Slipping..

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sarahale

Über Member
And by this I mean the tires in mud/sand. I lost my confidence coming off on some oil on the road a while back, now whenever my tire slips a tiny bit I tense/panic. I've signed up for a ride end of next month so guessing the ground won't be great. Can you reccomend any tires or anything to help reduce the amount I slip, what size should I be going for?
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Do you know what kind of terrain you'll be riding on?

Some tyre slip when riding off-road is to be expected, it's something I've had to get used to. I'm still not absolutely comfortable with how much the bike can move around off-road, but I'm getting there.

I was recommended some Maxxis tyres by my LBS. Crossmark 2.1 at the rear and Ardent 2.2 at the front, which have had good results so far.
 
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sarahale

sarahale

Über Member
I used to be absolutely fine with it. Would happily slide all the way down hills etc. But now I just freak out. I guess lots of off road rides before then is the thing to do.

Its 32 miles on mud and stoney tracks, some of which are probably quite loose.

Thanks for the reccomendation.
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
Lots of different answers and possible solutions, and it's not all about which tyres, although If you have confidence in them that's half the battle. First, are you over thinking the problem? If you think you may slip or lose a bit of grip, then you'll tense up which will make matters worse. Try and relax. Rear wheel slides are not the end of the world as long as you can ride them out, and they may actually add to your cornering if you can control,them. Front end drift is another matter, and has different consequences. Try to keep your weight neutral over the bike when cornering, whether up or downhill. Your weight should be going vertically down through the bottom bracket, which means you need to weight shift to achieve this, shifting your body mass forwards when climbing, but not so far as to lose rear end traction, and slightly backwards downhill, but not so far as to unweight the front wheel.

On rough stuff, your tyre pressures and suspension need to work together to keep the wheels in contact with the surface. Adjust your fork if you can to absorb hits without bouncing back off the surface, and lower your tyre pressures so that your tyres themselves can mould themselves to the trail rather than skipping about.

Control your speed. If you go into loose stuff, especially downhill, too fast, any braking will make the wheels lock up. Brake before loose turns and let the bike find its own way through. It doesn't want to fall over any more than you do, so choose places where you can scrub off speed in a straight line, then let the bike run, looking for the next chance to brake
Practice, practice, practise.
 
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sarahale

sarahale

Über Member
Yes it probably more is that, I got better as I went on yesterday and it was only my second proper off road ride of the year. Did 34 miles and ended going down a huge hill without worrying too much as the wheel slipped but I don't like being so cautious :sad: only use some standard 2.0 tyres atm so probably do need some proper ones anyway.
 
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sarahale

sarahale

Über Member
I mean I go off road all the time, but second proper length ride over more challenging terrain
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
I went back to flats for a while after spd's after a few off's to get my relax confidence back.
do you use spd?
Worth it just to get the "oh crap im crashing out of you head"
You could try 2.2 trail kings in the black chilli form, pricy but a superb tyre for suprisingly easy on road rolling and confidence inspiring off it. Try 26psi .
they are a big volume tyre so maybe check your tear wheel room for these or just fit one at the front and a mountain king rear..ardent etc.

maxxis 2.1 Advantage are also a very good xc road everything tyre and around 20 a pop
 
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