[Closed] Drifting the back wheel......

pin a corner or turn on a fast flat

Cheers for the reply alexxx, but being a noob you might have to explain that as you would to a child 😕

Edit: speed + weight over the front wheel?

Outside pedal down, and inside hand down, apply presure on both.

Apply rear brake in spades, works for me.

uh... go round a corner fast (start with a relatively flat one) and lock the rear brake. The rear wheel will drift round somewhat, in theory.

IME, it tends to be completely unexpected, and when it happens, and serendipitously pulls you out of the cacky, it feels like you're a mtb-ing god...

Countersteer i.e. if you're turning left, your left arm should be extended; if you're turning right, your right arm should be extended. This will throw your whole body into the right position and enable you to turn more with your legs and hips. Once you've done that the drifting will come naturally, where necessary.

There was a recent thread to this effect (started by me) called "how to drift/do cutties" or something similar

Put a less grippy tyre on the rear.

trail erosion! you're ruining nature, mtb-ing and the world for our children! think of the children! will somebody please think of the children?!?!

i like to jab on the back brake hard, making sure to twist my hips as well as my head in the direction i want to end up going.

do not practice this on ice down a hilly road, it may result in a damaged ankle.

Go out and practise, even better with a friend that can do it.

Try it enough and it'll work.

People on a forum are never going to be able to know or see what you're doing wrong, even what's wrong with your picture of how to do it in your head.

But if you really need to know how to do it, how I do it is. Go into the turn as fast as you dare, hands off the brakes, this is important. lean the bike over, you do not have to worry about this pedal down business, if you're committed to the lean, there will be a point at which it starts drifting, hold that point. When you're holding the lean, drifting, you will want to wee yourself a little bit, that's ok, that's what makes it so awesome. When you're done turning or got too scared, you can get out two ways, either yanking the bike or applying some power to the back wheel.

I hope that helps, but there is no secret to any MTB skills, it's all practise.

More time spent riding = more skill learnt, there's no cheat code to get around it, it's always hard work.

chakaping - Member

Put a less grippy tyre on the rear.

what he said.

something like a DMR moto, and ride lots of flat corners. you'll be forced to learn very quickly.

and braking isn't drifting.

and braking isn't drifting.

good point! ignore my post... unless you want to practise skidding... and remember girls love dem skids! guaranteed clunge all up in har!

Drifts don't use the brake. That's a skid.

A drift or cuttie is a controlled and intentional slide where the cornering force is greater than the available grip and the slide is held. Therefore loose gravel or wet grass are good places to start practicing.

Really hard to explain in writing but I'll have a go - my writing is probably better than my cutties!

Find a flat or off camber turn and ride into the turn progressively faster and tighter until you feel the tyres break away and keep pushing and turning.

To get the rear wheel drifting I do a kind of rolling motion - weight the front wheel then transfer my weight back and flick with my hips/feet to pump down and overload the rear tyre and get it to break away.

Since the hip flick is in the direction of the slide, you can then catch it back up, almost heading into a little high side as the bike straightens, and ride it out.

Simple, hey?! 😉

[i][b]Drifting the back wheel......[/b][/i]

Moonhead

I'm trying to get my head round how to use this technique out on the trail but being a [b]noob[/b] to this sort of thing I don't know where to start!

Just because it's de rigueur these days for film makers to include shots of the pros roosting berms and getting the back end loose doesn't mean it's the be all and end all.

If you're self applying the term noob then chances are your basic riding skills won't be up to much. Learn to corner fast first, it's a black art and takes years of practice. Spend a year on your cornering and basic trail skills and the drifts will take care of themselves. Don't run before you can walk.

2 wheel drift is where it's at. Now [i]that's[/i] an awesome feeling when you do it by accident 😀

16stonepig +1

I also like the feeling you get when only the front wheel starts to drift, but you manage to stay on.

😆

Haha, I remember the old thread about drifts and basically, most people were insistant that drifting is skidding.

There's a bit in one of the Earthed films where Josh Bryceland (I think) is doing 90 degree cutties in a gravel car park, it's crazy how tight he gets it.

do not practice this on ice down a hilly road, it may result in a damaged ankle.

😆 +1, although in my case it was a damaged elbow.. and for some reason I decided to do this on my road bike which has no grip at all 0_0

2 wheel drift is where it's at. Now that's an awesome feeling when you do it by accident

So true.

In my local woods, theres one corner which is always loose and sandy. Turn hard enough and teh rear lets loose, then the front follows.

Two wheel drifts can be more unpredictable though..

ride in the pouring rain and inches deep mud, you will a) get used to the feel of rear wheel drifts and b) become awesome cos you're riding when your mates are warm and dry. 🙂

... like this ...

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