Get Ready for Your Best Summer on the Bike Yet 🚵‍♂️☀️

Gets GO!

Summer is just around the corner, and whether you’re planning long evenings in the local woods, big mountain adventures in Wales, or a dream riding trip to the Alps, now is the perfect time to get your bike and body ready for an unforgettable season on two wheels.

At WyeMTB, we believe the best summers start with preparation. A little time spent now can mean more confidence, more comfort, and far more fun when the trails are dry and the days are long.

---

1. Visit Your Local Bike Shop 🔧

Before the summer adventures begin, make sure your bike is ready for the miles ahead.

A visit to your local bike shop, fo us this is Pedal Synidate in the Forest of Dean for a professional service can completely transform the way your bike rides. Fresh brake pads, smooth gears, properly bled brakes, tightened bearings, and a drivetrain check can make the difference between an incredible day on the trail and a frustrating mechanical issue halfway through a ride.

A well-maintained bike doesn’t just perform better — it keeps you safer and allows you to focus on what really matters: enjoying the ride.

It’s also the perfect excuse to upgrade your riding kit ready for the season ahead. Protective equipment has improved massively over the years, and modern trail gear is lighter, more breathable, and far more comfortable than ever before.

A few of our favourite summer essentials include:

• Troy Lee Designs A3 Helmet
• Troy Lee Designs Knee Guards
• Troy Lee Designs Gloves

The right gear gives you the confidence to ride harder, explore further, and stay comfortable during those long summer days on the hill.

---

2. Give Your Suspension Some Love 🛠️

If you’re looking to really freshen up your bike for summer, a fork and shock service can make an enormous difference.

Here in the Forest of Dean, we ride plenty of rough, technical terrain, and suspension works hard all year round. Over time, oils degrade, seals wear out, and performance slowly fades without many riders even noticing.

A properly serviced suspension fork and rear shock can completely transform your bike:

• Better grip
• More comfort
• Improved control
• Increased confidence on technical trails

We highly recommend the team at Sprung Suspension Workshop for keeping your bike performing at its absolute best.

Whether you’re riding local trail centres, natural mountain terrain, or planning a European riding trip, quality suspension setup is one of the biggest upgrades you can make.

---

3. Invest in Your Skills 🚵‍♀️

We might be slightly biased on this one… but one of the best ways to prepare for summer riding is to spend time with a qualified local coach.

Mountain bike coaching isn’t just for beginners or elite racers. It’s about understanding how the bike works beneath you, developing confidence on technical terrain, and learning how to ride more efficiently.

Small changes in body position, braking technique, cornering, and trail awareness can completely transform your riding experience. Coaching helps riders:

• Ride smoother and safer
• Build confidence on technical terrain
• Improve efficiency and control
• Reduce fatigue on longer rides
• Tackle features they previously avoided
• Get more enjoyment from every ride

At WyeMTB our coaching pathway is designed to support riders at every stage of their mountain biking journey.

Based in the heart of the Forest of Dean, our sessions combine professional coaching, real trail riding, and a relaxed, supportive environment that helps riders progress with confidence.

---

Finding Your Feet: Core Skills

Our coaching pathway starts with Finding Your Feet, a beginner-friendly session focused on the fundamentals of mountain biking.

This session introduces riders to:

• Body position on the bike
• Effective braking
• Gear use
• Weight shifting
• Understanding trail centre riding

Perfect for newer riders, returning riders, or anyone looking to build stronger foundations before progressing onto more technical terrain.

---

FOD Flow: Intermediate MTB Coaching

Once riders are comfortable on blue graded trails, the next step is FOD Flow — our intermediate coaching session designed to help riders progress onto red graded terrain with more confidence and control.

This half-day session combines expert instruction, practical trail riding, and video analysis to help riders better understand their riding technique and trail interaction.

Skills covered include:

• Cornering and berms
• Weight shift techniques
• Effective braking
• Pumping the trail
• Small drops and trail features
• Line choice and trail awareness

The session is ideal for riders wanting to develop more flow and confidence on natural and trail centre terrain throughout the Forest of Dean.

📅 Next Course: Sunday 14th June

---

FOD Flow Part 2: Advanced MTB Coaching

For riders looking to push their skills further, FOD Flow Part 2 develops advanced techniques needed for more technical downhill and enduro-style terrain.

Using the 1 and 2 dot downhill trails around Cannop Cycle Centre, riders work closely with a British Cycling-qualified coach to refine advanced riding skills through detailed coaching and real-time video feedback.

Advanced topics include:

• Pumping natural terrain
• Advanced cornering
• Advanced braking techniques
• Racing lines
• Advanced weight shifting
• Drop-offs above hub height
• Technical trail management

This session is ideal for riders preparing for bike park riding, alpine adventures, enduro racing, or simply wanting to ride faster and more confidently on technical terrain.

📅 Next Course: 5th June

---

Small Groups, Big Progression

One of the biggest benefits of coaching at WyeMTB is the small group environment. Sessions are limited to a maximum of six riders, allowing for:

• Individual coaching feedback
• Real-time video analysis
• Personal progression goals
• More trail time with the coach

Our supportive coaching style focuses on progression without pressure, helping riders build confidence at their own pace while still being challenged in the right way.

---

Off Road Leader Award 🚵‍♂️

For riders looking to move beyond coaching and into leading and guiding others, WyeMTB also delivers the British Cycling Off Road Leader Award.

Formerly known as the Fundamentals of Mountain Bike Leadership Award, this qualification prepares new leaders to safely guide groups in easy to moderate off-road environments, including woodland trails, gravel tracks, urban fringe routes, and blue trail centre terrain.

🔧 What You’ll Learn

• Route planning & ride preparation
• Basic trailside repairs
• Emergency procedures
• Leadership & group management skills

👥 Who’s It For?
Perfect for clubs, schools, activity centres, volunteers, and riders starting their MTB leadership journey.

🛠️ Requirements

• British Cycling online learning
• 2-day practical training course
• Off-road riding logbook
• 16hr Outdoor First Aid qualification
• British Cycling Safeguarding CPD (£19.99)

📅 Next Course: 1st – 2nd June
⚠️ Only 3 Spaces Left

---

Ready for Summer?

The best riding season of the year is nearly here.

Get the bike serviced, refresh your suspension, invest in quality riding gear, and spend time building your skills. A little preparation now can lead to your biggest and best summer on the bike yet.

Whether you’re:

• Riding local woods
• Tackling red and black trails
• Heading to the Alps
• Planning bike park trips
• Or simply wanting more confidence on the bike

…developing your skills now will help you get far more from every single ride this summer.

If you’re looking to improve your riding, join a guided ride, or prepare for your next mountain bike adventure, check out what we offer at WyeMTB.

📧 Hello@WyeMTB.co.uk
📞 01600 228474

Used and Abused – Gear Review 2019

We are in the lucky position that we get to ride our bikes almost daily in some amazing terrain in Wales – alright I know that is rubbing it in – which means we really use and abuse our kit!  We have picked 6 of the best we have used for our guiding and coaching this year;

Here are first few of the standout bits of kit….!

Orange Bikes 

I know their looks divides opinion, and that people think the suspension design is simplistic , but these bikes really do just keep on working!

We have had 2 this year, Windy’s Five and Gareth’s Stage 6.

Both have done over 150 big days out, and the only maintenance has been one set of bearings each. That’s a massive £40 spent between both bikes to keep them running sweet, and less than an hour on the tools. Compare that to some of the fancy linkage bikes out there, the Oranges just keep handling the abuse we dish out with no complaints.

The angles are super sorted too, which means you can grind them up the hills, and then have a smile for miles all the way down, and we all know there are some epic downs here in South Wales!

Yes the single pivot means that it can ‘jack up’ under braking, but choose your braking spots, anad learn to keep the throttle open and these are as fast as anyuthing else out there!

Burgtec Grips and Pedals

We have been using a range of the Burgtec products, from the bars, stems, chainrings, pedals and grips, but the two stand out products have been the grips and pedals.

We have used the new Greg Minnar grips. First thing we admired was the price…..£19.99 is mega competitive for some grips.

We really got on with the shape – 31.5mm seems to be the perfect width for our hands, and the tapered core means our hands sit really comfortable on them. The 25A rubber is supersoft (when you think the softest tyres are 42A) and this seems to really help absorb vibrations and help maintain grip, especially in the wet. All in all, they are the best £20 upgrade we have spent on our bikes!

What can I say about the pedals?

The composite ones below have been on the e-bike all year. £44.99 and they haven’t missed a beat!

They have the same great shape as the Penthouse ones, and have the same bearings and sealing too. The thinner pins, means they aren’t quite as planted as their more expensive brother, which means when we have been getting rowdy on the trail bike, the Penthouse have been the go to pedal of choice.

More to the point though, we haven’t had to touch them all year. Sure, they have some great battle wounds, from some of the rocky descents in Wales, but they just won’t die!

Still running the same bearings from new, and still super smooth!

Madison Flux waterproof Jacket

This has been the ultimate guiding waterproof, and we have given it some testing! It has a lovely soft shell construction, and a 4 way stretch to the material, which makes it super comfortable to wear, and a great fit!

It’s also super light and pack down really small, meaning there is never an excuse to not pack it in the guiding bag!

I think this also helps with it’s versitility. You don’t get too hot in it when cuaght in a summer downpore, but it’s great with a few layers underneath in the winter too.

The soft shell material, together with it’s great breathability, means we wear it a lot as a wind jacket when it’s not raining as well.

We really do think we are going to be hard pushed to find a better one, particularly for the money (£119)!

You’ll have to wait until Friday to find out what the other 3 bits of kit are!!!

Happy Shopping

Why should I have mountain bike coaching?

Mountain bikers have been slow on the uptake to get a coaching session. Most people would never just go down the local golf course and start just hitting balls or hacking at the turf, but they will just pick up their MTB and start riding.

Surely I will just get better if I just ride more?  Maybe…but it will depend on how much you ride, what you ride and how you ride it!

One of the fundamentals of skill improvement is repeated practice. In mountain biking terms this means ‘sessioning’ a section of trail you find challenging, repeatedly until you nail it with consistency!

How often do you just go on a ride, and never cover the same section of trail more than once?

When you make an error, or get a section wrong, do you go back up and ride it again or just carry on?

How many times have you had feedback on what you are doing right and what you could improve on?

There is the 10,000 hours rule with skill development. To turn from beginner to world-class in a particular skill or sport will take 10,000 hours of repeated, focused practice.

That isn’t just going out riding, that is working on a particular technique – cornering/jumping/drops/body position etc. and really focusing on that technique until it becomes natural (i.e. you can do it without thinking about it!)

This is where coaching can really help.

Having someone to show you the correct techniques, break them down into bite-size chunks, practice with you but more importantly give you the feedback on what you are doing and how you are doing it!

This is one of the major difficulties in self-coaching, the absence of the feedback loop.

To give you an example, a client we were working with had been working on his jumping for years, but could never really get the ‘pop’ and height he wanted on a jump.

He knew what he should be doing, and thought he was doing all the right things, but when he came for coaching, we quickly realized that while he thought he was standing tall on the bike to unweight and release the energy to create the ‘pop’, he was staying relatively low on the bike and ‘squashing’ the jump. With some video feedback, he could immediately see where he was going wrong!

Once we had identified it, slowed him down and done some repeated practice on this particular element of his jumping, it really started to come together!

Do you need coaching? That is a question for self-reflection, but every rider, beginner through to world-class, can really benefit from that feedback loop and repeated practice!