Global-flat.com Board
English => General Flatland Forum => Topic started by: ckcheong on January 06, 2012, 03:27:10 PM
-
well...I am a rookie who rode for about 2 years....but i am really furstrating as the tricks are hard as hell
i just suggested everyone to post a little general tips here to help others (actually others means myself)
I start first....
roll slower is easier to catch the feeling of balance
-
Just enjoy riding,
Thats my number one rule :beer: :beer: :beer:
-
Actually I would say this is an awful tip that nobody should follow.
Tell me which is easier: Rolling very slowly on your bike with both feet on the pedals, or rolling at a normal medium speed with both feet on the pedals.
There ya go.
-
i gotta agree w/ TJ on this one, you don't have to go fast as hell, but going too slow is not the easiest way to learn tricks, i think a medium pace is a good place for beginners. i believe a minimum of 2 hours of focused practice a day, video-ing one self and having as much fun as this tedious activity allows is your key to success in today's modern, fast paced flatland world. my mom thinks my 'hobby' would be maddening to do
-
I always like what Chad Degroot said in the Props How To video. If you are having a hard time with a trick, just change something, like different foot, bars backwards, other side of bike, backwards etc. Experimentation leads to success.
-
i gotta agree w/ TJ on this one, you don't have to go fast as hell, but going too slow is not the easiest way to learn tricks, i think a medium pace is a good place for beginners. i believe a minimum of 2 hours of focused practice a day, video-ing one self and having as much fun as this tedious activity allows is your key to success in today's modern, fast paced flatland world. my mom thinks my 'hobby' would be maddening to do
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
-
Actually I would say this is an awful tip that nobody should follow.
Tell me which is easier: Rolling very slowly on your bike with both feet on the pedals, or rolling at a normal medium speed with both feet on the pedals.
There ya go.
Actually I would say this is an awful tip that nobody should follow.
Tell me which is easier: Rolling very slowly on your bike with both feet on the pedals, or rolling at a normal medium speed with both feet on the pedals
There ya go.
I agree. I've been stuck trying things at a slow speed for awhile. It's hard to get the speed you need to learn a rolling trick especially when you're learning a it from a scuffing trick like learning a halfpacker out of an elephant glide. I kick the elephant glide as hard as I can while still keeping balance, put a foot down on the peg and take a hand off, it takes me six or seven seconds to gain enough control of the halfpacker to grab the tire and go for a backpacker and by that time I'm either out of speed or I roll into the grass. SH*T!!!
-
my tip would be to try to ride for at least 2 hours, as many days of the week as possible. Things come up and you may not always be able to do that, but you should strive for it if you want to have success with flatland. Things just don't really start poppin off until at least 1.5 hours for me. I have to basically triple that if i'm riding with friends, though, due to chatticus and whatnot.
-
in other words the math says in order to enjoy a positive flatland growth rate you must invest at least 1/12th (or .0833%) of yourself.
-
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
So why ride if you think its the same boring stuff?
Here is my tip to you..... Clear you mind of the basics as boring, until you do this you probaly wont move past the basics (the boring stuff)
-
Actually I would say this is an awful tip that nobody should follow.
Tell me which is easier: Rolling very slowly on your bike with both feet on the pedals, or rolling at a normal medium speed with both feet on the pedals.
There ya go.
Quoted for truth..medium and faster speed is best..
-
i gotta agree w/ TJ on this one, you don't have to go fast as hell, but going too slow is not the easiest way to learn tricks, i think a medium pace is a good place for beginners. i believe a minimum of 2 hours of focused practice a day, video-ing one self and having as much fun as this tedious activity allows is your key to success in today's modern, fast paced flatland world. my mom thinks my 'hobby' would be maddening to do
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
Dude, you aren't going to progress with just one hour invested. It usually takes me at least an hour just to warm up and get comfortable.
-
^ I guess I should consider selling my bike then. I have no clue how you guys can combine that with school, work, homework etc and still be motivated day in day out.
-
Dude, you aren't going to progress with just one hour invested. It usually takes me at least an hour just to warm up and get comfortable.
i have a new technique called don't warm up, just do the hardest things you can right off the bat and don't worry about. i used to believe i had to warm into e'rything and i was wrong, it's like getting an extra hour of practice. also, i went to school full time and worked and still rode 3 hours a day and it was never boring, now i'm stacking flatland cheddar and getting paid, son
-
Date your bike so hard then marry the sh*t out of it.
-
author=datisstom link=topic=50894.msg419440#msg419440 date=1326060186]
^ I guess I should consider selling my bike then. I have no clue how you guys can combine that with school, work, homework etc and still be motivated day in day out.
I have 2 small children, married and a 50 Hour a week Full time job. I ride an hour at lunch every day and 2 hours at night after I put my kids to bed. I also dedicate one full day during the weekend to riding.
Ive been doing this for 2 straight years now and Im barely scratching the surface in the Intermediate ranks, But I absolutely LOVE it!
We all live busy lives, but if you have the Will and passion for riding you can find the time. Flatland requires hours of intense Practice and constant repetitiveness.
Record youre progress, it helps with motivation.
Good luck bud!
-
Thanks, some good tips. I am going to try to ride 2 hours a day. Cheers.
-
my tip would be to try to ride for at least 2 hours, as many days of the week as possible. Things come up and you may not always be able to do that, but you should strive for it if you want to have success with flatland. Things just don't really start poppin off until at least 1.5 hours for me. I have to basically triple that if i'm riding with friends, though, due to chatticus and whatnot.
This saddens me.
As much as I really enjoy trying to ride flatland, I have other things I enjoy doing. I'm not giving up my other joys of life to ride flatland. This comment makes it sound that if I don't I will never have much success. If that is the case, I may re-think the flatland stuff.
I've been "riding" almost a year, and I still can't do squat! But I'm only willing to give it an hour long session at a time. I have extremely slow progression, and I've assumed it was because I was fat and out of shape. I have zero tricks down, but I was assuming that as I got in sync with my body and bike that the progression would pick up.
But in that hour I spend struggling around, I work on the 6 or so moves that I can at least start. Spending another hour on the same things would get tedious, and I think I would lose interest.
I don't think I've ever read a post that discouraged me more.
-
this fact has already been discussed here, but i really believe that you can work on you efficiency a lot. I know from experience that you can stay stuck on the same trick for ages. Beeing smart and trying to work around it will save you hours of riding. Also, beeing really concentrated helps a lot.
I do have the same problem, family life, a job, i can ride only an hour a day during lunch break during the winter in our wharehouse.
I try to be as focused as possible, make the most out of this hour. It is really frustrtaing after an hour you want to ride the whole day but what can you do....so i try to be as efficient and focused as possible during this hour.
Luckily during spring summer i can ride at nights because it' not raining so much anymore, and 2 hours a day is a good number for me in the summer.
Also, if you don't have that much time, try and focus on tricks that come more naturally to you. during rainy season wich is now, i try and improve tricks i already know, variations (right now whiplashes variations a lot), i don't try to learn anything hard if i can't ride so much, i save it for the summer.
-
This saddens me.
As much as I really enjoy trying to ride flatland, I have other things I enjoy doing. I'm not giving up my other joys of life to ride flatland. This comment makes it sound that if I don't I will never have much success. If that is the case, I may re-think the flatland stuff.
I've been "riding" almost a year, and I still can't do squat! But I'm only willing to give it an hour long session at a time. I have extremely slow progression, and I've assumed it was because I was fat and out of shape. I have zero tricks down, but I was assuming that as I got in sync with my body and bike that the progression would pick up...
Well, your mileage may vary and the last thing I wanna do is discourage someone from riding flatland. I was trying to be realistic. What's been said above about riding efficiently is more important than just the hours logged on the bike. It depends what your expectations are. I found that if I was ever going to be as good as I want to be I'm going to have to ride at least that much. But I don't HAVE to be as good as I want to be I guess. I can still get a lot out of it even if i'm not awesome (I get exercise that is fun, get to hang w/ friends, etc). If you wanna be *awesome* though you're going to have to put in some really serious work. It doesn't really ever get easier LOL, at least from this end.
-
Like everything else in life you get what you put in. If I wanted to go pro, I'd have to make rideing my 9 to 5 but sense I can't, I push an enjoy every second I can get on my bike.
-
I,v been riding longer then most pro,s and i still suck. But i dont care. I ride for the love of riding. The only advice i can think to tell u is to do your own thing in your own style. Doesn't much matter what anybody els thinks as long as u have fun doing it. As long as u have fun progression will happen. Try not to get to wrapped up in being really good just ride.
\
-
I don't know which is more frustrating. Being a beginner to intermediate level rider and not understanding HOW to learn tricks or the amount of time to put in. Or being a bit more accomplished and KNOWING how to learn tricks but not having the time to really bring tricks you KNOW you can do to fruition. That's my dilemna.
But anyway, that sh*t about going slower probably doesn't help learn anything faster. But it may help you learn something BETTER. Experimenting with your tricks helps open up new possibilities and may give you a stronger foundation on a given position or trick.
-
I don't know which is more frustrating. Being a beginner to intermediate level rider and not understanding HOW to learn tricks or the amount of time to put in. Or being a bit more accomplished and KNOWING how to learn tricks but not having the time to really bring tricks you KNOW you can do to fruition. That's my dilemna.
To me, what's even more frustrating is knowing how to learn tricks, but then not following my own advice and continuously doing the trick wrong in the same way over and over. haha I hate that! That is probably the worst trap you can get in.
Spending another hour on the same things would get tedious, and I think I would lose interest.
Yes, it can be very tedious, but once you get your first taste of landing tricks you will be so stoked. Once you start to crack open some of flatland's little boxes you will want to go further. Hopefully.
Tedium comes from lack of adaptation to conditions, mostly. It's a wall you have to get over by persistence, discipline, adaptation, and/or sometimes brute-force.
-
Incorporate it into your normal workout routine weights, stretch, then flat. Set goals just like in the gym and work on different sets or parts of tricks.
-
I'm actually motivated by this thread. I'm going to try to put at least two hrs/ day in.. I rode last night after reading this. I need to get some new stunts and progress has been slow. So now I'll just spin around in little basement circles until the weather breaks.
-
my tip would be to try to ride for at least 2 hours, as many days of the week as possible. Things come up and you may not always be able to do that, but you should strive for it if you want to have success with flatland. Things just don't really start poppin off until at least 1.5 hours for me. I have to basically triple that if i'm riding with friends, though, due to chatticus and whatnot.
This saddens me.
As much as I really enjoy trying to ride flatland, I have other things I enjoy doing. I'm not giving up my other joys of life to ride flatland. This comment makes it sound that if I don't I will never have much success. If that is the case, I may re-think the flatland stuff.
I've been "riding" almost a year, and I still can't do squat! But I'm only willing to give it an hour long session at a time. I have extremely slow progression, and I've assumed it was because I was fat and out of shape. I have zero tricks down, but I was assuming that as I got in sync with my body and bike that the progression would pick up.
But in that hour I spend struggling around, I work on the 6 or so moves that I can at least start. Spending another hour on the same things would get tedious, and I think I would lose interest.
I don't think I've ever read a post that discouraged me more.
you shouldn't feel discouraged just because you can't/don't want to put in that amount of time, these are just various opinions on what some experienced riders perceive to be the optimal practice times it takes to get a higher level of flatland competence. personally i'd rather you rode 5 mins a week than not at all. ortho is a good buddy of mine and i've seen his riding increase quite a bit over the few years or so i've known him. he's always smiling and having fun w/ his time and he's impressed me with what he's learned, and he's only doing it for the love. if you only wanna ride 1 hour a day you'll be infinitely better than if you rode 0 hours a day. you don't get good sitting around thinking about it
Just enjoy riding,
Thats my number one rule :beer: :beer: :beer:
this is the best advice of all
-
i have a tip: figure out what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you want.
sometimes it's time and effort.. sometimes its a shin or a nut.. but you gotta pay the cost to be the boss..
-
Let me clarify.
I grabbed onto the thought that if you aren't putting in 2 hours a ride, you won't progress. That is very disheartening to me, as I just don't have that time, or at least won't consistently have that time.
I've been riding almost a year, and if I hadn't improved in that time frame, I wouldn't still be doing it. I improve, just VERY slowly. But I'm 45, and just getting into the sport. I have been getting fatter and fatter over the last 15 years, and while I'm not obese, I believe I allowed my core muscles to go into a coma. So in my head, as I awaken these muscles, and the communication to them, I have expectations that things will get better. As most riders don't need a year to do a fork glide. So even as I wake my body back up, if I'm looking at this is the rate that I will learn things, that seems a bit discouraging to me.
I'm also hoping that as I get tricks down, the sessions will naturally last longer. My routine as of now is to start on things work with them until I can tell, I'm getting tired, or losing concentration and then move to something else. When I have a dozen something else's, I can see riding longer as I have more things to work on.
My real hope is that I can get more in tune with my body, and I think that is the key to my success.
-
it is f*cking insane that any progress with this 'sport' requires 2 hours a day. Its nog even a bit of a workout.
-
It doesn't Necessarily require that much time.. It depends on your balancing skillz and BMx iq.. Keep in mind though if yOu spend 10,000 hrs on anything you will be an expert.. Supposedly
-
I've found this thread helpful. After getting out of shape and riding in the last 10 years I feel my progress has slowed. But I intend to stick with it and as much as I can each day. As I get slimmer and fitter I'm sure my riding will improve. If the thought of doing something for two hours a day makes you want to quit; then it can't really be something you care enough about to succeed at.
-
I've found this thread helpful. After getting out of shape and riding in the last 10 years I feel my progress has slowed. But I intend to stick with it and as much as I can each day. As I get slimmer and fitter I'm sure my riding will improve. If the thought of doing something for two hours a day makes you want to quit; then it can't really be something you care enough about to succeed at.
It's not that the thought of doing it for 2 hours a day makes me want to quit. It's the fact that I also race my BMX bike, and dirt jump it too. So managing all three plus work and a family, and a little down time off a bicycle leaves me with little time.
Is this flatland thing supposed to be life encompassing? Does it need to become the only thing you do in order to have success at it?
-
We all have other hobbies i'm sure, but flatland is my big one. I mean it's not like getting into mopeds or car stereos or learning esperanto or something. To become an average decent rider from just starting out basically at age 45 with a job and family, well you have your work cut out for you. It's going to be hard as crap. Totally worth it and not necessarily overwhelming. Only you will know what it's gonna take ultimately.
-
maybe i'm overstating it. I believe you can keep riding flat well past middle age (not sure about BMX racing or dirt jumping lol), so if you keep at it how you are now, without 'rearranging your life', maybe in 5-10 years you'll be comfortably allright at it and you'll have yourself a rad hobby for another couple decades. I'm really not sure since i've only been doing this for 2+ years.
-
The upside about flatland is that it is totally free. While you can decide to be a 'good' rider or not, you can also decide on what you want the definition of 'a good rider' to be.
What i mean, is that you don't need to pull all the tricks invented on this planet, you also don't need to go for the hardest ones. having a high bmx IQ as someone said here is not just about beeing smart when you learn some trick, it is also beeing smart with the tricks you pick and want to work on.
May be it is just me but i always placed style and trick combination (links) over difficulty. Difficulty is not what makes flatland interesting to me, it just comes with it but to me it is not the point.
So, i'd say beeing succesful also starts by picking your tricks in a smart way. It's even before starting to practice. i think progression should be very organic, it grows from what you already learned, foundations and basics...
Well sorry i am not really sure what i am saying here, it's early in the morning and i just woke up !!!
-
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
You are doomed, sir. You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them. If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.
-
Flatlands a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the journey. I've found that if you are having fun on your bike, you will progress...even if it's only a few hours a week. I also try not to "compete" against other riders(comparing my progress to others). The challenge of flatland for me, is competing against myself. I like that challenge.
-
I also like to remember, "it's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get up." That basically describes flatland for me...lol.
-
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
You are doomed, sir. You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them. If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.
Doomed? Why would I be 'doomed'?
-
Two hours, six hours, all day and so forth. Sometimes it takes YEARS to master one single trick and i am pretty confident many of you will agree. When i was younger (in my 20's) i had no problem riding up to 6-7 hours a day, IF i was on a roll. The average was few hours. Now, much older i am happy whenever i can pull of a solid 1 or 2 hour session. The bottom line is, you have to WANT to ride and progress, not forgetting about the FUN of it either, otherwise it will not happen.
I really feel what you are saying, me too i could ride a lot in my twenties, i could ride all day, had the time and the energy. Now that i am turning 40 this summer all i can ride is between 6 to 12 hours a week depending on the season and the workload i have...12 hours beeing the very absolute maximum i can achieve without dying from exhaustion or injuries...i'd even say the average is closer to 9 hours a week.
-
Flatland is funny. You can love it so much that you want to think about it and talk about it all the time and you may get the impression that you are more of a rider because of your obsession with it. But the reality is you have to go do it! Sure dialing your bike in and thinking about tricks may help a little. But really its the focused time on the bike that makes all the difference. That level of focus may be as hard to learn as many tricks.
-
2 hours a day? I have school and tons of homework. I don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over 2 hours a day. Maybe in the weekends, but when i have school 1 hour is about enough I guess.
You are doomed, sir. You want to learn tricks, but you don't want to put in the work/time that it takes to really get them. If you want the tricks badly enough, you'll learn time management skills so that you can take care of your "ton of homework" and have plenty of time to ride.
Doomed? Why would I be 'doomed'?
You saying you don't feel like doing the same boring stuff over and over for 2 hours or more. First of all, it the trick is boring, why bother? Secondly, if you want a trick badly enough, two hours is nothing.
-
I am going to go out on a limb here, but I think the older you get, the more you should also just make sure to stretch well. Like if I couldnīt ride a lot, then just maybe stretching a little everyday and keeping my body a little more warmed up would keep the sessions i could have better just because I wouldnīt have to work up to it so much. I think even riding 15 minutes a day can help keep you from totally forgetting everything. The worst is not riding for weeks and then getting on your bike and sucking sucking and itīs a bigger climb to get back to a good level. The opposite can also happen, that you get on your bike after a break and itīs all fresh fresh, but this happens to me less. I like what Alexis Desolneux says in an interview that over time his goals on a bike have gotten more long term.. Like more control centered instead of trick centered.
-
maybe i'm overstating it. I believe you can keep riding flat well past middle age (not sure about BMX racing or dirt jumping lol), so if you keep at it how you are now, without 'rearranging your life', maybe in 5-10 years you'll be comfortably allright at it and you'll have yourself a rad hobby for another couple decades. I'm really not sure since i've only been doing this for 2+ years.
Funny you should say that as this was one of the reasons I started riding flat.
Progress, motivation or time, are all subjective.
So thinking about this more and what my personal goals are, for you that might not be considered much progression for your riding. What it takes to keep you satisfied for your definition of progression is different than other riders.
So while this thread initially got my feathers up, I gave more thought about my riding, and my commitment, and fell OK about it. I recently joined a gym close to work so I can cram in a workout at lunch and I can ride after work. Cake and eat it too! :)
-
Has anyone tried CrossFit or Yoga?
I'm looking at a fitness regime, both to get in shape and to support my riding.
-
Here're a few notes I made for myself this year. Don't know if they are 'correct,' but seemed to work ok for me:
-Relax and don't hold your grips so goddamned tight.
-For forward rolling, behind bars tricks (whiplash, karls, ect) keep your weight a little more forward than where you feel safe, especially if you are really straining to hold a position. I could do Karls ok, but they would just wipe me out. Shift forward and they are almost effortless on muscles. Get out of the scaredy cat zone.
-Try to keep your spine fairly straight and aligned. Try not to kink your neck backwards too much.
-
Here're a few notes I made for myself this year. Don't know if they are 'correct,' but seemed to work ok for me:
-Relax and don't hold your grips so goddamned tight.
Yikes this is exactly where I am at w fwd rolling behind the bar tricks. I feel I lean enough for the most part but lately I've been scared of going face first so it causes me to not commit. Trying to get past this beginner mental block. However when I dont think about it, I'm fine. Go figure.
Getting a lot out of this post. You gotta walk the walk, you can't wish yourself a better rider. And I think a quality power sess beats hours of unfocused riding. Ride whenever you can I say.
-For forward rolling, behind bars tricks (whiplash, karls, ect) keep your weight a little more forward than where you feel safe, especially if you are really straining to hold a position. I could do Karls ok, but they would just wipe me out. Shift forward and they are almost effortless on muscles. Get out of the scaredy cat zone.
-Try to keep your spine fairly straight and aligned. Try not to kink your neck backwards too much.