eMTB Skills 101 – How to have more fun on your eMTB
The fastest car won’t get you far if you don’t know how to drive it. It’s the same with an eMTB: only once you’ve mastered the correct riding technique can you ride with confidence and really enjoy the trials. Our guide is here to teach you the most important basics for beginners and advanced riders.
Why would you need an eMTB skills course? Anyone can ride a bike! True, most people learnt it when they were around 6 years old. An eMTB is quite a bit heavier though, which requires a unique skill set, and you’ll be able to go a lot faster and further into unknown terrain thanks to the motor. To avoid any nasty surprises, it’s crucial to relearn techniques that you may have learned incorrectly, such as the myth that you’ve got to hang over the back of your saddle on steep descents.
Apart from the riding technique, you’ve got to have the right bike setup
Before fine-tuning your riding technique with your bike, there are a few basic details you should consider when setting up and equipping your bike. Read on to find out what’s most important.
Suspension: correctly tuned
It’s important that the suspension is adjusted to your riding weight, including full riding kit, , pads, backpack and helmet etc.. Almost all manufacturers have a table with the recommended air pressure in the fork. As a rough guide for the shock, we recommend setting the sag (negative suspension travel) to about 25 %. In this tutorial, you will learn how the setup works in detail.
Tyre pressure: less is usually more
The days of riding tyres at around 4 bar are long gone. Usually, 1.4-1.8 bar is ideal depending on tyre model, tyre width and rider weight. This guide will help you find the perfect tyre pressure.
Get that saddle out of the way
If you don’t have a dropper seat post, we recommend that you retrofit one as soon as possible and that until then you lower the saddle for the exercises that follow. If you’ve got a dropper seat post on your bike, you can adjust it according to the kind of riding you’ll be doing.
Flat pedals for more confidence
Flat pedals are much more confidence inspiring when you work on your riding technique. If you’re feeling a little wobbly, you can quickly get your feet off the pedals, and you won’t get stuck as you might with clipless pedals. Also, you won’t develop poor technique, like you often see when people learn bunny hopping with clipless pedals.
Trail instead of boost
All techniques should initially be approached with the lowest support level. As you feel more confident after a few repetitions, you can go up step by step.
Here’s how the course is broken down
Each of our teaching units is divided into three modules. For each unit, we’ll give you at least one keyword with which you can quickly recall what you’ve learned when you’re out on the trail. This way you’ll remember the sequence movements more easily. As you approach a difficult passage, you remember the keyword, and you will soon find that you’re mastering these sections in a much more relaxed way.
What can you expect to learn?
We’ve divided our riding technique special into four parts. You will find the first two parts in this issue. We’ll start with the basic position when riding your eMTB in a straight line, followed by everything you need to know for riding uphill. In the next issue, we will teach you the most important descending techniques and explain how to master cornering and super steep climbs.
Who’s teaching?
Our coach and author Andy has a wealth of experience in riding technique. Besides running his own guiding and riding technique company, HappyTrails.de, he trains new riding technique coaches for the national DIMB (Deutsche Initiative Mountainbike) teaching team. He’ll give you the most useful tips on how to ride with confidence so you can have more fun on your eMTB.
General tips to start off
- have fun – keeping a smile on your face is the first step
- easy, high-cadence pedalling
- first, check difficult passages on foot
- take it slow, step by step, then speed up
- for quick success, set yourself small challenges and master them
- think BIG → start small; you didn’t learn to walk in one day either
eMTB Skills 101 – Basic riding techniques for riding in a straight line
Riding in a straight line sounds too easy – yet many riders don’t do it right. When tackled correctly, you’ll save energy, preserve your joints, feel more confident and overcome obstacles easier. Not only will we teach you the central position on the bike, but we’ll also give you tips on balance and how to get over fallen branches or up curbs safely while staying relaxed.
Basic technique – the central starting position
The starting position is just as important on an eMTB as the motor. If either is missing, the ride will become unnecessarily strenuous. The starting position forms the basis of all riding techniques and is often neglected, especially by advanced riders, resulting in an incorrect position on the bike, which has to be relearned afterwards.
Trail
As soon as the wheels roll by themselves because of a slight gradient or a strong pedal kick, you get off the saddle and stand on the pedals. To stand centrally on the bike, you keep the cranks horizontal, and you place your body weight almost entirely on the pedals. Your hands grip the handlebar but carry virtually no load.
Heavy feet
On longer rolling passages you can drop your heels to relax your leg muscles. The knee and elbow joints should remain slightly bent – not locked, relaxed. When riding over steps or roots, your limbs act as suspension and offer considerably more travel than your bike, helping you to keep your balance.
Loose
You keep hold of grips with your hands, keeping the cockpit under control at all times. There is almost no pressure on your hands as you stand firmly on the pedals with all your weight. Light hands – heavy feet!
Basic technique – Improving bike balance with snail racing
Fast riders aren’t always good riders. Without the necessary balance, you’ll quickly have to take your feet off the pedals, especially on narrow and winding trails, and also in traffic. You can practice balancing as soon as you get on the bike: waiting for your buddies, on the daily ride to work, at the traffic lights, or in front of the ice cream parlour!
Snail
On a slow snail ride, the aim is to cover the shortest distance on your eMTB over the longest amount of time. Begin in the central starting position. Tip: practice on a slight uphill, this makes it easier to learn the technique. Use the lowest support level and keep it in an easy gear.
Kick
Kicking is when you lower the rearward facing pedal slightly and return it to the horizontal position with a small kick on the forward facing pedal. Try to crawl forward as slowly as possible with small pedal kicks. You thereby remain in the central position, able to roll a little bit further with an additional pedal kick.
Freeze
After a few runs, you’ll improve your feel for it more and more. The crowning glory is the track stand: the wheels stop turning entirely. You balance on the spot with your feet on the pedals; this is the frozen position (FREEZE). Tip: If you now lean the top tube against the inside of your thigh and gently tilt the front wheel while doing so, you’ll be able to stabilise yourself and wobble less.
Basic technique – lifting the front wheel
You don’t have to be a wheelie expert to get the front wheel over an obstacle. Whether over a kerb in town or a small tree trunk on the trail – this technique helps you to stay in the flow and prevent damaging your front wheel.
Low
Approach the obstacle at the usual speed in the central starting position. Stay loose and relaxed. Register the obstacle, but look ahead at the trail. Shortly before the curb or the branch, you bend your elbows, lower your upper body and build up body tension. Your knees should also be slightly bent.
High
With a hard push like you’re trying to jump off the ground, you come back up, extending your arms and lifting the front wheel off the ground. Make yourself light, and the front wheel should float over the obstacle.
Soft
After you’ve overcome the obstacle with the front wheel, it should return to the ground as gently as possible. For this purpose, your elbows act as a kind of shock absorber and bend to cushion the impact. If you keep your cranks horizontal and your legs slightly bent, the rear wheel will automatically get over the obstacle.
eMTB Skills 101 – Basic riding techniques when going uphill
Compared to a regular mountain bike, elevation gain is a lot quicker and easier on an eMTB. But even with the support of the motor, climbing has its pitfalls. The following three tricks should help you remain confident when getting going from a standstill, when dismounting and when using the walk assist.
Basic technique – getting going from a standstill
It even happens on an eMTB sometimes that you come to a stop in the middle of a climb – because the ground is loose or you simply feel like admiring the view. There are a few points to consider before you can get going again without too much stress.
Position
Ideally, place your eMTB to the side of the path, facing upward at a 45-degree angle to the incline; as long as the trail isn’t too narrow, getting on to the bike is a lot easier in this position. Select a low support level and an easy gear. Also, keep both brakes applied so that the bike doesn’t roll back.
Climb on
You climb on from the side of the higher ground, sit down on the saddle and bring the outside pedal up to the height of the down tube. Point the front wheel in the direction you want to ride and keep your focus on the trail ahead. If you’re on a particularly steep passage, sit on the tip of the saddle to prevent the front wheel from lifting when you start riding. Tip: if you’ve got a dropper seat post, keep the saddle dropped, it’ll be easier to maintain your balance.
Even pedal strokes
Start riding while sitting down and without shifting gears, with your elbows slightly bent and hard but even pedal strokes. Keep your focus on the trail ahead. If you’ve got a dropper seat post, let it slowly come up. Once you’ve gotten back into rhythm, you can select a higher support level or shift gears, depending on the incline.
Basic technique – get off the bike on a climb
Mastering the technique of dismounting the bike mid-climb is crucial on an eMTB. Because of the weight of the bike, getting down with the bike between your legs is not an option, as you would be too unstable. It is no coincidence that the area between the saddle and stem is also called the death zone – it is absolutely taboo!
Dismount
When you start losing your balance, or you’ve got no more strength left on a climb, you should consider dismounting. It is best to find a relatively even spot where you’ll be able to stand.
Uphill foot
Turn slightly and put down your uphill foot (the side facing the incline). You’re closest to the ground on the side facing the incline. Put your foot down and apply both brakes. That way the bike won’t roll back, and you’ll keep your balance.
Downhill foot
Slowly lift the Downhill foot on the opposite side off the pedal and swing your leg over (not jerkily!) off the bike to the side of the incline. Stay on the brakes and keep a firm grip on the handlebars.
Here are three more tips to master climbing:
- always look far ahead so that you stay in the flow
- ride with an even, high cadence
- try not to breathe erratically and relax your shoulders
Basic technique – using the walk assist to get your bike up the mountain
You’re in a dilemma. You’re not able to get going on an uphill! Most eMTBs have a feature for moments like these to help get you out of trouble. The walk assist can be operated via a lever or button on the handlebar. Before you go riding you should find out how to activate this function, as it works differently depending on the manufacturer and model.
Easy gear
The rear wheel is spinning and losing traction. You have to get off. But before you use the walk assist, lift the rear wheel and shift to an easy gear. To do this, find an even spot where you can stand.
Push
Push the lever and, driven by the rear wheel, the eMTB will immediately get going, reaching a maximum speed of up to 6 km/h. It will take some practice to push your eMTB over twisty or slippery sections. It often helps to push with one hand on the saddle. That should give the rear wheel more traction. Important: always keep a hand on the brake in case the bike wants to get away from you.
Position
As soon as the trail evens out and you think you can get back on the bike, position the bike on the side of the trail, if possible, facing up at a 45-degree angle, and get back on your way. To mount the bike, refer to the tips above in the section “Basic climbing technique – getting going from a standstill”.
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Words: Photos: Christoph Bayer
