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Whether a freerider, downhiller, 4X or trail rider this video from “dirt magazine” will change your riding skills. It really is a must for your bike DVD shelf.

 

It is the video you will watch with your mates the evening before a big ride. The one you will return to time and time again as a timeless entertaining knowledge base through most likely your foreseeable biking life.  You will be sure to be taking mental notes for the next day that is for sure.

The core skills covered are comprehensive and wide. There are: Manuals, Bunnyhops, flat turns, skidding, cutties, cornering, Switchbacks, pumping rhythm, changing direction, line choice in corners, cornering styles, downhill jumping, pumping trails, drop offs, line choice at races, high speed turns, roots, berms, gate starts and rock riding. Impressive list. I like the way the DVD intersperses the riding tips with just some huge riding clips.
 
 It does not just cover riding skills but has comprehensive sections on Bike Set Up with 23 tutorials from installing headsets to changing your bottom bracket as well as 11 tutorials on everything you need to know about setting and maintaining your suspension. It stars over 15 of the top professional riders of today including. Steve Peat, Sam Hill, Nathan Rennie, Greg Minnaar and Richard Cunynghame to name but a few.

It starts off with a great narration by Steve Jones. Focusing on the key biking fundamentals (strength and fitness, riding skills, mental confidence, and equipment)  all the top riders all have in abundance and how this video should give everybody the level of confidence and motivation to go out and push some of these core fundamentals forward. Frankly, that is exactly what this video does.

 

So in a little more detail:

•    Manuals and bunnyhops are demo’d and made simple by Justin Havukainen
•    Flat turns rendered in style by Nathan Rennie
•    Skidding is dealt with by Steve Jones. Deemed the dark art and the international language of mountain biking.
•    Cornering and one of my challenges Cutties are from Brian Atkinson and again Justin Havukainen
•    Switchbacks which can be practised accessibly with traffic cones and optional rose bushes are by Greg Minnar
•    Pumping Rhythm is explained by Chris Powell as being all about riding smooth and staying confident
•    Line choice in corners by Steve Peat and Neal Donoghue. Steve believes that everyone has their own unique style and what matters is to get out and find your way. I liked this. Uplifting perspective.
•    Downhill jumping on a massive curved jump with Greg Minaar
•    Pumping Trails (which looks to me like big dirt jumping) by Neil Donaghue
•    Drop Off’s which we all want to do bigger and bigger is by Steve Peat again. Who advises when racing you can be fancy but what really makes sense is just getting your bike down as fast as you can.
•    Pre Jumps from Justin Havukainen and Richard Cunynghame.
•    Line choice at races by Sam Hill and Rob Warner.
•    High speed turns according to Nathan Rennie are about staying confident, no jerky movements, taking them wide cutting across the apex and then out.
•    How to navigate roots through keeping loose and weight over the back wheel aptly by the British team;)
•    Berms in 4 Cross with mad elbowing by Eric Carter
•    Winning Gate starts by Brain Schmith
•    Ending sweetly with riding fast over rocks by the Norba team where the secret seems to keep the speed up to ride over the top of the jumps and stay calm and relaxed

Resounding theme is Confidence. Stay calm, relaxed, be smooth… enjoy the DVD.