Mountain Bike Levels and Skills

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mountain bike levels

When we talk about mountain bikes, the length of trails and the requirements for preparation, it's often a problem to know weather ones level of fitness is adequate for a particular type of trail we wish to attempt. Even the classification codes from organisations such as the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), which identifying the difficulty of a route and the type of preparations required, can still be confusing and leave us unprepared for what is ahead. So first let's try to understand these problems by finding out what kind of mountain biker we are and which trail is best for us to complete.

Translated by Richie Rich (Goat – Wood)


Technical levels and Skills

Turkey A Turkey moves well on dirt roads and flat trails, the ideal ride is on dirt roads between the edges of fields and cycleway. If the trail is not smooth and uniform then the Turkey will soon have difficulties How to improve your skills? To become a Cow, a Turkey must first learn to stand on their pedals, balancing their weight to increase stability and learning to drive in relaxed and controlled mode. Place some obstacles evenly along a dirt road, at distance of approximately 3 / 4 meters apart and practice cycling in a slalom, try not to fall off or hit the markers, keep ones speed even.
Cow The Turkey differs from the cow, in that they do not mind paths that go up as well as down, As long as these paths are not steep or littered with rocks and roots. The cow’s environment is happy with well beaten trails but without much roughness. How to improve? If you have a front suspended MTB you can easily move on to Goat mode, simply by practicing on different types of paths, without getting off the saddle when faced with every obstacle in ones path. Try practicing specifically by putting small obstacles, like stones, tiles, braches of trees spaced out along a path, with enough spacing to give time to relax between each obstacle. Try to clear these items by riding around, or better, over with bunny hops. The trick is not to stop or for your speed to be slowed down as you ride. .
Goat It moves with agility on every trail, it's a skilled biker that can over come all obstacles, both uphill and downhill. It can drive its mtb on exposed trails, going downhill over rocks and roots; it moves well in the mud and knows all too well the risks faced with wet paths. How to improve? The goat is already a true biker, if it wants to become a chamois, then it will need to have a good Mtb, as well as practicing with different body positions, for both uphill and downhill sides. Try training yourself on street steps.
Chamois This kind of biker can drive a mtb even over trails where walking on foot it's difficult. It can manoeuvre easily over big rock steps and very technical and exposed passages. It can jump and make drops seem simple. How to improve? Take a training week in a bike park, try to manage to make your jumps bigger and your drops longer.
Ibex This is a very technical biker, like the chamois, an Ibex can move over big rock steps and glide through very technical and exposed passages, but faster!! It flies over big drops and springs high jumps, it moves with fluidity and style, through every difficult trail and on every bike park downhill line. How to improve? If you are an ibex you should call Matt Hunter and ride with him!


Strenght and Stamina

Polenta First of all learn what is polenta reading here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polenta A polenta biker can't ride more than 15 kilometres on flat land, it does not have the strength and stamina to go even try a little uphill. How to improve? Increase the distance of your rides, find a pace that allows you to breath without problems. Try some small uphill climbs and pay attention to using the front and rear derailleur correctly and smoothly.
Eearthenware It can pedal without problems on flat lands, through fluid paths and small slopes, but after 20/30 minutes of pedalling uphill it gets tired and must stop. How to improve? Change your pace while pedalling increasing your heart rate, your body will learn to recover. Go uphill with a low pace, try too feel that you can keep the pace going forever...
Wood The wooden biker feels at home pedalling on hills and mountains, it can reach 300/500 meters of elevation gain, but it does not try to climb on any greater slopes. How to improve? Learn how to be relaxed, find your pace and when you are tired try to stand up making the ratio harder; after 20/30 seconds sit down, make the ratio softer and find the right pace. Find your mantra and repeat it through out the hard times.
Iron It's a biker that can climb for hours at a time, reaching 2000 meters or more of elevation gain. It does not have a well defined limit but can withstand fatigue, it has strength and stamina to continue to head forwards. How to improve? If you are an iron biker you should be able to listen and know your body and how to be able improve your athletic and technical skills.
Steel It can pedal for more than 8 hours a day reaching thousands meters of elevation gains each day, it is a particular type of athlete with strong passion and devotion. How to improve? Take part in a 24 hour race and find the sense of the life.