CLASSIC ADVICE NO5: “INSIDE IS FASTER”

As soon as the conversation of line choice comes up you’ll hear people boasting about how much faster the inside line is. The misconception is that because it’s a shorter line it must take less time to execute. While this might actually be the case in some situations, in the vast majority of cases it’s not actually faster, and might even be costing you time and energy. It all comes down to your perceived exertion. A lot of inside lines are riskier and require some sort of quick movement to make that change of direction in a smaller space. This feeling of it being faster is confused with it actually being faster, and unless you have a stopwatch to time which one will carry more speed out down the trail, then you’ll have to rely on what your senses are telling you, meaning that a lot of riders still waste time on tighter lines.

THE FEELING

When you ride your bike you are at the mercy of what your senses are telling you. If you are close to the edge of grip then you must be going fast, no? The problem is that this is rarely helpful. The feeling you should be looking for is carrying speed out the other side! This is how you’ll make better progress towards the next section and ultimately maintain a higher average speed. It doesn’t feel fast though, and is often overlooked in favour of a tight slap into some 90° bank.

THE CORRECT TECHNIQUE

The way to look at inside options is all about how much speed it will carry out the other side. Generally, steeper trails have more inside options because, despite carving a tighter line, you can still use gravity to accelerate out the other side. In most cases though, setting up early will open up more options further down the trail. If you look at all the best riders, they use their skill, creativity and imagination to see ways of simplifying the trail. They constantly go out of their way to push the edges of the track on the way in, so that they can open up the turn and carry speed out the other side. Get your prep work done early and you can often accelerate through the same part of the trail that most are still struggling on. Riding this way isn’t terribly exciting, but it will mean you have a lower perceived exertion, and can ultimately push these lines further, meaning faster trails and quicker times.

THE CONCLUSION

Speed comes from confidence, and confidence comes from control. The next time someone says “Inside is faster”, think “How do I carry speed out the other side?” After all, it’s not the turn you want to do fast. It’s the exit.

Setting up wider on the way in has allowed Andy to basically straight line this whole section meaning he can now accelerate right over the things that were previously causing problems

The instability of going over these rocks will feel really lively and add risk to Andy, and the sharp turn at the end will feel fast because of the quick movement

Coming in on the mainline will feel fast because of the awkward duck and having to continue to corner on the rough, slippery roots

Rolling round the outside will carry more speed out, and present less risk in the turn itself, often feeling slower