How To Get Ready For MTB Season

It never takes long for the excellent weather and lighter nights to roll around, opening up dry rideable trails and more hours than ever before to tackle the trails without using an MTB light. As soon as you start hitting the trails, you, your bike, and the mountain bike trails will have had almost two full seasons to decline in performance, so revisiting all of these elements of a successful mountain bike ride is recommended. One of the first mistakes to make is to believe that you are riding faster compared to how you have ridden over the colder months; we hate to break it to you - but it’s more than likely just a result of the MTB trails drying out.

In this post, we look at the many things you can do to improve your performance once the weather improves, so you can start shredding the trails as soon as you can, maximising the enjoyment and performance out of the good weather and riding months.

Work On Your Bike

Although it’s tempting to chuck money at your bike in the form of upgrades before the season starts, it’s often simple maintenance that will provide the best results when out on the trails. If you have been riding over winter, it can be tricky to stick to the rigorous cleaning regime that your bike deserves when you are cold and tired after being out.

Check components for usual signs of wear and tear - look at your chain and check for stretch, and look at the cassettes and chainrings for signs of wear and tear. Also, look at suspension components. Would these components benefit from bearings, gaskets and seals being changed? Even if you have not been riding over winter, it’s possible that these consumable items need replacing.

Fresh Rubber

If you have been riding over winter, it’s more than likely that your winter tyre choice will be very different to your summer tyre choice. Firmer trails, which have dried up, require other tyres than those needed for plugging through what feels like needless mud. Summer Mountain Bike Tyres have a less aggressive tread pattern than Winter MTB Tyres. The benefit of swapping to a summer tread pattern is less rolling resistance - allowing for quicker and more efficient progress. It’s also possible to run increased tyre pressures in the summer, drier months.

Work On Yourself

It’s no good having the bike as a well-oiled machine if the rider is not! It’s very frustrating to lose bike fitness over winter and have fitness holding you back during the start of the season, only to return to decent levels of fitness as the season and good weather close. To maintain cycling fitness, the gym and turbo trainers can be your best friend - and swapping the car for the bike on the daily commute is always a great way to keep your fitness up.

Hydration And Nutrition

Fuelling and hydrating your body on each ride is the right way to achieve maximum performance and enjoyment. We sweat more during the warmer months to avoid dehydration and an adverse effect on performance. Drink plenty of water before you ride, and take electrolytes, water and a food source on the ride with you. A little bit of emergency food is also a great idea if you ride out for longer and further than you had planned.

Smooth Is Fast

When trail conditions have improved, it’s easy to go faster without paying too much attention to what you are doing. This approach is problematic for a few reasons: you will either fall off the bike after panicking about your newfound pace, or you will not learn new skills and improve your riding because you are travelling everywhere too quickly. Stay in your comfort zone, get the basics right and build speed correctly.

Faster speeds also mean that you need to look further ahead down the trail, more so than you do when travelling at slower speeds.

Trail Feedback

Riding on harder, more compacted trails means the bike will kick back more than on soft trails, mainly if you use a harder tyre. If your suspension is too firm - adjust it, and also ensure that you keep your body supple and flexible to absorb the extra rebound from riding on a hard surface.

Maximise Newfound Daylight

It’s very easy to find excuses not to ride in winter - with shorter daylight hours. Whenever we ride in winter, we know that we spend more time just ticking the box of getting some trail time in Vs actually improving skills. Use the earlier mornings and later evenings to not only maximise the hours you get out on the trail, but also to spend time trying different things, and build skillsets. If you ride with a peer group, ask them to video sections of a trail - so you can see yourself riding.

Use The Full Trail

During the sloppier winter months, certain obstacles are best avoided, such as greasy roots. In summer, more of the trail is useable - so you can experiment with taking lines you would usually avoid in winter. Trails in summer are not only faster than winter trails because of how dry they are, but also how much more of the trail becomes available for pumping.

Take Some Lessons

Mountain Bike lessons are a great way to improve and increase your performance. Trail centres usually have mountain bike coaches and there are usually a few local ones to you. It does not matter if you plan on riding professionally, racing as an amateur or just enjoying the local trails - everyone benefits from learning new skills.