Corner Like You’re On Rails

Do you want more speed in the corners than you have now?

Yes please.How about having the ability to rail corners so fast and in control that it’s like you’re glued to railway tracks?

Yes again.

Building on basics

Cornering on rails is all about taking your basic cornering skills from How to corner on a mountain bike and building on those beginner mountain bike skills to bring greater intention and flow to your cornering style.  And it’s this intention and flow that will give you extra cornering skill and speed.  So here’s the…

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Advanced mountain biking cornering technique

To corner like you’re on rails, push down on the outside pedal as usual, but this time add these three

1. swing your outside knee closer to the bike frame as you’re turning,

and

2. twist your hips to flow with the swing of your knees

and

3. Lower your head and chest to your inside hand (often 2 or 3 inches lower is all that’s needed)

Simple as that, just like in the photo.  Outside foot down, outside knee in, slight hip twist, head drop.

Using these three techniques helps you hold more cornering speed with more control because it lowers your centre of gravity to the inside of the corner  In addition, it also trains you to use your body to talk to the bike, and put more intention into your cornering style.

Find a corner and go try it

Go find a familiar corner.  Ride the corner like you usually do.  Then, ride it again using this new mountain bike cornering technique.  And what happened?  Well, if you’re like most new comers to this tip, you’ll probably say something like…  ‘the corner felt easier, the bike almost turned itself’  and  ‘I was almost falling into the corner. But it felt good.’-

• it felt easier and almost turned itself because you had more control and better flow with your bike, and
• you felt like you were almost falling into the corner because you were putting more intention into what you were doing

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And that falling feeling is great news

Because it means you can go faster.  Take a bit more speed into the corner next time.  The extra speed will use up that falling feeling and you’ll stick the corner nice and balanced, better than you ever have before.

But just before you go, double-check that you know all of the…-

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Nine steps for how to corner on a mountain bike fast

1. Set your speed – A rolling tire has more traction and therefore gives you more control than a braking or skidding tire.  So, set your corner speed before you enter the corner.  This way you’ll have more control because you won’t be changing your speed and grip levels while you’re turning

2. Change gears – If you’re not going to pedal around the corner, before going into it, shift to the gear you want to use for pedaling out of the corner.  This way you’ll be in the right gear to pedal back up to speed after the corner is done

3. Look ahead – Your bike will follow your eyes, so lead your bike by looking ahead to where you want to go.  Ignore insignificant trail features

4. Relax your hold – Keep a strong, but relaxed hold of the handlebar and drop your shoulders so that you’re not shrugging them

5. Position your body – Ride with a good, balanced position over the bike so that both tires are gripping well

6. Push on the outside – If you’re not pedaling the corner, push your outside foot down on the pedal as you turn. This technique works like magic to help ground the tires, particularly on off-camber corners!

7. Outside knee in – Swing your outside knee in to encourage your bike to turn. The more aggressive and the tighter the corner, the more of a ‘swing’ you can put into it

8. Hip twist – Add more intention by turning your hips into the corner. It’s not a bus, it’s a bike, so get your whole body into it!  Subtle hip movements help your body talk with your bike to create greater flow and control

9. Drop your centre – Lowering your centre of gravity will help you corner faster. It’s easier to do with the seat down of course, but even with the seat up in XC mode you can lower your chest and head closer to your inside hand to hold more speed and improve your control and stability.

Works particularly well on rhythm turns and high speed sweeping corners.  Go try it!  You’ll be amazed at what lowering your head and chest three inches to your inside hand will do for your speed.

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Super Tip : Front Wheel Wash-out – If your front wheel is slipping or washing out on corners you’re probably cornering with too much rearward bias.

To fix this mid-corner just perform a simply weight shift forward. Sometimes a simply shift of your head and chest closer to the inside hand is all it takes for your front wheel to find more traction.  It may feel un-natural at first to make these mid-corner adjustments, but with practice it becomes automatic, and the slip stops instantly.

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Find the Grip

For the next week treat every corner as a practice corner.  Follow the nine steps and focus on finding grip for both the front and rear treads.  Feel what works and gives you greater stability at speed.

Ride all sorts of different corners to improve your knowledge on the subtle differences in centre of gravity, speed and body position between them all.  Soon you’ll be able to find the right position for traction and speed in any corner without even thinking.  And don’t forget to follow…

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The Golden Rule of Mountain Bike Cornering

Focus on exiting the corner fast, rather than entering the corner fast. Use the nine techniques above and loosen up and get grooving with the bike to get that body movement and flow happening.

If you stick at it, before you know it you’ll be cornering on a mountain bike faster than ever before.  And for goodness sake, make sure you’re riding on quality mountain bike tires.

The right mountain bike tires can make a huge difference.  Choose tires that are well-suited to your riding style and trail conditions and you’ll be faster and more in control in the corners.

Are your tires up to the task?