Page 105 - AMB Freelist

HOWTO 1 BRAKE HARD
RIDE INSIDE LINES
Chances are if you’re coming up hot on the inside, you’ll need to get on the brakes hard and late to control your speed. The reason for this is you’ll need to turn a little more than on the outside line. You can see here, I’m way offline and about thirty degrees from where I should be pointing with the right setup into the corner so I’m braking hard and late and trying to maintain traction all at the same time. Come in too hot and you’ll end up on the wrong side of the trail.
2
FEATHER THE BRAKES
Once you’ve scrubbed the majority off your speed you want to be at a speed where you can comfortably get through the turn. Once you begin to turn in, if you do need to brake, feather the brakes really gently rather than grabbing a handful of brakes which will get you sliding and scrub all your speed. The key is to hold the inside line once you are on it – if you run too wide you’ll need to square up the turn to exit so control your speed accordingly
W O R D S J A R E D R A N D O
Nine times out of ten, the inside line on any corner won’t be the fastest, or the best way to get through the turn. That said,
knowing what to do when you want to ride an inside line or end up on the inside line by mistake is a great skill to have and one worth practicing from time to time. There’s been some pro Downhill racers over the years (mainly Sam Hill!) who could rail an inside corner like no other and were able to use it to their advantage in a race situation. Out on the trail though, the chances are you’ll only end up on the inside by accident when you’re not paying attention, get off line or maybe
P H O T O S N I C K W A Y G O O D
you’re just trying to sneak by one of your mates! The key to inside lines is maintaining speed and
getting out as quick as possible. Any loss in traction or speed will make a tough situation even tougher so it’s all about controlling your traction and speed to get the most exit speed possible. The better you get at it, well, the faster and more consistently you’ll be able to do it and practicing inside lines will also help develop skills which will cross over to your cornering regardless, so it’s a great skill to work on and hone. It’s also lots of fun when you get it right. Here’s how to do it.
104