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Mountain Bike Like a Champion
Master the techniques of America's greatest rider with Mountain Bike Like a Champion .
* Glide over rocks, logs, and ledges
* Attack steep climbs and rapid descents
* Carve through curves and turns
* Train smart, then ride to win
Improve your performance with these tips, techniques, and off-road tales from mountain biking legend Ned Overend.
"At the 1990 world championships in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Frischknecht and I were locked in a dogfight.... At the start of the fourth and final lap was a pitch of rocky, loose trail that went straight up the face of a ski run.... My Swiss rival had been dismounting and running this climb while I stayed on my bike. On previous laps, I'd opened a little gap, so I knew this would be my chance. I attacked when Thomas got off again. He never caught me.... To ride that steep trail, I had to use five climbing techniques. There's no reason why you can't make them part of your arsenal, too."
* Glide over rocks, logs, and ledges
* Attack steep climbs and rapid descents
* Carve through curves and turns
* Train smart, then ride to win
Improve your performance with these tips, techniques, and off-road tales from mountain biking legend Ned Overend.
"At the 1990 world championships in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Frischknecht and I were locked in a dogfight.... At the start of the fourth and final lap was a pitch of rocky, loose trail that went straight up the face of a ski run.... My Swiss rival had been dismounting and running this climb while I stayed on my bike. On previous laps, I'd opened a little gap, so I knew this would be my chance. I attacked when Thomas got off again. He never caught me.... To ride that steep trail, I had to use five climbing techniques. There's no reason why you can't make them part of your arsenal, too."
- GenresSportsCyclingNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 23, 2017
Ned Overend's writing style is very casual and colloquial which made this book easy to read. He moves swiftly from chapter to chapter giving his expert opinion on mountain biking techniques, from bike set up, through riding skills, to training and nutrition.
He doesn't offer strict regimes to be followed, it's more about why things do or don't work. He says you need to establish what works for you.
This book is quite dated, especially when he talks about equipment, but his mountain biking pedigree is undoubted and what he says about riding is just as relevant now as it was when he wrote it. Some of the sections I was most interested in, bunny hops and wheelies, were covered very quickly so I think I'll need to revisit those pages when I'm ready to try them out. I found that even chapters about things which I think I've got sussed he provided some useful nuggets of information.
I really like the racing anecdotes that are dotted throughout the book. This is what really gives him credibility because he has an example from his own experiences for every scenario he's talking about. Despite having won so many trophies and mentioning when he's won races he doesn't come across as arrogant. These anecdotes are there to provide real life context, not to make him look good. There are things other people did right or that he did wrong that caused him to loose races and things other people did wrong and he did right which enable him to win.
For context, I'm a fairly experienced mountain biker who came into technical riding fairly late in life (30s) and can rid reds fairly well and have sketched down a few blacks.
An enjoyable book with a lot of useful info. I'm not sure how much someone who is much better than me would get out of it as I think the newer you are the more you'll get from it.
I feel like I will pick this back up now and again and flick to certain chapters to get a refresher as there's no way I'll remember every little pointer and tip I found useful on the first reading.
He doesn't offer strict regimes to be followed, it's more about why things do or don't work. He says you need to establish what works for you.
This book is quite dated, especially when he talks about equipment, but his mountain biking pedigree is undoubted and what he says about riding is just as relevant now as it was when he wrote it. Some of the sections I was most interested in, bunny hops and wheelies, were covered very quickly so I think I'll need to revisit those pages when I'm ready to try them out. I found that even chapters about things which I think I've got sussed he provided some useful nuggets of information.
I really like the racing anecdotes that are dotted throughout the book. This is what really gives him credibility because he has an example from his own experiences for every scenario he's talking about. Despite having won so many trophies and mentioning when he's won races he doesn't come across as arrogant. These anecdotes are there to provide real life context, not to make him look good. There are things other people did right or that he did wrong that caused him to loose races and things other people did wrong and he did right which enable him to win.
For context, I'm a fairly experienced mountain biker who came into technical riding fairly late in life (30s) and can rid reds fairly well and have sketched down a few blacks.
An enjoyable book with a lot of useful info. I'm not sure how much someone who is much better than me would get out of it as I think the newer you are the more you'll get from it.
I feel like I will pick this back up now and again and flick to certain chapters to get a refresher as there's no way I'll remember every little pointer and tip I found useful on the first reading.
October 28, 2018
Somewhat dated and generic, but it's still fun to read of Ned's exploits. I happened to stumble upon Ned Overend Mountain Bike Park this summer in Durango CO, which was really great (5 stars for the Bike Park.)
August 24, 2008
Paper back. Just re-read this and upped it to 5 stars. I especially had a good time with heart rate training and learning from this book. Motivational in it's own way.
I read this while I had a bum knee...which made it hard to implement in my life. I did enjoy it but I found that it catered to those with little skills in the technical riding areas of mountain biking.
I read this while I had a bum knee...which made it hard to implement in my life. I did enjoy it but I found that it catered to those with little skills in the technical riding areas of mountain biking.
June 23, 2009
The instructions are detailed and well-organized and concise. I marked many skills I want to try, and I appreciated how they were described and illustrated. Not everything is common sense, and I learned a lot of tricks from this book that seem easy but I know I wouldn't have come up with on my own. The author's tone is confident without being cocky, as well.
January 8, 2008
This book is a great introduction into all things mountain biking. Covers everything quite well in a short amount of time. Plus its written by Ned who is propably the longest continuously sponsered rider in the industry.
Want to read
June 12, 2008Gotta read this book it is written by Jeremy's hero. Hes from Colorado... I stood right next to him at a race and didn't even know it :(
September 27, 2009
Good tips on mountain biking in preparation for Sea2Summit race
May 19, 2012
Excellent book... full of lots of great tips on mt. biking... ..
July 20, 2012
Many, many tips for mountain bike racing. I've implemented some items and made a big difference in my bike handling abilities. Glad I read it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews