Be prepared for mechanicals/multiple flats. I used to treat 4-hr rides like an XCO race and would ride with as little weight as possible until I had a couple mechanical/multiple flat days where I had to walk a long way from home. Now in addition to plenty of nutrition and water, I bring enough tubes/plugs and tools to get out of most situations. Oh, and clothes for the worst-case scenario of weather forecast.
Little more pressure in the rear tires to avoid pinch flats. Good bike setup to keep it comfortable, good saddle (ergon for me :)) hydration, food and good pace, well done! 3hours my average ride time
Global Mountain Bike Network - My tip, start hydrating within an hour before setting off to ride, it doesn’t take much. It’s easier to stay hydrated as opposed to starting with an empty tank.
Sign Oli up! As much as I'd hate to admit it, I'm not out there doing back flips and smashing long downhill runs... I am out in the country mashing the pedals for 2-3 hours and this video was spot on.
Yeah, ultimately I have to go to work and this is just a hobby so this is much more reflective of my actual riding even if I do love watching the rest of it 👍
You guys NEED and XC guy in a crew, more coverage. Truth is - most of your viewers are more likely ride like this, and not bomb 20 foot jumps and do backflips :)
old comment now, but it's still true. Need more XC coverage, may as well cover bike packing too. I think there's a new bikepacking special coming up soon.
Did you notice the overwhelming good response to doing a video on XC GMBN? That's because it's what most of us ride, keep up the good work, perhaps you could show which GPS headunit is best and what are the best sites for downloading gpx rides from and how to share your gpx rides with others?
I would love to hear more from Oli Beckisale. This was a very informative episode. I am an older rider (58) XC is more my style, more rolling less sending. The tips Oli shared really gave me some great techniques I will try on the trail next time I'm out. Thanks to Ole and Blake for an entertaining and informative episode.
Daniel Flynn you’re not an older rider, you are still a youngster..... I am 72, but I agree with you this is my type of riding as well, 3-4 hours is my average ride covering 30-40 miles on a Ti hardtail 29er. I plan on doing ‘The Tour of the Cornfields’ on 6th September-68 miles based from Wimpole Hall near Cambridge.
I've been riding a cross country trails for so long till now. Love the morning nature smell surrounded while riding! Normal riding from 25 km every weekend or more km depending. And the high peak ride about 60 - 65 km ! P/s; I'm also ride on all mountain and enduro trails, sometime ! Great tips guys ! Keep more up on cross country trail tips! Cheese from Malaysia cross country rider !
Great to see a detailed video with Oli. He's been an interesting and informative guest on the podcasts. Hope to see more trail ride content on the channel.
This might be my fav vid of all time. Soooo useful. Oli is a first class teacher and Blake is a brilliant student and they have great chemistry. Loved it.
I'm a road biker ( though I love the idea of XC) one of my routes is 15 miles with one of the hills 3 miles long at almost 38 percent grade. Dem hills murder me but the flat after words is heaven.
Last weekend I did a 150km cycling trail over 2.5 days a combo of road riding, gravel, up/downhill and a tricky coastal rocky section then gravel ended road (motorway) section (google Remutaka Cycle trail start/finish in Wellington), I wish I had watched this video before. I ride to work every day 15km return with 65 m uphill going to work 225 m climb return so I am reasonably fit for long rides but I think main advice here that I wasn't aware was keeping refueling every hour, especially hydration, I ran out of energy 2nd day towards afternoon. Just wonder what's your advice on taking water/hydration for a long ride (the trail I did is mostly in the wilderness so you have to take water with you from the start and carry all the way along until you get to a town at around 110km mark). Also wind is a factor that you didn't mention, it adds unpredictable aspect on how long a section can take (I think wind was the main reason for my energy drain, I had bags/paniers which also created drag wind was almost stopping or throwing me to the side at some point on the coastal section).
You can really see the difference between an xc rider and downhill rider. Blake did not know about those xc tips. More XC content please, like others have said, I think majority of viewers are doing Xc riding.
Just seen this (10 months after it was posted) really good video, would be great to have more like this as - going by many other comments - it's what a lot of viewers do: head out for 2-3 hours... Also You was a great guest, be cool to have him on again
An DIY isotonic mixed drink in my bottles is all the carbs I need. No one needs über-expensive gels with unnecessary packaging. Let's reduce waste and save some money.
Wow! Maybe it's because of the perfect timing (this is something I'm working on right now) but this was one of the best, most informational videos (while still fun) I've seen in a while. Great work guys, and thank you!!
Crashing and/or getting hurt. Recovering and making it to the end can be very difficult. 10, 20, 35 miles or 3 hours in on a bike vs your broken body and walking. Conserve the bike AND the body!
great video - please more one like this! Even though you made some videos how to train - maybe longer videos on how to train for an XC event - like more in depth - how to set certain goals (endurance, power) and how to achieve them
I always ride 2-3 hours with one bottle of water and no food. I dont even eat anything before normally. Sometimes its getting hard at the end, but its a good training.
Some good advice I make long rides all the time and all this will help out bigtime my issue is bike preservation I can't help myself lol I break my bike so much on the way down got to work on taking it easy I probably won't but it's in mind now thanks.
So much talk about trail riding on this channel but the fact is if you want to race on your mountainbike the most common race is the XC race. In such a race you will not want to have a trail bike but an XC bike, and your effort is not towards just barely making your way up the hill and then descending like a champ, it is all about managing your energy to be able to put 100% effort (well really 90% if you want to survive) into 90 to 120 minutes plus of riding. I love this channel, but it it for the most part does not prepare you very much for your first experience of a typical mountainbike race.
@GMBN not really related to the theme of the video... Since you ride Continentals, how do you find the traction of the Der Baron Projekt II with Apex ProTection? There are few reviews of the 2018 revamped Der Baron, and the one I did find mention zero grip on wet rock and roots. I bought a set 29" x 2.4 and the rubber feels hard. The guy at the store praised the Der Baron for wet conditions, but I don't know. I don't want to spend £100 on a new set that give less traction in wet fall conditions...
Very nice insights to XC... but when you ride to have maximum fun on the trails, you don’t think “conserve” so much, you think “hell yeah!!” while laughing and have the wheels in the air ^^
For longer rides I always set myself a goal. A trail on the map a bit further away I'm keen to explore (sometimes I come back, sometimes it ends up hike a bike), old castle, nice café, in my area there are many caves, sometimes I just check routes for coming back with the kids to ride or hike. This helps my mindset and also I have a close look at the map before so I know which climb goes over 50m ascent, which covers 150m ascent.
Great video Blake and Oli. This how I've been riding for about 2 years now. Really enjoy the longer rides I do. Had to teach myself to slow my pace down but once you find your right pace it's great. More videos like these #GMBN 👊🤘
I review this video at least 4x a year. I learned a lot from this video, & always adore being reminded by it. It helped me improve my XC biking even only as a beginner! Lots'a love, cheers, & Mabuhay, from tropical Philippines! #KeepBiking
When he said three hours all I could think was “wow such a short ride” after my 25 mile, 2700ft gain loop yesterday all I could think was to do it all again 😅 Recovering roadie here ✋ track stands, clipping in, and pure endurance are really my only starting MTB skills 😂
I've been riding this bike for 7 years now! ru-vid.comUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L It was a great bike the day I got it, put it together, and went on my first ride; more importantly it's an even better bike today. I've ridden trails, street, and skatepark all on this bike. I have replaced almost every part on the bike. Some stuff has broken: derailleurs, wheels, shifter. Everything else were upgrades. The only ramaing original parts are the frame, bottom bracket, and crank set. BB and cranks will be upgraded soon. The geometry isn't great but that is really the only draw back to how good a value this bike is. Even after all the money I've spent upgrading it's still a more affordable bike than I'd have bought from a proper bike shop, especially with full suspension. I've also learned a lot about bikes working on it over the years. It really is one of the best perchases I've ever made and hopefully it'll still be around for another 7 years.
#AskGMBN why is XC riding always looked upon as the annoying little brother by the bike park gang? It's ok to be bifocal don't ya know. I ride park and XC, I love heading out on a 3hr ride and cutting into my local bike park and riding past the gravity gang pushing up 😜
I didn´t really wanna watch this one. I though its going to be boring. But i actually learned alot. I have a route that i sometimes like to ride. Its 66km over all. And i remember one time i almost didn´t make it to my destination. To the point where i almost fell off my bike. Because i was too stubborn and wanted to make it without a break. I now know how to avoid that completely. Thanks GMBN!
Yes, I have a tip for longer XC rides. Put down the damn fork and go do some high intensity interval exercises and strength training outside your riding. Although the technical tips are appreciated, I'm pretty sure Oli Beckinsale owed a lot to proper nutrition and conditioning exercises when he was competing at the very top level of riding. I would be surprised if he went out for sandwiches, cake and tea after a ride. As the saying goes: sometimes dropping 10 pounds off your gut will serve you better than shaving 10 pounds off your bike by buying carbon everything...and cheaper too.
Never looked at a 3h ride as a long one, more like a normal day on a bike. 5+ hours is a long ride. For anything shorter than 3 hours I usually don't eat enything which is not a good thing.
If GMBN ever wants to make a trip to Utah, I can lead you on multiple epic rides. From my house, I can get in almost 50 miles of trails without any overlap all in and around one canyon. If you head up into Park City, this goes up even more. It's the kind of riding that forces you to be a better rider.
Great piece, thanks! On long rides, I always try to eat something before I get hungry. I find if I'm hungry it's going to take a while to get my energy back up.
Still have a strong conviction on enduro/downhill riding style after watch this. I just couldn't have fun riding the trails without jumps, drops and what have you. 😁✌
