5 Things NOT To Do When You're New To Mountain Biking

Mountain biking is great fun, but many people make mistakes and do the wrong things when they are getting started riding. In this video, Blake Samson and Neil Donoghue show you 5 things that a lot of people make when they start MTB.

⏰ Time Stamps 👇
00:00 - Intro
00:08 - Buying Expensive Kit
01:20 - Forgetting Food And Drink
01:59 - Biting Off More Than You Can Chew
02:45 - Riding Too Far
03:31 - Riding Position

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What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made? Have you made any of these mistakes?

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[gmbn]

What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made? Have you made any of these mistakes?

[beyondmiddleagedman]

Don't expect to heal as fast as you did when you were 20.(Started MTB at 65)

[beezerdoodle]

I came from a background of off road motorcycling so I made the mistake of trying to go too fast on my first mountain bike ride and I went OTB about one mile into the ride. Luckily I wasn't seriously injured and I learned to try for smooth technique instead of fast speed and with time I got faster. Still riding at 71 years old!

[Ampedmountainbiking]

My biggest mistake was selling my mountain bike to buy a motorbike, crashed it and lost a leg, recently returned to mountain biking minus a leg - lesson learned !😳

[solidground]

Riding too far is a bad idea without snacks and water

[DH-Ced]

My bigest beginner mistake was riding trails with a high seat😂

[marcelknop]

My biggest mistakes have been overthinking and overanalysing riding techniques and skills. Watching too many "how to" videos. While the videos all have a place and can be useful, I have found that letting your natural abilities and instincts run the riding sometimes leads to better progression. Another mistake has also been watching too many "Fail" videos. These just lead to more overthinking than necessary, so I have stopped watching them. I still over think, that's just my nature, but I'm discovering that just getting on with the riding is leading to good progression. I'm nearing 60 so never too old to learn either. My worst mistake always is letting my enthusiasm exceed my skill level.

[robinowens]

Love Neil giving Blake the dig on bike colour. 😂

[mtzeeh]

I agree with the don't go too far one especially, because I just did that mistake a while ago, my legs and lungs would've been screaming if they could. I'm taking it way slower now and don't rush uphills especially if you're just starting out 👍

[brettjohnson]

This ties into going too fast and too big; riding with the wrong people.

Some people are really bad at looking at trails from a newbie’s perspective. This can lead to them pushing someone into attempting features or trails way beyond their skill level

[jamieplourde]

Thankfully I survived my big mistakes and made most of them before mobile phones and GoPro style cameras were popular. 😉

[cstrike]

Riding too far on Mountain Bikes is common on the Philippines. Its one of the most enjoying experiences on mountain bikes. Even if you just bring water, you can easily buy food on different places. This is one of the most enjoyable experiences when touring in a mountain bike. No worries passing thru gravel, rough terrain. Lots of uphill rides. Since the Philippines is a tropical country. Also be aware of the weather. Bring a jacket just in case it would rain. Hope some GMBN staff can try touriing the whole Philippines in just one Mountain Bike. Hope there is also one who can tour Europe in just one mountain bike.

[nevillebooth]

My biggest mistake when transitioning from years on the road to MTB was thinking "Oh it will be just like the road only with trees and a bit of dirt". I stopped thinking that halfway through my first trail ride, and then a had a great time learning an entirely new set of skills (with a lot of support from GMBN + Tech)! Also the riding too far part - I find there is a 2:1 ratio from road to MTB. A 30Km MTB ride leaves me as knackered as 60Km road ride.

[josephbell]

Thank you guys, got back in MTB after 25yr break. Watching your video got me SAFELY back into the saddel.

[niallmorrison]

You take that back Neil, Blakes bike is tremendous.

[anitalandkroon]

Great video 😃 i am still a beginner😬 the biggest mistake was thinking i never go down the mountain fast 😳 but i did ❤

[khvttfk]

I had 1st generation specialize stumpjumper, which came out in 1981. I figured I could ride it at slow speed of a 6 foot drop onto flat ground. Mountain bikes weren’t a thing before that. My friends and I had no idea what mountain biking was all about but we had a good time.

[alexdoner]

I can remember when I first started writing that thing I was told was to really find a bike that suits your size and wheel size also is something that really helps you learn how to understand how your bike moves and how it's going to roll I'm sitting on a 29in wheel setup on my extra large specialized at the moment and I wouldn't have figured I would have gone to an Excel having started out on a large 27-5 I'm happy with the wheel change and how much better and more confident I feel on the big wheel

[harrisonsandifer]

GMBN should definitely plan a trip to Asheville, North Carolina in the states. It's got a huge mtn bike community and miles on miles of awesome trails for awesome video content.

[mario]

As a beginner I went straight to blue trails and now I’m suffering the consequences with shoulder pain from a fall😅 definitely start easy until you get the skills to go on harder trails