Wheels on the bike go round, but the bike don’t move.

[Over the Ord]

Hi
Just getting back into cycling and have started of road but I’m having the following issue.
When I hit snow or mud I’m peddling, the wheels are turning but the bike is not going forward fast enough for me to keep my balance.

Is the issue

1. I’m not fit enough yet.
2. The tread on my tyres is worn.
3. The bike is not up to the task.

Pictures attached.
The track
.

The bike

The tyres.

Any advice appreciate
John

 

[mjr]

4. Gear too high, offering more push than you've got grip for.
5. Tyres pumped too hard for soft stuff - use an MTB calculator not a road one.
6. Tyres not enough tread for the surface... it's a balancing act between paved grip and dirt grip.

 

[mjr]

Those are possibilities. Not sure which it is!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That tread is not worn but also isn’t aggressive enough / mud specific. The best way to tackle mud is to accelerate before the mud and hope your momentum gets you the most way through. Else get mud specific tyres. I find Panaracer Trailrakers really good in mud.

In terms of gearing use lower gearing and spin faster to keep balance.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I'm going for 4, 5 and 6!
I was out on muddy off road tracks today on a touring bike, and I was getting some serious wheelspin, going uphill especially. The tyres on my bike are at road pressure (around 80PSI) and much narrower than an MTB so it was to be expected. They're brand new tyres (so definitely not worn), but they weren't designed for soft mud.

You'll be fine on that bike.

 

[Cycleops]

If it's thick clinging mud even the most aggressive treat pattern will fill up and you'll loose traction. Your only hope is to drop the pressure right down but even then you won't get much improvement.
Not trying to be funny but do you have the tyres on the right way around? Could make a difference.
Must say that part of the track doesn't look very muddy at all.

 

[CXRAndy]

On a wet grassy surface you need wider spaced knobbles to let the tread bite into the surface. Not a wider tyre

Lower the pressure so tyres deform under your weight- Warning too low and pinch puncture will happen.

Unless using tubeless tyres.

Muddy surfaces bigger tyre again deep knobbies for grip

Traveling slowly requires alot more balance skills. As mentioned use an easier gear to spin legs and keep what little forward travel even in speed. This also improves balance

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Not trying to be funny but do you have the tyres on the right way around? Could make a difference.

Stop this nonsense. You've been here long enough to have seen ample explanation of why that's not true. If you have been oblivious, now's the time to go into the archive and research tread direction.

 

[FrankCrank]

Check you're not snagged on that wire fence/barbed wire - it may prevent you moving forward...........

 

[Tom B]

If it's really soft and sloppy it will be hard going.

Even full wide knoby MTB tyres struggle sometimes. I've ground to a halt more than once.

 

[Over the Ord]

4. Gear too high, offering more push than you've got grip for.
5. Tyres pumped too hard for soft stuff - use an MTB calculator not a road one.
6. Tyres not enough tread for the surface... it's a balancing act between paved grip and dirt grip.

mjr
I tried 4 & 5
4 front in 1st rear in 2nd or 3rd.
5 let the air out pressure was 60 when I checked.
6. Was thinking that.

 

[Over the Ord]

If it's thick clinging mud even the most aggressive treat pattern will fill up and you'll loose traction. Your only hope is to drop the pressure right down but even then you won't get much improvement.
Not trying to be funny but do you have the tyres on the right way around? Could make a difference.
Must say that part of the track doesn't look very muddy at all.

Cycleops
I have checked on that! Thread - Tyres on the wrong way for over two years 9 Jun 20.

That’s way beyond my pay scale, I’m going down to the local cycle shop for new tyres.

PS They will be fitting the tyres.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

If it's really soft and sloppy it will be hard going.

Even full wide knoby MTB tyres struggle sometimes. I've ground to a halt more than once.

That's not too bad. If you had the tyres with the tread direction facing the right way you would have floated right out.

How on earth did you get into that situation?

 

[Over the Ord]

Hi all thanks for your comments and advice.
Going to call into the local cycle shop for new tyres.
I have cycled this track several time with out the tyres spinning so badly, all though it has been 3 or 4 years since the last time.
Thaks

 

[Vantage]

It's not your tyres. They're fine.
It's not your bike. That's fine.
The problem is the mud and your cycling skills.
You can't do anything about the mud other than find another line through it but then you risk churning up more of the trail which won't go down well with other users.
Your cycling skills could be improved through time, practice and mistakes but there's gonna come a point when mother nature beats you and you have to accept that short of a small miracle, you're not getting through it.
Tyres with wider spaced nobbles can help increase your chances of surviving a bog but guaranteed the wider spaced those nobbles, the faster they'll wear down and the bike will handle like a retarded donkey when the ground surface hardens up.
There was a theory years ago that thinner tyres would sink through the mud and find grip on the harder surfaces below it and hence the Panaracer Smoke Lite was born. I had some. The theory was bollocks. Having said that, thinner tyres will be less likely to get stuck in the frame due to excess mud build up.
In simple terms, if it gets too bad, get off and walk. No shame in that.