The Feng Shui of Mountain Biking
by Mike Davis

You could be forgiven for thinking that 'Feng Shui' is Mandarin Chinese for 'load of old bollocks' or 'pretentious interior decorating wiffle', but in fact it's the all-encompassing ancient Chinese philosophy of life. It influences everything from the calendar to where you should put your sofa. And, more importantly, if you set your bike up according to the principles of Feng Shui you'll have a more harmonious ride.

Let's take a simple example. The 9 periods of the Chinese calendar originated from the 9 numbers on the back of the giant tortoise. Giant tortoise? Yes, you know, that one that carries the world around on its back as it swims through the ether. Each of the nine periods lasts twenty years. Three periods make up a group of sixty years. There are three groups, the Upper, Middle and Lower. All three groups make up a single cycle of the lunar calendar -- 180 years for the arithmetically challenged. We are currently in Period 7 of the Lower group (from 1984 to 2003). In six years' time (2004) we will be entering Period 8. Since this is Period 7, the current reigning number is 7. This number is said to be auspicious and will bring luck and good fortune if you use it, say, in your telephone number, car registration, house number, etc.

Where's all this going, you ask? Well, you know that new nine-speed bike that won't work properly? Why do you think that is? It's got nothing to do with cassette spacing, narrow chains or dirt ingress -- it's because the current reigning number is seven. Nine speed transmissions won't work properly until 2024. Even eight speed is pretty iffy until 2004, so stick with seven at most until then. Needless to say, 2044 to 2064 will be a good couple of decades for the singlespeeders.

Another important aspect of the whole feng shui gig are the twin concepts of Yin and Yang, which are symbolized by the sun and the moon. They are the two opposing forces active in the universe. Yin exists in Yang and, hey, Yang exists in Yin. This changing combination of negative and positive, dark and light, cold and hot, uphill and downhill keeps the world spinning and creates Ch'i or the life giving force of the universe.

This is clearly useful stuff to have around. Unfortunately it's tricky to keep in one place. It's a little like a big pile of money in that respect; dead handy but tends to disappear if you're not careful. But Ch'i, the cosmic breath created by a balance of Yin and Yang, has a couple of properties that we can take advantage of.

Adverse or bad Ch'i flows in a straight line. Good Ch'i doesn't and can be made to circulate around your bike. But any straight routes will allow good Ch'i to escape. This is why riser bars feel better than flats even if they're geometrically identical -- the curve of the risers keeps the Ch'i within the bar. It just flows straight off the end of flats. Bar ends help a little.

Theoretically, bar ends and risers should be best but at that point another ancient principle known as "not looking stupid" comes into play. Similarly, cruiser-style frames with lots of curves and extra tubes keep Ch'i within the frame. If you can't quite manage a full curvy bike, then a frame with snaked rear stays maintains a good flow of Ch'i in the back end and helps climbing. It works for trails too. Dead straight trails aren't just boring, they actually channel good Ch'i straight out of your bike. Needless to say, the most Ch'i friendly trails are narrow, twisty singletracks with plenty of trees about. This is also why cross country racing is better than DH. The closed loop of an XC course keeps all the Ch'i flowing round and round, while on a DH course it all just dribbles out of the finish and disappears.