Top 6 Reasons Road Cyclists Should Ride A Mountain Bike
It’s long been known that us road cyclists may not have the greatest abilities on the bike, and those of us that do may have learnt it off the tarmac. The most likely is from riding off-road. So, with the support of a Lapierre ambassador, Grant ‘Chopper’ Fielder showed me what I should be doing off road and how it can benefit my road riding. Maybe a mountain bike should be the next bike that we all buy as it clearly has a lot of benefits to our road cycling.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Are you missing out on a whole other world of cycling?
00:08 It's long been known that leaving the road bike in the shed
00:10 and taking out a mountain bike
00:12 does have quite a few benefits to us roadies,
00:14 but what are they?
00:16 And how can your road riding benefit from mountain biking?
00:19 Well, I've been joined out on the trail by Chop,
00:21 who, if you don't know, is a La Piera ambassador
00:24 and has been at the forefront of the UK free riding scene
00:27 for nearly two decades.
00:28 - A long time.
00:29 - That's not too bad.
00:30 So, with the help of La Piera,
00:32 Chop is gonna give me all of his tips and tricks.
00:35 He's gonna teach me about mountain biking
00:36 and I'm gonna see how that can help my road riding
00:39 and hopefully I'll be able to answer the question,
00:41 should a mountain bike be the next bike I buy?
00:43 So Chop, what's your first tip?
00:47 - I would go with technique.
00:49 So for example, the road is always consistent,
00:52 it's super flat, but with mountain biking,
00:55 you do need a lot of techniques.
00:57 The terrain is forever changing,
00:58 there's a lot of loose surfaces,
01:00 so learning how to brake and understand your grip,
01:02 you can take these techniques to the road,
01:05 which is gonna make your road riding a lot easier.
01:06 So for example, it's also last minute decisions as well,
01:10 so there could be a pothole there,
01:11 there could be a vehicle,
01:13 or there could be a curb where you need to jump up.
01:15 And with mountain biking,
01:16 you will learn all of these different techniques
01:18 to be able to overcome all those problems.
01:19 - So I guess one of the key things
01:21 you're gonna be able to do
01:21 when you're out here on the trails
01:22 is actually learn the limits of the grip
01:24 and what the tyres are capable of, right?
01:26 - Exactly that.
01:26 So with my mountain bike, compared to a road bike,
01:29 the pressure is more than half less.
01:33 So there's gonna be a lot more softer grip,
01:36 so you can go into these corners a lot harder,
01:38 and you can really put your trust into the tyres,
01:40 and this is where it's gonna benefit your road biking.
01:44 - So I guess another really important thing
01:45 is braking as well, because that is, again,
01:47 it's very different to how you brake on the road
01:50 than as you do out here, right?
01:52 So how does that differ,
01:54 and how could we learn from mountain biking
01:56 into the road world?
01:57 - So with road, you have a lot of time
01:59 to decide when to brake.
02:00 You know, there's lots of things coming up,
02:01 and there's cars going past you,
02:02 not coming towards you.
02:04 With mountain biking, you've got a tree right there.
02:07 You've got endless amounts of corners,
02:08 so it's non-stop split-second decisions,
02:11 and you need to brake a lot.
02:13 But the more you learn about braking,
02:14 the better your riding becomes.
02:16 - Yeah, 'cause I guess what it's gonna allow you to do
02:18 is make sure that you're not gonna lock up.
02:20 You're gonna be making sure
02:21 that you're coming to a controlled stop,
02:23 and basically, that's what you want,
02:24 because that's gonna keep you safe.
02:25 - Exactly, so if you are out on the trails,
02:28 the last thing you wanna do
02:29 is go too heavy with your front brake,
02:31 because there's loose ground,
02:33 and the main thing that we do need to know
02:34 is that we've got good tyre pressure,
02:36 and we're relying on how our bike is set up
02:38 in order to brake better as well, if that makes sense.
02:41 - Absolutely.
02:42 I think one of the key differences
02:45 that I've noticed straightaway, though,
02:46 actually, being a roadie,
02:47 is this is a lot quieter than the roads.
02:50 - Oh, it's amazing.
02:52 - It is pretty good.
02:53 So again, tell me about that,
02:54 because actually, this is quite nice, isn't it?
02:57 - It is really nice.
02:59 The whole reason why I love mountain biking
03:01 is because you're in the woods.
03:03 It's dead quiet.
03:04 The only thing that you've gotta contend with
03:06 is maybe a dog walker.
03:07 - Exactly, so yeah, I mean, this is nice and chill.
03:09 I mean, it's what, eight o'clock at the moment?
03:11 The roads are packed, and here, absolutely dead.
03:14 We've got the place to ourselves,
03:15 so I mean, I think, really--
03:17 - The dream.
03:18 - Exactly, if you wanna avoid the roads, come here.
03:22 I guess actually, in a bike park like this,
03:24 you're not just stuck to one route, are you?
03:26 You've got so many different ways
03:27 you can ride this place, right?
03:28 - Oh, absolutely, that's what I love about it.
03:30 Like, if you're bored of one line,
03:32 you've only gotta aim that way,
03:33 and you're on a total different line,
03:34 and you're out in the woods,
03:35 you've got to worry about absolutely nothing
03:38 apart from your bike handling skills.
03:40 - Absolutely, and I guess that's,
03:41 I mean, it's always gonna be good for the mind
03:43 after a long, hard day at work, or even before work.
03:46 - Oh, absolutely, yeah.
03:46 Like, the whole reason why I come out,
03:48 and why I'm into mountain biking in general
03:49 is because no matter if I've had a good day or a bad day,
03:52 if I go out on my bike, I'm gonna have fun,
03:54 and I'm gonna clear my mind.
03:57 - What's better than that?
03:58 Now, there was one thing, as we were coming out here,
04:00 there were some pretty steep ramps that we had to ride up,
04:02 or I had to ride up to get out here.
04:05 I imagine, and I really hope,
04:07 I must have seen some power benefits there, right?
04:09 - Absolutely, so with mountain bike parks,
04:12 they always tend to be on the side of a hill,
04:14 so you let gravity take you.
04:16 But most of the starts are at the top,
04:18 so you have to look for a lot of different ways up there,
04:20 and that's also very fun in itself.
04:22 But the main thing I like about mountain biking is flow,
04:25 and there's lots of trails where you will need
04:27 to go uphill every now and again,
04:29 and you'll need to go up there pretty quick,
04:31 and you're gonna have to get these beefs up as well.
04:33 And the benefits from this is explosive power,
04:36 which you can then replicate on the road.
04:39 So say, for example, you're at the traffic lights,
04:40 and you wanna get up to speed as quick as possible,
04:43 you can use that technique right there.
04:45 - Absolutely, and I guess on the flip side, though,
04:48 having a good high-end power's gonna help me in sprints,
04:50 - Absolutely. - attacking on climbs.
04:52 There's basically no end of benefits
04:55 to just having a high-end power.
04:56 So, Chop, what's your next tip?
05:00 - I would say anticipation.
05:03 There is so much going on in a mountain bike trail
05:07 that you can take to the road.
05:09 So when you're riding on a road bike,
05:11 you can be a bit complacent,
05:12 and you just take it for granted,
05:13 and you just find yourself just being a robot.
05:15 - Yeah, too right.
05:16 - With mountain biking, you can't,
05:18 so whatever's in your vision, your peripheral vision,
05:20 you have constantly got things constantly going,
05:23 so you need to take in every small detail.
05:26 So I'm talking about the weather,
05:27 I'm talking about the ground,
05:28 I'm talking about the trees, your bike setup.
05:30 What line did I choose before?
05:32 Is that still gonna be available?
05:34 'Cause it could have been blown out from the previous rider,
05:36 so it's forever changing.
05:37 - And I guess there's one other thing,
05:39 which is actually gearing as well,
05:41 'cause that's one thing that I've been able
05:42 to learn from today,
05:44 is actually just being able to prepare myself with my gears,
05:47 and actually that's directly applicable to the road,
05:50 isn't it?
05:51 - Yeah, exactly that.
05:51 So with biking in general,
05:52 you always need to look forward,
05:54 so whatever's coming up, there could be a hill,
05:55 so you need to start thinking about syncing your gears
05:58 for that section.
05:59 With mountain biking, you're off road,
06:01 so there's gonna be a lot of bouncy terrain as well,
06:03 so that's when you need to start thinking
06:04 about having your chain nice and tight
06:06 to avoid any slap and things like that.
06:08 So there's lots to take in with gears.
06:13 - So Chop, what's the next tip?
06:15 - The next tip would be give something else a try.
06:17 There's so much variety with mountain biking.
06:20 You know, you've got dirt jumps, slopestyle,
06:22 freeride, enduro, e-biking, gravel,
06:26 that's listing only a few things to do,
06:28 and that's all off road.
06:29 So there's lots of things that you can try.
06:31 There's bike parks all around the world,
06:33 and especially in the UK, there's loads.
06:35 So within a couple of hours of a journey,
06:37 go with your mates, enjoy yourself,
06:39 and push yourself,
06:41 because if you don't push yourself,
06:42 you don't learn those extra I almost crashed skills,
06:46 and that's what I thrive off, living on the edge.
06:49 - If you just look at what we've got in the UK,
06:51 there is quite a good variety of different types
06:53 of riding at all these different bike parks,
06:55 which we can learn a lot from.
06:57 I think it'd be very easy for us roadies
06:59 to ride the same routes over and over again,
07:02 and actually just fall into a bit of a lull
07:04 of just doing the same thing constantly,
07:06 whereas here, you're really pushing yourself,
07:08 and actually, you're taking yourself
07:09 out of your comfort zone, aren't you?
07:11 And that forces you to learn those valuable new skills.
07:13 - Oh, exactly.
07:14 So you've got places like Swinley, for example,
07:16 where you can do a nice, gentle loop,
07:17 and then push the edge a little bit,
07:20 you know, go out of bounds there,
07:21 but then you could go to the complete opposite,
07:23 and you could go up to Wales,
07:24 where it's full of sharp, big rocks everywhere.
07:26 So test yourself.
07:28 - Absolutely.
07:29 All right then, Chop, any more tips?
07:31 - So more tips.
07:32 When I look at a road rider,
07:34 they're shaped like a Dorito.
07:36 So huge legs, small torso.
07:39 However, with mountain biking,
07:40 it's the opposite way.
07:41 So bigger shoulders and a more stronger core.
07:44 And the reason why mountain bikers have a stronger core
07:46 is because the amount of pulling and pushing
07:48 and manhandling the bike.
07:50 These skills you can use on the road.
07:52 So going back to what I was saying earlier,
07:54 having to hop up a curb in a split second--
07:57 - It's much easier to do
07:58 when you can actually move the bike around, yeah.
07:59 - And that is, that's great.
08:03 - Well, absolutely.
08:04 And are there any sort of position benefits
08:06 or power benefits?
08:07 What about that?
08:07 'Cause having a strong core's pretty key, isn't it?
08:09 - Yeah, absolutely.
08:10 So with road, you're gonna be over the front of the bike
08:12 and you need to hold that position
08:13 to be in those aero positions.
08:15 And whilst your legs are--
08:17 - Doing their thing, yeah. - Acting as the motor.
08:18 So being in that position is very key for road as well.
08:21 - And I guess, actually, I know from experience
08:23 that having a strong core
08:24 actually really helps with climbing as well.
08:26 Because it means you can kind of keep your upper body
08:28 kind of fairly relaxed.
08:30 And again, just let the legs do their thing.
08:32 Be the motor of the bike.
08:32 - Yeah, let the body do the work
08:33 and let your core just be the structure.
08:35 - Yeah, exactly, exactly that.
08:37 So there we have it.
08:39 I hope you found loads of those tips really useful.
08:41 I know that I did.
08:42 And if you've got any tips or tricks
08:44 that you found in mountain biking
08:46 that have benefited your road riding,
08:47 then do drop them down in the comments.
08:49 I wanna say a big thanks to you, Chop.
08:50 Thank you very much for all your knowledge.
08:52 Big thanks to La Pierre as well for supporting this one.
08:55 And if you enjoyed the video, drop a like.
08:56 Subscribe to the channel for more content.
08:58 And we will see you again very soon.
09:00 (music)