Slippery mud/clay riding

[FROSTY:Me]

Ok so its winter time and your normal trail is a thick gluggy mud/clay mix that wants to throw you off sideways as ya put the bike into a corner.
The knobs on the tyres seem to instantly fill to the point of being a mud slick.
How do you ride in these conditions ?

Not bein a pussy its just new terratory to me

[B0000M]

personally i love these conditions, the faster you go the easier it is, gentle on the throttle and use higher gears than you usually would to try and get more power to the ground

[Ocean1]

Ok so its winter time and your normal trail is a thick gluggy mud/clay mix that wants to throw you off sideways as ya put the bike into a corner.
The knobs on the tyres seem to instantly fill to the point of being a mud slick.
How do you ride in these conditions ?

Not bein a pussy its just new terratory to me

I like to get someone with REALLY good balance and WAY better throttle control to do it for me.

Seriously, there's no magic, just keep your CG over the contact patch and go easy on the gas. Oh, and often there’s traction off the track to the sides, there’s rocks an’ roots there but usually they’re the lesser of two weevels…

[ArcherWC]

keep the wheels spinning to keep them clear of mud. also run lower tyre pressure than normal

[scott411]

1st gear is a waist of time in these conditions, need to keep the tyre clear,

attack and all will be fine, i love these conditions when the bike is sliding around alot,

[FROSTY:Me]

Yer well you guys are gonna laugh at this. It kinda caught me by suprise.
I stopped 4 times in the first lap to check if I had flat tyres.
Nope not flat --just clogged to the top of the knobs with clay.

[barty5]

just give it more gas it will tend to get lift the front tyre so it floats more accross the top becomes a lot easyer to keep a straight line (within reason)

[merv]

Yep been said above already, lower tyre pressures. Make sure you've got decent rim locks (two on each wheel is better than one on each) and on slippery clay don't run more than about 10psi - the soft tyre will flex and squeeze the mud out of the gaps between the blocks and spin the wheel at every chance, when it aint going to chuck you, to also clear the mud off.

[scorry]

Hey guys, i am glad to see that it isnt just me that strugles in sloppy conditions. Some good help on here, cheers

[Pierce]

Gah clay is horrible when wet haha. I've been and will be out for the whole wet season this year so will be getting warmer and dryer by the time i'm back riding again so none will apply for me.

[Firefight]

1) harden the fuck up
2) drop pressures right down,( no I said right down) , (no lower) fit rim locks
3) plenty of spin = power
4) get ya lard arse of the seat stand on the pegs

If you can ride in soft deep dry sand (woodhill)fast you can ride on clay


F/F

[telliman]

Gah clay is horrible when wet haha. I've been and will be out for the whole wet season this year so will be getting warmer and dryer by the time i'm back riding again so none will apply for me.

except when they water down your local!

[LittleJohn]

Lower tyre pressure and more gas, but even power not bursts. Apart from that just go with the slides and correct where possible.

[theblacksmith]

I find talking to myself helps heaps.(Joking)Try and keep off the hard clay and get on the lose.Stand on those pegs so your ready for any corrective measures.Better to have your arse end slipping(oversteer) than your front - so where you can - drift using your power. If you come off - try and memorise what action caused it. The man that never made a mistake never made anything anyway.

[Atomic]

I have found that my riding has progressed over the last year to the point where I can ride in the slippery stuff, last winter I was a mess. I dont think there is any in between, you can either ride in it or you cant. Once you master it, you will be away. Having only just learnt to handle it, I have no real advice other than keep your speed up and hang on.