Demystifying MTB

We all know the feeling of heavy legs, but how does it affect your riding? If you have a power meter, you can easily see the difference - all roadies do it. But what about with how you actually ride - on downhills?! Well, I took BrakeAce out to analyze my braking and see how this fatigue affects my Strava times on my local MTB descent. I started out feeling great, but ended up braking way more whe...

This is how Rohan got his PB on Strava. It was an awesome descending trail of about 1 min long, but he dropped 7 seconds from his initial time using this 4-step BrakeAce Method to get his fastest time. It's easy: ride the trail, find yours Key Opportunitiess, session your KOs, and ride the trail again. None of us have unlimited time, so we want to cut to the chase and get faster. The BrakeAce meth...

Whether your next big ride is a holiday with the homies or a multi-day MTB stage race, there are 3 major aspects you need to consider to not only survive, but to thrive. It doesn't matter what level you're at - these 3 tips will help you. We mentioned before, that your biggest limiter is your engine. Well, these tips will help you improve your FTP and your endurance. We also know that the muscles...

The way your body works with your mountain bike is highly complex. You want to ride faster, but sometimes you hit your limit and simply can't ride smooth on the descents. Riding a mountain bike is a lot like riding a jackhammer - vibrations everywhere. Our muscles need more oxygen to do more pedaling or damping, and it's the heart's job to increase its rate and send much needed oxygen to your musc...

Wireless technology is all around us and is increasingly growing on bike components. You've heard of ANT+, SRAM AXS, Bluetooth and BLE, and of course, Wi-Fi. But what are these? And how do they work? It's like magic that lines of code affect your shifting or dropper post, and how  a firmware update affects your battery life in your power meter. Well, we went to the horse's mouth for this one,...

We live in vastly different climates, but run similar tire setups -- at times! On some trails you can ride XC tires, but sometimes you need downhill casing. Which is best, and when should you use them? We did the tests and have data to show you. Stan's NoTubes tire pressure calculator Tire testing video - comparing XC to DH (with data) Scientific article on tire volume, tire pressures and impact a...

Bike companies have traditionally stocked smaller rear rotors and larger front rotors on bikes. But why? We've found that riders are using their rear brakes more, so shouldn't the rear rotor be larger? In the episode we talk about the efforts of using the front versus the rear brake, and go over some analysis of two riders on the same trail with vastly different Brake Balance. Blog post: https://w...

Flat pedals can be great - if you know how to ride them. We did a small experiment and found that a clipless pedal riders can go faster downhill by using flat pedals, and we have the braking analysis to prove it. But sometimes flat pedals just feel...slow! In this episode we talk about 3 simple techniques you can use to ride flat pedals as well as you ride clips, and go over some simple mistakes y...

The BrakeAce method is 4 steps to your fastest ever downhills. On average, riders have saved 7 seconds per 2 minutes of trail using the BrakeAce Method on their mountain bikes. In this episode, we go over the 4 steps you can take to improving your FlowScore in your Key Opportunities. If you've ever wondered how you can ride smoother and beat your mates down hills, listen in for our secrets. Wh...

Right and left-handedness is nothing new, and it's akin to snowboarding/skating with the right or left foot forward. Similarly, we all have a preferred foot to lead with on the trails. This can create problems due to hip angles and bike-body separation, and is one of the reasons we have preferred turning directions. Our our hips and knees are the root of the problem, but being able to switch our l...

MTB handlebar evolution has seen clamp sizes grow from 25.4 to 31.8 and now 35mm, while widths have gone crazy from 500 to 800mm. What gives? And what are the benefits? Does anyone know??? There might be an ideal size for you, but it isn't easy to know when you've nailed it. --- This podcast is brought to you by BrakeAce: Own the Mountain with the world's most in-depth riding analysis platform and...

Does the perfect body position exist for mountain biking? How can you stay centered on the bike to ride faster and improve your MTB skill? Listen in with our very own Rohan Martin on the ins and outs of body position for cornering, traction, downhill, braking and more so you can have more fun on the bike. This podcast is brought to you by BrakeAce: Own the Mountain with the world's most powerful r...