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Why so slow?


ABrooks

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It took you a long time to be faster on your own bike than one you tried out, once.

Tsek jy met jou tank!
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I will look into both tyre pressure and rebound adjustments, I slowed the rebound down initially as I thought it might be that in corners and so on the back end wanted to rebound too fast causing the unstable feeling.

 

Edit: Spelling

 

Yes, do play around with the rebound.  If the rebound on the rear shock is set too fast, you'll get a bucking feeling.  Like the bike wants to throw you over the bars.  If it's set too slow, you can start bottoming out on bumpy sections.  The fork on the other hand could rather be one click too responsive than one click too slow.  A slow to respond fork also results in slow to respond steering, especially in tight corners.

 

Another thing I'm thinking about now is where you throw your weight, especially when going downhill.  I didn't have a dropper post on my hardtail, so getting behind the seat upon descending was an effort, but it also didn't feel like I needed to get that far behind the seat to stay safe.  On the full suspension, however, I do have a dropper post and I've noticed that I need to get much farther behind the seat to stay stable and in doing so it's actually more stable than it was on the hardtail.

 

So...  Three month's after thinking a dropper post is useless and not using it, I started learning it's value and learning to use it properly and more often.  Not advocating for dropper posts, just sharing my experience...

 

Can't really comment on handle bars, as I haven't had the need to play around with my setup, but from binge watching the Youtube channels of GMBN, Park Tools and Seth's Bike Hacks, it seems that wider bars and shorter stems result in greater control and/or stability.

 

Also, I agree with the others that mentioned it.  You might just need to get use to the new bike.  Me switching to a full suspension and improving immediately might be the exception, not the norm.

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Yes, do play around with the rebound. If the rebound on the rear shock is set too fast, you'll get a bucking feeling. Like the bike wants to throw you over the bars. If it's set too slow, you can start bottoming out on bumpy sections. The fork on the other hand could rather be one click too responsive than one click too slow. A slow to respond fork also results in slow to respond steering, especially in tight corners.

 

Another thing I'm thinking about now is where you throw your weight, especially when going downhill. I didn't have a dropper post on my hardtail, so getting behind the seat upon descending was an effort, but it also didn't feel like I needed to get that far behind the seat to stay safe. On the full suspension, however, I do have a dropper post and I've noticed that I need to get much farther behind the seat to stay stable and in doing so it's actually more stable than it was on the hardtail.

 

So... Three month's after thinking a dropper post is useless and not using it, I started learning it's value and learning to use it properly and more often. Not advocating for dropper posts, just sharing my experience...

 

Can't really comment on handle bars, as I haven't had the need to play around with my setup, but from binge watching the Youtube channels of GMBN, Park Tools and Seth's Bike Hacks, it seems that wider bars and shorter stems result in greater control and/or stability.

 

Also, I agree with the others that mentioned it. You might just need to get use to the new bike. Me switching to a full suspension and improving immediately might be the exception, not the norm.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I cannot recommend getting a dropper enough! It makes such a difference on the amount that you can move around the bike.

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I went for a nice ride in Jonkers today, I slowed the rear rebound down a bit and set the fork two clicks faster. I also replaced my 50mm stem and handlebars at 760mm. I also dropped the pressure a bit in both wheels.

 

From the start the short stem/wide bars combo felt much more comfortable. I rode up to third contour and went down canaries/armageddon. Today I focussed on looking further ahead to the next obstacle, this took my mind off what lay ahead and prepared me to better set-up for the next section. I also noticed that doing this led me to brake less and trust the bike more.

 

I only got one PR on the downhill stuff, but all the other sections where second best times and I was taking it slower and focussing more on how I rode. I must say that I enjoyed every bit of singletrack and it felt I flowed much better.

 

What I take away from today is that no matter the bike, whether it be XC, trail or enduro, skill and technique will always be what builds confidence and makes you faster. Also I should look furter ahead and plan for the next piece of singletrack, looking right in front of you will make the bike feel unstable.

 

I want to thank everyone for their input and advice, I hope my experience helps someone else out.

Edited by Brooks42
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You are on the right track so to say OP, there are three main rules to MTBing. First momentum is King loose it and you find yourself face down. Second is look where you want to go and not where you are going, so your looking ahead is spot on for those good lines. And thirdly change gears often and early. I ride a sesta pro with a 70 stem and it is wickedly quick on the technical stuff so trust the bike and hang on and enjoy the adrenaline

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Great feedback????????

 

Also recently changed to a dual suss from my hardtail. Amazing what a shorter stem does to the handling and overall feel of the bike. Replaced a negative slope 100mm stem with a normal 70mm. Feels so much better. Love the dual suss, PR’s are starting to roll in... Giant Anthem 1 for the win????

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Funny thing is I knew I had to look further ahead, move your body around the bike and so on. I just sort of lost focus and threw all that out of the window when I switched to the new bike. 

Has such a major effect on things though, doesn't it?

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