Whether you’re an expert or a beginner, it’s worth having a bit of a refresh to knock you out of a funk or give you some ideas on how to better your riding experience. We’ve written a brief guide on how to improve your mountain bike handling:
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Ride with People You Like
Everyday cyclists saddle up and get out there. Some like to go alone, some prefer riding with others and some are those inbetweeners that do both. Each have their benefits, however if riding with others, it is important to go out with people you like to those who ride at the same level as you. Feeling stressed or trying to keep up is just going to be detrimental to you control.
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Shorten your cockpit
When you consider how important it is to have full control of your bike when riding off-road, it’s unbelievable how little time we spend looking at the positioning and setup of our cockpit area and controls. Badly positioned bars, poorly adjusted stem faceplates, wonky stems and gear levers that can’t be easily reached are the first signs that your cockpit setup could be improved. When trails get challenging, you’ll appreciate the increased range of motion and comfort that a short stem delivers.
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Improve your Pedal Efficiently
We all like to think that we are fit as possible, right? But let’s face it, sometimes our busy lifestyles mean we can’t go out and ride as much as we’d like. So, let’s get as much power as we can from the fitness that we do have. Start with this pedalling tip: As your pedal reaches the top of the stroke, drop your heel. Before 12 o’clock, push across the top from your hip. This will lengthen the power phase and eliminate the opposite dead spot.
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Lower Your Seat
Whether you have a remotely adjustable seat post or a simple quick-release lever or an Allen, ensure you are climbing at optimal pedalling height. When it’s time to ride downhill, drop your seat a few inches. This will give you more room to move, which makes riding a lot safer and more exciting! Once you learn to descend with your seat down, you won’t put up with “high posting” any longer.
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Upgrade your Suspension Setup
Upgrading the suspension on your mountain bike is one of the best things you can do to breathe new life into your bike. Whether it is a fork or shock, you will be amazed at the technology these days in suspension, and how that can translate to ride quality out on the trail. Not to mention the smile on your face!
#1 Tip: Let us help you! Here at BETD, we stock an impressive collection of linkage plates and cycle components. Our CNC machined suspension components are all manufactured in the UK, are made out of aircraft aluminium and provide greater pedal clearance.
We offer many linkage plates for various models of bikes including Iron Horse Sundays, Specialized FRS, Enduro and our lastest linkage the Boardman FS which is our main feature in this blog
The Boardman suspension linkage is the latest addition to the BETD range of travel linkage plates. It is designed for the 2016 FS Pro and the Team full suspension frames and uses the same hardware from the original linkage but it is supplied with sealed bearings. It transforms the bike into a trail bike that can be used for XC riding, giving more confidence and stability of the slacker head angle, for aggressive trail riding.
Following the latest trend of having a slacker head angle, the head angle is changed from 68.50 degrees to a raked out 67 degrees which makes the bike feel more relaxed, as your centre of gravity is pushed slightly backwards and increasing the wheelbase slightly. If you would like any more information on this product please give us call at the office on 01782 563415.
