Devon TRF Group Forum

Not an easy one Doofus especially as I can't ride a rut on one wheel whilst texting at the same time but here goes...

Truth is you never really master ruts because the moment you think you have you end up on your ear  

Everyone's different but for me I find that a lot depends on how you start off... relaxed is the key...if possible.  You need  to get things tracking in a rut straight away to get going in a nice consistent rhythm and your speed is key, too slow and you won't get started properly as you need momentum yet too fast your speed will overtake your reactions and you will fall off! Don't know about anyone else but for me if I ever fall out with a rut on a lane it never seems to give me another chance and I always end up paddling along 

Cheers John

-- Edited by John Harvey on Saturday 15th of November 2014 01:51:56 AM

EVERYONE comes off in ruts sometimes. Don't feel it's only you.

Speed helps, & relax. Expect to fall off & you probably will.

The previous advice is spot on, keep riding them & it'll get easier. Iit took me ages to have any confidence (years!!!) but still end up paddling for what feels like miles occasionally.

The thing is, keep riding them. On the pegs, look ahead, speed probably a little more than feels safe but not too fast, keep in a gear that gives steady power.

Did I mention, relax

Good luck

 

-- Edited by Steve H on Saturday 15th of November 2014 10:13:26 AM

Just remember there can be a good lane at the end of the rut.
What's wrong with paddling you get there eventually.....
..With cramp....

You pretty much know what has to be done - but like everyone at some point or other, lack confidence.

Basics for a starting point.
1) Stand 2) Look about 10 - 15m ahead 3) Weight off your arms, ie get used to riding with no pull on the arms - takes practice and feels a bit alien to start off with, you will feel like you are going to fallover the headlight (you wont). 4) This will sound a bit naff but the balance will come from learning to steer with your feet!

For confidence and ease this is a ride changing skill. Start off by riding down the road, standing and relaxed, then load left peg / get comfortable, then load right peg / get comfortable etc Do it steadily until you start to get the measure of it. Trust me, if you stamp on the peg hard you can throw yourself into hedge very easily.
This skill will also allow you to ride adverse camber slopes much more safely / predictably. (I practice this camber business by loading pegs alternatively so that the front wheel breaks away then grips again etc) Similarly when trying to ride out of a rut, if you tweak the throttle sit back a little to lighten the load on the front wheel, turn into edge of rut and press hard on the opposite peg you will be amazed just what you can climb out of!

What is actually happening is you and the bike are a single unit, for stability the centre of gravity does not want to change quickly.
This detrimental change can be brought about by many ways - all obvious, but we all do it (greater or lesser), taking feet off pegs, throwing yourself around the bike aggressively, hitting brakes too hard, riding a gear too low, aggressive on the throttle etc etc.

All these hints have to be practiced, so dont just ride down a lane, have a go gently at the above. Gradually hints will become experience, the speed can go up a bit correspondingly and again "The faster you go, the easier it becomes!"

The downside of all this commitment, is that when it goes pearshaped, it can be a bit untidy, none of us at any level are exempt from that!!

Ps Dont follow Mr Farrow, Ive seen him in ruts / falling off, made me fall off - Laughing Tee hee!

All good advice above what I do is simply steer with my feet. That is. stand with your weight straight down through the foot pegs, knees slightly bent. If you want to go left, weight on the left peg if you want to go right weight on the right peg. Try it in a car park no weight on the handle bars just a very light grip and positive throttle and the bike just finds its way. 

Generally speaking you need to load the front.
If you are riding down a long deeper rut and the front rides out then the reason, invariably, is that the rider has sat back just at the wrong moment.
It is precisely this sitting back, transferring weight rearwards etc, that is used to get out of a rut by design, not badger mode.
Its no coincidence that all MX and Enduro bikes have a seat that goes right to the headstock, its so the rider can transfer right over the front wheel when setting up for a corner.
On a Paul Eddy enduro school with Rabbit, they set up a flat grass loop, like a speedway circuit, so that we could get the hang of loading the front etc.
Initially I thought I was going to face plant as the front wheel slid away, but with a load of encouragement from others and gaining confidence as practice went on, it became apparent that all of us could the bikes nearly flat in the corner, way beyond whatever I thought was possible previously!
A front tyre needs to be good to go fast, the rear tyre less so.
You do have to commit for this though, you cant go into the corner and wind it on, you have to hit the corner at speed, loading the front. Because the front is loaded, then the back is less so. Consequently the back will start to slide, pivoting around the front wheel that is holding course. As soon as the back wheel starts to drift, then you catch the slide on the throttle and, effectively steer using the throttle.
A more obvious example of the technique is RWD rally cars, loads of opposite lock, balanced on throttle control.
If you ride a bike fast, the balance between rider and bike should be such that you hardly need to hang on (obviously dont let go), controls need one finger to operate, clutch and front brake, front brake covered most of the time, feet on pegs virtually all the time (only a foot up by the front wheel if cornering hard, so that if the front wheel breaks away then you can catch the slide by bouncing off this foot, this foot needs to be virtually touching the bottom of the front wheel. If you leave the foot out wide then this is a prime candidate )for a rotated knee!!)
Bikes are designed to work at speed (most trail riders use race bikes after all), most riders never get to the speed that the modern bikes are designed to operate at best. That doesnt mean that you cant use them for everything else, just that they are probably less suited to bimbling around than a true trail bike.
When trail riding I stand 90% of the time, leaning over the headlight so that I am not hanging on, always loading the front unless trying to jump a ditch etc. (I also get chronic cramp and a sore ass if I sit all day) It is hugely more relaxing than sitting down all day but you do have practice so it becomes natural.

I used to do that, 3x broken arm, 1 leg, 1 ankle, 3 ribs, several toes, couple of fingers - then I went to school. Didnt hurt nearly so much and I started to relax.
I know what you mean though - sometimes it just has to be done.
ps - There aint anything on telly - tee hee.

Oh yeah,

You've told me to just stand up & pin it several times as well 

Practice makes perfect