SolVista dual slalom
Yesterday’s Mountain States Cup dual slalom at SolVista Bike Park was super duper fun.
Controlling speed on long downhills
Hi Lee,
Great book I enjoy it very much. It’s the best investment since I bought my first MTB, well that and attending your clinic.
I do have a question about braking. On your book you said to keep the legal speed of 15 mph. I try to do it on a smooth grade or rolling singletrack. How about on a long 4-5 miles fire road what should I be doing? If I don’t brake I can quickly gather speed but if I try to slow down I’m just dragging my brake. Is there a secret formula to roll smoothly and still maintain relatively legal speed?
Thanks again for writing the book. You have no idea how much it helped me. I hope you are in SoCal soon. I want to do a Jedi Knight clinic.
Best Regards,
Albert
Pumping rhythm
Mike Kreger is one of the smoothest dirt jumpers (and racers) you’ll ever see. Yesterday we shot some sequences for the BMX book. Here’s Mike pumping a set of double jumps.
Can Sand Hill Ranch be saved?
Hey Lee
I have just recently heard that the good folks at sandhill ranch might be considering shutting down the bike section because of unknown reasons. I personally consider this a horrible thing to happen. If I had the opportunity to help them keep the area open or help maintain the park, I would.
Can you PLEASE help me rally the braaapers and help please keep this wonderful area open.. What forums can I write to? Who can I motivate to help? Can IMBA help us? If you have any suggestions can you please send it our way? I’m deeply worried. If it was a matter of money I would pay double what they charge. If its a matter of up keep, I would volunteer. thoughts? Your expertise and knowledge is valued and respected. Please help me keep this heaven open.
Daniel
Shorter shock on SX Trail?
Hey Lee.
I have an older 05 sx trail frame I am looking to build up for light freeride use. It uses a 5th element 8.75×2.5 shock. The headangle is too steep though even with the very long 66 forks it originally came with. I am wanting to run an 06 for 36 talas on it so it becomes more of a problem. The other issue is that I’m not a huge fan of the stock shock and I have access to a dhx5 in 8.5×2.5 size. Is this my silver bullet? How much difference will the shorter length make to the h/a?
Cheers, Jonny
Cornering: Which foot forward?
Hi Lee,
Your website in an invaluable source of info, and thanks to your tips I’ve become a better rider. Lately I’ve been practicing aggressive cornering a lot; as you say pointing your hips in the direction of the turn is key.
I’ve noticed that I can more effectively point my hips in the right direction if I keep the turning side foot behind, ie keep the right foot behind when turning right, and the left foot when turning left. Yet since I’m right handed and my dominant foot is the left, it comes natural to keep the right foot behind even when turning left, which results in less effective hips turning.
Lately I’ve made an effort to “switch stances” when cornering to the left. Am I doing the right thing or should I just keep the same stance all the time? In your pictures I noticed that you keep the dominant/left foot in front when cornering in either direction. Thanks
regards, Vito
More: Core Skills Clinics
This summer’s public clinics have been a ton of fun. Due to popular demand, we’re going to rock some Core Skills Clinics on July 26 and Aug. 2, 9 and 16.
There is no better (or cost effective) way to improve your cycling kung fu. Keep reading …
Frame size for tall pump/urban/trail rider
Great site Lee.
My buddies and I are getting more into pump tracks. Most recently we just laid the groundwork on my friends backyard pump track. Its already starting to take shape nicely.
I have a question about bikes. I’m 6′ 2 and I’m trying to figure out what kind of frame to build up. I love Yeti’s so the long Yeti DJ comes to mind. I have also been looking at the Santa Cruz Chameleon. I guess I’m looking for a bike that I can ride the pump track on, but also do some urban and light trail on. Being tall its hard to decide what size is right. Is there a good rule to follow for pump/urban bikes. Like maybe one size down from what normal sizing would be?
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Ian
29er hardtail vs. suspension?
Hey Lee,
Love your book, I have question, I am looking to buy a new bike next year I want a 29 er, should I go with a full suspension or a hard tail?
Teaching at Colorado Rocky Mountain School
I suppose it’s a bit late, but I know where I want to go to high school.
Rodney “White Socks” Johnson, RIP
Rodney Johnson was an unassuming and enthusiastic mountain biker — and a genuinely great guy. A quiet leader in our sport, he helped create IMBA, ROMP and Mere Mortals. Rodney recently died of pancreatic cancer.
Rocking Keystone, Texas XC style
Jordan, Jason, Adam and Keenan are all riding buddies from Texas, and last week they road-tripped to Keystone for three days of braaap. We spent the first day together.