I haven't been riding enduro motorcycles for very long, but whenever it comes to technical downhills my skills are usually better, even when compared to very experienced enduro riders. That simply comes from more than 15 years of riding MTBs on technical trails. The same way a trials motorcycle is a great hard enduro cross-training tool for mastering balance, double blip, splatter and other trials techniques, riding downhill or enduro MTBs is a good way of learning technical downhill skills. They very easily transfer to an enduro motorcycle. If you are planning to get a bicycle for building moto endurance, instead of getting a road bicycle it might be more beneficial to get an MTB, so that you can work on fitness and skills at the same time.
@@riders.oregon4474 me too. Being an expert skier makes me not afraid of steeps. So I have fun with them versus fearing them. Here is an example - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nbCN4NqBR5M.html
Absolutely, went from moto to mtb for years and now back to moto... balance and good technique are essential on a mountain bike since you don't have the weight or engine to rely on...now I've transferred all those skills back to moto and it's transformed my riding, especially downhill. Highly recommend others to use mtb as a form of training for both fitness and skills.
Rich, one of the biggest hurdles is obstacles on a downhill and more specifically if the rider has confidence they can do the obstacle and remain in control as the hill continues. Your balance practice is perfect for this, when a rider knows they can drop off a rock ledge or over roots or logs while maintaining control of momentum without taking feet off pegs it makes a huge difference in downhill confidence.
@@IRCTireUSAMoto please do! This just came up in a recent ride for me. Down hill to a decent log. I didn’t know how to approach it, hesitated, and ate dirt…
Great tip on the chain slap noise while going down hill. I’d always thought that was bad and meant I reached the point that I should fully pull in the clutch. Now I’ll try to keep that noise going.
Great instruction. One thing I would add is the clutch fully engaged engine on because there is an obstacle at the bottom of the downhill or somewhere along the downhill route. It’s a sure fire way to know that hey I’m going to guarantee the bike isn’t going to stall for this.
zig zag pattern works for me on very steep downhills where there is a risk o going over the bars. Going down sideways also allows me to stop almost at any time.
My problem with downhills are the ruts. In my country ruts are very common in the terrain, when I try to downhill the ruts guides the front wheel which make it really difficult to balance, especially when the rear tire is on a different rut lane.
So I get the chain slap sound when I feel like I'm doing a good job but I didn't know the what the sound was or if I was hurting my bike. Thanks for saying that so now I understand.
Great vid and good tips. Being able to balance stand still makes a big difference in up and down hills. Any possibility to make advanced edition with at least skid plate height (or even bigger) obstacle on steep downhill? Downhill obstacles tend to make me feel like I have no clue what to do - my inner rideprocessor pops syntax error .. compress the shock, snap the clutch .. but I don't want any more speed .. aim at 2/3 mark or try to time doubleblip? don't want any big jump with plenty of speed to cope with later on.. the least I want is rear wheel bump high from obstacle and push me towards handle bars. Obviously it would be best to stop before obstacle but if it appears from nowhere like they usually do. 😱
Luck? Naw, buddy, what I need is commitment to improving my fundamentals and discipline to put in the work. Thank you for the support though, I know what you mean.
Steep downhills are one thing. That I can handle. Steep downhills with 90 degree switchbacks, trees, roots, big rocks, ruts and ledges with near vertical drop-offs is another. That's where I am a little less confident.
Im in Colorado too and just went on a super rocky trail that had steep downhill. Didn't really know what do to because I didnt want to be under heavy front brake when hitting rocks.
Thank you, good tips. Biggest concern for me is front wheel locking onto rocks or roots at an angle or sliding off far enough and me going high side. Been close to that couple of times and seen consequence of others getting there.
It feels cool to get the dead engine clutch technique. i can weight the entire back of the peg to save energy when they are super long and technical as well
Rich, I saw you at TKO last week but didn't get to say hello! Maybe next time 😜. Thanks for your helpful videos, and yea DH mtb'ing is awesome, plenty of control with grippy tires and brakes, good practice to make it less scary. Its more so the jumps that are sketchy and cause injuries!
Great instruction Rich! Is there a preferred gear to be in when performing an engine off downhill? I would think 1st or 2nd. Your instruction videos are extremely helpful. Thanks.
Am i alone thinking that dead engine down hilling is just stupid and yeh yeh i see the likes of bb57 and jarvis doing it , maybe my tracks are to gnarly as i have heaps of sections were if you were to stall it and not be able to blip of stuff you will just die 😯😜😜
These are some really useful tips! I have a horrible habit of using only the front brake, and leaning super far back on steep declines with my 2 stroke. On my 4 stroke I really take advantage of the massive engine braking, which feels like cheating. Horrible form I really need to work on!
Hey Rich! Need help on tire selection. Turkey TX, cap rock canyon NEPG in 2023 March. What is a good tire for that race? I run the M5B, I think that’s not going to work in that terrain. Thanks!
LoL, I suck at the long downhills in WV that are rutted, muddy, and full of baby head + size rocks with no end in site and turns! I’m fine with the ones I can see the bottom for some reason.
Hi Rich! Love all the vid’s & tips as the starter rider I am. I’m not too bad at maintaining ‘grip’ or at least not locking up when downhill and thus keep control of my speed, but one thing I am not good at / confident in is the situation where a steep downhill is followed directly by a steep uphill, or when covering a deep ditch. I just can’t seem to hit it right an always either don’t carry enough speed to go up again, or I try to get that momentum up front and end up hitting the bottom too hard and flipping the bike.. on the rare occasions I did manage at first try, I have no clue what I did different to previous approaches. Would you have any idea what I’m doing wrong based on that description, or even better know of a video that covers such required technique? Thanks from the Netherlands for helping us understand! 🇳🇱
Hey Rich, TNX for the lesson, i have found bad fork setup to be dangerous...with drop offs on a downhill - fork tucking in and not returning in time. Any idea what to adjust?
Hei Rich! I wonder why r u allways using the midlle finger for cluch? It's better for u, or u have an injury? Great videos by the way! Keep going great job!
my fav part of riding is downhill, its very easy for me cause ive been riding on a mountain ideal for downhill bicycles. i often turn off the engine and sail through while trying not to hit the brakes at all. i believe that helped me a lot even though its a little controversial to say the least...
Well, good luck with that technique of engine braking taken from motocross for really steep downhills! It is not realistic for two strokes, albeit for 4t given the massive engine brake could come into play to some extent. More often than not in a hard enduro situation you will need to factor in that sometimes 'no front brake applied' is necessary to get you over a slippery obstacle e.g. tree roots pointing sideways or wet stone face etc. I find it a much better advice to approach any downhill in sections, as sometimes you simply cannot brake hard on a section, but only on the section next below. Sequencing your braking becomes a must have mental skill! Sometimes more speed is better for stability purposes. Anything that will get you safe and "on your pegs".
My downhill rules are: 1) go faster than things falling around you. If you are being passed by sliding derbies, then you are likely floating on unstable ground. 2) stand, hips back, straight arms, like in the vid. Instead of rear traction, I'm thinking de-weight the front tire for better lines and less washout. 3) motor running, 1st or 2nd gear, front brake. I have a 4 stroke and rarely touch the rear brake or clutch. 4) when going over loose rocks or sticks, momentarily ease up on the brake and let the bike roll over the obstacle; it's less likely to kick out. 5) pick your lines and don't be afraid to change; I find it similar to riding ruts. Pick where you want to go and ease the brakes till better traction. Also don't be afraid to use a different line than the guy ahead of you. 6) you close distance on the downhills. Ppl are afraid of them, and it's easy to pick up too much speed. But if you use good techniques, you can gain time on the rider ahead of you.
I rode mountain bikes for well over a decade before I started riding dirt bikes and my downhill speed is much faster than people who are faster than me on uphills..
Awesome as always. Thanks! One question, Rich, I usually hear that it is not recommended to engine brake a 2 stroke because the oil comes in only when you put some throttle. Is this correct or what do you think about it?
Yes if the engine breaking for a very long period of time, like on a long downhill road. It’s definitely recommend it to blip the throttle. But for most Hard Enduro down hills you’ll be all right. Thanks for watching.
Hi Rich I find, that 4 stroks are much easier to ride downhills because of their better engine breaking. When I used to ride 4 stroke I often just put it in 1 gear and let it role with additional use of the front break. Now that I'm rideing 2 stroke I have to use the rear break and I often stal the engine. I try to keep my backwheel roling because it gives me more controle but I can't help it sometimes it locks. Any tips on how to prevent staling the engine? Thanks a lot in advance and perfekt explanation as always. Cheers Ralph
I am guilty as charged. If I can see the run out at the end I’m ok. If it’s got a curve or I can’t see the bottom I get freaked out about building uncontrollable speed and slamming into a tree. So I turn the bike off, keep my right foot on the peg, use the clutch in and out, and use the front brake, tap, tap, tap. With my left foot I do a technique I call “pussy footing” and kind of shimmy down the hill until I feel ok to roll. Yes. It’s terrible. Don’t do this. 😂
And I sure as fuck am not standing up when I go back down over the vertical dips better keep that ass on the fender and stay tucked and hope that rear tire stays on the ground
@@IRCTireUSAMoto I've watched almost all of your video. I know you can go crazy hillclimb or downhill. You don't need to make it "look" steep, when it already is.
You watch all the free videos and still complain. I don’t owe you anything. The truth is I have students who aren’t professional camera men taking the videos. I say, “stand here.” That’s about it. What ever part of the video you are talking about, come ride it.. it’s that steep.
Curious if you meant to say engaged for disengaged and vice versa when discussing clutch usage going downhill. I’m thinking it’s an engaged clutch with feathering in on a running engine? Unless I’m wrong in understanding clutch terminology. Thanks for the riding instructions.
