Want to level up your mountain biking skills with some strategy? Whether you’re chasing flowy descents, nailing technical climbs, or simply wanting more confidence on the bike, these 50 expert-tested tips will help accelerate your riding journey.
I’ve pulled them straight from my own 25 years of riding bikes around the world — almost every single day (this is not an exaggeration). From daily driveway drills to gear experiments, these mountain biking tips have genuinely made me a stronger, smoother, and happier rider.
Each month, I put together a new tutorial video for my lovingly devoted Patrons, teaching different skills and techniques behind the sport of mountain biking. Today, I’m inviting you — Patron, or not (yet…) — back in time to revisit one my 50 tips to become a better rider. Let’s rewind to this tutorial three years ago, when I was riding the Yeti SB 140, Knolly Chilcotin, Transition Spire, and the Ibis Ripmo V2s.
Editor’s Note:
These articles are adapted by Savannah (Handles) from Jeff Kendall-Weed’s YouTube videos for riders who prefer reading over watching. They’re written in Jeff’s first-person voice to stay true to the style and storytelling of the original content, although for this particular piece, Savannah has had a lot to expand upon in many of the bullet-points. 🤓
If you’re already a loyaly Patreon subscriber and want to enjoy the tutorial over on that platform, you can find the original video here.
Build Rock-Solid Riding Habits
First, let’s lay the foundation. These everyday tricks build bike fitness and comfort without feeling like boring “training.” (Even though boring is effective — a coaching tip from Savannah.)
- Ride your bike as much as possible — even if it means bike commuting on your mountain bike. I’ve logged serious miles on my Orbea Occam around town, and it builds fitness and confidence like nothing else. Sometimes you just need to get more miles in, and it doesn’t matter what surface those miles are on, or how much elevation is (or isn’t) gained.
- Ride other bikes whenever you can. Hop on a friend’s rig or a demo bike. Changing up what you’ve found to feel familiar and comfortable is an instantaneous way to sharpen your bike handling skills.
- Don’t be afraid to ride the “wrong” bike for the terrain. As with the invitation to commute around town on your mountain bike (please remember a suitable bike lock), you can alternate the types of bikes you ride for different activities. I’ve ripped pump tracks on a townie bike and had a blast. Will you look silly? Well, who cares. Use it as an opportunity to practice not caring what people think, and stretch your mental resilience muscles.
As a more recent example, you can enjoy my recap riding my beloved Stooge on opening day at the Whistler bike park. - Play around in your driveway doing tricks for 15 minutes every single day. Manual, wheelie, trackstand — just 15 minutes builds huge skill. This is true whether with bikes, or other life skills. So often it’s easy to get over-excited about learning new things, and we dive in, wanting to spend all of our time in the new endeavor. But, this can leave us prone to burning out. What is more effective is taking smaller bites, but with consistency. 15 minutes a day is often more progressive than one hour, once a week.
- Habit-stack with track-stands… perhaps while you’re on hold during phone calls? Instead of relying on the comfort of earbuds with your phone out of hand, level it up to keep the device in hand while on speakerphone. Not only will you get your track-stand practice in, you’ll do so while holding an awkward grip.
(Pssst…. habit stacking is a great way to integrate new behaviors into your days. Humans are creatures of habit, and it is helpful to attach a new behavior onto an already-existing one. A few other examples include: make your bed as soon as you get out of it; meditate while your coffee brews; do 5 pull-ups every time you walk through the door that has your pull-up bar hanging on it. No pull-up bar? Insert squats or push-ups, instead.) - Mark your wheelie progress with driveway chalk. And then… film it. Not only will you see massive gains in weeks, you’ll rekindle your inner child with sidewalk chalk. Make it colorful. Make it fun! Treat it like a bike version of hopscotch.
- Practice riding with the “wrong” foot forward. It forces new balance and makes you a more adaptable rider. Pro tip: change it up right before going into a corner. See if you notice a difference in which foot leads out of a left or right corner.
- And remember… change out of your bike shoes before driving.
We compared the Santa Cruz Hightower and Ibis Ripmo, which you can read about over here.
Experiment with Gear & Bike Setup
With a solid foundation laid, we can take our skills practice to the next level. Now, we’ll focus on tweaking your typical setup.
But remember, this is only after you have earned it with your non-negotiable 15 minutes of skills practice each day. For how long? you might ask. Well, if we turn to science, we really don’t have a conclusive answer. Research varies from 18-254 days, with the average landing around 66 days. So, let’s just say that you’ve earned your Level 2 skill advancement after you’ve practiced your daily wheelies for 2.5 months.
- Find a brutally hard section of trail and ride it uphill. It builds power (both in your leg muscles and cardiovascular engine) and mental toughness. (Obviously, this should not be a heavily trafficked downhill trail. Use your brains.)
- Trade out a little climbing speed for enhanced confidence for your descent — slap on thick heavy-duty tires (think Maxxis DoubleDown or full DH casings) on steep trails. Your tires will feel rooted.
- Try the “other” suspension setting on your bike. You might be surprised how much it changes the feel.
- Get low on the bike. Think about dropping your chest and bending your elbows to 90 degrees to become one with the bike. If you think you are already low, get lower. We are often not as low as we think.
- If you normally ride clipless, ride flat pedals for a session (great for learning foot placement). Do you want to hear everything I have to say on the topic of pedals? Yes? Great, because I would love to tell you everything I know about pedals. I did a full deep dive in 2025 all about that topic, which you can also dive into here.
- If you normally ride flat pedals, ride clipless pedals — and if you have the resources to do both, try switching back and forth to alternate every other day, to enhance your body-mind-bike consciousness.
- Ride without “proper” MTB attire once in a while — casual clothes remind you it’s supposed to be fun.
And if you’re new to mountain biking and don’t want to dive into a costly gear investment… Wear what you have. Ride with regular shoes, yoga pants, shorts, maybe even jeans (not that I would recommend it, but I have seen it done). The most important thing to be aware of when riding with whatever you happen to have on-hand, is what you might be sacrificing in protection for convenience. If you’re riding with regular gym shoes, you probably don’t have toe protection built in; just be aware of stumps that might collide with your toe. If you’re riding without pants or shorts that cover more of your legs, you might want to wear longer socks to protect your shins; I’d say pedal strikes are fairly common, and socks may make the difference between blood and a bruise. If you’re riding in a tank top, you leave your shoulders available to rocks and dirt; yes, we want to soak up all the sunshine we can, and you might leave your skin along the trail if riding goes south (Savannah speaks from her first teeter-totter OTB experience).
And if you can, make sure that you have gloves and knee-pads. Both are prone to scapes and bumps and bruises, and having those areas protected can make you feel much more confident on the trails. - Practice enduro or downhill race runs on flats, then race on clips. The swap makes you appreciate both.
- Ride with a backpack or ruck, instead of a hip pack — it changes your center of gravity and builds core strength.
- Ride completely pack-less and tool-less on occasion — trust that things will be okay and enjoy the freedom (at least within reason and responsibility).
- Experiment with different air pressures in your suspension — a few PSI can completely change how your bike handles.
Learn from Others & Film Your Progress
… because feedback is everything, and you can learn so much from watching how your body moves and performs from an external perspective. In other words, you can’t read the label from inside of the jar.
Tip #21: film your buddy for immediate feedback.
- Have a friend film you riding. You’ll spot bad form instantly, and have a visual understanding of how to correct in real-time.
- Film your buddy riding — teaching others forces you to understand the sport better. You don’t have to be a professional for this to be effective. Yes, it is partly about your level of expertise, but it is also about how you train your attention to see details differently. (Check out the “How to Wheelie” tutorial from May 2025!)
- Ride with someone faster than you. It pushes your limits. Ride behind them to try to keep up, or ride in front of them to try to keep out of their way. Everyone’s brain works differently, and you may prefer one method over the other. Savannah, as an example, hates to ride in front of others, but is happy to race along behind them. Again, exercise this within reason and what feels aligned with your constraints of personal responsibility. There are reckless riders out there, and riding fast for the hell of it is not necessarily what you need to do. Progress happens when you have someone you trust, and who knows where your skill level is at. If they are a better rider than you and have some teaching skills, they’ll be able to adjust their riding to push your skills the right amount, without pushing your over the edge (or into a tree). Know them, but also know thyself.
- Ride with someone slower than you. It teaches patience, and invites you into a role of mentorship. If you’re really bored, you can use that extra slow time to practice wheelies, or another skill that challenges a snail-paced speed.
- Ride the full rainbow — double black to single black to blue to green in one day. It keeps you humble and skilled across the entire mountain. (Again, apply this to your personal skill level; if you are not yet riding blacks, mix up your greens and blues).
- Repeat a short, tricky section of trail 10 or 15 or 20 times. Use each lap to try a different line, experiment with a new technique, or simply gain a little speed. Repetition is huge, and some of the biggest gains are made when things feel boring.
- Ride the same trail every day for a week. You’ll be shocked how much smoother it feels by day seven. And, consider this your “life hack” for engraining your familiarity with a single trail that will stick in your memory forever.
Cross-Training That Transfers onto the Trail
Get stronger off the bike. Your bones (and lungs) will thank you.
Riding your bike is not enough. Cardio is not enough. Strength alone, is not enough. Are you tracking the theme? Too much of a good thing is never a good thing, and this applies to focusing obsessively on a sport. Variety is the spice of life, and as athletes we need to mix up our training to perform at a higher level.
Side note from Handles: Jeff has been starting almost every day with a weighted workout near his house for almost a year. He’s admitted that his biking fitness has gotten much stronger in that time, and attests much of that to weighted squats, push-ups, and pull-ups.
- Actually race (real races, not Strava KOMs; “King of the Mountain,” if you aren’t familiar). The pressure to perform enhances your commitment to the sport. Even if it’s just mental, once you sign up, be curiously attentive to how your riding changes.
- Commit to a gym membership, or CrossFit-style training, and hit it at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes minimum. If you are prone to getting antsy indoors when the sun is shining through the summer, bring your strength training outside. Build a set-up outdoors complete with a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells; or simply, find a heavy rock that can fill in for metal.
- Practice yoga twice a week for a full month (and, ideally, beyond). Mobility pays huge dividends on the bike, and it keeps your body supple when muscles are tight. A significant part of yoga is the mindfulness, and practicing being present in your body during slow movements will likewise transfer over to having a regulated stress response on the trail.
- Do 5 all-out sprint intervals from a dead stop — and, as usual, film them for motivation. Maybe it’s down your driveway or between light posts. Sprint intervals are an effective way to recruit and train fast-twitch muscle fibers — which enhance your capacity for explosive power, acceleration, and high-force muscle production.
- Go trail running twice a week. It builds insane leg strength and trail awareness that can cross over to how you read the mountain bike trail. Trail running, as opposed to road running, is especially great because it makes you feel like a kid again: leaping over rocks, scrambling over logs, and… of course, getting in some forest bathing time. Aaaahhhhhhmmmm….
- Pick one specific technique to focus on every ride — cornering, jumping, pumping, braking, manuals, or even pedaling. Give your brain a single thing to focus on, and make it an extended skills session.
No yoga studio? No problem… A mountain meadow will do.
Advanced Technique & Skill Drills
Add some creativity to your riding, on and off the trails.
- Build a bunnyhop machine. Because skills are more fun when you invest the time and materials into creating them yourself.
- Ride your favorite descent chainless (Aaron Gwin style. IYKYK.)
- Remove your dropper post for a day and ride with a permanently fixed low seat — you’ll stand up more and get stronger.
- Focus on producing maximum power right at the crest of every climb. Similar with sprint intervals, this gives you a mini goal to work on with a short burst of power. Fast-twitch muscle fibers, here we go!
- Practice cutties on a cone course. When you set up any kind of course, there’s something about it that ignites something in your brain. It puts you into a more natural learning mindset, and gives you something specific to focus on. Using cones for cutties helps to build the bike-body connection, building the muscle memory to really lean into your corners on the trail.
- Bump-jump the next log you see on the trail. (My most recent tutorial focused on nailing this exact bump-jump technique.) And once you nail that? Try turnig your bike into a pogo stick.
- Spin your pedals at a faster cadence than normal — it smooths out your riding, and makes it easier to push your bike through obstacles (or, you know, perceived obstacles).
- Practice seated, full-lock slow turns in a safe spot.
- Lean the bike so hard your handlebar nearly kisses the dirt. Kisses, not punches. We are going for subtlety here.
- Add completely unnecessary pedal strokes while descending — it keeps your feet active, mixes things up simply for the sake of it, and invites a feeling of playfulness. Because, why not?
- Look way further down the trail than you think you need to. You go where your gaze goes. When you run into the rock you were trying to avoid, it’s probably because you were staring straight at it. The same is true off of the bike. Take strength training, for example. When you’re at the bottom of a squat, you don’t want to strain your neck looking toward the ceiling, but you also don’t want to stare down at the ground. Lifting your gaze slightly ahead of you encourages your body to follow, and makes it easier to stand all the way up.
- Wheelie out of turns.
- Jump out of turns.
Embrace the Adventure & Have Fun
The best riders never forget why they started: to have fun.
- Night ride every once in a while. This helps Tip #43. If you’re stuck in a bad habit of staring down directly in front of your tire, starting a night riding habit just might be the remedy that you need. You can only see so far ahead in the dark, so your gaze has to follow what is lit up by your night lights. You’ll find your gaze naturally landing further forward in the spotlight.
- Ride a bike park. Whether you plan an epic trip of a lifetime or have a local spot you enjoy, getting downhill after downhill runs in helps to build skills at light-speed without getting fatigued on climbs.
- Don’t waste your time racing cyclocross.
- Ride in every weather condition — rain, snow, suffocatingly dry heat, humidity. You’ll become unstoppable. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy empty trails while everyone is crying about bad weather indoors.
- Don’t forget to rest and recover after a big ride. Your body needs it.
Are you curious about more? For the price of a fancy coffee per month, you can sign up for Patreon — team JKW releases one in-depth tutorial every month!
Here are a few other videos that we’ve worked on recently:
- How to Bump Jump!
- Different Riding Styles for Different Bodies
- How to Ride Flat Pedals (assuming clipless is your default)
- How to Wall Ride (featuring my very own handmade, very blue, backyard-built wall)
As always, thanks for your support and for reading or watching wherever you are!
Tip from Handles, #7: SMILE. Even with the plethora of mosquitoes.
(Stay tuned for the next article featuring these tips and more, from a beginner mindset.)
Special thanks to