Tips for riding wet boardwalk

Took a couple of tumbles at Gisburn today on slippery boardwalks what’s the secret?
Regards
Richard

Don’t.

Or, put chicken wire down.

Cheers Tom, not quite what I was looking for.

don’t

move

a

muscle

just roll )

Stay off the front brake.

Like on ice without studded tyres, don’t steer, skid the back wheel to corner.

Or just fall off right away to save time.

don’t steer

😆

Always check it’s safe .

what they say nothing swift or rapid. Try not to brake or steer sharply and if you must do it very gently as if you are on ice.

Super Tacky Minions + keep it as straight as poss! 🙂

Was at Laggan on Sunday and managed the 250m stretch of wet boardwalk fine. Just took it easy, very small movements and little to no braking on the front.

Later on took a tumble on the wooden starting ramp after trying to turn onto it too sharply and too quickly. Bloody hurts 🙁

Apparently, the boardwalks at Gisburn are quite grippy due to their ‘split larch log’ construction…which consoled me as I picked myself out of the bog last winter.

If you think they’re slippy now, wait until the frost starts.

As above, you have to achieve a zen like state and float along them without twitching your steering or brakes.

Very narrow speed window – fast enough not to tip off, slow enough to corner without sliding. Very fine brake control needed. And being floppy. Tense up and you’re off

which consoled me as I picked myself out of the bog last winter.

😆

As an anecdote, one day last winter I was surprised to notice a couple of mincers MTBrs riding around one of Cannock’s boardwalks on the bypass

Pfft I thought how slippery can it be? Watch this!

I have never fallen off so fast in my life 🙂

Brake hard, brake often, preferably when turning.

Or just fall off right away to save time

This. Just fling yourself on the deck straight away. At least you’ll be aware of when it happens 🙂

If it’s banked, don’t go to slow or you’ll slide off.. too fast and you’ll have to brake..

I’ll throw myself down big sharp pointy rocks with abandon, but show me a stretch of boardwalk that isn’t straight, dry and 3ft wide and I freeze. Hate the stuff with a passion – you can imagine how much I enjoyed the top section of Fort Bill Red 🙁

I used to ride loads of this in Finland – and it was often single thickess rather than the double stuff in this pic. There was miles of it, often in 3-400m stretches. That was happy days and great riding 🙂

do not, as i did, get halfway througha raised icy boardwalk berm and realise that you don’t have any momentum.

I ended up hanging from the top of it, my hips were blue after!

Wear a helmet – nastiest crash to date was on little wooden bridge in S loop at Whinlatter. Smashed the helmet completely!!!

Some of that Gisburn stuff is horrible eh? I find the trick is to stay as loose as possible, and take it really steady – most of the Gisburn bits you can get over without braking or pedalling, and with minimal steering. It’s the only bit of the enduro I’m not looking forward to!

Remember that all wood is not the same! I ride in Sweden and they have loads of boardwalk like molegrips picture. I was on some this morning and it was very damp but I did not crash out once. Went to France and crossed a bridge that was far wider than I am used to and the front wheel slid out and I landed 2m down a dike on my head. Nothing hurt but my pride though.

I would also try to keep low and weight centred.

It should be the option on a trail ifpossible, not the trail. If you have to ride it, stay smooth and no power surges

and don’t what ever you do put a foot down, most SPDs seems to be soled with an equally frictionless rubber compound

Thanks for all the tips, common advice seems to be smooth controlled inputs but loose positioning low on bike?

I’d sooner ride through the bog beneath, given the choice

chicken wire helps, until you fall off, then you really wish they hadn’t OUCH!

I find going rigid, curling my toes and puckering up my arsehole does not help at all…

Smooth and relaxed is the key

cable tie chicken wire to your tyres

Was at Laggan on Sunday and managed the 250m stretch of wet boardwalk fine.

Rode at Laggan last May for the first time and the boardwalk in the woods on our first run completely took me by surprise. Hit it at speed and only then realised it was like ice. One of my scariest ever moments on a bike trying to keep it together and lose enough speed but managed to stay on somehow.

Cutting fresh tracks in the snow this Easter at Grizedale was fun but I’d second the original advice – stay off it….

It’s grippier than you think, but if your grip/traction goes then it’s gone. It depends on how it’s constructed aswell IMO. The stretch on The B-Line stuff is extremely well put together.

Do spiked tyres help?

I know chicken wire offers more grip but you might as well land on a cheese grater as that stuff.

So in the UK’s climate, purpose built MTB trails have surfaces that are nearly unrideable when wet? Makes sense.

gisburn is gripper than llandelga and everything is better than grizedale………..

I managed to slip off & faceplant into a boggy section beside one of the boardwalks on the Grizedale North Face trail last Autumn. Horrible things boardwalks.

Was also at Gisburn yesterday, wooden sections aren’t slippy even in wet, just don’t accelerate or brake, really is no more to it.

So in the UK’s climate, purpose built MTB trails have surfaces that are nearly unrideable when wet? Makes sense.

I’ve ridden Gisburn in the wet and honestly didn’t think the boardwalk was that bad. OP do you have your tires pumped up mega hard?

I remember when I first started biking I rode the NFT and some of the boardwalk on that seemed insanely slippy. Had a few nasty falls on it.