making myself a better woods rider
  • ry323
    Posts: 17
    Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 10:19 am

    making myself a better woods rider

    by ry323 » Sun Aug 05, 2007 12:56 am

    I ride a 2006 honda crf450r and I just started racing hare scrambles. I'm wanting to know how to get a better start on a dead engine start. Also I been trying to make myself stand up more because they say its better than sitting down and I see alot of A riders standing do you have any tips on making me more comfortable standing. thanks for any advice
  • User avatar
    Jethro
    Posts: 285
    Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:25 am

    by Jethro » Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:10 am

    they stole my seat to teach me to stand up. 30 miles with no seat, i figured it out. the only way you will get comfortable like that is just forcing yourself to do it and training on a bicycle standing helps too.
    "Running is not a plan, Running is what you do when the plan fails"
    Image
  • bullitproof gimp
    Posts: 26
    Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:48 am

    by bullitproof gimp » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:08 am

    work on the tight stuff ,you want to be extra smooth there this is not the time to sit and chill aggression is a blessing,are you finishing consitantly ,when are you using most of your energy learn to spead your energy levels evenly
  • User avatar
    124
    Posts: 3704
    Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 1:37 pm

    by 124 » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:29 am

    Build your leg muscles and pinch the bike with your knees while riding. That and just standing up more when riding
    70' Honda CT70 (Trail 70; Gold)
    16' KX450
    16' KX85
    12' YZ125
  • RJacks258
    Posts: 36
    Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:27 pm

    by RJacks258 » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:57 am

    Work on your endurance before your speed.
    If you wanted to go faster and went that route first, you'll end up prematurely worn out. When I switched from MX to Hare Scrambles this year, I constantly tried to ride as fast as I could. I was never able to go more than 20 miles. Our races in Florida are typically 40 miles or so. I started out after that trying to go 50-60 miles at a decent pace. Then as I was able to go the distance shortened my rides to 40 miles at 80%-90% race pace.
    Another tip to work on technique to make you faster, is start out riding smooth trails, or lines and coordinate yourself with your surroundings. Then go with the nasty stuff.
  • joshua86
    Posts: 16
    Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:58 pm

    by joshua86 » Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:32 pm

    I find it hard to stand up in the tight stuff also, Because i have a really really small foot its like i need a shorter shifter when standing.
    Hold it pinned until you win.
  • RJacks258
    Posts: 36
    Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2007 6:27 pm

    by RJacks258 » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:14 pm

    The tight stuff is most important to stand in.
  • User avatar
    450xL.W.
    Posts: 72
    Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:36 pm

    by 450xL.W. » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:43 pm

    bike set up is very important ,I had to shave the out side teeth off my brake petal because my boots would hang up on landings. I found my arms would get tired early so i got taller bars to help move my center of gravity back. Now I am more relaxed standing than sitting, conform you're bike to you it should fit like a glove at you're "attack position"have fun relax and let the race come to you.
    05 450Xr
  • Vcandito
    Posts: 141
    Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:27 am

    by Vcandito » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:18 am

    Just a little amature input, learn when to stand and when to sit. The woods I ride have tight sections that go from left to right, I find I am faster if I sit down.... but not all the time :lol:
  • rob_wiggins
    Posts: 189
    Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:07 pm

    by rob_wiggins » Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:17 pm

    Jethro wrote:they stole my seat to teach me to stand up. 30 miles with no seat, i figured it out. the only way you will get comfortable like that is just forcing yourself to do it and training on a bicycle standing helps too.
    i heard the metal milisha are hard core dudes, but damn stealing your seat, was that your initiation?
    We take risks not to escape life, but to keep life from escaping us.
  • TJHELL
    Posts: 247
    Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 9:19 pm

    by TJHELL » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:39 pm

    Hello ryr 323 and welcome to the site. These people on here are a great source of knowledge and help!

    I see you are a IL resident as I am too. I too just got back into riding hare scramblers and enduro's this year.

    In my opinion, endurance and physical strength is by far the best thing to work on. If you get tired, you get lazy, you slow down and then you crash! Sometimes just riding a clean race will get you a better position than being fast and crashing a couple of times.

    Next, I am 6'4" and had a terrible time standing. Setting up your bike for your weight and height does make a big difference. For me I bought Pastrana FMX bars, applied triple-20mm, and am going to buy some lowered pegs. This has made a huge difference on the handling and comfort for me. You have to be comfortable to ride well for a couple of hours, but lets face it, you are out there abusing your body, also.

    Lastly, as your endurance and strength increase you will be able to stand when you need too. Also, you will see your race position improve too.

    Good luck, TJHELL
  • ry323
    Posts: 17
    Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 10:19 am

    thanks

    by ry323 » Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:29 am

    Well its been awhile since I responded back and I have raced about six hare scrambles, thanks to all and advice I have realized that I need to work on endurance and a little bit on speed. I seem to do decent for the first hour and then I start to fall back and get tired, thats usually when I make mistakes. I sprained my thumb on my last race, about half way though. I hope to do better in next years season. Does anyone have any tips on mudd ridin
  • User avatar
    Jethro
    Posts: 285
    Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:25 am

    by Jethro » Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:50 am

    sit back and pinn it. yes the return of jethro for those who may have wondered if i died in the last month or so
    "Running is not a plan, Running is what you do when the plan fails"
    Image
  • kingofthewoods
    Posts: 177
    Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 12:27 pm

    by kingofthewoods » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:04 am

    Ride with people that are better than you, therefore forcing you to do things you don't want to do. Whether it is the muddy woods section where puddles swallow up your bike, tight ridge line single track where there is a drop off either side of you, the hill that just looks to big, and the rocky downhill that you would never walk down. If they do it, go for it. You'll find that you will be more comfortable in hard situations. And this is all when your supposedly "riding for fun"


    About the standing thing, must comment that jethros way is how I would teach someone lol. But make sure your set up allows you to be comfortable with standing up. Bars big enough or tall enough, high seat, low seat, low pegs, high pegs, proper sized SHIFTER! That was my biggest problem, size 13 boot i could never get my foot to shift while standing, even if I played with the shifters positioning. So i bought a hammer head the second I broke my shifter. worked amazing.

    O yeah, and the people of Deleware have an old saying that I learned on my first race " You cant win a race in the first turn, but you can lose it" remember that, I do, one broken wrist later.
    crf450x, skid plates, enduro engineers hand gaurds, trail tech, Hammer head goodies, Renthal 52T.

    R.I.P Dan Osman, a man with a death wish to live.
    "fortuna favet audaces"
  • kingofthewoods
    Posts: 177
    Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 12:27 pm

    Re: thanks

    by kingofthewoods » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:10 am

    ry323 wrote:Well its been awhile since I responded back and I have raced about six hare scrambles, thanks to all and advice I have realized that I need to work on endurance and a little bit on speed. I seem to do decent for the first hour and then I start to fall back and get tired, thats usually when I make mistakes. I sprained my thumb on my last race, about half way though. I hope to do better in next years season. Does anyone have any tips on mudd ridin


    If your speaking off deeper water which I am not sure you are, stop before a gnarly section and observe some other riders lines just for a bout 30 seconds and pick which side looks the easiest or less strenuous, because while rider A sunk his bike in the right side of that innocent looking puddle, rider B found some traction right through the miniature lake that actually had some traction and you were planning on avoiding.

    As for muddy sections where its slick, ease on and off the throttle, any sudden changes in momentum will cause you to slid. Mabey carry some speed in and keep a constant throttle and even decel slightly as you go farther until you reach the end. Hope this helps.
    ~K.O~
    crf450x, skid plates, enduro engineers hand gaurds, trail tech, Hammer head goodies, Renthal 52T.

    R.I.P Dan Osman, a man with a death wish to live.
    "fortuna favet audaces"

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest