and then the DH's I don't go as fast as these guys (even though strava says mid-30's mph sometimes) so you can't see them and can't talk to them except parking lot (typically).

    It's like trying to keep up with a mtn lion...

    So as far as skills it's minimal learning except lines and cornering/leaning bikes. Sure you can see what bikes, tires, etc.

    But the group rides force you to keep in shape so you can keep up with the pack.
     
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  13. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Mastering Mountain Bike Skills by Brian Lopes and Lee likes bikes. Chapter by chapter each essential skill is broken down and explained.
    Get it. Read it. Live it.
     
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  14. Erik H

    Erik H Member

    Location:
    Altadena
    Name:
    Erik Hillard
    Awesome book. Really helped me out with braking techniques that made me much faster and smoother on my rigid bike. Funny enough, still some of my fastest descent times are on that bike without suspension. (Let off the brakes and hang on! Hahaha..)
     
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  15. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
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  16. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    I'm gonna side with Verdugist on this one. There's absolutely nothing wrong with reading "how to" books or viewing the many "how to" videos to supplement your learning curve. Brian Lopes' book is a good one, and Fabien Barel's videos are also quite helpful.

    But I think the best way to get better at riding is direct, on the trail coaching.

    You can follow people all day long, but unless they are watching what you are doing and providing feedback, you may be making the same error over and over again and never know what or why. Most guys aren't going to adjust their group ride to provide advice or instruction unless someone asks for feedback.

    Here are two examples of how on-the-trail coaching can make a huge difference - as opposed to trial and error and following better riders. Disclaimer - I am not a great rider, nor do I claim to be. I am however a coach and educator by training, and I have some knowledge that can accelerate the learning curve for beginning or intermediate riders:

    My buddy who shall remain nameless rarely makes it up a particular little climb on our local trails. He spins out, unclips and walks 9 times out of 10. His problem is simple - he downshifts too far into a gear that's way too easy, remains seated and spins so fast he can't maintain momentum or traction. His solution? Try harder and spin faster. He does not take kindly to unsolicited tips, but once, when he was frustrated, he asked why I always made it up and he didn't. I told him to go up that pitch at least 2-3 gears harder and stand up. He makes it now - when he remembers to do that.

    Another friend is an unbelievable rider now because he took the Mikie approach of riding every day on challenging trails with better riders. But when he was first starting, he asked (on STR) for a little assistance with his DH skills. I offered to share what I have learned through the 5 or so DH clinics I had taken. I watched his body positioning as he went off a 3-foot drop. He was waaay too upright, too far back, and he tugged up on his bars. We talked a lot about getting his chest down low into an attack position for almost all riding situations and then we specifically worked on how to shove the front end out rather than tugging up on the bars when it comes to launching a small drop. We repeated the same drop about 5-6 times until he was dropping it effortlessly. We also stopped along some steeper trails and talked about reading the trail, where to let it go and where to check your speed (collection points). The next time I rode with him (about three months later) he was better than me.

    Note: both riders were on top quality equipment at the time.

    Soooooo, my suggestion is - sure, read books and view videos on mt. biking, and yes there is no substitute for time on tough trails. But trial and error will not make a person a better rider if their trials never include some basic solutions that seem contradictory to the situation (being forward, using a harder gear to climb, going faster over rough terrain to make it smoother, using the front brake or shoving the inside hand while turning, etc).
     
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  17. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    Very nice post. I think that Lopes book (or one of the books I've read) pointed out it's critical to understand why/how you crashed. Which is sometimes difficult to remember the scenario and things you did to "get down"...
     
  18. gunga din

    gunga din Member

    Name:
    steve villmer
    if you want to take a short drive into orange county Irvine ranch conservancy offers skills clinics the last sunday of the month. also REI offers maintenance clinics .there's on right done the road from you
     
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  19. verdugist

    verdugist Guest

    I didn't know REI offers that. I need to do a chain change tonite, I guess I'll use YouTube and the Zinn book. But thx for sharing.
     
  20. oldschoolpl510

    oldschoolpl510 Member

    Location:
    Orange County
    Name:
    Jason
    Current Bike:
    Ibis HD3
    Mastering MTB Skills is a good book to explain how and why the different things work. Remember to focus on improving one thing at a time. Another MTB book also by Lee McCormack is his pump track building book. Definitely worth a look when learning about jump building or trail building. And a little off topic, I recommend Fluidride like a pro DVD to all of my friends that are new to riding.
     
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  21. Varaxis

    Varaxis Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Perris
    Name:
    Dan Vu
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB5c ('16 Yellow v1)
    There's a course that UCSD offers called "Learning how to learn" (primer vid from one of the instructors), which goes in-depth on how the brain works and how effective various learning/studying practices work. "Chunking" happens to be a highly effective method--reading provides a lot of chunks, which is gained in a "focused" mode of brain activity. When on the bike, you can put those chunks together while working in your diffused/relaxed mode, linking the related chunks together to gain a clearer understanding, and a clearer sense of a bigger picture. Technically, you can also gain the chunks while riding, but you must have focus and sharp senses, purposely seeking out details that you want. Problem is, when you're on a trail without the skills to ride it comfortably (trying to actually learn these skills), your senses tend to be focused on the trail directly ahead, and not focusing on the better rider ahead of you. You can get more "chunks" if you focused when watching camera footage, if you managed to keep up with a faster ride, but without such, it's more likely that you merely get the idea that this rider is just better, and are getting a few mere hints here and there to help figure it out for yourself.

    There's no real instruction manual on this stuff, but there's books that try to be and having such knowledge from reading them can help prepare you for success when facing challenges on the bike. Already posted the ones I've read, but I've also read non-MTB specific ones regarding training, nutrition, and how the neuromuscular system works.
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?