When do you spin the back wheel and when do you look for grip?
 

Could some-one explain their method for choosing when to spin the back up and when to gently search for grip with the back wheel.

Obviously deep mud/bogs = spin the wheel
Slippy rocks = find grip

Does everyone agree with this?

what about
Greasy mud and greasy mud hills
Wet Grass

When finding grip is a high gear plus lots of throttle the best idea?

Riding my trials bike taught me much about finding traction. One thing that transfers to the enduro bike is keeping the chain under tension. If it goes slack for even a moment in low traction conditions, it tends to jerk tight and spin the wheel. To keep the chain tight, it requires use of the brakes and clutch and NOT chopping the throttle. You can learn this by riding in circles with bars turned full lock, and your not allowed to turn the bars except to do circles the other direction. Try to keep a steady throttle and adjust the power to the groud with the clutch and lightly use the brakes to control your speed.

I have found lately that a constant throttle with little to no wheel spin is best in deep mud, pick a line to the side of the main rut and glide through the goo, unless of course one of my buddies has gotten behind me then it is full throttle and front brake!

Perhaps thats the answer to my question - I could have rephrased it when to look for grip and when to fling tons of mud behind you...

ps do any of you roost the guy behind if you are racing? Obviously top level mx's do and probably some enduro guys do? I don't though as i wouldn't appreciate other people doing it to be but there again racing is not about being appreciative...

I've just bought myself a trials bike - I'm hoping it will help with the technical bits of enduro...

Depends. If the guy is in my class and I'm looking for any advantage I can get...hell ya! I will also roost squids that refuse to move over once I find a way around them (I'm a little annoyed at them right now, I had rear brake issues at my last race, lost about 15 minutes fixing it then had to charge back through all the B riders).

Play riding, it's fair game with my buddies on the roost.

As long as it's soil and not gravel I say roost away!

Dick Burleson has a good tire changing video and a good off road riding technique video - these were done in the mid-90s. The riding one shows him going through a muddy section spinning the rear wheel to keep it "clear"...

Spinning versus not depends on the mud. If it is "gumbo" and is packing up into the knobs - then you spin the wheel to fling the mud off and get better traction. You want to concentrate on keeping the knobbies clear of mud. Also when you get a clear spot in the trail without mud - e.g. road crossing, etc. - you get up to as high a speed possible to clear the front wheel of mud too.

If it is a mud sand mix - or a mud that is heavily saturated with water - it won't stick to the tire much. Max acceleration without wheel spin can be used in this situation.

jeff

I've been riding with trials tires for awhile now and even that will teach you not to spin wildly and be smooth. Mike has a very good point about the chain, never thought about it like that but I will practice it when I'm able to ride again.

Racing I just do what I have to do and don't think about roosting, but play riding sometimes we have some fun, especially if we run into some horse crap on the trail.:eek:

When i first got my bike i hade a brand new GBC dirt shark on the back. We went ridding that day and i told him to put on his chest protector but he did not. Once we hit big loose gravel i whipped rockes at him at he had to big bruses on his niples the next day. It was great.

On topic, if the mud is more water and less dirt i ushally keep the power on hard, but still in control.

I love those Dirt Sharks, front and rear.

So cheap and last so long. Best $ spent on tires even compared to Maxxis IT.

Off topic, but- aren't those dirt sharks a PITA to mount? :(
It was last Feb.and I think it was the HARDEST tire mounting experience
I ever had. Maybe it was cold and the tire was too shrunk ??

Are they hard to mount like the Maxxis IT ?

It does seem to hold up well- I havent taken it thru much rock yet....

Jeff

Jeff, how is that tire holding up??

The chain tension thing was something some crusty old trials rider told me a few years back. It definitely works. I find that I now tend to slightly drag my rear brake in slow going low traction situations in order to keep the chain tight. I pick a throttle position that works for the situation and meter said power with the clutch and brakes to take advantage when I find traction and limit any traction loss.

Doesn't dragging the brake keep the rear suspension pushing the rear wheel down more also, which helps with traction, that is why people drag the rear when going around certain corners isn't it?

I just finished another Ady Smith enduro school, on loamy going say on a hill if you get stuck he advises pinning it in 3rd (or the highest gear your bike will pull) to get going again. Stuck at the bottom of a sloppy wet gully/river again he advised pinning it in 3rd but getting off the bike and pushing as well.