Sitting or Standing for Racing in the Woods?

[Jakeblues]

P.S. a lot of times I stand in the easiest, smoothest straight parts just to give my backside a break from sitting in the really tight stuff where the rough bumps just have to be absorbed.

[LILBIT]

I ride with guys that sit 90% of the time while i tend to stand maybe 70%. They wear out faster due to doing all of the work and absorbing the hits with their upper body. My legs are much stronger and have far better stamina by comparison. I had to force myself to learn to ride standing up. Now i ride terrible if i sit excect for smooth flowing terrain. I have trouble shifting my weight around quick enough sitting.

I likely look like i'm sitting in some faster sand corners but my butt is just skimming the seat. Most people that have trouble riding quickly while standing usually are standing straiight upright. You need to be bent way over butt out, toes and knees in.

Any smooth area i'll sit for a break. I do try to avoid the sit,stand,sit, stand routine if possible. The up and downs are tiring. I'll sacrifice some corner speed for the energy savings. Plus if trees prevent leaning the bike over why sit down?

Edited April 19, 2012 by LILBIT

[bowhunter007]

I am just a weekend warrior, like a lot of guys. At best, I have feeble bike handling skills. I like to ride with any A & B riders that I can. I've improved my overall "woods" speed/skills using 2 Methods. Observation, and...PHYSICAL CONDITIONING!!! I can't believe how many guys I ride with, who are scary fast, but for only short distances. I spend about 60% of my time standing, and I believe for me, I am a little faster as a result. However, given my observations, get in shape. It doesn't matter how fast we are out of the gate...if we finish at less than 50% of our original effort.

[MELK-MAN]

you guys need to go and watch some REAL woods/GNCC/harescramble racers.. Sit when you can, stand when you have to.. DW and many others "in the know" will say that time and time again.

[MrBlahh]

I can stand all day long, I have to or I cant ride, and I'm fat and out of shape, if you think standing takes more energy you need to man it up

watch an enduro gncc worcs etc race, it's pretty obvious most of the fastest guys stand most of the time

hard to be in attack position sitting on your behind, what applies for MX also applies for offroad racing

Edited April 28, 2012 by MrBlahh

[CL13579]

Stand when you can, sit when you have to.

Terrain and conditioning will dictate riding position.

Anybody can sit.

You will only learn to ride standing, by making yourself stand.

You will only learn where to sit, by teaching yourself when to stand.

You cannot learn to stand by sitting.

[LukeYZ426F]

i was riding by myself the other day in some single track by my house and i was hitting this short loop back to back to back trying to sit the whole then trying to stand the whole time and seeing which was faster and were i felt uncomfortable and then switched it up were i felt weird, like if i was standing the whole time, when i got to the places i felt weird about before i sat down and descided if that was any better and visa versa.. it tought ME alot, but everybody is defferent but i rode again today with a group and with my new found info on sittin/ standing i was noticable faster.. might go try that!

[MELK-MAN]

I can stand all day long, I have to or I cant ride, and I'm fat and out of shape, if you think standing takes more energy you need to man it up

watch an enduro gncc worcs etc race, it's pretty obvious most of the fastest guys stand most of the time

hard to be in attack position sitting on your behind, what applies for MX also applies for offroad racing

that is a bunch of crap to be totally honest.. I just won the OVERALL morning race today, winning Sr A and beating the VetA and all the 253 other entrants of the morning race.. Then watched the open and AA guys in the afternoon. THEY/WE SIT WHEN WE CAN.

If you can stand all day, your not going fast to begin with. Not a darn thing wrong with that! but you are very very mistaken and not informed to assume that all the "fast" guys in various events stand all the time or even 90% of the time. I don't know what percent it is, but they SIT alot.

There are sections of the course when sitting is FASTER . for example fast sweeping sections where you need to get the bike back and forth quickly. Sure, if there is a big bump or a palmetto root, you stand.

Edited April 30, 2012 by MELK-MAN

[MrBlahh]

they televise the fast gncc guys, just watch the race for yourself and pay attention to how much they are standing

[bg10459]

Where do spectators go to watch a GNCC? Usually, the hardest sections draw the biggest crowds. Everyone wants to watch the top guys tackle the tougest obstacles. Sections like those are the "stand when you have" to parts, so a spectator might get a biased opinion. When you're in the race, you get to see the other 90% of the course, with lots of sit when you can sections. Don't get me wrong, there's probably more places where you have to stand if you want to be fast, but with 1-1/2 to 3 hours of racing, you have to conserve energy somewhere.

Melkman, congrats on that finish Awesome job for an oldtimer ?

Edited April 30, 2012 by bg10459

[MELK-MAN]

they televise the fast gncc guys, just watch the race for yourself and pay attention to how much they are standing

you make it sound like i live under a rock when im not riding/racing 20 hours a month.. LOL.. yea, i just saw that last night.. RacerTV. The river ranch GNCC was about 45minutes from my house, if you pay attention to the racers, especially CHarlie Mullins, you will see a good amount of sitting. Be open minded and watch all the action, just just think "look! they are standing! i told you!" look to see them sitting in mud, fast sweeping corners, almost ANY corner for that matter, etc. I think your confusing STAND WHEN YOU HAVE TO for NEVER STAND.

Where do spectators go to watch a GNCC? Usually, the hardest sections draw the biggest crowds. Everyone wants to watch the top guys tackle the tougest obstacles. Sections like those are the "stand when you have" to parts, so a spectator might get a biased opinion. When you're in the race, you get to see the other 90% of the course, with lots of sit when you can sections. Don't get me wrong, there's probably more places where you have to stand if you want to be fast, but with 1-1/2 to 3 hours of racing, you have to conserve energy somewhere.

Melkman, congrats on that finish Awesome job for an oldtimer ?

HAHA, yea.. got a kick out of winning the "old guy race" (35yrs old to one foot in grave). Strickland ranch was a TOUGH course. I had not seen so many racers drop out, even in the afternoon race, in quite some time. The leader of my class even peeled off on the 2nd of 4 loops.

Yes, good point about not seeing much of what really goes on from a few camera angles and a sideline. Following/chasing these guys, you see what really goes on.

Edited April 30, 2012 by MELK-MAN

[MrBlahh]

you make it sound like i live under a rock when im not riding/racing 20 hours a month.. LOL..

that was not directed to you, some people's minds are made up, everyone else can watch the video's

I personally stand up almost all the time, the only time I sit is in corners where I'm leaned over with a leg out the time. I cannot ride sitting down. As far as energy use, I think that's a bullshit excuse people use to justify sitting down, when I started riding again I had to train hard to get my legs in shape to stand the whole time.

[MELK-MAN]

that was not directed to you, some people's minds are made up, everyone else can watch the video's

I personally stand up almost all the time, the only time I sit is in corners where I'm leaned over with a leg out the time. I cannot ride sitting down. As far as energy use, I think that's a bullshit excuse people use to justify sitting down, when I started riding again I had to train hard to get my legs in shape to stand the whole time.

it's not a bullshit excuse.. it's how you WIN A TWO HOUR harescramble, or score low points in a 4 hour enduro (done' that too.. scored 38 pts and placed 10th overall at Lochloosa with some KTM pros taking the top 2 positions out of about 240 riders ) .

If you stand all the time your just trying to look cool for your riding budies that don't know any better. If you CAN'T sit down, fine. THAT i can understand, and I feel sorry for you. But to give an uneducated point of view, having not raced with FAST offroad racers, that they all stand is just wrong. I will totally agree that many riders are not in "riding shape" and can't stand when they need to nor as often as they should. Again, THAT should not be confused with what i am trying to get across. If your not in decent riding shape, you can't finish a 2 hour harescramble period, let alone stand when you need to late in the race..

Edited April 30, 2012 by MELK-MAN

[MrBlahh]

I hope everyone interested watches video's of offroad racing, including baja/dakar, erzberg, gncc, they have the national enduro's on tv now too

[Hillcapper]

Hey Goon, my experience is the more I stand the faster I get. Until I get tired. The more I stand the more natural it becomes and the more I can stand. When I started riding I sat almost all the time, now I am standing at least 50% of the time.

And as for the pros, I think they sit more than it is shown in the vids, just the vids are usually taken in the most gnarly sections where standing is required.

Exactly! I attend GNCC events fairly regularly and try to see a lot of different sections of the course. Pro's do not stand all the time. I can tell the difference between sitting and hovering over the seat and they do sit a fair amount of time. Yes, they stand a lot also. I could only guess at the percentage I see, I think it differs with each rider. I do think the shorter riders tend to stand more, just my observation. I do some hare scrambles and like to stand except on bermed turns, some gnarley uphills and when I just get too tired. At some points my quads hurt so bad that I end up sitting more than I want to and then I start missing lines, taking spills and slowing down!

[MrBlahh]

if their ass if off the seat that's standing in my opinion, I do the same thing when I say I stand that includes that. A lot of guys look like they are sitting but they are not, they are just a few inches off the seat, lafferty does that a lot

[Hillcapper]

if their ass if off the seat that's standing in my opinion, I do the same thing when I say I stand that includes that. A lot of guys look like they are sitting but they are not, they are just a few inches off the seat, lafferty does that a lot

I agree, if you have your butt off the seat your legs are supporting your weight. I can tell the difference though and watch Mullins, Russell and others come by in sections with their butt firmly planted. They dont stand all the time, not even close to all the time from the events I've attended. Better than 50%? Yes, I would say so. I will say that Shane Watts stands virtually all the time from what I've seen but he is the exception.

[briangriff321]

I try to stand everywhere except certain turns just depends on the situation

[MELK-MAN]

if their ass if off the seat that's standing in my opinion, I do the same thing when I say I stand that includes that. A lot of guys look like they are sitting but they are not, they are just a few inches off the seat, lafferty does that a lot

so now I don't know the difference in sitting, standing or just having the butt off the seat. Jeezus.. Your right. what can i say. You should never be sitting and I have been pitiful in my observation of very fast riders. Dwight Rudder, myself, and some others are totally doing it wrong.. Thank you for setting us straight!

[Hillcapper]

so now I don't know the difference in sitting, standing or just having the butt off the seat. Jeezus.. Your right. what can i say. You should never be sitting and I have been pitiful in my observation of very fast riders. Dwight Rudder, myself, and some others are totally doing it wrong.. Thank you for setting us straight!

Gotta love it! Someone arguing with you and Rudder who is how many time a Natl Enduro champ (?) about what the pro's do in this regard....unbelievable. Just dont start talking about whether or not most Enduro or GNCC pro's run a Rekluse auto clutch.....you wont get anywhere with that either. Some folks just have thier mind made up!