Happy New Year! If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to become a better off-road rider, I have something for you to watch.
This South African enduro riding skills video shows a ton of techniques: how to hill climb, how to preload the suspension to get over obstacles, even how to scale a 6 or 8-foot vertical wall and get up a double ledge. It’s amazing to see just how smoothly these insurmountable-looking obstacles can be conquered.
Sometimes the video is frustrating, however: the announcer stands between the rider and the camera, blocking the line of sight; sometimes he says body position is important but doesn’t say what exactly that position is; sometimes the background melts like a Dali painting. The slow-motion parts, however, are really helpful. In them, you can see exactly how the riders lean, finesse, and transfer their weight to use their bikes’ power and suspension to get over almost anything. Overall the video displays some truly skilled riding.
The video I’m featuring compiles clips from the Offroad Fanatic YouTube channel, which shows techniques on adventure riding and has bike reviews as well. Well worth a look.