Mountain Biking - need advice on turning sharp corners

I need help with one section of one of my favorite trails. I've rode this trail many times and have only made it through this section once. Twice I wiped out. Every other time I've swallowed my pride, hopped off the bike and walked it down. Basically its a steep downhill rife with little valleys and bumps from rain washing down followed by a super sharp turn to the right. My friend says I just need confidence since we have similar bikes and experience and he makes it through fine, but I thought I'd ask for some advice on how to approach it anyways. If it helps the section is preceded by a shallow downhill and I ride a K2 T-9 Trailhead.

My advice would be to do what you did the one time you made it.

dude I don't remember what I did! It was hella days ago.

Put on some downhill armor and rail it.

Way I see it, you have a few options:
1) Slow down at the top of it, look ahead and decide what line you want to ride, then go for it. The negative is that you allow your mind time to talk you out of it.
2) Don't slow down, hit it with momentum and trust that you can react fast enough to choose the best line.
3) Watch the line your buddy takes and do what he does.

Put on some downhill armor and rail it.

lol what?

keep your outside foot at six o'clock and lean into your turn. as was said before, just rail it broseph!

I assuming you're of the feminine gender? I ride with gals that just seem to have more natural ability for mountain bikeing. I don't know if it's a better sense of balance, more finess or exactly what it is, but they just seem to pick up the technical skills quicker. Don't overthink it, trust your abilities.
If you are a guy, Dude why are you riding a T-9?

Get your buddy to ride it a bit slower and follow his line.

dude I don't remember what I did! It was hella days ago.

how many days are hella?

how many days are hella?

around 200?

I assuming you're of the feminine gender? I ride with gals that just seem to have more natural ability for mountain bikeing. I don't know if it's a better sense of balance, more finess or exactly what it is, but they just seem to pick up the technical skills quicker. Don't overthink it, trust your abilities.
If you are a guy, Dude why are you riding a T-9?

lol I'm not a guy :]

lol I'm not a guy :]

Maybe that's the issue.

keep your outside foot at six o'clock and lean into your turn.

"followed by a super sharp turn to the right."

Try again?

Take a picture of it so we can see exactly what the "turn" is.

Here are the top 3 braking tips Ive learned over the years:

1. Outside foot down
2. Brake before the turn and come into it wide
3. Lean with your body more than the bike

Where the head goes, the body will follow.

Relax, the less tense you are the smoother you'll ride.

i digress. just rail it dudette!

My wife falls all the time on loose, downhill switchbacks.. I put on a better set of tires and she has actually improved quite a bit. Really you just have to keep moving and go with the flow.

3. Lean with your body more than the bike


I tend to try to lean the bike and my body at the same degree, but I ride a pretty round profile tire. sometimes I think the big side blocks on some rubber upset the cornering. probably mostly a mental ting though.

Rail it= Throw caution to the wind and let 'er rip! :-)

I need help with one section of one of my favorite trails. I've rode this trail many times and have only made it through this section once. Twice I wiped out. Every other time I've swallowed my pride, hopped off the bike and walked it down. Basically its a steep downhill rife with little valleys and bumps from rain washing down followed by a super sharp turn to the right. My friend says I just need confidence since we have similar bikes and experience and he makes it through fine, but I thought I'd ask for some advice on how to approach it anyways. If it helps the section is preceded by a shallow downhill and I ride a K2 T-9 Trailhead.

Don't let it beat you in your head. Get your weight on the pedals, butt out of the saddle and weight back. Use the brakes, rear more than front to control speed and remember that if you go down and you are not flying, it's not the end of the world. You might tip over but won't flip or fly out into space. Prepare for that turn in advance, pick you line, put your inside foot down and worst case you tip over. Your foot is already there.

I actually love tough downhill sections, gravity is working with you. It's the tough uphills that get me, tire slip, clipped in, wrong gear, etc. You feel powerless. Going down is easier as long as you keep your weight on your pedals and butt back, slide the rear tire if you need to.

Get some Metallica or something like that playing in your ears then go for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_(racing)

Late apexing will give more overall speed through the corner. I know this isn't what you're specifically talking about but the mechanics for most corners are the same. Set up on the trail opposite of the corner wait a bit longer than you think is necessary. Turn in and ride it out.

Of course, there could be many reasons why this needs to be modified, but it is the basics. For example, I have a corner that I try to apex but it is so off camber (sloping away from the corner) that if one doesn't swing out wide, the bike slips out.

Hope this helps somewhat.

You'll build more skill and confidence in technical MTB by taking it slow.

Stand up before you drop in. Pinch the seat dick with ur thighs and lean back over the rear tire (ur hammies will prolly lean on the seat wings).

Get on that rear brake keep it rolling just enough so you don't toss. And just use the braking to pick up speed if you need it.

Any technical downhill can be properly handled with proper balance and control.

Once you get good at really slow riding and braking control, you'll learn to drag ur rear wheel so you can go faster instead of pulsing the brake. Then you'll learn how to steer the bike with ur feet/weight while that rear wheel is sliding along.

I know this isn't what you're specifically talking about but the mechanics for most corners are the same.

No, the mechanics are not the same at all.

The mechanics of a fast flat corner are different than a technical, flat, medium speed corner and are different from a flat smooth super sharp corner which is different from a technical steep super sharp corner.

No, the mechanics are not the same at all.

The mechanics of a fast flat corner are different than a technical, flat, medium speed corner and are different from a flat smooth super sharp corner which is different from a technical steep super sharp corner.

Correct, but you can change the dynamic of any corner by simply changing your speed and or your approach.

Stand up before you drop in. Pinch the seat dick with ur thighs and lean back over the rear tire (ur hammies will prolly lean on the seat wings).


Don't clamp onto the saddle with your legs...this is a bad XC rider type crutch. Keep your legs apart and let the bike float beneath you. I know it's a little harder to do with the saddle at XC height but resist the temptation to hold onto the saddle. When you clamp onto the saddle, you tighten up.

Dropping the saddle will also help you make the tight turns on a descent.

Correct, but you can change the dynamic of any corner by simply changing your speed and or your approach.

You can change the dynamic of any part of the trail by altering speed or approach (i.e., your line).

The point is that all different types of corners have to be approached differently. We spend a lot of time practicing different corners and cornering techniques while training for DH racing.

Don't clamp onto the saddle with your legs...this is a bad XC rider type crutch. Keep your legs apart and let the bike float beneath you. I know it's a little harder to do with the saddle at XC height but resist the temptation to hold onto the saddle. When you clamp onto the saddle, you tighten up.

Dropping the saddle will also help you make the tight turns on a descent.

I completely disagree. This is an excellent tactic for descending under brake. If you have wide open space and don't need to control your speed too much you can float the bike. But when you have to slow down on a descent you need your weight back.

XC and DH are 2 different disciplines. I would say the similarities are nil.

I completely disagree. This is an excellent tactic for descending under brake. If you have wide open space and don't need to control your speed too much you can float the bike. But when you have to slow down on a descent you need your weight back.

XC and DH are 2 different disciplines. I would say the similarities are nil.

Thank you.

That was very funny.

I completely disagree. This is an excellent tactic for descending under brake. If you have wide open space and don't need to control your speed too much you can float the bike. But when you have to slow down on a descent you need your weight back.

XC and DH are 2 different disciplines. I would say the similarities are nil.

If that is what you do, you are seriously handicapping your riding. Having your weight back is fine, just don't clamp onto the saddle. For some reason, people are very resistant to getting away from that crutch, but once they do and get comfortable, the descents get much more fun (and faster). A good example was N2BKN at last year's fall forum ride...he was having a lot more fun descending after a few tips.

Whether you're descending on an XC bike or a DH bike, it's still descending and the same skills apply. I ride both...do you? Improving my skills on the DH bike has made me much better on the trail bike.

You going back this spring?

No, can't make the spring but I'm shooting for the fall again.

If that is what you do, you are seriously handicapping your riding. Having your weight back is fine, just don't clamp onto the saddle. For some reason, people are very resistant to getting away from that crutch, but once they do and get comfortable, the descents get much more fun (and faster). A good example was N2BKN at last year's fall forum ride...he was having a lot more fun descending after a few tips.

Whether you're descending on an XC bike or a DH bike, it's still descending and the same skills apply. I ride both...do you? Improving my skills on the DH bike has made me much better on the trail bike.

No I only ride XC. Whether you clamp ur saddle or not you still have to have some way to apply force to the rear of the bike?

What do you mean "apply force to the rear of the bike"?

Yeah, you apply weight through body positioning and weighting/unweighting the pedals at the appropriate times.

Clamping the saddle inhibits your ability to move the bike around underneath you. Being able to move the bike around allows you to take sharper turns, carry more speed through corners, dig your tires in, etc.

Yeah, you apply weight through body positioning and weighting/unweighting the pedals at the appropriate times.

Clamping the saddle inhibits your ability to move the bike around underneath you. Being able to move the bike around allows you to take sharper turns, carry more speed through corners, dig your tires in, etc.

Correct... I feel like you guys are misunderstanding me...

What im saying is that you're going to have to apply force to the rear tire (more importantly the rear of the bike) under braking on a straight downhill to prevent going over the bars or getting to far forward and doing an endo. This method won't be carried through a turn as you will have to angle the bike appropriately to dig tires, however typically you shouldn't be using threshold braking techniques in a turn anyways.

When im going down a steep approach that leads into a sharp corner. I will be bombing down the hill, applying heavy braking prior to entering the turn, shift weight to the rear of the bike, probably drag the rear tire some and use that weight to adjust how much it digs in. Then come off the brakes to allow tires to roll and simply roll the bike through the turn.

Don't look at where your tires are at any particular instant. Look where you want to go. Keeping your eyes up is key to riding well. If you just look at your front tire, then by the time you see a problem, it's too late.