Beginner Hardtail MTB Skills You Can Master!

Hardtail MTBs are an amazing way to enter this awesome sport, with more affordable prices, fewer parts to maintain and great all-rounders, it's no wonder so many people ride hardtails when they first start mountain biking! Join Blake Samson, our resident hardtail-loving funny guy as he runs you through some fun & simple hardtail skills you can master!

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Pump tracks
2:21 - Good pedals
4:12 - Cornering
5:24 - Lift the front wheel
6:12 - Body position
7:19 - Line choice
9:09 - Jumping

Useful Links:

Have you made any of these beginner hardtail mistakes? Let us know down below! 👇

Watch more on GMBN...

🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵
Marinate (Instrumental Version) - Zorro
Cyborg - Alphascan
Sick World - dreem

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[portela.araujo]

I gave thumbs up just for the dancing!! Go Blake!

[WIPEYOURLENZ]

I have just bought a new hardtail after years riding a full suss. I said I would never go back but there is something about a good hardtail.

[seed_drill]

The pump track is a great place to run over skateboarders and young kids on BMX bikes. Seriously, the trails where I’m learning are almost always deserted in the evenings, but the track is always full of non mountain bikers.

[budride]

I laughed so hard with that hardcore dancing. Well done Blake, as always.

[jonasvieth]

Blake is a legend 😄 that dance must be the sickest thing of the week 👌

[Ren_Kobe]

🤣 Blake got me rolling! Great dance moves! Only on hardtails !!!

[normal]

Great video for me. I’m 47 and getting back into mountain biking. Already crashed and broke my nose! So now I’m ready for more practice.
THIS TIME WITH A HELMET 🤷🏻‍♂️

[andygrant]

Came for bike tips left with killer dance moves 👌

[JoshuaDomoslai]

Always rode full susp. Got an aggressive geometry Marin San Quentin 2 hardtail and did some mods. Awesome bike. Love the simplicity and lighter weight of a hard tail. I take it to all the trails that dudes show up in enduro bikes on 😂😂

[davidkoplin]

Your timing is great I get my new hardtail today

[Bmtb]

Blake moving to hardcore dance music - priceless!! 🤙

[ericgelders]

Also: one simple bright (yellow 💛) frame colour! Love it when the colour pops. TX, NASCAR reference is 😅! Riding a BMX as a kid taught me bike/body balance in a playful way, I stil have advantage of nowadays being 50.

[MarcoSantosMAMS]

Hahahahaha! Here it is again! The gorgeous Yellow Nukeproof!
And, yes, Blake, you are a fantastic presenter

[MaxWoudenberg]

Just went on my first ride on a trail this evening and it was epic! Love my new hardtail (BH Spike 3.0).
Can't wait for the next ride!

[Kelvallontan]

Oh boy, the pump track!
I've been bringing my 7 yo daughter there from time to time and never thought once I could benefit from there as well (besides bringing the exhausted kid back home, knowing that she'd be in bed and sleeping at 8). Sometimes the most obvious things are the hardest to think of.

I've started biking seriously again 1 year ago, have tasted a bit of cross country trails in the southern alps last summer, and have also found out my limits there (had to jump off the bike a couple of times because brakes were dead and I couldn't handle the technical parts coming towards me).

So your videos definitely come in handy.
Thanks a lot.

Also, you must have been your various teachers's nightmares back in the days. It seems like you have a fire lit under your bum 24/7 😃

[j_laf]

That dance part had me crying. Guess I need to get a hardtail so I can dance like Blake!

[nottakumi]

Thank you for the affirmation. You’ve reminded me why I’ve always had a hard tail, other than cost. 😂

[charliemerrill]

Thank you GMBN.. nothing beats practice, but when not on the trail your team is wonderful at explaining the skills needed to ride.. it's helping very much! Thanks ... Charles in the Wilds

[UnformedLump]

I love my Mongoose Ardor hardtail. It's basically the cheap version of the Nukeproof scout. Very similar geo & other than the thru-axle, I could fit all the same parts of I needed too.

[peterslater]

thanks, blake! this is a great video and perhaps should be a series? i'm a road/gravel guy and just got my first hardtail - so while i'm not necessarily new to cycling, in Hardtail World i'm a total novice - so there is always room for beginner skill videos, and i really appreciate it.
also, kudos on the van build, i loved that series. :)