Mastering Mountain Bike Skills by Brian Lopes, Lee McCormack
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Book Reviews of Mastering Mountain Bike Skills
Book Review: great tool for improving your riding
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm lucky enough to live near some great off road trails - the Avalon area in Maryland. Problem is that I'm an old guy (the bike I had before the Cannondale Prophet I just bought is older than you!) (all right - I'm over 50) and I really like riding trails. So, now I've got a new bike that's a lot more capable than me, I want to get better. The trails I ride are twisty single track with lots of roots, rocks, stream crossings, occassional short downhills with berms on the turns... great stuff. Well, enough about me (it is all about me though isn't it?), but this book was a great help. First, as they say in the book "let the bike roll". When you're perched at the top of a gnarly section it's nice to be able to call up your mantra of "let the bike roll" as you head down into a gully full of rocks, roots, fallen branches etc. The book gives solid advice on skills to learn so that you get the most out of your bike (things like weighting and unweighting). It gives you insight into how to do things like manuals, hops, etc that most riders don't know how to do. (To learn you have to practice but this book really helps get you started). I've really enjoyed the book and read it and try stuff in it practically every day.Book Review: Good wide coverage of bike skills
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a rider of intermediate skill and wanted to better understand some of the more intricate dynamics of mountain bike riding to further improve my riding techniques - this book does it in spade loads.
The book is well laid out and gives good step by step instructions as well as the reasoning behind why things are done.
Tips I found particularly useful are the various weightings applied to wheels, pedals and handlebars to load tyres for better grip, etc in certain situations such as cornering climbing. A lot of these things you can pick up with experience but if you know why in the first place some of these things become self evident before you pick up bad habits.
The language is a bit weird in places as some of the other reviewers have noted but this should not deter buyers looking for a good quality manual as the content is there and is really good. If you were a straight beginner some of the terms may be a bit alien but I think the book is more aimed at people like myself who have done a bit of riding and have a basic understanding of the terminology being used.
Go buy and enjoy...
Book Review: Exactly What I Needed
Summary: 5 Stars
With a huge racing season laid out in front of me, I needed a book that could describe through images and experiences all of the detailed skills that it takes to succeed. Lee and Brian have created such a text. Each chapter had a move or skills drill that I would apply to my daily ride allowing me to progress by leaps and bounds in a very short period of time. Interspersed throughout are examples of how the authors learned these lessons and applied them to their riding and racing. Multiple full color pictures and diagrams show step by step movements intermingled with often comical metaphors. There were places where I was laughing out loud. More importantly I would remember the lessons because of the creative language used to teach them. Will this book turn you from a Beginner to an Expert overnight? Don't be absurd. But if you can practice all that it has to offer then you will certainly move up the ladder faster than if you had to absorb this knowledge by trial and error.Book Review: Easy to follow, in-depth description, of how to do anything on a mountain bike
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm someone who learns pretty well from books, but I don't think you need to be to like this one. I've bought a lot of books with this thought in mind on mountaineering, skiing, telemarking, soccer...you name it. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read to learn techniques. And, I believe the reason it is so good is because it is written by two people who are probably a bit different in the way they learned the sport of mountain biking.
It's obvious that Brian Lopes is the "natural" athlete, and much of the information comes from breaking down what he does in different situations on a bike. Lee McCormack is no slouch and it is his left brain approach and his ability to break moves down into do-able steps that makes this book so accessible.
If your into mountain biking, expert or novice, this book will help you improve.
Book Review: Is it too late in life???
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm going on 53 and got my first mountain bike 1 year ago. After a rude introduction to single track, I decided to try and learn some skills. This book looked like a good source of info, so I ordered it. My first impression was that I'll never risk most of the moves shown by the pros in the book. It's definitely geared toward all-out riding. But I went back to the book and got more selective with the chapters. I then realized that all the basics are there. Not only are the techniques shown, but there's great explanations of why they work. It's almost like having a video. So what first looked like an intimidating how-to manual, now seems more like Pandorra's Box. I look forward to practicing whenever I can spare the time, then getting out and enjoying some terrain. The deer trails above my home have taken on new meaning.