[Closed] Technique advice needed - how to cutty/drift (i.e., skid without applying brake)

I don't know why you want to drift the bike. It's slower, and easssy to get wrong. Especially when clipped in!

As for technique, just try to go faster into the turns, and make sure the ground is loose. Also a flick of the hips helps too.

Get a 20" bmx and try it on a loose surface, it's easy. Then when you get good at it, work your way up.

Thanks. Unfortunately I'm stuck with the kit I've got. It does feel like the tyres are superglued to the ground a bit (except when I'm doing the annoying unintentional hop turns)

I want to be able to drift on command because it'll improve my ability to deal with drifts that surprise me - less of a panicked response

Also there are some corners where your tyres are going to break loose whatever happens - knowing this technique will help here - you can pre-empt the break with your own controlled drift

What is a hop turn? (excuse my ignorance. Just can't figure it out)

Practice on the corners your tyres a going to break loose pm the rather than the grippy ones!

A friend of mine used a very worn rear tyre with minimal grip and learnt on a steep wide corner (on a hardtail), very cool when he got it down and looked ace, to do it on a bouncy bike with tacky tyres you need speed and committment.

Go to some woods and rake a fresh trail deep with dust and pine needles. Try practicing on that?

like crotchrocket says, if the tyres are too grippy, find some really loose ground! like sand, as a start...

So good at them..

I think the hard thing is putting the force from your hips into moving the rear wheel without putting your weight over it (and not lifting it up as you say). Reckon practice is the way forward (as always).

If you can find an off camber corner to practice on, it'll make the rear tyre break free easier ... be warned though, when a tyre breaks free on an off camber section it'll do so very quickly. You'll have to be on your toes to catch it.

Raising the rear tire pressure to the upper limit can help it break free.

Gravel car park or fire road. Build up the speed until you start drifting.

DONT practice on gravel unless you like the look/feel of gravel rash 😕

on my local cheeky trail there is a tight turn after a steep chute that is made up of loose loamy forest soil and when i get it right its a lot faster to drift it than controling my speed before entry , when you get a drift right its quite thrilling,,, (the feeling of will it or wont it slip), when you get it wrong it can hurt so knee pads are a must.

i believe you need to get your weight perfectly central and low on the bike to allow it to drift (both wheels) , i dont know if my technique is correct but it works for me.

What tyres are you using?

Last night I had swapped my rear High Roller which I usually have at about 40psi for my Hutchinson Python:

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I ran this at 50psi (I meant to let some air out once I got to the trail!) and it was drifting like a mother. I think the unusually high air pressure plus the rounded profile meant it let go easily. I find myself weighting the fork when it happens, as if a monster is snapping at my rear wheel. Works though!

It's hard to go from controlling the accidental skid to a full on held drift as you need to start steering into it to keep your line. I don't know whether this helps you, but maybe a short sharp brake assisted rear wheel skid in the opposite direction first may help? It flicks the back out in the direction of the turn, like counter steering before a corner.

That's all very helpful (the video is what initially inspired me to learn this move). I'll find a good off camber turn on relatively loose soil, and give it a stab. I think overdoing it is key to the learning process so I'll throw on some pads! I'm using a Michelin Comp 16 on the front, and an old Tioga DH 2.3 on the back. Actually I would've thought that would be a good combination for this (both tyres are worn) but there you go.

The top few turns on the Happy Valley descent in Surrey are good for learning to drift, as is one of the trails (the best trail) on Headley Heath. Difficult to do it under "controlled" conditions, though.

A hop turn is when you bunnyhop into a corner. That is what I find keeps happening when I try to do these.

a short sharp brake assisted rear wheel skid in the opposite direction first may help? It flicks the back out in the direction of the turn, like counter steering before a corner.

if you do it WITHOUT the brakes it's a Skandinavian flick! Now if you can master that you have a REAL skill to use when racing 😉

Hopefully once you've mastered it, you'll volunteer some time for trail building...

🙂

drifting a turn and holding it is all to do with balancing at the point of grip/no grip. A very safe way to practice getting your bike to drift is to throw low scrubs on loose flat ground, this will help you understand how the bike handles when pushed into a drift using your hips and the bars to get it sideways as well as how to weight the bike properly while it slides.
feet up 2 wheel drifts are what you should be aiming for and they feel amazing when it goes right.
drifting off cambers is more about the balance point/weight balance and not touching the brakes.

Ah, the 2 wheel skid. The preserve of the mighty! Managing that clipped in must feel amazing.

not really. Giant Anthem with 2.1 Maxxis Advantages and fairly high pressures (for a 9.5st weakling) does that everywhere!

Ah ok. I assumed it was hard to let the front out without steering and regaining traction. I think I'm set to auto correct.

Thanks, I did actually learn to do this today & these tips helped.

Say it's a skid to your left. You weight the bike slightly to the right (i.e., moving the bike clockwise, rightwards), just a small move from your calves down, and then RAM your legs to the left from your quads (turning the bike to the left, i.e. anticlockwise), and countersteer at the same time (to the right).

There are three components to this move - the opposite skid, then putting the hammer down in the direction you're turning, then countersteering. The tricky part is getting the timing right between them, but it's possible even on tarmac on a DH bike (though I can only do it to the left in those circumstances for now). Took about an hour to learn.

I suspect it is not an easy move on the handlebars - that's where all the stress falls. You're twisting the hell out of them, far more than I'm normally comfortable with. Of course when you're doing this in anger on a track the move is far more subtle (and easy on the bike).

Nice one! 😈