Descend With Confidence - Practice Like a Pro #57
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- Опубликовано: 12 авг 2023
- THIS EPISODE:
Descending with confidence is all about riding the "magic carpet." This is a function of the stable foot foundation that is created by the pedal spindles and bottom bracket. Because of these freely rotating elements, we're able to maintain a very stable foot base as our bikes respond to the terrain, which allows our experience over the bike to feel more like an escalator ride.
Approaching a steep descent for the maximum Magic Carpet effect:
1. Approach the edge of the descent standing tall.
2. Just before reaching the edge, drive your knees forward, allowing your arms to naturally collect in a bent position.
3. As the bike rolls down the slope, your body will naturally remain over the bottom bracket.
4. This allows you to complete the steep descent in a balanced position over your bike, ready for the next move or feature on the trail.
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ABOUT SIMON LAWTON
Following his own Pro Downhill mountain bike racing career, Simon Lawton (Owner and Founder) has spent the last 25 years analyzing the top riders in the world to understand the tiniest details that contribute to their greatest successes, and also any weaknesses that are holding them back. With an exceptional understanding of kinesiology, Simon has developed his own teaching curriculum that explains the incredible relationship between human and machine. He has trained top pro mountain bike racers across the world, and his foundational techniques apply equally to beginner riders. His on-bike drills allow you to break down complex skills on the bike and develop correct techniques.
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ABOUT LINNEA ROOKE
Linnea has been racing locally in the pro category, but prior to Fluidride, she had almost no formal training and was held back by major gaps in her technique. While she was able to carry speed well on straight downhills and high-bermed turns, she lacked foundational cornering skills and was timid in the air. In Feb 2020, she met up with Fluidride to help with a filming trip in Baja, and was fascinated by Simon's teaching methods. Wanting to be part of this mission, she left her career in healthcare in July 2020 to officially join the Fluidride team as COO. We started filming this series to document her journey of cleaning up bad habits, adding new skills to her toolkit, and chasing her dream of riding with style.
Linnea is riding an Evil Following V3! www.evil-bikes.com/collection... 
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Since I've found Fluidride's teachings, my riding has improved so much over 3 months, more than the prior couple of years. Thank you!!
SO AWESOME! Thank you for reaching out David. Happy trails! -Simon
You guys are killing it with this series. So much gold! Thank you Simon and Linnea for showing how it's done. They're short, easily digestible tutorials 👌
Thanks Wes. So nice to hear that our videos are resonating. I was never a naturally talented pro, so having some ideas to let me feel confident helped me even when I felt like an imposter at the starting gate with the worlds best descenders. -Simon
This is such a simple but ride changing explanation of what I keep losing control (and falling off) on drops!! Thank you for posting this, you are a legend!!
Fantastic.
I point my toes up in the air briefly on my pedals to, for an extra measure of security on that descend.
Thank you both.
The biggest mtb tip ever for me. Man, I go down rock stairs and steep descent like a pro. It is incredible how this tip helped me get ahead in my riding abilities. BTW, I am over 60 and started eMTB a year ago.
Simon is a master of his craft. So appreciative of his teaching and sharing with all of us!
He's a great teacher. Glad he's back making these videos with Linnea.
Wow. Thank you Corey! It's my absolute pleasure to share. As a matter of fact, I never set out to be a 'You Tube' guy, but realized I wanted everyone to have solid information to ride safely. This is the base tier. We also have our online school (fluidrideonline.com) and our in person classes (fluidride.com) so there is something for everyone depending on budget and interest...starting with everyone who has basic internet. I'm so happy to be reaching folks. -Simon
I've been watching this series for a while and simon and linnea are really great breaking down the skills , and the examples and slow-mo make it easy to understand what is going on . As someone who restarted mountain biking at 65 after a 20 year break, these videos have helped me so learn much technique . I'm an avid skier and I really can feel some of the concepts by reflecting on that, especially the cornering . Just wish I had more time to ride ! Keep up the great work !
I think the videos and slowmo with text are highly effective. Especially the side by side shots. (way better than the verbal descriptions...)
Yeah, I try to teach from four of the main teaching modalities. Visual (which I am), auditory (which I am not!), kinesthetic (which I also am), and digital (which I am not). Interesting how we all learn with some things and not with others. Cheers. -Simon
I have attended multiple in person Mtb classes around PNW and I’d like to say Fluidride offer the best quality ones!
Thanks for your quality and understandable videos
Havinf watched a fair number of your videos, i was thinking about this very thing the other day at the DH park. Framing it as a magic carpet is a great way to explain the feeling.
Awesome, Simon.
I always call the "magic carpet" by "doing the hovercraft" in my mind. Floating and skimming to the greatest extent possible. Lots of little unweights and pressures. And how much suppleness is required in ankles especially (using that pedal spindle rotation to advantage), but knees hips shoulders elbows wrists too. I used to like trying to teach skiers this suppleness using a common little experience I learned from better teachers. Simply traverse an average Blue bump run, directly perpendicular to the fall line. And keep your head level while doing so. Force the focus on soft ankles, knees, hips and feeling a good connection through the soles of your feet, and keeping hips over feet. Same thing really in MTB, and when you get it right on skis or on a bike it's an awesome feeling.
Oooh. Love the 'hovercraft' idea. Gonna steal that from you Sean. Will give you credit in class of course. I used to ski a lot and what you are talking about with the bumps is a lot like our 'passive pumping' drill. Body relaxed, head still and lower body moving like it should! -Simon
@@Fluidride No credit needed, I like when ideas help people get the image & movement understood.
You two make a great team. 🔥
Very good !! you two make things easier to put into thinking.. appreciated.
I came across this exact obstacle today, but felt like my bottom bracket would not clear the drop, because there was a tree root exposed across rather drop. First thing I thought of was, “What would Simon do”? Still working on my lead foot cornering and pre turns. Using semi slick tires on my emtb around the loose trails of Santa Cruz allows me to feel the grip or slip and feel more in control. Cheers!
Love knowing I'm there with you in spirit as you ride! Means I get even more vert! I need to get back down that way. I spent several weeks there a few years ago and had a blast. -Simon
I watch every video y’all put out. Riding downhill for the first time this week, get to put this into action!
Awesome Brad. Riding downhill will give you so much practice. Linnea just did a day here in the Alps where she clocked 31k feet of vertical. Imagine how much pedaling that would take. Bet she got several thousand rounds of turn practice that day! -Simon
I love the explanations in this episode. Just gained a bunch of confidence.
I was kind of nervous to share this, because I thought people might think it was stupid. So happy to know it landed with you as it did with me when I was a pro rider. I leaned heavily on this when I'd wake up on race day nervous about what was to come. -Simon
Nicely explained, definitely going to test this out for those descending bumps.
Update...tried this out last week. It works! Definitely more control, also easier on the elbows for old guys like me.
Really nice to see you again Linnea
So nice to be back!! -Simon
Excellent explanation
This is definitely something I need to work on
Just visualize this idea as you ride and it will really help you relax.
Hey Simon I really appreciate all your videos ! You have helped me improve so much. I notice you are now riding a Specialized Enduro, could you give some advice
on how you set up the bike? Maybe someday you guys could do a video on suspension set up in general.
Man, this makes my day Geoffrey! So glad the videos are helping. I'm going to add a suspension setup video the the list, even though I'm no real expert. I will do a basic setup on 10-12 bikes prior to class in about 20 minutes and have a lot of experience making sure the bike is balanced in a basic way. There are of course experts out there and I rely on them to help me with high and low speed compression and rebound etc., but most riders' bikes are way off the mark from the start, so doing a basic video on this is in order!
Sounds great, I am awaiting the delivery of my Enduro this week
I did such descend last Saturday and was super scared approaching it. However, after watching your videos I knew in my head what I must do to succeed so I did not go back over my tire but instead went forward with knees and chest, I felt in control through all of it. I was still scared as hell, but I felt knowing what is happening. Great videos guys.
Awesome Serge! So glad this is landing. I also get scared on steeps from time to time, so having a game plan really helps me relax as much as possible. Happy Trails! -Simon
5:43 One of the critical things that I constantly observe from several videos is to keep the weight of your arm as minimal as possible.
However, in this section, since you said that my position should still be over the bottom bracket, doesn't it make you put weight on the handlebars? Since this is what happens when I do this position.
Should my arm and handlebar remain weightless?
I have been working on the knees forward concept when I am going down stair step ledges. My question is how far should I push my knees forward?
I think it may help to focus on what Simon and Linnea both mentioned in the video above: stay over the bottom bracket, and try to feel solid/supported between pedals and ground. I've found that if I'm focused on staying over the BB, the amount of conscious "knee drive" I need is much smaller than if I've got my hips back behind the BB. It seems to me the knee drive is to retain that position over the BB, that's what I'm trying to say and I know Simon can explain it way better than I ever could.
Hey Bruce, as Sean mentions below, this is all about staying centered on the bike. These are subtle movement and not really physical in nature. Stand up wherever you are with a gentle bend in your knees and just rock back and forth a few inches and feel how you can keep your weight feeling centered athletically. Really at the end of the day, we are just keeping our center of mass balanced over the bottom bracket of the bike. NOW...to answer you question more specifically...it depends on how sudden and steep a descent is and how fast you are moving. The more of each of these, the more movement that is required. We have an awesome tutorial on this subject in our online school (www.fluidrideonline.com). Cheers! -Simon
Any tips on approaching drops on a descent? Do the same rules apply or is there something else to consider?
A great question! Yes, there are a couple of things to consider. If you are on a descent, your arms will likely be a bit extended if there is a bit of steepness to the trail you are on. If the drop has a downhill takeoff, you prepare by becoming perpendicular to the takeoff of the drop. This gives you the ability to then extend rearward off the drop. Essentially you will lean forward into the hill just before you shift your hips off the drop. This movement insures you get proper movement off the drop edge and can keep the front end of the bike up. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions! -Simon
Interesting point on photography ruining technique. A photographer at a press launch once told me "Fast riders usually don't look it in photos". Getting those dynamic looking shots is often about wasting a load of energy on cartoony, exaggerated riding positions
Yes, 'cartoony, exaggerated positions' hits the mark perfectly!
Excellent, this fundamentally changed my riding about 6-8 years ago. Funny, "just getting back" is scary as hell now. I am curious, I rode in the backward movement from roughly 1995-2015ish, in the fixed seat post days and very tight cockpits (shorter reaches). Do you think the long & slack and dropper post requires forward movement, or do you think the forward movement came about due to the newer geos....or should we have been riding that way all along. Thanks, Simon, keep these videos coming they are so very good.
Benjamin: I'm nowhere near as competent skill-wise or instructing as Simon and Linnea, so please take this with a LARGE grain of salt!! 🙂
I'd appreciate Simon's and Linnea's comments on the following. I think that maximizing one's range of motion in the "cockpit" is key to achieving safe and more proficient MTB riding. Some of that has been achieved by the dropper and longer/slacker geometry. But much of it is achieved by being in a truly centered position so that you can absorb the bike movement (up, down, backwards, forwards) while experiencing Simon's "magic carpet" ride. In this example, not being so far back that when your front wheel drops, you have no forward range of motion left.
These videos are superb in the slo-mo right and wrong analysis, the techniques taught and the easily understandable explanations/analogies used.
Those, to me, are the hallmark of exceptional instructors.
Thank you Simon and Linnea!!!
What size is that enduro bike?
Damn! How wide are Simon's handlebars? 😄
800mm. I'm 6'5" and have wide shoulders.
Tip #1: if you know all the moves, but don't do them, start singing. It takes your mind out of the equation
Yes, and smiling helps you relax. Both are great tools!