The Mountain Bike Trick of Rocky Climbs

Facing a steep, boulder-strewn climb on your mountain bike can be pretty daunting without the necessary skills at your disposal. Such an climb requires careful balance and canny weight distribution as the surface underneath your mountain bike wheels just never stays still.

Prior to hitting the worst of the climb – the loosest, rock-covered section of trail – provisionally plot the smoothest line through. Aim to skirt around boulders big enough to catch out a trails rider, and opt for furrows through the extreme of the rock field. Look for areas of smaller stones, which will offer additional purchase and a turn of speed on the way up.

Try to keep your rear hovering just out of the saddle, in a kind of power-climbing stance. This offers a subtle balance of weight between sitting down and standing up on the pedals. Sitting in the saddle and trying to spin up such a climb in the granny ring won't get you very far. Choose a momentum that allows both traction and power-down effort.

As always with this type of trail, be prepared to ride instinctively in terms of shifting your weight around the bike and gearing up or down accordingly. It's not a clear-cut skill. The mastery of such terrain is the ability to adapt to the changing trail conditions beneath your wheels. Rolling rocks and small step-ups demand front-wheel lifts. In general, keep your weight fairly central over the bike, using your knees to keep you in shape while avoiding a stall on the big stuff.

If you get a chance for a quick sit in the saddle to add some power then take it, as you could be looking at a lengthy stand out of it ahead.

If you are approaching the crest of the really rocky stuff then get the weight back down on the back to increase the momentum and let the bike take up some of the final shock and bucking caused by the surface.

Similarly, if you're in a transition between tough areas of the climb, aim to get a few smooth pedal strokes in the bag to help you over the oncoming difficulties – don't spin uncontrollably in the granny ring when out of trouble as you'll be too wasted to move on to anything else.