The key to accuracy, power, rebound in a turn! Same in alpine skiing, hip posture and activity is paramount. Great stuff as always Simon & Linnea. Thank you. Linnea's observation about wrong-hips is dead on. Hips opposite makes the turn open up wider, the bike "refuses to turn," requiring you to counter that with all kinds of foolishness that would leave you unflexible, bike chattering across the surface instead of dug in and turning. That plank exercise was great, Simon. Nice creative thinking!
I tried this and it worked like magic! Exactly as Linnea described - lead with the hips and the rest will follow. I now consciously open up my lead knee to point in the direction of the turn, thereby forcing my hips to point in the same direction. As usual, your coaching method is so logical, easy to do, yet so effective. Thank you Simon and Linnea!!
This makes so much sense. No wonder when you just lean the bike on a flat turn, you pretty much always exit it wide, unless you use a lot of pressure on the bars. These new episodes of the series fill in a lot of gaps (my gaps in technique) 😂
It's crazy how drastic the difference is between the rotated and not rotated turns. I didn't think it would be that obvious but it really is. Can't wait to practice this on the trail!
Simon's teaching approach is really good from my POV. And I've worked with some very good athletic coaches, mostly in alpine skiing. He's right there with the best I've worked with, easily.
Love to see the never ending refinement of coaching video technique. Watching the initiation of the turns, it looks like the hips lead the footwork a bit, but that is not what I see you doing in the off the bike demonstration. Makes me wonder if the amount of hip rotation is always linked to how far down the outside foot is. Also, might be cool to see a video on how hip rotation differs in short snappy turns, like the slalom drill.
I always talk about letting the bike tip into the turn with level feet just before initiating footwork. This can result in a little rotation before the footwork begins. The off bike demos are helpful to some folks but are not the same as riding a bike obviously. Just there to show how it can help with the creation of rotation. So many variables that can be used when cornering. So much to learn! I like the idea for a video you mention - short snappy turns v longer held turns. Perhaps you'll see that down the line:-). Thanks Chris.
Those baseball players. Remember the “squash the bug” batting drill? That’s the feeling I use. Just use the opposite leg for the turn, example: turning left? Right foot squash the big. It also gets your weight in the front for those front foot turns.
If I understand correctly, the end goal of these cues is to maximize bike body separation by creating space for the bike to move as well as getting center of gravity above the bike by weighting the outside foot. This leads to getting those side lugs into the dirt with maximum weight pressing down for better traction. Any other outcomes from this cue that I’m missing? It’s hard to practice cues without understanding how they improve the riding. Big fan of these videos and your website!
I'd agree with what you were saying, I think. Because you can't align the hips/work the hips properly without upper/lower separation. That's what Simon's plank drill showed -- a very inventive thing, very smart. But it's the drive of the hips through the turn that enables the tires' side knobs to get dug in, and stay dug in. That's what I meant in a comment above, when I said if your hips are opposite, the bike wants to skitter across the surface rather than digging in and staying dug in.
Yes, I refer to the apex of a turn on the bike as the point at which the outside foot is the lowest or bearing the most weight within a given turn. This is also typically when the hips are most rotated within that turn. -Simon
Indeed. The whole front side body should face the exit, including the line of vision. Lots of riders only turn the head and shoulders. This is kind of what we showed in the side by side of Linnea. -Simon
So yeah I mean Motocross Riders get their foot off the pegs all the time in the cornering ruts. They lead with the foot off and rotate the hips that is why a mountain bike could NEVER Corner as quick as a motoX bike with a expert or pro-rider 🙄🤦♂️
That is the way moto riders can get rotation. The cool thing is that on a bike, I can do this without flagging a foot. This is why mountain bike descend trails faster than a moto. Taking the foot off the pegs while descending is really hard, so riders tend to stay on the pegs while turning on steep descents. I used to race moto, desert and woods and can say that steep descents on a moto are scary...but yeah you can rail rutted turns on flat or uphills like crazy! Both are lots of fun!
This is a game changer, one of the best tips i got in my 4 years of riding.
Oh yes, that's me when I get nervous about a turn, the body gets stiff and it becomes more difficult! Thanks for all your vids, they are so helpful
The key to accuracy, power, rebound in a turn! Same in alpine skiing, hip posture and activity is paramount. Great stuff as always Simon & Linnea. Thank you.
Linnea's observation about wrong-hips is dead on. Hips opposite makes the turn open up wider, the bike "refuses to turn," requiring you to counter that with all kinds of foolishness that would leave you unflexible, bike chattering across the surface instead of dug in and turning.
That plank exercise was great, Simon. Nice creative thinking!
I tried this and it worked like magic! Exactly as Linnea described - lead with the hips and the rest will follow. I now consciously open up my lead knee to point in the direction of the turn, thereby forcing my hips to point in the same direction.
As usual, your coaching method is so logical, easy to do, yet so effective. Thank you Simon and Linnea!!
Love this! Thank you!
I have looked at many mountain bike technique tutorials, and this channel by far clearly explains the concept and how to perform the techniques.
This makes so much sense. No wonder when you just lean the bike on a flat turn, you pretty much always exit it wide, unless you use a lot of pressure on the bars. These new episodes of the series fill in a lot of gaps (my gaps in technique) 😂
I love these tutorials, they always make me want to get out on the bike a practice.
Hands down best MTB tutorial channel 👍
It's crazy how drastic the difference is between the rotated and not rotated turns. I didn't think it would be that obvious but it really is. Can't wait to practice this on the trail!
Relevant gem after gem, episode after episode. Thank you again guys!
You are so welcome! Thanks for tuning in!
Thank you!!
Watched in the morning and applied the technique on my afternoon ride, definitely carrying more speed through the turns than before.
Love it!
This was super helpful, thank you! Trying to focus on rotating my hips makes the foot pressure/position stuff sort itself out naturally.
Can't wait to try this!
Mmmmmmmmm, that was super clear! Can totally feel what one should be doing. Thank you 🙏
Excellent instruction
These simple drills are so good..thabk you
Excellent tutorial on a great channel.
Simon's teaching approach is really good from my POV. And I've worked with some very good athletic coaches, mostly in alpine skiing. He's right there with the best I've worked with, easily.
Love to see the never ending refinement of coaching video technique. Watching the initiation of the turns, it looks like the hips lead the footwork a bit, but that is not what I see you doing in the off the bike demonstration. Makes me wonder if the amount of hip rotation is always linked to how far down the outside foot is. Also, might be cool to see a video on how hip rotation differs in short snappy turns, like the slalom drill.
I always talk about letting the bike tip into the turn with level feet just before initiating footwork. This can result in a little rotation before the footwork begins. The off bike demos are helpful to some folks but are not the same as riding a bike obviously. Just there to show how it can help with the creation of rotation. So many variables that can be used when cornering. So much to learn! I like the idea for a video you mention - short snappy turns v longer held turns. Perhaps you'll see that down the line:-). Thanks Chris.
Those baseball players. Remember the “squash the bug” batting drill? That’s the feeling I use. Just use the opposite leg for the turn, example: turning left? Right foot squash the big. It also gets your weight in the front for those front foot turns.
I've heard people say 'put out the cigarette' too. Good cues - easy to understand.
Great video, I’m not sure how I turn, never really thought about this. Definitely going to pay more attention to my technique on the next ride.
If I understand correctly, the end goal of these cues is to maximize bike body separation by creating space for the bike to move as well as getting center of gravity above the bike by weighting the outside foot. This leads to getting those side lugs into the dirt with maximum weight pressing down for better traction. Any other outcomes from this cue that I’m missing?
It’s hard to practice cues without understanding how they improve the riding.
Big fan of these videos and your website!
I'd agree with what you were saying, I think. Because you can't align the hips/work the hips properly without upper/lower separation. That's what Simon's plank drill showed -- a very inventive thing, very smart. But it's the drive of the hips through the turn that enables the tires' side knobs to get dug in, and stay dug in. That's what I meant in a comment above, when I said if your hips are opposite, the bike wants to skitter across the surface rather than digging in and staying dug in.
great video as always
Yes, and to get the hips to look toward the end of the turn so that you don't run wide. -Simon
Does one's hip rotate the most when one reaches the apex of the turn? This is also where the outside foot is at its lowest point right?
Yes, I refer to the apex of a turn on the bike as the point at which the outside foot is the lowest or bearing the most weight within a given turn. This is also typically when the hips are most rotated within that turn. -Simon
The rotation of your body is started by looking through the turn. Head turns, shoulders turn and hips turn
Indeed. The whole front side body should face the exit, including the line of vision. Lots of riders only turn the head and shoulders. This is kind of what we showed in the side by side of Linnea. -Simon
“ we should have a separate UA-cam channel just for this” 😂
There's a dog!?
Sshhhh don’t give the secrets away 😉
🤣
Ha! Love this.
So yeah I mean Motocross Riders get their foot off the pegs all the time in the cornering ruts. They lead with the foot off and rotate the hips that is why a mountain bike could NEVER Corner as quick as a motoX bike with a expert or pro-rider 🙄🤦♂️
That is the way moto riders can get rotation. The cool thing is that on a bike, I can do this without flagging a foot. This is why mountain bike descend trails faster than a moto. Taking the foot off the pegs while descending is really hard, so riders tend to stay on the pegs while turning on steep descents. I used to race moto, desert and woods and can say that steep descents on a moto are scary...but yeah you can rail rutted turns on flat or uphills like crazy! Both are lots of fun!