5 Things I Wish I Knew When Starting In Dirt Bikes - DBC Podcast Episode 17

https://dirtbikechannel.buzzsprout.com/
They say hindsight is 20/20 and that is because our perspective changes with our experience.
Of course you are going to have a different view on things when you know how the end turns out. Now, my story isn’t completely written, far from it, but I have learned a loin the 9.5 years I’ve been at this sport.
I want to save people from making some of the mistakes that I made. I want to keep people from having to bang their heads against the wall so much.


1st thing - Dirt bikes aren’t scary and you shouldn’t ride quads or ATVs living in fear of what you could have on a dirt bike! That fear or apprehension that kept you off the bike was your enemy.

I could have started dirt bikes many many years before I did and that would put me ahead of where I”m at now. They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time is now. If your finances allow… start now.

2nd thing - Get the right tool for the job! If you are going to a motocross track to ride that train, then get an MX bike. If you are going to casually ride trails, get a trail bike. If you want to do a mix of things and have a personality to push harder than the typical person, then get an Offroad/enduro race style bike. This makes such a huge difference on your overall experience.

2 stroke bikes are easier to keep running when the speeds are slow and technical. This might save your riding career. Sure you can take a 4 stoke in all the same places, but it’s going to be harder and require more skill. I wish I’d known that!

3rd thing - There is this thing called single track and it’s going to change your life! You will climb to new heights, sink to new lows, ride on the edge, and ride on the pipe. We twist the throttle, cover the brake, stab the clutch, and hand on for dear life. We smile, we grimace, we shiver, we sweat. We laugh, we cuss, we submit, and we conquer. We face our fears, push our boundaries, we discover new limits and we find ourselves along the way.

I nearly gave up riding dirt bikes before I even knew the concept of riding on a single track trail in the mountains or desert. There is something truly magical about some of these trails and the locations they take us. I nearly missed it!

4th thing - I learned this one after about 2-3 years of riding, but it would be been nice to know out of the gate. You can, and will, have fun at any speed in this sport. Our riding progresses, it evolves. It’s a living thing and it lives and breathes along with us. It seems like younger riders just want to GO FAST. Then as we mature a bit, the riding slows down for a new challenge. Slow is HARD. Often times, slow is harder than fast. In some instances it doesn’t take much skill to go fast, especially in the wide open terrain. But going slow…. That is another story. Learn slow… faster!


5th thing - You’ve probably hear the old adage “the shoes make the man” right? Why do they say this? I’m not a fashion expert, but I do have to concede that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their shoes. Construction worker, banker, lawyer, athlete, ect.

Similarly, the tires you use, how you fill them, and how often you change them will play a larger role than just about anything else you could do. The only other thing that will play into your riding career is how much you are riding… seat time.

HD Tubes, TUbliss, Moose Bibs…. Try them all when you can. See what you like best.

Practice changing tires at home. Yes, it’s a pain, but it will get easier the more you do it.

Pick a tire that works well in your discipline. Ask around with riders in your area, and don’t just ask one guy. Ask as many people as you can. For the riding I’m doing, I am no longer even interested in a tire that isn’t a hybrid gummy tire. A few years ago, I didn’t even know what that was, and now I’m a tire snob in that way.

Don’t run the tires too long. Each tire is different with how long you can run it, but I will promise you that your riding experience will be better. Better traction on front and rear can and does make all the difference. It’s safer and more fun to ride on new rubber more often than not.