The summer brings only the best riding conditions with it… well, that's the theory anyway and for the rest of this article we're going to lean into the theory because nothing quite beats the dry, traction-rich trails to unleash your newfound skills that you’ve been working on when riding in the winter.

However, the learning doesn’t stop there as summer brings its own host of challenges. But as it’s dry, there’s no better time to keep working on your technique. Here are some things to look at and work on in your own riding.

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A bunch of these pointers you’ll have seen in our ‘How to mountain bike in the rain’ feature, but a lot of them still ring very true in the summer. However, as there’s more traction to play with both underfoot and under tyre, the dry trails of summer provide an excellent platform to refine those skills you learned while slipping about in the wet.

That said, there’s a lot of nuance and minor changes to consider when the trails dry out, mostly owing to a natural increase in speed and the level of traction available. Let’s dive into it.

Keep looking ahead - but further

Even the pros are constantly reminding themselves to look ahead, and with good reason. It’s the only way to prepare yourself for what’s coming, so be sure to lift your line of sight off the front wheel and look down the trail regardless of the conditions you’re riding in.

2022 team orcc aug liam m.jpg, by Liam Mercer

However, when the trails dry out, there’s no mud to clog your tyres and cause drag, so you’re going to be travelling a whole lot faster without much additional effort. With that, your vision should be relative to your speed. If you’re going faster, look further ahead to give yourself the best chance at readying yourself for that jump, drop, or root that’s quickly coming. 

Stay loose

Although dry trails come complete with the most grip you’ll find, traction isn’t a given. Most of the time, a hard and dry track will be super predictable, but staying loose on the bike will allow the bike to self-correct should you hit a damp, slippery patch or a root, which can still cause the rear of the bike to kick out unexpectedly.

ard rock 2024 riding_6.jpg, by Steve Baxter

In fact, your body position in general when mountain biking should be very dynamic, and just because there’s much more traction available, that doesn’t mean you should stiffen up on the bike. Expect the unexpected, regardless of the conditions.

Get your body position dialled

Because the trails have become much more forgiving from a grip standpoint, experiment with how your body position influences how your bike rides through a range of scenarios. Of course, start with the standard attack position, but have a play with what weighting certain areas of the bike can achieve. 

2023 canyon neuron on cf 8 corner 1.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Shifting weight towards the front of the bike, or your shoulders more over the handlebar, can increase front wheel traction and improve cornering to a point, before becoming dangerous in certain scenarios, such as heavy braking. Hard compressions of body weight through the rear wheel can cause the bike to slide. It’s also a great opportunity to really think about your body position while cornering — experimentation is key to success and a serious boost in bike control.

You can even take things up a notch by having a mate take some pictures of yourself as you’re riding and compare your body position in those pictures with that of riders who are better than you. Consider their body shape over similar features and make up some mental pointers to think about the next time you’re riding.

Drop those heels

As I’ve said before, you’re naturally going to be riding faster in the dry, and if you ride flat pedals, you might find your feet blowing off the pedals. To combat this, drop your heels. Not only will this result in a better hold on your pedals as well as better stability when charging into technical terrain, but it’ll also lower your centre of gravity.

Doing so is a great thing as it’ll help your bike drive through tech, rather than rattle over it. It’ll boost overall control of your bike, get your suspension working better, and promote a better body position when riding such features.

Just because it's dry, it doesn’t mean it's grippy

It’s surprising how a trail can develop as it dries out. Trails can turn into hardpack, which is when the surface is totally hard, or it can form to be loose over hard, which is a hardpack trail but with gravel, debris, and well, loose stuff over the top. Fresher and less ridden trails can develop into dust. All of these can result in a phenomenon known as anti-grip, or moon dust.

Despite being dry, such trails can be super slippery, so remember to scan the trail as best you can and stay loose on the bike. Of course, we are talking UK riding here too, so even dry trails may still have wet patches throughout.

Watch your line in berms

As berms get more traffic through the summer, dust, gravel, and dirt tend to collect at the very bottom of them. And when riding a berm, there are a lot of forces at play, as with more speed, the more you and your bike will compress into the berm’s face. If you were to dip a tyre into the gritty bowl of a berm, you would lose all traction and likely fall off - although squaring off a berm can be a lot of fun.

2024 boardman mtr ride 1.jpg, by Liam Mercer

When a berm hardens through dry weather, a clear line will begin to appear between the very top of the berm and that collection of gravel. While looking well ahead, aim to place your wheels on this clear line to retain traction while maintaining the best line through that corner.

Rethink your braking points

Another area to think about that comes as a result of a boost in speed is your braking points. As you’ll be riding faster, you’ll need to brake earlier to stop yourself from firing yourself over the top of a corner. As always, pick your braking points according to the traction available and plan for those points to be sooner in the trail than you’re used to. 

2020 Cotic Rocket Gold-8.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Over hardpack trails, you might find that your wheels are more prone to locking up, so be prepared to modulate your braking power to retain traction and boost braking efficiency.

A great way of gauging your braking power and practicing modulation is on flat land. Experiment, learn where your brake lever stroke your wheels begin to lock up one wheel at a time and transfer that to the trail once you’re happy. Knowing exactly what your brakes are capable of and how best to deploy them is key to increasing confidence. 

Session sections of trail

Far too few of us actually go out and session small sections of trail, and as the trails aren’t wet and slippery, climbing back up to a spot in the summer is much easier than it is in the winter. Riding one bit of trail over and over again opens up an opportunity for experimentation and helps you develop the skills needed to tackle terrain that might be a little above your skillset in a safe and considered way. 

2024 boardman mtr ride 3.jpg, by Liam Mercer

What is sessioning? I hear you ask. It's simply repeating a section of trail multiple times. Doing so allows you to stop and look at the terrain while allowing you to ride that section in a range of ways, which then helps instill better technique, better scanning of the trail, while boosting speed and confidence, and we don't session trails nearly enough.

While it’s great to session a bit of trail that you know to develop newfound techniques into habit, dry trails are more predictable than wet ones, so if there’s a feature that you’ve been eyeing up all year, now’s the time to give it a go. If you’ve successfully nailed that feature once, do it twice and three times again to cement that new skill and feature within your riding repertoire. 

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