Something we often get asked on Ask GMBN is
what sort of bike do I need to ride a bike park.
The truth is you can ride a bike park
on most types of mountain bike.
Right here, I've got my Enduro bike,
and I'm gonna show you my top tips on
setting one up just to ride bike parks.
(wheel kicking up rocks)
I'm gonna take you through my contact points first.
That's where my hands are, my bum is,
and where my feet are on the bike.
Up front, I got the high-rise option
in a full eight hundred ml width bar.
Not everyone needs a bar this wide,
but I'm quite tall and it suits the bike really well,
having the bigger wheels.
I like the high rise option because
I like the way the bike feels like this.
I get my position further backwards.
And it gives a good feel on the bike.
The most important thing really here
is the brake lever position, and I run these
really quite high compared to a lot of my friends.
This is really good on your hands because
you actually put a lot of your weight directly
onto the heel of your hands rather than on your thumb,
which you would normally use on steeper descents.
It takes a lot of the strain away and
really tries to get you away from arm pump,
which you get on those longer runs.
I also like to run my levers quite inboard
so I'm braking right on the end of my finger here.
And also like this to feel quite close to the bar,
so that's the bike point of the lever itself.
And the reason for that is when you're riding long descents,
you know, twenty minute descents and stuff,
it's quite strenuous on your forearms
and on your hands itself and it's
a stronger position for your hand to be in.
When your brake lever is nearer to the bar,
you've got that more mechanical advantage over it.
It's worth considering doing that.
I know a lot of people don't like that,
and they like their brake levers to feel further away,
but it's actually a weaker position to have your hand in.
In addition to that, you gotta factor in grips.
Grips are a completely personal preference thing.
I really like the the flange so
I can lean up against that.
And I also like quite a fat grip,
whereas back home, for normal riding on regular trails,
I like a thinner grip so I have more feel on the bike.
But at a bike park, you need all the padding you can,
just to really minimise that sort of shake and vibration.
It's all about minimising that vibration and effort
that's transmitted through to your arms.
If you can be nice and relaxed on the bike,
you're in control, you don't have to hold on too tight,
you're gonna be able to ride faster for longer
and be in more control.
Saddle position is actually a
really important one for the bike park.
You don't really need your saddle too much,
hence I got it slammed out the way on my seat post.
Also, when I have to run a saddle at full height
for my maximum leg extension, the top of the seat post
is actually quite a bit higher.
I've actually slammed it as far into the frame
that I can, and obviously dropped it.
You want to get the saddle out of the way
because it obviously makes the bike handle
a lot better on the steeper stuff.
But of course, I can still run it up again
so I can transition with stages.
Anywhere I need to pedal, it's there.
Final contact point to talk about is the pedals.
Now this is a completely personal preference thing here.
Many people choose to run a flat pedal
in bike parks, for the obvious reason.
They're really good fun.
They're good if you like to jump and play around with stuff.
I know Blake is a huge fan of flat pedals.
I really like clip pedals, and that's for a few reasons.
It obviously, you got the security
your feet aren't gonna bounce off the pedals,
which is more important on an Enduro-style bike
because you haven't got that extra cush
that you have on a big downhill bike.
But also, there's a big thing that people
do forget with clipless pedals
is the fact that these don't have to pay attention
to what your feet are doing on the pedals.
Makes it a lot easier on your arms.
You can take a lot of the bike's weight on your feet.
Your upper body is more relaxed.
And I've always found if I do runs on clips,
compared to flats in a bike park,
I feel way less tired if I'm running clipless pedals.
Again that's my personal preference to do that
but there is no right or wrong for this.
You also might notice on here,
I've got full chain guide on the bottom here.
Well, I've got an upper chain guide
and it's got a Taco bash plate.
I probably wouldn't need to run one of these at home,
I'd just run an upper guide,
but having a bash plate is really beneficial,
especially at Whistler because at the top of the park,
there's so much loose rock that flies around.
I've had it in the past where I've damaged chains and stuff
so it's just that extra little bit of security.
It does also mean if you're running
some of the tighter, more technical tracks,
you've got that protection, as well,
where you're going over logs and drops and things.
Pretty sensible idea to have on your bike.
Now the contact points of the bike are done,
I wanna run you through the wheels, and the brakes and
more control elements of the bike.
I'm running a big 200 ml disc on the front here,
and I'm running a 180 on the back.
I don't normally run a disc as
big as this on my Enduro bike.
I tend to run 180's front and rear.
Again, that is a personal preference thing but
running a bigger front disc does make sense to me.
You ride the front brake quite a lot for braking power,
especially on those longer descents,
really helps with your control.
Tyres, of course, are a personal preference thing,
and you have to factor in in a bike park,
you are gonna be riding rougher terrain
a lot faster than you normally do.
I tend to run a Schiebler set up
and I do run inserts inside my tyre, as well.
Just that foam insert to help protect
the rim against those inevitable rock strikes.
They don't really weigh too much and
they do give you that piece of mind.
Because of the foam itself, you end up running
a little bit more sealant, as well.
No bad thing, just gives you a bit more puncture resistance,
but don't forget to carry an inner tube with you, as well,
because if you slash a tyre carcass,
which is likely, you're walking pretty much.
Now let's look at my suspension set-up.
I'm running four volume spacers in here.
A lot of people don't like to run that many.
I do like a really progressive fork.
I like it to sit in that mid-stroke, let it sit up nicely.
I'm running this with 25% sag.
I would normally run 30% but I want it to sit
a bit higher for those long descents.
And an Outback on the shock.
I'm running six bounce in that Monarch Plus shock,
and the reason for that is, again,
I want it to really ramp up towards the end of stroke,
and I'm running out with 30% sag.
The bike sits bias towards the back,
and that really is because you're spending
most of your time on a steep gradient terrain.
Keep the bike that bit more composure on the rough stuff.
The eagle eyed amongst you might have spotted
I'm running an angleset in here.
Effectively, all that is is angled headset cups
so you can slacken or steepen a head angle.
The head angle on the Nukeproof Mega 290 like this one
is 66 degrees, which is absolutely fine for a 29'er,
but again, for running a big mountain stuff,
chair lift runs, or just want that
little bit extra wheel basin,
little bit extra on the head angle.
This is with a one degree cup on here.
I don't wanna go too far.
Just run a 65 degrees, and the bike sits so well,
and that is a perfect setup for me.
The final thing to take into account
with any bike that you're gonna ride in a bike park,
especially a place like Whistler,
is a bit of frame protection.
You're gonna get constant flying rocks
that are going to chip your paint away and stuff like that,
but also bikes on chairlifts, you get accidents where
top tubes rub against each other, brake levers do,
even your knee pads can rub through your top tube mat,
so on this particular bike, I've got a bit
of heavy tape all along the top tube here.
I've got the crank cover caps here, just on the end.
Little rubber caps just to protect them
for those inevitable rock strikes.
And, of course, we got a nice, heavy-duty
rubber chainstay protector, and a bit more
on the inside of the seat stay.
Just take into account when riding bike in a bike park,
it's gonna age it prematurely,
so look after your pride and joy.
Hopefully this video's given you
some great ideas on setting up your
Enduro bike for bike park riding.
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