Outdoor sport means freedom, experiencing nature and exercise - but what most people probably wouldn't deny when climbing or skiing is that you have to master the technique. Be it to make the sport fun in the first place, or to be safe when travelling. In the great outdoors, even minor injuries can have serious consequences. Mountain biking is one of those things: most people have been able to ride a bike since childhood - somehow. What should be much different on an MTB or even an e-MTB?
Many people ignore the fact that a 26-kilo E-Enduro behaves differently to a city bike and that a gravel track with a 20 per cent gradient is different to a station road. With consequences ranging from visible insecurity to a serious fall with collateral damage. The mountain rescue service can confirm this. So it's time to take another deep look inside yourself and ask yourself, do I feel safe? really safe on my MTB?
MTB riding technique training: not just for downhill and slopestyle
If the honest answer is "not really", it is Time for MTB riding technique training. Some people might think that this type of mountain bike safety training course is all about extreme descents and bloodcurdling jumps. In fact, it's all about the absolute basics: pedalling, braking and sitting.
Mike Kluge, multiple German champion and world champion in cyclocross and overall winner of the 1990 Mountain Bike World Cupis a riding technique professional and has also been an enthusiastic e-MTB rider for several years. And for the past four years, he has been offering courses in which he combines MTB riding technique with touring and enjoyment. In an interview, he shares some of his experiences from these courses with us.
For him, however, riding safety starts on the flat road. His example: Can someone on an (e-)bike quickly avoid an obstacle - such as a car door suddenly being pushed open - correctly? "Countersteering is the keyword!" says Mike. "Am I reacting correctly and initiating the steering movement to the left with a short impulse to the right?" This has nothing to do with mountain biking, but even basic techniques like this have to be right. "For many people, the saddle is just the part of the bike that hurts. But many people only realise that it has a huge impact on their riding technique during my MTB technique training sessions." And this, adds the 60-year-old Kluge, also includes the use of a dropper post. "Many people find them very helpful when getting on the MTB," he laughs. "But lowering the saddle is particularly important for safety on the bike when going downhill, and it helps a lot when going uphill, especially with e-MTBs."
In my experience, 80% of people on MTBs brake incorrectly. - Mike Kluge
E-MTBs with large batteries and powerful motors get people up to the mountain pastures and summit crosses even without much riding technique. Unfortunately, what follows is often a tragedy or simply hara-kiri. This is because the right braking technique and riding position must also be learnt when riding downhill. Time and again, you see stressed or even frightened faces struggling down the gravel path on an e-bike: squealing, overheated brakes, slipping rear tyres and the 'safety foot' pointing forwards. "Swerving and braking are mandatory on a bike!" says Mike Kluge. "If you can't do this properly, you put yourself and others in danger. And you learn that pretty quickly in a riding technique course."
MTB technique training with an e-bike levels out differences in performance
Since Mike Kluge discovered electric bikes for himself, he has also been fascinated by the equalising factor of these bikes. "This way, people can easily cycle together again - one person switches to eco mode and pedals, the other lets the motor do more. Nobody is pedalling at the limit anymore." And that is also the advantage of riding technique courses with e-MTBs. Participants can concentrate on the technical challenges on a tour and not worry about making it to the next climb.
The e-bike is a great motivation for me. I probably cycle almost twice as much because I get on the saddle on days when I probably wouldn't have done so without the motor. - Mike Kluge
On his courses, Mike Kluge does offer to form groups according to ability and fitness. "But the participants often say of their own accord that they all want to ride together. A great group dynamic - triggered by the motor support." The current riding technique courses take place in Val d'Ega in South Tyrol, at the Ganischgerhof to be precise. This is an area with challenging trails and tours. A week like this is therefore divided into basics such as bike fitting and suspension settings as well as riding technique training, some of which takes place in a bike park. The other days are spent on tour with Mike and a local guide, one of the bosses of the Ganischgerhof. And this is where enjoyment comes into play: during breaks in the huts on tour and in the evenings, there is fine South Tyrolean cuisine. And the laundry can also be washed there so that everyone can get back to training as fresh as possible the next day.
"Having your own e-mountainbike is of course an advantage for our technical training sessions, because you know it and we can optimise it if you have problems with your seat or back," explains riding technique expert Kluge. "But you also have the option of renting an e-MTB from us." When it comes to the age of participants, Mike Kluge is relaxed: "Parents with children aged 16 and over can join us, as can someone aged 70 who feels fit and wants to learn something."
A third course at Lake Ossiach in Austria, which Mike Kluge is offering in the autumn, focuses more on touring. Riding technique on the MTB also plays a major role, but Mike and a second trainer (Jens Reuker, former national team rider) give more tips on correct bike handling while riding.
E-bike riding technique with Mike & Friends at the Ganischgerhof, Val d'Ega, South Tyrol - Italy
- Date 1:
18 - 25 June 2023 - Date 2:
10 - 17 September 2023
E-bike riding technique with Mike & Friends Robinson Club Landskron, Ossiacher See, Austria
- Date:
30 September - 7 October 2023
Marc Strucken
Editor
