Help.....Improve my cornering!

Hey people,

I've been taggin along with ya'all for the last couple of months so i thought i'd better make an appearance on the forum.

Anyone who's been riding with me might have noticed that I'm OK going uphill but i have absolutely no confidence when going downhill! (not sure if this is a common problem) on a typical corner i just chicken out most of the time feel like I'm about to fall off and usually end up going wide because i haven't turned enough or break mid corner which makes it even worse!

Anyhow, i'm pretty sure its do do with the fact my scott scale is far to good for me and i really should have bought a more upright or neutral positioned bike that's not got me bent over the front of the bike so much.

Does anyone have any suggestions for cornering with a bit more confidence/speed. Technique or cheap solutions would be good as i don't want to really get another bike just yet!


I was thinking of changing to riser bars to help shift my weight up a bit?




ta,


Carl

Hi Carl,

Risers for sure and maybe a shorter stem at a later date (try new bars first) will help with quicker steering and should also sit you up slightly.

Check out the net for deals or post a wanted note in the for sale section. There are usually people who have up graded and have old stuff gathering dust.

Lg

Put some 2.35 High rollers on!

Move into the "Attack Postion".....

(Pretend you've got a big beach ball between your arms,chest and top tube of the bike).

Relax and let the bike do the work.

Ride behind Nath as he rails berms like an intercity train on speed!

i had that Problem
i found that the Bike it self was too light so you lose grip around the corner . one way around this is to put more weight on you ore the bike i thought about this four some time and got a heavyer bike this is were i look at weight .
scott scale is a good bike but it is on the light side so you have to find a way to balnce it . fork are one way to put weight one the bike and help you with cornering but too muce weight on the front will make you come of as it will throw of the balnce and make it front heavy so it has to be spread out and you do not want to put to muce on as it will make it hard on the climb..
i hope that i have been some help

Riser bars and a shorter stem will definitely help, but be slightly cautious about raising and moving back your position. Too much and you won't have enough weight over the front wheel.

It's easy to recover from rear wheel drift, but if your front wheel goes you're up shit creek without a paddle (or possibly just in shit, if you're in the woods!).

It's surprisingly hard to go over the handlebars unless you're jamming on the front brake (or are in a car park, in front of a group of female mtbers... ho hum).

But the best advice is, fall off. Then you know where the limit is.

Tom

What front tyre are you using? Get something nice and grippy that will give you more confidence.
Drop your shoulder into the turn helps get you round the corners and look where you want to go not where you think your going to end up

surprisingly hard to go over the handlebars unless you're jamming on the front brake (or are in a car park, in front of a group of female mtbers... ho hum).

You can't leave it like that you have to tell the full story

Hey Carl.....i'll add my pennies worth. Its a little long, but worth a read.

Firstly, your bike has absolutely nothing to do with it, or the weight. In fact you have probably the best handing bike money can buy, a Scale will corner better than most bikes as it has a very low Bottom Bracket....meaning a low centre of gravity. If you look at the geometry of a race bike such as a Scale, the top tube of the bike will be at least an inch or so longer than a standard frame, as the idea is that the rider is more stretched out....leading to your weight being lower down towards the ground. Rizer bars may not help that much....riser bars will raise your body up, raising the COG, its a much more comfortable riding postion, but wont help with cornering.

Things with a low centre of gravity corner exceptionally well. The key is to get the COG as low as possible and the weight as wide as possible. This is why you see motorbike riders getting very low and sticking their knees out.....the wider the mass the lower the COG. Not quite sure where Woodies theory of making a bike heavier to corner better comes from, so don't start adding the sand bags quite yet !?!?

The quickest and simplest way to gain more confidence when cornering without immediately changing your riding style is simply checking / changing tyres. What tyres do you run on the front?

Are they a specific summer / winter tyre? Try getting a general XC tyre, like a Maxxis Ignitor / Continental Mount King / Fire XC Pro etc. These will have a fairly high side wall. The side of the tyre is the only piece of rubber that is in contact with the ground when cornering....if you don't have much, like on a summer tyre (Maxxis Larsen type profile) you will simply skip out on the corners.....giving you little confidence at speed.

The secong thing is your riding style....when you ride around a corner are you standing up or sitting down?

There is no hard and fast rule, you can corner either sitting down or standing up. Although when the corners get sharpe, I.E something like a switch back, you really have to transfer your weight around from front to back as you go around the corner, so standing up is best.

If you are sitting down, you are OK, as again, you COG is lower, however when sitting down its a) hard to shift your weight around as your ass is attached to the saddle and b) move the actual bike around underneath you, things that are key to gaining / keeping speed.

If you are standing up off your saddle what position are you in? Are you very upright? The key is the ATTACK POSITION, which is what Jim explained. Lose arms, loose knees, head always looking forward, chin up. You NEVER want to be looking at a corner, always look ahead. The less rigid you are the better....as when you get into a corner, you can move the bike around underneath you easier.

Simply try riding along, and ride around in a big circle on the road, say 10m diameter if you can....then really emphasize pushing your inside bar into the middle of the circle and keeping your body upright.....this is the sort of position you want to be in entering a corner.

Next is your brakes, I know it sounds stupid, but if you are braking at the wrong point on a corner you overall speed will be less than if you brake before hand and maintain more speed throughout. This is easiest to practise on a corner you know, I.E where it is located in the woods and whats the other side. Get all your braking over and done with before you turn your front wheel, then keep your pedals up, and head for the apex of the corner. Try and keep the same speed all the way through. Start of slow, and do it 2 - 3 times, then when you know where the entry and exit points are, go through it getting quicker and quicker. But don't just ride the corner quicker, also approach it quicker, as this will help you get your breaking point spot on.

The last thing that a lot of people forget is pedal postion. I gaurantee if you have your pedals in the correct position you will be quicker in and out of a corner. The inside pedal / foot of a rider going into a corner should always be at the highest point, so your inside leg should always be bent up. By doing this it will automatically drag your body into the corner (as though you are leaning to the centre of the bend) and tilt you at an angle.

If your inside pedal is low you run the risk of fouling the ground, and this is nasty.....plus it will probably mean you are also leaning too far into the corner, leaning too far into a corner means you will probably run wide on the exit.

Keeping speed in and out of a corner is a great skill to learn......however increasing your speed out of a corner AND keeping a racing line is pretty difficult and takes a lot of practise.

There are a few MIAS Instructors in the club (Jim, Jimmer, Andy, myself), and we covered cornering in the course. Weight / Position / Speed etc

If you wanna have a spin up the woods one night / W/E let me know, I'll be glad to help out with some tips that work for me.

Nathan FTW

I have found that concentrating on pushing my weight down though my outside leg, onto the pedal, and really driving the inside edge of the tyre into the dirt has helped me lots. The more of your weight you can get into that contact patch, the better I have found. My cornering has improved greatly since conciously making an effort to do this.

Steve

Blimey Nath,

Usually when I'm not able to get to sleep at night I'll read my Bible!

thanks guys!

i kept skidding out on the stock summer tyres that were given (scott own brand) so i changed and i run nobby nics both front and rear as i was told they were supper grippy. They do feel more grippy but my confidence and technique is so poor i am never using them to there full potential.

my technique certainly seems wrong. I mainly sit down and although i keep pedals level, or inside pedal higher if its a tight turn. I come out of every corner tense white knuckled and with my weight on the outside of the corner so that's would hint to where my problem lies!

i've had the tyres for about a year and a half riding a few times a month and the side grip looks brand new so i'm clearly not tipping the bike over.

I would appreciate some tips one evening nath, but first I will have a little practice with some of the things you all suggested and see how i get on.


thanks again

But I would add that the head tube angle does make a big difference.

My current fully has a much slacker head tube angle than my old hardtail (about 2deg slacker if I remember correctly) and this does seem to help a lot with stability.

Carl - I would consider losing the Nobby Nics. I used to have some and never liked the feeling, in cornering it always felt like they were on the limit - the bike just never tracked very well with them on.

Ben

Also.........I suggest getting rid of the Penny Farthing.....

Buy some of these;

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17344

and your cornering will improve as well as your penis length....

Come to think of it you'll become so much more appealing to the opposite sex due to the fact that you can rail the berms at warp speed,that you'll be fighting them off with a shity stick

Trust me would I lie to you

Or buy one of these.....



In fact, one of these passed us as we were going up the black trail at Glentress !!

haha, that bike looks a right giggle!

The high rollers look worth a punt when i next need some, as for penis length how did you know? i didn't think my lycra shorts were that tight............

i'm going up to the woods in in a bit to have a go at cornering with speed! ill let you know how i get on.

yep all the advice helped alot, imagining the beach ball and trying to lean the bike over more. It felt alot more smooth and natural when going round corners!

still had a couple of moments, but looking further ahead rather than breaking mid corner seems to make it faster!


thanks guys!

Hi Carl,

Just a small drop of oil on your brake pads tends to take away the braking effect mid bend. It also tends to focus your mind on a smooth COMMITTED line through the bend.

Oohps - mind that tree.

I did a brief trail skills session at the first Merida event. If your going to one of these this year go along and have a go, it's free.
They cover what you want them to. We covered cornering, it was an eye opener. Body position, bike position where to point your eyes, balanced breaking, weighting the outside pedal.
Dont be worried about embarressing yourself. We had little kids who were great in our group and a sponsored rider who couldn't corner properly if he was on rails.