Mountain biking involves riding a fat-tired bike on dirt roads, singletrack, and over rocks and roots. The bikes are heavy-duty and commonly include both front and rear suspension (and sometimes 29″ wheels) to help you navigate difficult terrain with speed and comfort. You’ll get wet and muddy and have tons of fun!

Scroll down this page where I’ll cover all the skills you need to enjoy the sport and even some advice if you want to take part in MTB racing!

Or jump to mountain bike skills, mountain biking tips, mountain biking gear, or mountain bike racing.

 

Mountain Bike Basic Skills Tutorials:

Here’s the basic skills and riding advice you need to get started in order to stay safe and enjoy yourself. Please practice this before heading out to the tough trails!

How to Ride Through Any Rock Garden Like a Pro
If you plan to ride on the East Coast, you have to know how to ride through a rock garden. I've only been to one
How to Navigate a Stream or Water Crossing
Whether you'll be mixing it up in XC races, or just exploring the vast backcountry trails, you have to know how to ride a stream
The Attack Position
The "attack position." This is the most important concept in mountain biking. It forms the basis of all the complex maneuvers and techniques that you'll
How to Ride Through Mud and Sand Like a Pro
If you ever do a mountain bike or cyclo-cross race, you're going to encounter mud. Or sand. Or both. And you're going to love it!
MTB Skills: How to Hop Over a Log
An important skill for mountain bikers, especially XC and CX racers, is being able to hop over a log. At least here on the East
MTB Skills: How to Climb a Steep Hill
As if climbing a hill isn't hard enough on its own, the hills you encounter on mountain bike trails can be extremely steep - much
MTB Skills: How to Ride a Steep Downhill
Whether you're doing casual trail riding or XC racing, you're bound to encounter some steep descents. This guide will teach you how to ride a
How to Shift SRAM Trigger Shifters
This article explains how to shift SRAM Trigger Shifters on your mountain bike...
How to Shift Shimano RapidFire Trigger Shifters
Mountain bikes are typically equipped with either a grip shift or trigger shifters. The trigger shifters look more intimidating, but they are fun and easy
How to Do a Track Stand
A very useful skill for both road and mountain bikers is the track stand. A track stand is when you balance the bicycle in place,
Practice Crashing, Avoid Injuries
It's important for cyclists to do certain training drills to keep their skills sharpened. One drill I recommend you do is practice crashing! Here is
A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Bicycle Gears & Shifting
Moving from a one speed bicycle to one with multiple gears is a big step. Not only do you have to learn how to shift

 

Mountain Biking Tips and Advice:

Here’s some practical advice for all mountain bikers that will make your rides more fun.

These articles cover miscellaneous topics that are still very useful. So much can happen when you’re out mountain biking, so there is a lot to learn if you want to be prepared.

Ask Levi: Should I Have Two Wide Tires On My Bike?
Today's question is about using different width tires on your mountain bike and why that might be a good idea...
5 Reasons Yoga Is An Absolute Necessity for Mountain Bikers
If you just like to mountain bike for fun, maybe you ignore the trend toward more core conditioning and flexibility training. Even if you race,
How to Keep Sweat Out of Your Eyes
The days are hot, you sweat, and the sweat drips into your eyes. It stings your eyes and smears on your glasses. Helmet pads just
A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Proper Front Disc Brake Cable Routing
Let me tell you a little story about properly routing the cable for your front disc brake... It all started when I purchased my Specialized
7 Things You Must Know Before Your First Ride In The Cold!
(This article was originally published on BloomBikeShop.com, but I'm republishing it here because the advice is still useful!) It's inevitable. At some point in the
7 Tips To Keep You Safe During Hunting Season (Orange Spandex Not Required!)
Deer season is fast approaching, and you know what that means - time to break out the fluorescent orange spandex! (If you are a mountain

 

Mountain Bike Gear:

Everything you need to know about buying a bike and choosing the right gear for your adventure.

Mountain Bike Sizing Explained
One very popular topic that's always asked about online is mountain bike sizing. But here's the funny part - you need to get off the
Ask Levi: What is The Correct Mountain Bike Size For Me?
If you're planning to buy your first mountain bike, you are probably wondering what size to get. The "what size bike for me?" question comes
Tubeless Tires: The Advantages and Disadvantages for Mountain Bikers
Tubeless tires are a huge performance improvement for mountain bikers. But before you go all in, you should be aware of both the advantages and
How to Upgrade Your New Mountain Bike
If you get a new mountain bike for around one thousand dollars, it will be a good bike, but you will probably want to upgrade
Lesson Learned: Buy The Proper Master Link for Your Chain!
Master links are great. But you need to get the right one for your chain. Up next I'll share a story of when I did
The Value of Chain Lube: How $5 Could Save You $500
It was a beautiful day, way back in September of 2004. I figured it was about time to write about this ordeal - this lesson

 

Mountain Bike Racing:

Want to test your skills and fitness in cross country racing? Or even ultra-endurance events, stage races, and Super D? These tips and advice for racing your mountain bike will help you take the lead.

The Art of The Perfect Pre-Race Warm-Up
So much attention is paid to proper training strategies and racing tactics, while pre-race warm ups are often taken for granted. It's like good nutrition
5 Tips For Riding a Mountain Bike In a Road Race
A lot of small, local road races include a mountain bike category. This is nice because a lot of recreational riders do not own road
How to Win a Huffy Toss
If you've ever been to some sort of mountain bike festival, you have probably witnessed the Huffy Toss. For the uninitiated, the Huffy Toss is
How to Eat During a Mountain Bike Race
When I first started group mountain bike rides, we always stopped to regroup, making it easy to get a bite to eat. But, you can't
5 Tips For Success in Wet and Muddy Mountain Bike Races
If you're hitting the mud in an XC mountain bike race, it's bound to be tons of fun... but the mud can also slow you
Packing for a Mountain Bike Race: The MTB Race Equipment Checklist
Packing for a mountain bike race can be more nerve racking than the race itself! You have to make sure you have everything you need

 

Recent articles:

How to Upgrade Your Big Box Bike
Most cyclists scoff at big box bikes. You know, bikes from a department store. Wal-Mart bikes. Not without good reason - the bikes are low
Ask Levi: I’m Looking for a Women’s Mountain Bike Under $500 – Which One Is Best?
With gas prices on the rise and everyone wanting to get in shape and lose weight, bicycling has seen a rise in popularity. With that,
How to Ride Through Any Rock Garden Like a Pro
If you plan to ride on the East Coast, you have to know how to ride through a rock garden. I've only been to one
How to Navigate a Stream or Water Crossing
Whether you'll be mixing it up in XC races, or just exploring the vast backcountry trails, you have to know how to ride a stream
The Attack Position
The "attack position." This is the most important concept in mountain biking. It forms the basis of all the complex maneuvers and techniques that you'll
How to Ride Through Mud and Sand Like a Pro
If you ever do a mountain bike or cyclo-cross race, you're going to encounter mud. Or sand. Or both. And you're going to love it!
Ask Levi: Do I Need to Put Dedicated Snow Tires on My Mountain Bike This Winter?
Today's question is about choosing mountain bike tires for winter riding on snow and ice... Mountain Bike Snow Tires? Hey Coach, I was reading on
MTB Skills: How to Hop Over a Log
An important skill for mountain bikers, especially XC and CX racers, is being able to hop over a log. At least here on the East
MTB Skills: How to Climb a Steep Hill
As if climbing a hill isn't hard enough on its own, the hills you encounter on mountain bike trails can be extremely steep - much
MTB Skills: How to Ride a Steep Downhill
Whether you're doing casual trail riding or XC racing, you're bound to encounter some steep descents. This guide will teach you how to ride a