Skill levels
At Element Riding, we strive for everyone to feel comfortable, confident and that they are getting the most out of their mountain biking experience. We want to ensure that all of our riders are in groups or clinics that are appropriate for their riding experience. We’ve created a helpful guideline to choose the right mountain bike program for you. This ensures that you are being appropriately challenged and alongside riders who are at a similar skill and riding level as you are.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us directly so we can help get you set up in the right group.
Novice
A novice rider is brand-new or fairly new to mountain biking. They are comfortable riding a bike and may be experienced in gravel riding. Novice riders are looking to learn the basics of mountain biking and gain confidence on green or “light” blue trails.
What to expect in a novice lesson or clinic?
A novice lesson/clinic with Element Riding will begin by going over the basics which include body positioning, braking, using gears effectively, climbing and descending with confidence, how to safely dismount, riding through corners and turns and how to complete a bike safety check.
intermediate
An Intermediate rider is comfortable riding green and blue trails, and feels ready to begin taking on “dark blue” or “light black” trails. They are looking to advance their riding onto more technical/steeper terrain and carry more speed over features.
What to expect in an intermediate lesson or clinic?
An intermediate lesson/clinic with Element Riding will build on the basics listed in the novice section and begin to add in speed and more technical maneuvers such as brake control on steep descents, carrying speed, line choice, small/medium jumps and drops, technical climbing and cornering.
ADVANCED
An advanced rider is comfortable carrying speed on blue trails and on some black diamond trails. They can perform all of the intermediate skills listed above and are working on carrying more speed, riding more advanced lines and improving timing.
What to expect in an advanced lesson or clinic?
An advanced lesson/clinic with Element Riding will build on the skills listed in the novice section and develop speed and style, efficiency, control, pressure, cornering with speed through pressure, rotation and bike/body separation, line choice, medium drops and tabletop jumps, wheel lifts, bunnyhops, nose manuals/pivots on the trail.
Expert
An expert rider is confident and consistent on all trails/terrain and can perform all of the skills listed in the advanced skills section. They are looking to continue to develop their riding, style and speed.
What to expect in an expert lesson or clinic?
An expert lesson/clinic with Element Riding will build on the skills listed in the advanced section above, and focus on refining habits or techniques which may be holding the rider back. Progression will be focused on setting up suspension, racing techniques, advanced braking and speed, faster cornering in berms, flat and off-camber corners, large drops/jumps and rock rolls, strategic implementation of advanced trail maneuvers such as manuals, nose pivots, and stoppies.