Spring has sprung, and that means for many people that it’s time to get the mountain bike out of the garage and get it out on the trails. Since spring is usually a season that brings with it lots of rain, sometimes your only riding option will be to ride in wet conditions.
Riding in the rain or in otherwise wet, slippery conditions can be a bit scary at times, but it can also be a lot of fun, and a great way to improve upon your skills. Keep these tips in mind the next time you go riding in wet conditions.
1. Don’t tense up
Riding in wet conditions, which can include things like mud along with wet and slippery rocks and roots, is clearly different than riding in regular, dry conditions. With reduced traction between your tires and the trail, it’s easy to become tense, grip your handlebars a little tighter and get and nervous about falling.
If you tense up it will be counterproductive, because remaining loose and keeping your arms tension-free will allow your body to absorb bumps in the trail better, reducing slips and making it easier to correct if your bike starts sliding around on a slippery patch of trail.
2. Maintain momentum
The times your mountain bike will be most likely to slip are when you are braking to slow down and pedaling to accelerate. This brings us to the next piece of advice for riding in wet conditions – maintain your momentum.
If you come to a stop, it will be harder to pick up speed because your tires are likely to slip when pedalling from a stopped position in slick conditions. A steady pace will allow you to glide over the trail and avoid sinking into mud and other soft spots. It will also allow you to glide over wet and slippery rocks and roots.
Part of maintaining your momentum is making sure you don’t ride too fast for the conditions either. If you do ride too fast in slick conditions, you will probably have to brake and will be more likely to have to stop your bike completely, zapping your momentum.
3. Strategic braking
Planning where to brake and picking the right spots on the trail to brake are important skills for riding in wet conditions. If you’re on a slippery section like mud or slippery rocks and roots, you should try not to hit your brakes because these are the spots you’re most likely to slide out on.
Make sure you’re scanning ahead to spot sections of trail that are not as slippery so you can use those areas to slow yourself down. As a rule of thumb, you should be travelling slower and braking more than you would on a dry day – don’t try to be a hero when things are slippery. If you notice a slippery section coming up, make sure to brake before you get to it, because once on it, you may not have enough traction to slow down as much as you’d like to.
4. Riding slippery roots and rocks
Ideally, when you are riding on wet and slippery rocks or roots, you will want to keep your bike steady and avoid making any sudden turns, braking, or leaning your bike, because each of actions can lead to your tires slipping, and you potentially falling off your bike. Make sure you stay loose, and up and out of your saddle while riding overtop of obstacles. You shouldn’t try to pedal too much on slippery terrain, so if you are coming up on wet rocks and roots in an uphill section, try to carry as much momentum into that section as possible.
It’s a good idea to scan the trail ahead to spot any upcoming rocks or roots, and to pick a line that will minimize your risk of slipping. Here are some specific things to keep in mind for each:
Roots
If possible, when you come across wet and slippery roots on a mountain bike trail, try to hit them squarely at a perpendicular angle. You don’t want to ride along the roots lengthwise, or diagonally, because it is likely your tires will slip off one side or the other and cause you to fall. Hitting the roots squarely at a perpendicular angle will minimize the amount of time your tires need to be in contact with the roots, further reducing the risk of slipping.
Rocks
When coming up on rocks on the trail, try to scan the shapes of the rocks and ride on top of rocks that are relatively flat if you can. Also keep in mind the advice about roots, try not to hit rocks squarely with your front tire. Look to pick lines that will minimize your contact with rocks when its wet out. Rocks are usually a little less slippery than roots but having muddy tires can make rocks more slippery and harder to navigate.
5. Cornering in slippery conditions
To handle corners in slippery conditions, make sure you hit them at a lower speed than you normally would, while keeping enough momentum so you don’t have to pedal much to get through the corner. On top of keeping a lower speed, try to lean less into your turns. The further your bike leans, the more likely your tires are to lose traction with the trail. Experiment with shifting your weight around so you can turn effectively without leaning the bike over too much.
Another thing you can do to help keep traction between your front tire and the trail is to keep your weight over your front wheel. This is something that applies in all riding, rain or shine, but becomes especially important in wet and slippery conditions.
These cornering skills will be a great benefit on those wet riding days
6. Riding down steep, slippery sections of trail
If you find yourself riding down a steep, slippery section of trail, don’t panic. The main key to remember is to control your speed by braking but do so while not locking up your wheels. On steep sections of trail that are wet, you can’t expect to have tons of traction so if you brake too aggressively, your wheels will probably lock up, at which point you will lose traction and control over your mountain bike.
To avoid this, brake often as you go down the steep section, but don’t squeeze the brakes too hard. Your best way to judge this is by monitoring whether your wheels are locking up and sliding. If they are, it means you will need to be lighter on your brakes.
Alternatively, if you have a straightaway down a steep hill, with a known flat area beyond it to slow down, you can ride down the steep section with speed and not touch your brakes. Make sure you are familiar with the trail if you’re going to be doing this so you know there will be a place for you to slow down and stop.
7. Adjust your equipment
Tire pressure
As a rule, when the trails get slippery, be it due to riding in wet conditions or in snow, you should lower your tire pressure. A lower PSI will allow your bike’s tires to grip the slippery conditions better.
The downside is that your tires will have more roll resistance with lower tire pressure, but when things are slick, grip is much more important than having low roll resistance. As the saying goes, slow(er) and steady wins the race.
Apparel
Wearing the right apparel for the conditions is always important in mountain biking. That couldn’t be truer than when it comes to riding in the rain. You will want to wear a jacket that is both 1) waterproof and 2) breathable. There is a trade-off here because the higher waterproof rating a jacket has, the less breathable it will usually be.
A waterproof windbreaker style jacket that has breathability will serve your purposes, but you could also buy a mountain bike specific jacket. Whichever you prefer, try to pick a jacket that is fairly easy to clean, because where there are wet mountain bike trails, there is mud, and you will probably get some dirt and mud on you while you ride. This brings us to our next equipment recommendation.
Mud guards
Having mud guards to prevent dirt and mud from flying up and hitting you on wet riding days will improve your riding experience. There are a range of mud guards available on the market for a variety of prices, and many are quite affordable. Before you buy mud guards, make sure they will fit your bike correctly and have enough clearance over your tires.
If you’re going to be riding in wet conditions often, mud guards are certainly a piece of mountain bike equipment worth looking into.
Conclusion
Hopefully you’ve found these tips helpful and can use them to improve your riding next time you take your mountain bike out on wet trails. As you now know, wet and slippery conditions don’t have to stop you from getting out on the trails and having a blast! Leave a comment below if you have any other tips that improve your mountain bike experience on wet days.