Mountain Biking - had a great ride yesterday... also got a question

on sunday i took the new fluid out for a spin around the neighbourhood to test out the bike a bit – since it was close to sunset, i didn’t have time to go to the trails i usually ride. i found a small stair set – about 4 steps high, and tried jumping them a few times, the bike held up nicely, although i think i did bottom out the fork a couple of times. i haven’t really touched the fork yet to do any tuning though, so we’ll see how it handles after i fool around with it a bit.

yesterday, i had to work 7-3... so i thought i’d ride the bike to work and then head to the don trails after i got off to put the bike through it’s first trail ride. i got to the trails around 4pm and rode until sunset (around 6:30-7ish). around 5ish, i had to go to the mosque close by and pray, so on the way there i decided to try jumping off some more stair sets and other things, i found one loading bay that dipped down about 4’-5’, jumped that. i shoulda scoped it first cause as i approached the edge i realised how high it was but it was too late to stop and i took off... i closed my eyes just before landing, and as a result crashed and burned. i don't quite know how i landed, but i know i my left wrist is kinda sore from trying to brace my fall, i bruised my butt and my tailbone – all’s fine though, no major carnage. after that, i found another stair set close by, probably 2’-3’ and jumped those, nailed the landings just fine. again, the bike held up nicely.

after praying, i head back to the trails for some more riding before heading to my friend’s place to hang out a bit before heading home.

overall, it was a great ride, lots of fun. the bike’s dope and i’m lovin’ it. it’s noticably heavier than my fisher, which was expected. there were a few hills that i usually ride up that i had to walk – which could have been due to the weight of the bike, my backpack, lack of sleep the night before and lack of food. the fluid also handled all the stuff i rode it over, and i’m sure it can handle more...

now, for my question. on the way to the trails, i noticed that when i back-pedalled, my crank was getting stuck on something... when i checked it out, i noticed that the main pivot was starting to come out on the drivetrain side – i’m lucky it couldn’t go further than it did because of the chain ring. anyhow, before i got to the trail, i stopped and pulled out my multi-tool and tightened it up a bit... i also had to tighten it again a couple more times during the ride on the trails. on the way home, i noticed some more loose bolts that needed tightening on the upper pivot points. is this something normal, for bolts to come loose while riding? or is it just the case where they weren’t tightened enough to begin with and that’s why they’re coming loose?

Bikes like all things have a settling in period. Over a period of a month things will come loose and just not work well. The drive Train especially. Just take it back to the shop to tighten things up.

You should also invest in a product called "lock-tite". That'll keep the bolts, nuts..etc. from coming loose from critical areas.

L8R

For the 4' or 5' drop that you crashed on. What did you do?

NEVER close your eyes when you are jumping or dropping. The motion for a 5' drop is the same when you drop a curb.

Lean back as you would to ride off of a curb smoothly, extend your legs (NOT locked). As soon as the rear wheel hits (I prefer to land rear-wheel first then drop the front down, either that or both at the same time), start to absorb the landing with your legs.

When I drop, I like to keep my arms kind of stiff (still 'springy' but not so much that you will smash your face on your stem when you hit the ground).

It's all a head game. If you don't think about the drop, and keep your eyes on the landing (not out, and not at the front wheel), you'll land it fine.

For the 4' or 5' drop that you crashed on. What did you do?i don’t really remember... i just remember seeing the loading bay and thinking that it’d be fun to jump down. i didn’t really scope it properly and just checked if i had enough room to build up a bit of speed. i approached the loading bay and then realised it was as higher than i thought, and like i mentioned got a bit scared. it was too late to stop and i was going too fast to just ride down the slope, so i just launched off it. next thing i remember i hit the ground and ended up lying on my side, kinda twisted. (i made a ghetto photoshop diagram for you guys so you can sorta picture the drop).


It's all a head game. If you don't think about the drop, and keep your eyes on the landing (not out, and not at the front wheel), you'll land it fine.thanks for all the advice. hopefully i remember it all next time i decide to jump off something that high again heh.

What you wanna do is simply attempt to manual off of things like that if it's a straight drop, and everything looks smooth on the landing.

If there is glass, or it's a slope or something of that nature, then a bunny hop will suffice. But when you hop, don't push the bar's foward and try to level out to land flat like when you hop on the ground. Instead, throw your weight backwards, kick up the back end, and twist your grips a little bit. This will rotate the bike in the air slightly, but it will prevent you from going down nose heavy. Jumping normally (pushing the bars out and sucking the bike under you) will cause you to push the nose down slightly and you'll land front wheel first.