Tricks & technique

How to corner, brake, climb, jump and pull a manual.

• Technical climbing

  Getting up steep, rooty or rocky climbs without putting a foot down. It takes the right gear before the hard part, weight over the front and smooth, patient pedalling.

• Jumping

  Leaving the ground off a take-off and landing smoothly on the far side. Good jumping is less about launching yourself than about letting the lip do the work and staying relaxed in the air.

• Bunny hop

  Lifting both wheels off the ground without a ramp — front first, then the rear. It clears logs, roots and holes and is the base of every jump and trick.

• Manual

  Riding on the back wheel without pedalling, balanced by shifting your hips back. On the trail it lifts the front over holes and roots and smooths out drops and rollers.

• Cornering

  Getting round a turn fast and in control: brake before it, look through it, lean the bike more than your body and let the tyres do the gripping.

• Braking

  Braking well is braking in the right place: hard and early on good ground, then off the brakes where the trail is rough or turning. The front brake does most of the work.

• Attack position

  The standing stance every descent starts from: pedals level, knees and elbows bent, weight centred over the bike and eyes up. From here you can react to anything the trail throws at you.