Angle of your head in berms

Dear Lee,

I’ve noticed two styles of keeping one’s head while cornering. Let’s see two examples on Pinkbike:

Brian Lopes – with his head more or less in-line with the body

Jared Graves – with his head almost always perpendicular to the ground:

Is it just a matter of style and habits, or is there an advantage in keeping your head vertical in turns? Should I focus on it while training?

Cheers,
Jakub

Hey Jakub,

Thanks for the interesting question.

As you know, Lopes and Graves are the elite of the elite. They are both very, very skilled riders. I’ve ridden with both of these guys, and it’s a lesson in great riding technique.

If you rotate those photos so the horizons are level, you’ll see very similar head positions. I won’t post them here out of respect for Pinkbike and the photographers, but you can check them out here: Lopes, Graves

In general, it’s best to keep your head as vertical as possible. Another way to say this: Try keep your head perpendicular to the horizon.

I said horizon, not ground, because the ground is doing all kinds of crazy things. In my coaching, one of the main goals is to send your head and torso as straight and level as you can. The more vertical and unperturbed you can keep your head, the better your vision, balance and control.

You’ll see variations due to strength, mobility, riding style, fatigue and just plain randomness, but if you look at skilled riders their heads tend to be pretty upright. If you’re in a low attack position and/or pulling a mega lean angle, it’s impossible to keep your head truly vertical, but you’ll see the best riders are definitely not dropping their faces into the corners.

Some examples:

Curtis Keene
Fun Whistler trip in 2005.