What the hell happened last night?

It’s incredibly wet out there right now. Grounds absolutely saturated. It’ll be less bad by tonight. Here in the South Downs at least.

I used to have a Rocket Ron like that, it was the cheaper Performance* compound though not the Addix. I eventually binned it as I was fed up of laying on the floor at random moments.

*By "performance", I assume it was referring to Torvill and Dean's Bolero, for all the grip it had

The ground is just soaked everything is just super slippery.

Not bikes, but I was running up in the Shropshire Hills this week and was struggling to stay on my feet for large parts of the run even with really grippy trail shoes.

Yeah, I had a Nobby Nic Performance - the compound is useless with any dampness.

Conty Argotal is worth a try if you must insist on going out in the filth.

Has it been cold and frosty? We get a lot of frost heave at this time of year, resulting in some very soft, and uncharacteristically slippy, conditions when the ground warms up a bit.

Had the exact same on Wednesday night, even our normally "dry" well draining trails were saturated - had several moments where I'd go to turn the bike and I'd just keep on going straight. It's wetter than a very wet thing going for a bath.

In the SW last night the temperature dropped quite rapidly toward the end of the day. Clear skies, full moon, strong westerly wind. I noticed a lot more tyre slippage.

Its one of the wettest winters on record.

I get the same sometimes when I'm tired and not quite on it. I've often not realised I'm tired but it'll mean my balance is a bit off or I'm not reacting as fast as usual. Then I get a bit tense and stop looking ahead and it spirals downwards until I'm in a pile on the floor. Again.

Did anyone else in your group have similar issues, or was it just you?

When it's really wet the water can bring up all sorts of disgusting stuff - could there have been any oily substances left on the trail by the weather? That'll turn even the grippiest tyre into a slick.

Just one of the wetest 12 months on record. There is a rainfall monitor run by the local flood people - every single month since last March we've been well over 100% of the average (measured from 2000 or so). Feb is currently at 192% of the average.

I had a moment the other week that could've been bad
i put it down to blindly pumping my tyres up to what my vague gauge said should be correct, not my accurate digital gauge, i had nothing gripwise. A couple of PSI difference probably not noticiable, potentially 5-10 might be a game changer

"Did anyone else in your group have similar issues, or was it just you?"

Just me - the others are arguably (not really an argument, it's fact) better riders than me, but I've coped fine up until last night.

Maybe @peteza has it

"A couple of PSI difference probably not noticiable, potentially 5-10 might be a game changer"

I run 18/20psi and that's probably dropped as I haven't checked them for a while

I know what you mean, nearly ****ted my head on the bath trying to get my jeans off before a shower. WTF

I found this on a particularly wet day last year. Luckily I had just fitted cushcore front and rear and watched the Lewis Buchanan video where he dropped his tyre pressures to 10 psi and not only didn't die but went 5 seconds faster.

So I just dropped my tyre pressure, tried riding a bit, dropped it some more, tried riding some more, and kept doing that until I found some grip.

I didn't have a gauge with me but once I got home I found I was down to 11psi in the front and 13 in the rear.

Interesting comments about the wet - yes, its been very very wet. But when its chucking it down, I find the grip levels are predictable.

Its that in-between 'drying track' situation where you get the unpredictability and risk.

I run 18/20psi and that’s probably dropped as I haven’t checked them for a while

Easy to pick up a slow puncture, or with tubeless you can hit a thorn that seals but you've lost a load of air in the process. If you only run 18 and you lose half of that it could get pretty sketchy but in heavy mud it might not be obvious why.

"Easy to pick up a slow puncture, or with tubeless you can hit a thorn that seals but you’ve lost a load of air in the process. If you only run 18 and you lose half of that it could get pretty sketchy but in heavy mud it might not be obvious why."

Tubes and the PSI is only ever a guide when I've got a pump attached. The rest of the time it's a squeeze test and has been since the dawn of time for me. They feel 'about right'

I think when it's really wet and muddy you need enough pressure in the tyres to create an edge that grips into the soft ground. Maybe that's it? Nowadays I check my pressure before every ride with a digital gauge - even if it doesn't make a difference, it does in my head!

I'd just put it down to me not riding very well.
It happens sometimes, nowt to worry about.
Everyone has an off day from time to time for no apparent reason.
It's just the reverse of when you feel like you're on fire.

I think the problem is clear... you keep putting your front tyre in some UK. It's everywhere right now... wet, slippery, loose, filthy UK.

On the off-road bits of my commute, this week I’ve had the most sideways moments in about five years of taking this route. Front and back both stepping out, sometimes simultaneously. And I’m running a Hillbilly / Butcher combo so not exactly short of wet/mud grip!

Yeah, I had a Nobby Nic Performance – the compound is useless with any dampness.

My NN and Hans Dampf's found damp challenging, but my bigger issue was the way they let go. I found that they were very sudden - one moment upright, next moment sideways and irrecoverable. And got really noticeably worse with a slight bit of wear.

I found that my other brands did not let go any way as suddenly, irrespective of how much grip they had.

Here (north Leeds), its about the wettest on the trails as I've ever known them. Even sections that usually hold up well, the ground is sodden and saturated, so any new rain has nowhere to go. Its just layer upon layer of slime and mud.

"Its one of the wettest winters on record.”

Yes, we were saying that yesterday, looking forward to the water shortages in August when the reservoirs are empty.