ririder

I'm 61 years old, I've been a road bike rider for a long time and I'm in the learning stages of this mountain biking thing. I've ridden a couple of single track areas and have survived with a few bumps and scratches, so far. I did some reading on what skills I should work on to improve my chances of surviving this new adventure, with the predominant skill that was mentioned being jumping. I don't know how true that is or if it was just a result of the search wording that I used at the time. Regardless, I went out and found a place where I could do jumping so to speak. It was actually an area where the grade is dropped 2' into what is literally an outdoor orchestra pit. I'm able to drop into this pit and land on both wheels or the back wheel which I believe to be good. I haven't found a place where I can ride up to a launching type grade or ramp yet. There were a few smaller places where I needed to jump on the most recent single track that I rode and stayed upright. I feel confident being able to judge my ability to go over obstacles in the path as far as a downed tree or drainage pipe. I'm pretty leery of rock gardens although I have ridden through a few and walked through a few. One thing that I'm wondering about is if there is something that I'm doing wrong as far as my front tire skidding out in turns. I know it should be expected occasionally but it seems to happen a lot to me. Is there a way to lessen that short of slowing down? Is there a technique for dealing with this that I don't know about? Does the fork preload have any effect here? What else can I do to be able to more thoroughly enjoy this?

Now, about these handlebars. They are w-i-d-e! I'm thinking of taking an inch off each end but before I do, is there a particular reason why they are so wide. Am I going to lose out on anything other than the fear of hitting a tree or something with them if I take some off?
Thanks!

70sSanO

Most important is being able to manual and then bunny hop. Dropping is easier than going over an obstacle.

John

Baetis

I'm a couple years older than you and "got" into riding a mtb last year. Same roadie background. I was told the wide handle bars came from downhillers. There was a noticeable increase in handling stability for descents. At least that's what my pvt lesson coach told me.

Darth Lefty 

Cornering is different than a road bike for sure. It's a lot more like a dirt bike. You might try a softer knobbier fron tire

At 61, man I dunno if I'd tell you to go learn to jump. Not on an inexpensive hard tail anyhow. It's going to be hard on your knees and your fork only has springs, not damping.

Rolla

Every single off-road skill I can think of comes down to two factors: momentum and weight distribution. The front tire washing out is often (but not always) a result of not having enough weight on the front end. This video explains it and its remedy pretty well. Cheers!

Happy Feet

At 61, I would say lesson number 1 is know your limits. The mtb scene is often pumped up for a younger crowd that still has a sense of immortality and faster healing times. The problem with trying too much too fast is that one either hurts or scares themselves and then drops out. Young kids don't worry about breaking hips

Number two might be learning to see the lines of travel on a trail and adjust for them. Reading the trail to know what's coming up. When to stand, when to sit, which pedal goes down when, when to brake and when to power out. Lots of mishaps occur when one takes a section awkwardly or in the wrong stance or brakes too late etc...

Three might be learning to use the front and back brakes effectively. Reflexively spiking the front down hill in a turn is a great way to take a look at the ground from over ones bars. Skidding out the back too much ruins trails.

I'm sure there's other technical skills but those are some of the things I find I had to learn coming from a road background. Most of it becomes intuitive and applies to the road as well but has a more dramatic and rapid requirement in mtbing.

ririder

Heh, just to be clear, I'm not interested in launching and kicking out my rear wheel and doing that other crazy stuff. I'm just interested in landing and maintaining control.

This is good! Something I can be thinking about

I'm very aware of my limits. Sight lines is something I've been aware of and been trying to do but it's not always easy when there are a lot of obstacles nearby to contend with, namely rocks and roots. I'm fairly confident with my braking but I know I could probably do better.

c_m_shooter

Steer from the hips not from the bars. When your front tire starts to push out, a quick pedal kick and pulling the bars can catch it. Wheelies and manuals are more important than jumping. They will allow you to keep momentum up chunky climbs and allow you to do slow speed drops safely. Practice leveling you pedals while standing and stop for a second before pedaling off. You don't need to trackstand for a long time, but a second or 2 will give you time to look at surprises in the trail. It can be hard to get back on the pedals if you have to remount in the middle of a tricky section.

grubetown

Kyle Strait has some great videos on youtube for simple beginner techniques.

I would also check out Ryan Leech Connection - I have used it in the past and it's fantastic!

Today's bikes are designed around wider bars, so I wouldn't alter anything until you are more comfortable riding a mountain bike.