Most mountain bikers use the summer holiday to build endurance. And it makes sense because if you’re not working or managing kids at school, then you have more time to ride. But why not use the opportunity to also improve your speed? Here are some useful drills that you can apply during the holiday to ensure you’re a faster rider in 2025.

These are all skill drills that you can apply on your rides and which will, once you get to do them instinctively, improve your speed. Even a 1km per hour improvement in your speed can make a big difference to your performance and your confidence.

ON DOWNHILLS

Many mountain bikers brake too much. It’s instinctive to apply brakes if you feel unsure, but it’s not necessary to brake as much as you do. 

On a straight downhill that’s not super steep, for example on a gravel road or established jeep track or singletrack, you don’t need to hold the brakes the whole way down. Holding the brakes all the way down just robs you of free speed and kills your momentum so that you have pedal hard and early to get up the next rise.

During the holidays, do this: Find a straight, longish downhill with no or little traffic. Stand on the pedals (which should be level) and look 10-15 metres ahead. Roll down the descent as you normally would and let the brakes go completely for the last quarter. Repeat until you feel in control without touching your brakes.

Then, do the same downhill, but let the brakes go from halfway down. Repeat until you feel in control without touching your brakes.

Then, do the same downhill, but let the brakes go from three-quarters of the way down. Repeat until you feel in control without touching your brakes.

And finally, do the whole downhill without touching your brakes. This will allow you to build trust in physics and your bike and help you build confidence to brake less on downhills, which will improve your overall speed.

ON CLIMBS

This is particularly for short, steepish climbs. Most mountain bikers lose momentum and either stop voluntarily and dismount, or stop because they lose momentum and fall over/off.

Your mountain bike has a wide range of gearing that’s meant to help you pedal up short, steep climbs and not have to stop or dismount!

During the holidays, do this: Find a short, steep climb (can be 10-20 metres long) with a straight-forward approach. 

Pedal towards the climb looking up/ahead 5-10 metres. Don’t stop pedalling, but as the climb starts to steepen, shift to an easier gear. And then as you begin to slow, shift to an easier gear. Keep pedalling, keep looking at the top of the climb where you intend to reach. Don’t stop pedalling until you have crested the summit of the climb, then you can soft-pedal and recover. 

You need to do these things simultaneously, all the way up the climb: 

1 Commit to the whole climb – don’t have any doubts about making it. Visualise yourself reaching the top. 2 Look up/ahead – if you look anywhere else, you’re doomed. You have to look up/ahead for balance, stability and to choose your line. 3 Pedal your heart out – If you stop pedalling, you won’t make it. You have to pedal all the way up! 

Bonus tip: You must stay seated to ensure your wheels maintain traction. If you feel your front wheel is lifting, pull hard backwards/downward on your handlebars – this brings your body forward slightly to weight the front wheel.

ON CORNERS

We’ll only focus on flat corners in this article. Most people brake on flat corners because if they feel their front wheel will slide out and they will fall. They are of course correct and this is instinctive.

By adding some weight to the front wheel you ensure it gains more traction and eliminate or significantly reduce the chances of it washing out.

During the holidays, do this: Find a quiet piece of tarmac. Parking lots at schools or shopping centres outside of business hours are useful. Spend 15-20 minutes practising corners at different speeds moving your weight off the saddle and forwards onto the front wheel. Tarmac surface is grippy so you won’t slide out, but you get to practice the position and movement. 

Be sure to have level pedals, or if you want to go faster, drop the outside pedal and add weight to it. You must look up/ahead through the corner (where ever you look, that’s where you go) and you must avoid any sudden braking. The more you practice the less you need to brake.

Then, once you feel confident you know the technique, do the same thing on gravel corners (also in a car park or large open space). Keep practising until you feel you are able to do this intuitively and then apply it on every flat corner on every ride.

Get someone to take video of you so that you can examine your form and know where you can improve. By done these three drills successfully, you will become a faster mountain biker.

If you want to improve your skills under the guidance of a professional, contact Markus van Niekerk on 071 6062341.