Riding Tip: Track Standing On A Mountain Bike

Track standing is one of the most important mountain bike skills you can have to become a better mountain biker. While it may look like a cool trick to test out in a parking lot in front of your friends, track standing is actually the crucial element of slow technical riding. The ability to stop your bike without having to get off will get you through some of the most technical terrain that you previously thought you would have never been able to ride.

Track standing is one of those skills that I frequently practice in my garage, at trailhead parking lots and during general social stops while riding. It vastly improves your balance and feel on the bike. Have you ever been in one of those situations where you were taking a tight switchback and dabbed? How about climbing a small section of rocks and your line got a little out of wack so you ended up un-clipping and throwing foot down? Riding in a group and someone slowed down ahead of you so you had to get off and walk? All of these situations can be ridable with the aid of the track standing skill.

The side effect to being able to track stand on your mountain bike is getting you just one step closer to you and your bike feeling like one unit that is working together instead of a tool you are working against. The more you can improve your balance on the mountain bike, the better riding you will have in all situations. Balance and the ability to shift your weight on the bike knowing the end result will make you a better rider in all aspects of riding.

So how do you track stand on your mountain bike?!

To help us out, the crew over at Bike Skills (bikeskills.com) hooked us up with a video that spells out proper track standing technique. Check it out.