Rock garden

Key facts

Difficulty

Difficult

Surface

rock

Bike types

MTB, eMTB

Riding through

• Carry speed. A rolling wheel skims the tops of rocks; a slow one drops between them.
• Look past it. Pick the line before you enter, then look at the exit, not at the next rock.
• Stay loose. Attack position, bent elbows and knees, light hands — let the bike move under you.
• Brake before, not in. Braking in the rocks locks the wheels and kills your suspension.

Set the bike up for it

Rocks punish low tyre pressure with rim hits and pinch flats, so run a little more air or a stronger casing. On a full-suspension bike, open the climb switch before the descent.

Related articles

• Full-suspension bike — A mountain bike with suspension at both ends. The rear shock keeps the back wheel on the ground over roots and rocks, which means more grip, more control and less fatigue.
• Tyre pressure — The cheapest upgrade on any mountain bike. Too much air and the tyre skips and slides; too little and it squirms, burps and hits the rim. The right number depends on you, the tyre and the trail.
• 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.
• 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.
• Trail grades — How hard a trail is, told by colour: green, blue, red and black, orange for pro lines and purple for transfers. Every trail on the Bikeyard map is drawn in its grade.