Pumping on a Pump Track: A Beginner's Guide to Successful MTB Riding

It’s a brand new season and you’re itching to hit the trails again. You know what that means: another round of pump track riding! Pumptrack tracks are perfect for intermediate mountain bikers, as they provide an excellent opportunity to practice cornering, acceleration and deceleration on a continuous circuit. That being said, not all riders find it easy to adapt their usual MTB skills in such a confined environment. If you are new to pump track riding or if your previous attempts were less than successful, this guide will help you get past the initial difficulties and become an expert rider.

 

Know Your Bike

Pumping on a pump track is all about mastering your bike and its capabilities. The biggest difference between riding on a pump track and regular trail riding is the compression and rebound of your suspension. To handle these conditions, you need to have a bike with an appropriate geometry for pump tracks. Unfortunately, there are no set guidelines for what constitutes the appropriate geometry. Your bike's geometry can depend on many factors, such as: - Your height - The type of terrain you ride - The type of bike you ride - And more... Even though there are no set guidelines, it’s important that you know what will work best for you before hitting the trails. This means finding a way to test out different bikes without having to purchase them first. You can do this by borrowing bikes from friends or renting them at your local shop. Once you find the right bike, make sure you test it on a pumptrack before purchasing! Otherwise, you may end up with an expensive paperweight after just one season. 

Start Small

The pump track can seem a lot more intimidating than it actually is. You’re going to be riding in circles, after all. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to start out with the most difficult features of the track. Instead, head to the section that has the easiest features and work your way up to the more challenging sections of the circuit. It may sound like an overly cautious approach, but it will save you from feeling overwhelmed. In fact, if you are new to pump track riding and have never ridden a mountain bike before, it is recommended that you stay away from pump tracks altogether and focus on developing your MTB skills elsewhere. 

Gear up for Success

To ride a pump track, you will need the following gear: a mountain bike, some MTB shoes, helmet and pads. If you're not sure what to wear for riding on a pumptrack, it's best to take the same precautions you would for any MTB ride. Some riders enjoy wearing gloves with no padding to feel the terrain better. However, we recommend wearing sturdy gloves that provide good grip and protection from bumps and scrapes. It might also be a good idea to strategically position your helmet so that it provides more protection from bumps on one side of the head. If you are using clipless pedals, make sure your feet are properly secured in the pedals with cycling shoes or clips before starting off on a pump track. If you don't have clipless pedals but prefer them, consider investing in them now so they can serve as an additional safety precaution later on as well. Another important part of getting ready is gearing up your bike and adjusting your seat height. Make sure your seat is at the right height so that your weight is distributed evenly between front and back tires while riding into turns or navigating bumps. When you're all set up and feeling confident, it's time to start practicing! 

Rotate, Don’t Leap

The most common mistake that beginners make is to leap, rather than rotate, in a corner. When you are approaching a corner on a pump track, it’s important to remember that your hips should be the first thing to turn. If you simply push off with your foot, or try to twist through the corner without rotating your hips, you will get caught up in the swing of the bike and lose balance. When you're learning how to ride a pump track, it can also help to think about corners as 3D shapes instead of 2D lines. Think about what happens when you approach an angled wall: if you walk straight towards it and then pivot around it by rotating your hips and shoulders, it'll be much easier for you to maintain balance than if you simply ran into the wall with your shoulder and tried to pivot from there. By following these guidelines when approaching corners on a pump track, not only will your riding become safer but it will also become more efficient. 

Finding the Sweet Spot

The first thing you will notice when you try to ride a pump track is that your bike has a hard time staying on the ground. This is because of the large amount of friction between the tires and the ground. This can make it difficult to push as well as steer your bike and can also cause you to end up riding off the track. In order to stay on the ground, you will need to increase your speed and pump more often. One common mistake new riders make is riding too slow on the pump track. This can be detrimental because it increases your chances of going off course or not being able to pump enough during a corner. Riders should experiment with different speeds in order to find their personal sweet spot; one that allows them to comfortably ride through corners, accelerate quickly and maintain traction while pumping. 

Try Toe-First Shifting

One of the most common problems for new pump track riders is that they struggle with shifting from one gear to the next. It’s not always easy to figure out how to shift before you hit the corner, and it can be hard to do a smooth transition when you are in the middle of a corner. The solution is: try toe-first shifting. When you are on your bike, there is a lever below your right foot that allows you to change gears. If you are right handed, this lever will be on the right side of your bike. When you are riding and approaching a corner, instead of trying to maneuver your hand all the way down to the lever while simultaneously turning, try adjusting your feet first. Pump down with one foot so that it reaches its bottom position while simultaneously reaching down with your free hand towards the gear lever. This will allow you to shift gears without needing any hands on the handlebars and without having to slow down as much. 

Takeaway

Points * Pumping on a pump track is not necessarily easy. You have to learn how to push the bike into the ground, which can be challenging for MTB beginners. * To help you with this, you can use a technique called "trail braking," which involves tapping the brakes while in the pedals (rather than releasing them) when approaching a corner. This will allow you to slow down more gradually. * Once you are comfortable with these skills, it will then be time to work on cornering and acceleration-deceleration techniques that are specific to pump tracks. * As with any new skill, there may be a learning curve that takes some time to overcome. However, with practice and guidance from more experienced riders, mastering these skills will not take long at all.