Experienced mountain bikers...please explain these features!

Also, with the front suspension you are able to choose the amount of 'squish' or rebound your fork will experience over bumps/obstacles, it's not an all-or-nothing setting.  There tends to be a suitable place in the middle somewhere based on your preference, weight, etc. that will help you go over lumps/bumps more fluidly. 

Ok so sounds like I just need to get out and play around with them.  I'm heading out for a real ride in a bit--I've just been out on a few short jaunts so far.  I'll play around with the features--can't wait!  Thanks for the input!

The blue lever and the blue dial adjust the shock. Depending on which bike you have, this could lock them or just adjust them. Yours might have the Rock Shox which I think can actually lock up. I don't know if it has an intermediate setting. What I have is more like the higher level Lush with the Fox Float shocks. That mostly makes it stiffer or softer, but doesn't lock them up. My previous bike did lock and it's a notable difference even though each suspension setting on the new one is easy to tell too. Some other fine tuning was mentioned before too, like the small red dial. Having the shock pressure (front and rear) set correctly can make quite a difference too. There should be some instructions for guidance on setting this. It may vary some by shock type. Take care of this early on.

Originally posted by mountain_erin

Originally posted by donw

Originally posted by mountain_erin Oh, and unsolicited advice on pedals. I'm a HUGE fan of flat pedals. I tried to use clipless last year, but I kept crashing (I couldn't clip out in time). It was horrible and lead to me angry-crying in front of a group of strangers and wanting to throw my MTB off the side of the mountain and walk home. With flats, I don't crash hardly at all (I still do once in a while due to operator error). I find that I will have the courage to at least attempt some tricky things because I know I can just put my foot down if I get into trouble. With clipless, I'd look at something and just chicken out. Having the flats have saved me several times from crashing, simply from being able to put a foot down. You should have good muscle memory from road cycling and shouldn't notice much of a power drop and will retain a pretty good, smooth pedal stroke. I just got these pedals and am pretty happy. And they come in PURPLE! http://www.raceface.com/products/type/pedals/chester/

I'm a big fan of clipless pedals because I don't like having my feet bounced off of flat pedals on rough or bumpy terrain. The last time I used flat pedals my pedal/crank hit a rock, my foot came off, and the pedal banged me in the shin. With practice and experience, unclipping becomes fast and automatic.

For me personally - and as a beginner - I'd personally rather have a banged up shin than crash often, be terrified and eventually quit. Which is what I was on the verge of doing last summer. I took some lessons and the instructor STRONGLY recommended flat pedals. So that's what I went with and its kept me on my bike. I've also been able to improve on the MTB because I have the courage to try things, knowing I can put a foot down. Also: wearing longer socks helps with the banged up shins Just offering another perspective....

Both ways work fine when starting off so long as you know how to go about them.

What type of socks are you using? They did nothing for me except risk tearing.

As for pedals, I opted for the dual--spiked flat on one side and clipless on the other.  I chase my cross country kids on my bike (this 46 year old cannot keep up with a bunch of 16 & 17 year old young men unless I'm on my bike !) I stop and start a lot, jump off and run with them up hills, etc so it helps to wear my running shoes while chasing them.  When I go out by myself, I clip in and love it.  If I do get to sketchy stuff I'm not sure about, I unclip and use the other side.  Works for me.

Thanks for all the great information, I am loving this bike!

Kim, unsure what pedals you're familiar with, but I've found SPD's to loosen up more than SPD-SL (Shimano road version), so also less than Speedplay which don't have such an adjustment. At really low settings, I've been able to just yank my foot out without twisting correctly.

The pedal type you have do sound like a good idea when you have to actually run with the kids. If something just seems a bit tricky though, would encourage to keep working to figure out how to ride through it. Although don't take out a kid!