[Closed] Does anyone get really freaked out by wet roots???

Just don't look at them.

yup, roots freak me out as well.. I try not to focus on them, and just keep going forward... but, as always is the case I go forward without the bike.. roots just trip me up each time... 😥 👿

I know I shouldn't focus on them but I've got the fear that the bike will wash out sideways etc...

Yep, can't race if it's wet roots. In a vicious circle now and can't get past the fear of flidding out.

Yes, my left thumb doesn't work properly because of wet root induced stack about 6 years ago. Slightly nervous about them now but a super tacky minion or mud-x works wonders as does a bit of speed/jumping!

Look ahead of the bike, unweight slightly and try not to turn on them! If you look at something you will hit it!

Just MTFU will you 😉

Thank God it's just not me then! 😯

Bit of weight on the fork, "chin up!" and expect to slide. Don't pretend it won't happen but if you expect badness, badness will abound. Unweighting the bike evenly will also help you roll over instead of into them. Once your fronts over, the back can do what it likes really!

But yes, they bother me too 😀

Exact opposite, try and lift the front over the root/roots, that way if the bike slides it'll inevitably be the back end and that's way easier to catch.

If you think you are going to fall you probably will, if you think about getting through them smoothly or don't think about falling you will probably be fine. That's basically Marc Beaumont's advise on the Dirt fundamentals dvd and it works well.Saying that it's quite hard not to think about slipping if you have had a big crash on roots before.

Iain

Yep freak me as well - couple of years ago wiped out twice in the space of 100 metres.

I seldom pass one without coming off. Mud X tyres make it more of a "slow motion" fall rather than an instant "thwack" sideways.

couple of years ago wiped out twice in the space of 100 metres

They don't freak me out, but I don't like them, especially if I'm clipped in.

I try more and more to look through them, but there's always the element of expectation that either end of the bike will step out as you go over them...

Hop front wheel over and lighten the rear so it dosent slide.

This is coming from a bloke who went over the bars on Sunday and broke his Giro zen helmet 😥

Bit of weight on the fork,

WTF? 😯

Exact opposite, try and lift the front over the root/roots

And relax..... Order is restored.

Hate them, and locally we've 6 months of slippery roots to look forward to...

If its really off camber then yeah they can be a bit intimidating but usually rideable, its all about approach. If they are only little try and unweight and push the bike through them, so you might get a bit of a slide but if you push through it then you get over it quick and onto grippy ground so no bother. The best solution if they are bigger is to just use them, again using the unweight and push (or lurch/lunge if you fancy) then try and work out where your wheel will end up and ride to that, so weight on the outside body weight moving down as you hit it and ride it down the root and over the other side. As always with these things, a little bit of speed is good, too much can lead to rouble tho.

In winter I tend to only ride singletrack where the roots are perpendicular to the trail and where there's no off camber.

I've gradually been introducing some trails where I know there's slidey roots but 'the fear' tends to take hold and thenI just fall off on everything because I'm so tense.

Embrace the mediocrity.

Yes. Had a big off a few years ago during a Dragon Downhill race at Abercarn. Hit them at full tilt and can't remember anything other than coming round way down the hill, unable to breathe with a medic asking me what day it was. I didn't unweight and paid the price. Been a bit wary ever since.

Bunny hop the thing if its big maybe? Perhaps a bit more speed & commitment, unweight the bike & dont pedal when you're on them.

Or maybe its just wishcraft - I dont ****ing know..

Don't do the pie run at GT in the rain!

Our riding area tends to be over rocky terrain, so the minute I see any wet roots (which I'm not used to) I panic.

They usually come attached to a tree, which is so easy to hit when the wet root has thrown you off.

I've got a fear of wet roots and smooth steep wet rocks and it all comes from me having bad falls on both surfaces.

It's a bit of a vicious circle for me......

I see them, tense up, get target fixation and then either fall off or by sheer luck slide uncontrollably over them just about managing to stay on 🙁

I am freaked too. So,this autumn/winter I am going to throw myself over roots with reckless abandon until I shake the fear. Or break something, whichever comes first.

Try riding aston hill after a cloud burst, :twisted:that will teach you to ride in the wet...

I get freaked out by anything that isn't a flat, wide fire road that goes (gently) down hill!

Is it possible, when you know that you're going to slide and come off, to adopt a "stance" whereby the bike slides sideways and you simply let go and land gently on your feet in a sort of "spreadeagle" position but remaining upright? Thought not.

I reckon if youre freaked by them, then go find some and get some practice in with a few mates who can ride them comfortably, watch and learn how they are doing it and then just practice in your own time.

I actually like wet roots. As my riding buddie says, - The speed, is your friend fella.

Suppose the fear in your head, and you concetrate on front wheel instead of looking ahead into trail. Looking way ahead into trail you do notice your bike sliding around, but it doesn't bother you that much as long as you keep up momentum rolling. Obviously if you are too slow then nothing will ever help you.

My 2p worth.

My local riding is root city, I can only offer the following advice:

Try to look past the root - if you focus on any obstacle you WILL hit it.
Don't be too hesitant - speed is your friend
Stay off the brakes.
DON'T weight the fork - that's crazy talk!!
Relax - try to unweight and "float" the bike over the root if possible (practise this in dry conditions if you're not that confident)
Always try to cross them at right angles - if you cross them at an angle, your tyres are more likely to bounce off them.
Switch to flats in the winter to give you a bit more confidence

Don't do the pie run at GT in the rain!

or go anywhere near Drumlanrig 😆

That might help you ... [img] [/img] although it's dry 🙁

hat goes (gently) down hill!

Steady now!

Go quick, don't look at them and stay high if it's off camber that way if you slip you'll have more room to recover.

When I said weight the fork, I meant - don't lean away from the hazard and lean back so your front wheel skitters!

"Bit of weight on the fork" Jesus, anyone riding with their hands on the bars will have a bit weight on the fork! If you have a stigma to an obstacle your body language will put your balance and bike off. A more committed stance will see you through. Hence me also describing the unweighting of the bike. It's contradictory when taken literally, as it has been. Hit the thing with conviction and you'll probably make it, a rearward hesitant stance will reduce the tyre's ability to track. Maybe it's because where I ride it's more of a drdrdrdrdr sequence of roots than a donk...donk...donk so the lifty method doesn't work. Hence the agreed with; unweight balanced approach.

I should have just said MTFU 😈

bushwacked, didn't you listen to me 🙂

i binned it badly last month on a downhill corner, prob too much weight on the front, was just out of the corner when all hell let loose! couldnt work it out, done the same line loads. inspecting the trail the rain had exposed a web of finger size slick roots right across the trail almost flush to the ground...hidden roots freak me out, esp as now im paranoid theyre lurking everywhere waiting for me.

Sorry if this has already been said, cba to read through all the above on my phone screen!

I used to get a bit of wet root fear. What worked for me was riding them lots. Find a tricky but short section with no massive consequences and just play; try lots of lines and get a feel for what happens. Granted, if you hit em quick or square you will be fine but sometimes it's fun to use the slip to your advantage, switchbacks etc can be easier when a bit greasy. It really psyches your mates out too. Run your tyres lowish too, 20 front 25 rear is my usual rule of thumb

I hate them with a passion. Dry roots - no problem, in fact fun to hop off.

def lower pressures help a bit.

ha ha ha

the faster you go the easier they will be

Dry roots - no problem

no dry roots here is Scotland very often, just gotta get used to it 😛

"Bit of weight on the fork" Jesus, anyone riding with their hands on the bars will have a bit weight on the fork! If you have a stigma to an obstacle your body language will put your balance and bike off. A more committed stance will see you through. Hence me also describing the unweighting of the bike.

Nope... sorry, still don't understand that.

If you're going to get the front of the bike over or unweight you want to be taking the weight [i]off[/i] the front wheel. Unless you're proposing a pogo-stick approach to negotiate trail hazards? 😀

It's the ones you don't notice that get you.

Dont ride them enough to have learnt how deal with them.

Blimey.

Come to the Chilterns. Encounter them every ride. Spot the exit, speed is your friend, keep it light. I'd do no riding otherwise...

Letting pressure out did seem to help!

Jedi - I always listen - just remembering all the good advice is where I struggle 😉

just email me and ask as i tell all my riders 🙂

OK. Cheers!

My Nemesis. After a particularly nasty fall on ice a few years ago, anything that now looks remotely slippery (wet rock, roots, snow) has me mincing like a girl.

I;m a reasonable rider in dry conditions but when the wet stuff comes I go to pieces. Although last winter helped me a lot as I had no choice but to go out in it.

I can offer no advise as, no matter what I tell myself, I tense up seeing something slippy and just have an image of me being slammed hard into the floor and the front wheel washes out with alarming speed.

after reading this i ended up riding the wettest offcamber downhill roots on any of my local trails 🙄
one ripped kneewarmer and a gashed leg resulted 😕

I dabbed on a steep bit over polished roots (mind you it was the tiniest dab known to man). The next you know I'd headbutted the roots in question! Matey found that hilarious (mind you he laughs at anything).

Still doesn't bother me. Its if you feel the steering wheel go light if you are potentially aqua-planning in a car - just relax.

Always make me nervous but just try to hit em straight on and hope for the best....sometimes works 😉

Bushwacked, thought it was a time to ride together in Surrey this Sunday?

Low pressure/sticky tyres, kneepads and speed are the ideal combination. Perfect in the Alps during the summer.

Wintertime's not so good: I ride Trailrakers in the Chlterns at 45psi. I tend to fall off a lot.

[i]the tiniest dab known to man[/i]

both feet on the ground but straddling the top tube?

They freak me out too. I'm slowly getting better, practise is key. Keep your head up and your heels down seems to be about the best advice I've heard

a bit of speed, try and get a line to hit them at right angles and keep your chin up with an eye on your exit.

the last time I got "rooted" I was night riding alone, in the wet through the woods and I went from hammering down a slope with no major concerns on it, to sailing sideways and turning 90 degrees through the air whilst stopping myself by applying my face to the mud. Unhurt just a bit shaken, laughed all the way home 🙂

Not me - my formative riding years were at QE Country Park, which is just a root fest! So I learned to ride the buggers in the wettest weather.
Off camber ones are a matter of aiming high, unweighting and crossing at speed (something like that anyway).
I did bust my neck due to the off camber roots on the final downhill section on a very wet day. But I blame that on the demo-bike having summer tyres! (and a bit of showing off to other demo riders 😳 )

[i]I did bust my neck due to the off camber roots on the final downhill section on a very wet day[/i]

Well, that's me reassured, anyway.

[i]Well, that's me reassured, anyway.[/i]
😆
Happy to help!

Try riding aston hill after a cloud burst, :twisted:that will teach you to ride in the wet...

Jeez, I went over there this morning. I've not ridden there before and it's been dry most of the week, so despite some overnight rain I thought I'd give it a punt. I have never had so many offs and near-misses! The bits that weren't covered in roots were slippy chalk.

I'm a wee bit upset... I've always loved wet roots.. a joyous slippery slithery challenge.. the sudden and severe sideways plunge.. what fun.. I never even contemplated for one second that anyone would see them as anything other than a right good trail obstacle..

I've lost a little bit of faith after reading this..

+1 yunki

rOcKeTdOg - Member
Don't do the pie run at GT in the rain!

A fully tree covered armoured trail designed specifically with quick drainage in mind and grippy compacted hardpack placed in between every pathetic little root they've strategically left in for you?
FFS! get out in the real world and find some proper root sections to worry about!

no, i don't like 'em. suppose you can slip and hurt yerself. oh well. try and not hurt yorself innit?