All sports have their own set of challenges that either make or break athletes who try to conquer them. Mountain biking is not only a financially demanding sport but also among the most difficult and physically draining ones.

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Here are the hardest things about mountain biking that you should focus on when riding for the first time:

Trail Obstacles and Hurdles

The bumpy, rough trail surface is one of the main things that separate mountain biking from road biking. Getting used to the shocks from the dirt, vegetation, rocks on the trail takes many riders a long time.

Tire Resistance and Aerodynamics

Getting the right tires and making sure it maintains the right tire pressure is crucial to your ride. It can be hard to learn the relationship between tire resistance and the aerodynamics and apply it to your ride.

Timing and Momentum

Shifting the gears at the right time and pedaling with adequate speed are crucial factors to ensuring success and safety in mountain biking. It can be a real challenge to get the timing right and achieve the right momentum on the trail.

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Riding through Corners

It can be hard to unlearn your instinct to lean along with your bike during sharp turns and tight corners. It is important to push the bars while keeping your body centered and motionless—this counterbalances the bike with your upper body.

Uphill Climbs

What makes climbing uphill with your mountain biking so challenging is that it relies heavily on momentum. As a beginner, the right momentum can be hard to achieve but you can easily learn it by keeping your cadence high, lowering your chest to the bars, moving your hips back over the wheel.

The things that make mountain biking so hard and challenging are also the same things that make the sport worthwhile and worth pursuing. The hardest things about mountain biking shouldn’t discourage you but motivate you to put in more time and effort to perfect your mountain biking skills.

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