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This was like popping in at the best local bike shop, but without feeling like I'm supposed to buy anything.

SO GOOD!!!! We watched it later that night and for the rest of the weekend, Jonny kept staring us down and saying "If it's between you and me, I will not hesitate to put you down."

" Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

Absolute gold! "We could make you ride worst with bike setup".

Charlie: "I used to be fast, now I'm just a guy." Liar. Some of us have seen enough of your riding to know that! Re forum built bike, MTB-News.de did that, the angles and dimensions were crowd sourced (polls, essentially what people would prefer) and Alutech made it. Sadly the content is in German. https://www.mtb-news.de/news/category/icb/ Regarding F1, it's a marketing exercise. It has zero connection with the real world. I've mentioned this before, the bike world F1 stuff is iron man bikes (not constrained by the UCI), DH bikes are somewhere along WRC (a mix of Rally1, 2 and...

I really hope the "Pivot" is just someone's bike they hacked together in a shed and slapped a sticker on the top tube to f with everyone. I'm also still waiting on "My favorite loamer is dirt merchant" sticker.

Hope it's aluminum

This got so much deeper than I was expecting... And I loved it! The Loam Chart really brought it back to Geology 101, also known as "Rocks For Jocks"

I was really expecting this just to be him screaming "Loam (/lōm/): a soil with roughly equal proportions of sand, silt, and clay!" over and over in an increasingly high pitched voice. Sorta disappointed. Only joking, Charlie's entertaining, definitely could be a regular on these if he's into it.

Thanks Jason, Wow! That sounds awesome to have more front tire grip at high lean angles. I'll definitely buy one. Certainly cheaper than the Assegai DH ($112 vs $69). See everybody! You won't get this type of feedback from Pinkbike.

Transitioning back and forth from BMX to MTB can be rather difficult as the geometry is so vastly different. On a BMX, BB height above the axles, mega steep head angle and short chainstays makes them a different beast entirely. The more you ride both the less of an issue it will be. Don't go thinking you can't get a BMX, you definitely can, it just requires some extra time if you don't have experience with them. I always found I needed to relearn how to ride a BMX each time, which became tedious with adult life so I went...

hearing transition is back to WC racing with heavy jr. squad. hope it's true!

embedding the hill post just b/c that photo is so freaking sick

Yes, I paid money to get coached. Did it work? F*** YEAH. I came to mountain biking from the roadie side in the early '90s. I learned every bad riding habit you could possibly learn, and reinforced those bad habits for about 20 years. Getting some instruction from people who know what they're doing changed everything about my riding for the better. If you can, take lessons somewhere with lift access or a shuttle program. You'll be fresher for the stuff that matters, and learn more per session. Try to find somebody with a PMBIA cert or some sort of...

First of all, I love that this is a forum topic. The MTB media's ratio of "stuff" vs. "skills" tech is way out of wack in my opinion. I took one of Gene Hamilton's BetterRide camps back when I was about 15. That really changed the game for me as it gave me the foundational knowledge from which to build on for the next decade-plus. Gravity-based cycling (enduro, downhill) is basically an exercise in being great at the basics, so knowing those basics is critical to be able to start building on them. I haven't had any coaching recently, but...

I took Gene's camp (Betteride) twice in 2 years like 10 yrs ago and learned a TON. Completely changed how I ride. I felt like I got a huge amount out of the first one but knew I missed stuff, thus taking it a 2nd time. Like TR, I still think about (and practice) stuff he taught literally every ride. And I've been thinking about doing maybe just a private session with Gene one of these days when schedules and budget line up. I've tried to pass some of that knowledge on to new riders, but a big part of...

Not had much experience with coaches, but practicing basic skills can pay off massively. At one point when I was already a fairly competitive rider, I would do some training drills in the evening, bunny hopping up onto a knee high step, and nose turning around lamp posts. I did this a few nights a week over a few months, since then my nose turns can get me around any switchback in the Alps and I can bunny hop over even quite high fallen branches at speed without flinching. The difficulty is finding time as with everything...

Wasn't an answer on the survey for me to answer, but I picked the yes I paid for a clinic and made me better option thing...truth is, I live with someone that has taught MTB skills for 20 years, my wife. Nearly every ride we do I learn a technique from her. I have also met hundreds of her former clients that talk about the benefits of the classes they've taken. This is not a sales pitch, just a story, she doesn't do clinics full time anymore. But the point was, the RIGHT coach can expedite a skill that you...

Took one lesson from Gene (Betteride) way back in the day (probably 2003?). I'd say I had similar results at TR. As TR noted, the better you get the better coach you need, but every level can benefit from it. Don't forget, even the best golfers in the world have swing coaches...