View Full Version : Smoothness
Hey guys.......
How can you tell if your a smooth rider or not?
Going over roots and stuff the bike seems to jump around alot under me as it hits stuff. I juat dont really know how to work out weather i am smooth or not. Apparently when riding i dont make as much noise as other people on simmilar bikes. Hopefully when i get my new Dually at the end of the year it will have a bit more weight than my Raceline and wont jump around as much also it will be alot better over rocks and stuff. I weight like 43 by the way. Thanks guys
Well your typing is smooth enough to miss the return key, maybe your riding is smooth too?
lol if i had a return key :( Spilt milk on my keybord a wek or two ago and had to remove a fair amout of keys. Enter was one of them :D
bazza
08-12-2003, 11:01 PM
just like peoples caps! thats a might story you told us young one. wish i could ramble shit about my bikes adventures over the past 6 months how i got every scratch. WHO CARES MAN. just belt the fuck out of your bike, well ride it well is what im talking about dont become a gear head! because having a cry over scratching your frame is homo. (when you crash anyway or hit rocks or something you did while riding)
Man i wasnt having a cry about scratches. Just wondering if there was anyway to tell if you were a smooth rider or not. I never said anything bout beign sad about having chips scratches ect.
lupine128
09-12-2003, 12:56 AM
remember that a lot of the time smoothness relates to where the rider is, not the bike.
watch a video of nico doing a track. it's like his head is always the same distance above the ground. the bike moves around under him, but he stay rock steady from the shoulders up.
so if the bike is moving a lot, but you are stable, and quick, you are probably smooth.
just remember that this comes from the king of crash tho.......
agreed with lupine, you can c some hardtailers that are smoother than dual riders,
but then again dual riders have heaps of suspension to make up for skill? :P
you can tell if u smooth if u always feel in control....
creepyjoe
09-12-2003, 10:50 AM
you can tell if u smooth if u always feel in control....
Ya smooth or just slow!
Ride_Guy
09-12-2003, 02:09 PM
As the otehr 2 guys said, its all in ur arms and legs, lke ppl say you have another like what 13" of travel in your arms :lol: some ppl use it more than others, thus makingn them smooth threw all the rooty, rocky shite.
Make a video of your riding and all that, good fun too, that way you can see what you are doing right and wrong, just keep trying at it, I till suck big tie at downhill but I have been getting better every time that i have gone there :D
Jordy
09-12-2003, 07:04 PM
imo you can tell by listening to how smooth your going and how smooth it feels...
acrider
09-12-2003, 07:21 PM
Shave your legs and you will be smoother..........
It's all about pumping the bike over the obstacles with your arms and legs.
Relax and stay loose. Not too relaxed or you will headbutt the bars or let go of them. Think egg and spoon race.
The trick is too keep your handgrip/wrist tight but relax your elbows to absorb the track.
Wel i somtimes fel like i am sorta bouncing around all over the place Like Pinner in that vid Socket posted a while back. I will get my freind to film me riding over some rock gardens sometime twomorrow to see what i look like. Hopefully when i go up to a dually soon I will be smoother cause of my riding on a hardtail. Does anyone have a link to a clip of Nico riding?
Shave your legs and you will be smoother..........
ROFL!
lupine128
10-12-2003, 12:05 AM
Does anyone have a link to a clip of Nico riding?
there is some footage of him, as well as pea and gracia in NWD1, as well as most of the other NWD and kranked series.
they are a pretty good guide anyway, mainly because in the race sections you get to see a fair few different riders.
also have a look at the good 4X riders pump rythym and doubles sections. it gives you an idea of just how much suspention you have built into your arms and legs.
Does anyone have a link to a clip of Nico riding?
there is some footage of him, as well as pea and gracia in NWD1, as well as most of the other NWD and kranked series.
they are a pretty good guide anyway, mainly because in the race sections you get to see a fair few different riders.
also have a look at the good 4X riders pump rythym and doubles sections. it gives you an idea of just how much suspention you have built into your arms and legs.
The "suspension" in your arms and legs only takes up low-frequency hits.... over ruts and stuff, you're gonna get shaken to bits if your only bump absorption comes from your own body. On a hardtail, tyres (and frame/wheel deflection) take up the high-frequency hits, and your arms and legs take up most of the low frequency hits (jumps, drops etc). You have to learn how to use your bike and your body to be smooth... something which I still have a lot to learn about :)
fastrider gus
11-12-2003, 11:00 AM
after riding my dually for a week. on one track in particular, i was blitzin.. then i did it on my hardtail and i could do it just as fast and it didnt make half the racket!
i think smoothness is all about picking lines and being able to look in controll over everything. noise is also a big part. your bike can make a big difference here too. watch your drivetrain. a good chainguide and shortcage derailure can help, and pad up your chainstay/seatstay where the chain slaps it.
Agent Orange
14-12-2003, 03:16 PM
ok basically watch dave cullinan ride..he is the smoothest rider you will see, next is lopes and gracia is pretty smooth too...notice the bmx background? You should know if your smooth, smooth riders suck up the bumps and gap sections..the smoothest riders see to ride opposite to everyone else, when your jumping a section the are sucking it up with the rear wheel, when you riding through a section of bumps the float it gaping from rock to rock (or whatever) basically if you wanna be smooth ride hardtails constantly and practise rhythym sections in bmx tracks, even try riding dh on your hardtail, that way you are forced to pick the smoothest way down, and then when your back on your dh rig you can ride the same or similar lines..
bikeman_baldrik
15-12-2003, 01:37 PM
there are lots of aspects to being a smooth rider.
You have to pick the right lines.
You have to have the right braking techniques.
You have to know when to pedal and when not to.
These are just some of the aspects, but through these you should be able to work out if you are smooth or just quiet, and you should also be able to train yourself to be smoother.
fastrider gus
15-12-2003, 03:00 PM
ok basically watch dave cullinan ride....
not anymore.... he's been gone for quite a while...
Nico i rekon...
Agent Orange
15-12-2003, 04:09 PM
yeh, cully was the smoothest I've ever seen, that is back in his day..I think after the 3rd operation on his heart he thought it was time to retire...
He rips as far as smooth goes you wont get much better than him...nico was smooth but style wise cully owned...I have watched sections of cully riding..people die trying to follow his lines....
fastrider gus
15-12-2003, 04:17 PM
ill have to have a dig in the old video's to find something then hey! kewel...
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