Body Positioning

Last week we looked at the photos below in the context of how I was braking. This week, we are looking at my body positioning. A lot of how I am positioned over the bike in the two photos on the right, is about the geometry of the bike. Older bikes don’t allow you to be in an ideal descending position. On the right, the biggest difference is that my center of gravity is lower, that is because I have a seat dropper! A lower center of gravity makes you a more stable rider, you are harder to tip over. The other big difference is the width of my bars. On the right, they are much wider, giving me more leverage on my bike. The combination of wider bars and lowered center of gravity also means I have more range of motion. I can move my bike side to side, and front to back, to go over and around all the obstacles in the trail. In other words, I can have ALL the fun on my bike! For more information about what to look for when buying your new mountain bike, take a look at this video and see what specifications I recommend. I ride the Jamis Portal and think it’s one of the most ideal bikes for my clients, coaches and friends. It’s the best all around bike for 2020!

Photos are from 2010, 2011 and 2020

Braking Progression

Can you see the differences in my braking in these photos? My body position is really different in the last photo, I will address that next week.  So let's first take a look at the fingers on my brakes. In the first one, I am using my 2 middle fingers on the brakes. At that time, I felt like wrapping my index finger around my bike helped me grip better. After lots of "suggestions" from fellow riders, I started to put my index finger on the brakes, but kept the middle one on there. It took another year or so for me to finally convert to one-finger to braking. I am showing you this so you know that I had to learn too and it was a process. It was not overnight magic! I was stubborn and didn't like the way the one-finger braking felt. Over time, I learned to use one finger and I became a much more efficient rider. You can watch the video from a few weeks ago to understand why we use one finger.

"Success is not a goal to reach or finish line to cross. It is a system to improve, an endless process to refine...If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don’t want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change." Atomic Habits, by James Clear. 

For fun and easy tech videos, look through our clinic journal.

Best,

Erica Tingey
Park City, Utah

Photos are from 2010, 2011 and 2020

Before and After, Skills Edition

Can you spot the differences below?

On the left, I am leaning my body, not my bike. On the right, I am leaning my bike, not my body! ⁣⁣⁣
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On the left, I am "turning" in a place where I should leaning the bike. ⁣⁣⁣
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On the left, my arms are both slightly bent. On the right, I am doing the "bend and extend". ⁣⁣⁣
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On the left, my seat high, so my center of gravity is higher (scarier!). On the right, I have a dropper, so my center of gravity is low. Low feels stable. Stability equals speed!⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
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On the left, my hands are not at the end of the bars, that is a brake set up issue, I have solved that and continue to solve it for all of my clients! More about brake set up next week.⁣ ⁣⁣
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These photos are from 2011 and 2019, that was 8 years of working on my skills and am still not done! ⁣

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