Which is it?
Learning to drop? Jumping? Riding with a high seatpost? (Ha!) Shifting? Bunny hopping? Cornering? Braking? Weight transfer? Bike maintenance?
While any / all of these skills may be important, there's one skill not mentioned above that exceeds the rest.
The subject of which mountain biking skill is #1 came up a year or two ago here on MTBR. In that thread I bullied my opinion to the front by insisting (frequently and loudly -- sorry about that) that mountain biking's #1 skill is line picking. I've always felt strongly about line picking and I still do. It's fundamental. Skill basics are what the best riders always return to -- understanding & implementing basics is the foundation of skill development & confidence.
Obviously line execution follows line picking but we can't execute what we don't see. First, perceive. Then commit. Then execute.
If you've got 20 minutes, Ben Cathro explains line picking (and execution) really well in this vid, which I was exposed to this morning via Pinkbike.
=sParty
Learning to drop? Jumping? Riding with a high seatpost? (Ha!) Shifting? Bunny hopping? Cornering? Braking? Weight transfer? Bike maintenance?
While any / all of these skills may be important, there's one skill not mentioned above that exceeds the rest.
The subject of which mountain biking skill is #1 came up a year or two ago here on MTBR. In that thread I bullied my opinion to the front by insisting (frequently and loudly -- sorry about that) that mountain biking's #1 skill is line picking. I've always felt strongly about line picking and I still do. It's fundamental. Skill basics are what the best riders always return to -- understanding & implementing basics is the foundation of skill development & confidence.
Obviously line execution follows line picking but we can't execute what we don't see. First, perceive. Then commit. Then execute.
If you've got 20 minutes, Ben Cathro explains line picking (and execution) really well in this vid, which I was exposed to this morning via Pinkbike.
=sParty