Hey everyone,

Looking for some tips in riding in wet mud.

I went out for my first proper ride on my new scratch air 9 this weekend and i’m a very happy chappy. Went to wharncliffe woods and did some of the trails, it was incredibly sunny yet due to rain in the days before there was a lot of boggy sections, especially on the tight technical tracks.

On the trails where i could get speed up i was fine as i could glide over a lot of the wet stuff but i had real issues keeping speed through the tight technical sections.

I rode some of the same trails on a hardtail a couple of months ago in the dry and they were tight but quick. Yesterday i couldn’t seem to hook it up as well as my buddies, any tips?

Putting skill aside for one moment, using the right tyres for the job makes a huge difference. Some folk seem to think the only tyres that’ll fit MTBs are Maxxis High Rollers 😀

Tyres are the one area where I will confidently say using the right kit makes all the difference. I’m a Wharny local and an advocate of narrow mud spikes!

But that aside, I suppose you just have to learn to go with the flow a bit more. Loosen up and let the bike slide. Get comfortable with it moving around under you more. You can’t expect good traction, so you can’t ride the same way as you do when you have it. I think you have to plan ahead a great deal more too.