Wednesday 13 January 2016

Natural Development - Are Trail Centres Killing Technique?

My earliest forays into the world of mountain biking primarily involved dragging and shoving my half tonne, mud caked six gear Emmelle through Exmoor's boggy murk to reach a mile of semi-rideable rockiness that led to the road home.  Over the following few years I hungrily discovered the sheer joys of rooty Devon woodland singletrack, slipping, sliding and crashing my way through my early teens until at seventeen myself and my best friend jumped on a train and blagged our way to Chamonix for an incredible introduction to Alpine riding.  With my eyes subsequently blown wide open I've continued to seek opportunities to experience a whole spectrum of different terrains and biking challenges throughout the world.

In addition to the obvious immediate pleasures and unforgettable memories that these experiences have provided I was recently also pondering their lasting impact on my abilities as a biker. Undeniably I've learned how to crash!  Seventeen broken bones (so far) are testament to that but what about my skills development? As a professional MTB coach I'm afflicted with a constant need to analyse whether I'm still getting better or has age instigated my gradual and inevitable decline?  And the conclusion?  I'm not sure yet, but one thing is certain, I've served a long and fruitful apprenticeship that's gradually and organically shaped my trail techniques.

Times have changed massively since my first rides in the late eighties.  Mountain biking has witnessed exponential growth in terms of both participation and general awareness. Mainstream money has floated in and the results are seen in the plethora of trail centres that have made quick-hit 21st century mountain biking what it is.  Whether this is a positive or not for the sport is a different debate.  My area of interest is whether the introduction of some of these groomed, sanitised and weather resistant strips has been detrimental to the skills development of the new breed of bikers?

More often than not these days beginners that I coach have their first experience of 'natural' trails in their initial session with me.  For many, the thought of riding anywhere other than a trail centre has never even occurred and increasingly I've noticed bikers displaying a noticeable trail centre style of riding that manifests itself in a few clear ways.
The only people who should ever sit down on descents are those without pedals!
The first is a tendency towards remaining seated on downhills.  I see this as being the fault of smooth, graded trail surfaces which, although punctuated by the odd rock gardens and drops, generally allow descending techniques that would've liquidised my internal organs if I'd attempted them on the rutted, washed out rock fests I originally learned on.  The availability of well priced, decent full suspension bikes has also made this approach possible and therefore many people remain blissfully unaware of the fundamental importance of weight shift. On my local trails here in Northern Ireland there have been a seemingly disproportionate number of broken bones for the amount of usage. Many have been caused by riders pitching over the bars because they don't fully understand where their weight should be distributed.

The next issue I've noticed is a lack of cornering ability. Whilst solid surfaced, banked corners can definitely be a lot of fun, among many beginners I think they can promote a lazy, passive approach to getting round bends. On loose, natural, flat and off-camber corners the fight for grip generates rapid improvements in terms of body positioning and pressure application with pretty immediate feedback from the slippery ground. After a couple of washouts and grazed knees riders tend to find the limitations of their tyres and realise how hard they can push into corners if they're active and aggressive on the bike.  Whilst the non-slip nature of most trail centre corners prevents crashes, it also negates the need to search hard for more grip and as a consequence seems to slow development.

Finally, I often witness an inability to react to unexpected terrain changes. Many riders I meet have an intimate knowledge of every last drop, corner, bump and berm of their local trail centres. They can cruise round half asleep, safe in the knowledge that come rain or shine the trail won't throw up any nasty surprises. All those innate, subtle weight shifts that are needed to keep rubber side down on the roots never get developed and so their first taste of riding on wet mud and greasy wood becomes a total disaster.  I've coached people who've ridden mountain bikes for years who have no idea that leaning a bike over on an angled root will almost certainly end badly and so they're transported back to the realm of total beginner whenever they first leave the gravel tracks.

This combination of a static position on the bike, a passive riding style and the non-development of the subconscious adjustments required to survive wet natural trails has, in my opinion stunted many new rider's development. It's not all bad news though; there are obvious upsides to trail centres. Without them I reckon many of today's bikers would've never initially taken up the sport and I'd always rather see lots of people riding not that well than just a couple totally owning the trails. The other big plus is the growth of pump tracks.  Few things give me more pleasure than seeing the local kids on chainless skip bikes with no grips or brakes doubling gaps and carving corners instead of hanging round bus shelters being bored or staring at their phones.  Our local pump track has become a really popular hang out for people who may otherwise never have bothered getting on a bike.  If they get the opportunity and the inclination to keep riding then we're going to witness a really talented next generation!

My message to anyone who may read this and recognise themselves, please don't take it as criticism! There's a whole world of ever evolving natural trails just waiting for you to take them on so get out there and get grinning, just don't forget the kneepads! 


Monday 11 January 2016

Ragley bikes make epic sponsorship error!

Shortly before Christmas I received an unexpected e-mail.  It basically went along the lines of blah blah free bike blah etc blah.  Well obviously it didn't but essentially that's what I read!  The long and short of it was that Ragley bikes have offered me a deal for 2016. 

The obvious question is why the hell have they done that?!  There are faster, more stylish riders out there filling up the results sheets who are paying for their own equipment.  The simple answer is that they're not doing it on the right kind of bike!  I spent 2015 as a vocal advocate of the hardtail, dancing my much loved Ibis Tranny all round Europe on epic Alpine singletrack whilst also schooling a few bouncy boys in the Enduro races.  Although I'm no purist and I do own a tasty HD3 my preference has always been for the precise riding style needed without the talent boosting travel, picking lines rather than muscling them.

The funny thing is that I was intending to race enduro on my now sold Nomad last year but decided that the nature of Castlewellan's trails in the first round of the Vitus series would be quicker on a 21lb speed machine.  I enjoyed that hardtail category experience so much that I carried on the series to its conclusion and finished with one of my most fun days ever on a bike smashing through the tech of Donard Woods.

So Ragley were looking for an NI based hardtail enthusiast to promote their superb steel machines and luckily I fitted the bill.  You'd have expected me to leap at the offer and tear their arms off but actually I stopped and considered it for a while.  After all, I've already got bikes I absolutely love and less time to ride them than I'd want.  The deciding factors were pretty simple.  Firstly I was dying to try a Ragley as I've always loved steel frames and they look so totally aggro and secondly because my teenage self would've killed my 37 year old self if I turned down the deal!

The new steed in all her big wheeled, slack angled glory
Given a free choice from their range I went for the Bigwig, Ragley's slacked out 29er.  I've only had one experience of the wagon wheels before and it was extremely positive, tracking closely behind my ex-pro guide in Colorado despite him being on a $12k Pivot and me being on a cheap hire bike.  The big wheels just trundled over everything and felt so planted on some of the most technical trails I'd ever encountered.  However, the problem with most 29ers is that they're angled to suit the XC crowd.  Not the Bigwig!!  This frame looks almost comically slack with a low-slung top tube and super raked head angle.  From the moment I jumped on for the inaugural spin it was begging to be mistreated and I was loving my first outing, confidently hitting saturated gaps and drops in Tollymore until Mexican Brian's untimely collarbone break abruptly halted the session.  Since then I've been tweaking.  The forks needed more pressure to cope with the aggressive style this bike demands and I've been doing what I can with the WTB tyres to force some grip out of this long running mud-fest of a Winter.  My great first impressions are being further enhanced on both the ups and downs with the big wheels feeling rapid on the climbs despite the bike carrying a hefty amount of weight compared to my Ibis Tranny.  Once I point it downhill it flies with a style best described as a 160mm travel bike without the travel.  It actually feels almost identical to my HD3 when I sit on it which suits me perfectly.

Ragley only do hardtails, with the heart of their range being crafted from steel.  Although some see it as an outdated material in this age of plastic it only takes one ride to see why it's the first choice of most artisan frame builders.  It has a unique feel, whippy and forgiving, soaking up trail chatter whilst accelerating fast.  Good steel has character and having ridden on the pinnacle of tubing perfection back in the late 90's it feels great to re-kindle that feeling.

Probably the biggest compliment offered to the Ragley so far is the fact that everyone who I've lent the bike to for a quick spin has instantly understood the philosophy.  They look at it with an air of initial intrigue but as soon as they jump on they feel what a slacked out steel 29er may be capable of.  I can see me having to wrestle this bike back off a few folk over the next 12 months!

If you want to have a test ride on the bike don't be shy.  I'll be at the Vitus Enduro series again as well as usually being found somewhere on the trails in Tollymore.  Come on over and ask for a spin, just be prepared to get your credit card out when you get home!

I'll be reviewing the bike throughout the year and I'll keep it bias free.  Ragley aren't putting any pressure on me at all to race, ride or even be complimentary which I think shows a refreshing faith in their equipment.  Hopefully I can repay their investment by getting the brand out there and providing worthwhile feedback on their bike design.  Watch this space.

Check out the range at www.ragleybikes.com