Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 53 total)
  • Riding extremely steep & slippy stuff?
  • maxtorque
    Full Member

    You know, those trails where the line between “in control” and “out of control” is ooooh sooooo narrow! So, how do you do it?

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Keep believing you’re in control

    legend
    Free Member

    Do not stick your weight right back.

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    brant
    Free Member

    Look for things to bounce off.
    Point my cock where I want to go.

    jonnouk
    Free Member

    Look ahead for somewhere that looks grippy to turn/brake on, aim for it, let off the brakes (especially on roots) and pray.

    But this advice is probably the best.

    Keep believing you’re in control

    bensales
    Free Member

    So, how do you do it?

    I use the force.

    I’m pretty sure that’s the only way I’ve got away with a lot of stuff.

    deanfbm
    Free Member

    Have faith, ride strong like you normally would and relax.

    Easy to say, so hard to do since it is all mental strength.

    Suggsey
    Free Member

    Locked wheels both ends = out of control, doing Jacobs Ladder in the wet with a crowd of walkers watching, waiting for me to fall off whilst I was on the verge of out of control but looking like I was rock surfing with lots of style and body movement convinced them I was great 😆

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    Since acquiring a fat bike I’ve found that ‘slippery’ is something that happens to other people 😉

    Suggsey
    Free Member

    You want to try VeeRubber tyres in the mud, my mate will say otherwise, comedy back end sliding about!

    p7rich
    Free Member

    I’ve recently realised i need a LOT more front brake than i’d normally be comfortable with in these situations.

    themightymowgli
    Free Member

    Get off and walk?

    I had a moment in the Quantocks on Saturday. Super steep and looking like it had just been rotovated. I think I just fell with style.

    chvck
    Free Member

    I point my bike where I want it to go and then descend on my face whilst the bike clatters down without me.

    jonnyrockymountain
    Full Member

    Is that going up or down???

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    Walking not an option! 😉

    I think i might be using too much front brake, and should be siting on the, probably locked, rear wheel and just “surfing” down?

    legend
    Free Member

    wwaswas – Member
    Since acquiring a fat bike I’ve found that ‘slippery’ is something that happens to other people

    I bet you’ve found that “steep” is something that happens to other people too

    psling
    Free Member

    I find momentum is my friend and then keep the front low and maintain weight on the back wheel for traction. good tread on the tyres and mentally ready to maintain controlled power through the pedals when the rear wheel spins. HTH.

    monkeyfudger
    Free Member

    ^ Hahahaha!

    No, a locked wheel is going to give you less grip, your tyres won’t clear and you’ll have even less braking power. Don’t lean right back, you’re weight still wants to be central but relative to the terrain. Don’t be frightened to really push on the bars to get the bike to turn. Make motorbike noise.

    markgraylish
    Free Member

    Steer with your hips…

    moonboy
    Free Member

    belief and cock lazer.

    Although sometimes not enough, so will wimp out for few months until the memory is suitably in the distance before having another go.

    Spin
    Free Member

    It’s entirely down to your choice of equipment. Particularly tyres.

    Maxxis High Rollers are universally acknowledged to be the best on the terrain you describe.

    khani
    Free Member

    Swear a lot, in between the screams of terror…
    Something along the lines of ‘AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!ohfuckohfuckofucshitshitshitshitAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!NOOOOOOOO!!!’

    Simon
    Full Member

    Send someone else down first if they crash I walk down.

    mooman
    Free Member

    90% confidence .. 10% luck.

    northernmatt
    Full Member

    I have bother with super steep stuff cos I can only see out of one eye so I tend to do a bit more walking than strictly necessary as my brain thinks stuff is steeper than it actually is. The really annoying thing is when I walk down something that looks like I can’t do it then five minutes later I’ll happily trundle down something that is even steeper. After that I usually get a bit annoyed with myself for being such a big girl.

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    Thing is, if the front slips out from under you, you’re pretty much going down immediately, whereas, if the rear skids a bit you have more chance of holding on to it. OK, directionality suffers a bit, but some people seem to be able to just “jink” the bike around or between the trail obstacles (like trees etc) flicking the rear end around ?

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    IE, here:

    Trans Savoie 2014 day 5

    at 41 sec and rather less sucessfully at 49 sec !

    njee20
    Free Member

    I like to put my foot out, pretending I’m safer to tripod it, then I run over my own foot and crash, realising if I’d just stayed clipped in I’d have been absolutely fine. I’m well practiced at this technique.

    solamanda
    Free Member

    I had a very fast guide in Italy suggest the following for steep stuff, I found it improved my riding vastly. Drag the rear brake lighty and apply the front brake smooth but firmly in pulses, especially in spots you can spot grip. The pulsing the front brake allows you to maintain a rolling wheel and doesn’t allow for the front to dive too much and loose speed quite effectively

    The theory is you can’t modulate the brakes quite so well when it’s steep and serious, pulsing it gives you an ABS effect.

    mashiehood
    Free Member

    +1 solamanda – since I learnt this I feel a lot more in control (sadly no faster)

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Most of these are tricks or obviousness, rather than skills, but might as well…

    Any speed you carry in is preserved all the way through, so going in slow can help
    You can generally brake more than you think- and the effects of using too much are generally managable as long as you’re quick.
    Often the most important thing is what’s at the bottom- if there’s a berm or similiar then all you have to do is survive the steep bit, you don’t really need to do anything clever at all

    Spin – Member

    Maxxis High Rollers are universally acknowledged to be the best on the terrain you describe.

    Maybe in 2007.

    jameswilliams54
    Free Member

    So what’s the tyre for steep wet slippy rocks (cavedale) in 2014?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Conti Baron if you’re on 26, they’re like cheating.

    jameswilliams54
    Free Member

    26 x 2.3 black chilli one? £55!

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I just spotted there’s some in classifieds at the mo

    maxtorque
    Full Member

    If anything, i think i probably generally go in too slowly tbh!

    vickypea
    Free Member

    I find that shrieking and screaming helps if I’m riding down something scary!

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Following someone who can ride it well helps an awful lot!

    beicmynydd
    Free Member

    Keep off the front brake while changing direction.
    Go on some uplift days and practice.

    Wonder in amazement how the pros race down tracks similar to the bds track in Llangollen when a good number of riders did not even take their bikes from the van and drove straight home.

    Sancho
    Free Member

    if you think its down to your tyres, then you have already psyched yourself out of how fast you can go.

    the fastest riders i know are quite happy to smash through the slippiest rooty muddy steep sections on worn out slick tyres and no one on here would get anywhere near.

    they have made me more confident as i wirry less about the tyres etc and more about where im heading

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 53 total)

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