Riding "bumps"

Chronicbint

So went on my first offroad ride this week in Thetford Forest on my new Anthem X4 , did the red run, easy enough then went on to try the black. There are large sections of the black that are just single track with loads and loads of small bumps which I found difficult to maintain any speed on. Was just bouncing around and pedalling when and if I could. Now I am quite heavy at the moment (have lost 1.5 stone and now down to 17.5) which doesn't help. I felt that if I was a little fitter and lighter I could just stand up and pedal through them but is there any kind of technique to riding on this kind of track?

Cheers

Davy-g

I would say "Pumping"

this should give you and idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9cwoQpRUqo

Chronicbint

The bumps were much closer together and smaller I couldn't really pump them like that.

surreyxc

sounds similar to the river bridleway where I am. In the summer the path turns rock hard with loads of bumps, not wide enough to pump, or get air on. Your on the right track standing and pedalling through. I found keeping your body level and letting the bike rise and fall over the bumps worked, but knackering. I also think it is a real test of suspension settings, getting air pressures just right, and tyre pressure right helps.

Anonymous

stand up on the pedals. On a mountian bike the seat is only there for when you're resting.

cavegiant

Thetford was quite a fun ride, a mountain biking centre with no hills =-)
Still very fun though.

There was nothing on the course your wonderful bike should not soak up easily.

Add speed when you can then relax and let your bike float over the rough stuff.

As you are new to this there is a good chance you have set your suspension way too stiff, most begniners do, same with tyre pressure.

basically keep practicing it will come to you.

Chronicbint

Bike handled it all fine did spend some time reading up on setting up shocks for sag, not sure I got the rebound right but it worked ok.

Think fitness, weight, practice and standing up a bit more is the key.

cheers.

barcanova

I ride these routes most weekends, I find that a higher gear and standing up when pedaling gets me through these bumpy sections.....

judith_sw

I collected my new Anthem X4 yesterday, but missed out due to heavy rain today - can't get the bike too dirty just yet ;-)

Bike feels great, but agree that setting the sag, etc is likely to take some tweaking. Sorry to hijack, but are the manufacturer's recommendations usually OK, or is it bery much a personal choice?

Keep posting about your initial impressions - I will do the same. Can't wait to get out properly. Will probably be Weds at the earliest now.

Anonymous

Sag on some (most?) full suss frames is virtually critical to ensure the best peddaling action. If you're sitting above or below the sag sweet-spot then the pedalling action is going to affect suspension compression/extension more severely.

Calusari

With the pressure you will have in the rear air shock to suit your weight you will need to set the rebound (red adjuster) pretty much fully on to stop the rear firing back up after every hit.

Stand up on the pedals in the attack position but keep you arms and legs relaxed to help absorb the bumps. Once you get the hang of that you can try unweighting over the worst sections.[/url]

fredy

i used to live in suffolk and spent alot of days in thetford forest as a kid. The place is flat as freshly made paper. Is it really any good?

popstar

After moving from HT to FS, I have found the same problem of bike slowing down on those multiple bumps. Suspension does kill it, compared to HT it's a gonner. Only making back end stiffer did help a bit, but otherwise struggled with it. On HT it's no problem at all, the more I pump the more speed I get out ... so yea, that kind of way.

Chronicbint

fredy wrote:

i used to live in suffolk and spent alot of days in thetford forest as a kid. The place is flat as freshly made paper. Is it really any good?

I don't really have much to compare it to as I have not been anywhere else other than my local woods. The red route is 50% fire roads and 50% short single track sections, I found it quite enjoyable, there is nothing especially steep. There is one small bomb hole thing on the red route too. The black route has loads of very bumpy single track which I did not enjoy much at all but it has one reasonably technical downhilly bit which is great fun, some more bomb holes and a few small jumps. The black would be much more enjoyable without the bumpy sections.

Overall I enjoyed it but I think more experienced riders would not find it as good.

judith_sw wrote:

I collected my new Anthem X4 yesterday, but missed out due to heavy rain today - can't get the bike too dirty just yet

Bike feels great, but agree that setting the sag, etc is likely to take some tweaking. Sorry to hijack, but are the manufacturer's recommendations usually OK, or is it bery much a personal choice?

Keep posting about your initial impressions - I will do the same. Can't wait to get out properly. Will probably be Weds at the earliest now.

Not really sure, I watched some videos on the Fox website about setting suspension up and it seems to be working ok but I have no frame of reference being new to the scene. I certainly have no problems riding it although I think my saddle needs a tweak as the 17 mile local loop I did today has given me a little back ache.

sbsmac

I don't claim to be the world's greatest MTB'er but have to disagree with all the people who've said 'ride through the bumps'. On the black run at thetford these 'bumps' are really just the lips of adjoing puddles and too close together to get much of a flow through. I've found the best approach to be to try to keep the bike level by riding round the rims of the puddles in a continual 'S' curve. It takes a bit of practice but is surprisingly satisfying when you get the hang of it and takes a lot less energy than just ploughing through them.

Anonymous

riding round the edges of puddles on a trail just ends up making the puddles larger and larger though.

sbsmac

And riding through them makes them go away ? :roll:

Anonymous

no, I'm just saying that they get bigger by riding around them.

cooldad

yeehaamcgee wrote:

no, I'm just saying that they get bigger by riding around them.

True. Also when it's very wet and muddy, it's often easier to ride through the deepest part of a puddle than the slushy bit around the edge as the middle is generally firmer. And it doesn't widen the puddle.

nwmlarge

i went to thetford and did the black and went insane with those little bumps they spoilled the whole day out.
the other sections like the beast and the open bit near the back were fun but those bumps were just plain frustrating! would not recommend!

Mickey Eye

Can someone post a picture of these bumps?

TowerRider

yeehaamcgee wrote:

no, I'm just saying that they get bigger by riding around them.

Agree - it just makes a bigger puddle for the next person after it rains again, they go around it and you have a huge wide puddle. Just go over or through it! Trail or centre has to be closed for maintainance if you continue to errode the ground.

sbsmac

Unfortunately it's a long time since the black at Thetford has seen any maintanance (despite the outstanding efforts of TIMBER who've done a fantastic job on the red route). Long sections of the trail are simply a series of interlinked puddles and ruts. Taling about 'erosion' in that context is a bit academic. I was trying to find a picture that did it justice but the one that evoked it best for me was this

anton1r

By "bumps" is the OP referring to something more along the line of ruts in the ground? not tyre ruts but natural ruts caused by erosion, hence the puddles, so you get a less comfortable ride on the hard tail?

richg1979

more speed, the faster you go the less you will strugle keeping momentum,. if you go fast enough you will be able to skip across the top of the bumps and not drop the wheels into every dip.

Chronicbint

sbsmac wrote:

Unfortunately it's a long time since the black at Thetford has seen any maintanance (despite the outstanding efforts of TIMBER who've done a fantastic job on the red route). Long sections of the trail are simply a series of interlinked puddles and ruts. Taling about 'erosion' in that context is a bit academic. I was trying to find a picture that did it justice but the one that evoked it best for me was this

Yeah its basically this but on hard packed mud(when dry) and smaller bumps. You just pogo along really. Its not fun at all.

Craggers

more speed, the faster you go the less you will strugle keeping momentum,. if you go fast enough you will be able to skip across the top of the bumps and not drop the wheels into every dip.

I used to ride motocross and at some tracks there were a series of small jumps one after the other (called 'whoops'), the 'troughs' between the jumps were about 3 feet deep and the distance between the 'peaks' was about 5 feet. I used to just ride through them fairly slowly , going up and down like I was on a roller coaster, but the pros would hit them at full whack with their weight over the back wheel and they would skim across the peaks as smooth as anything!

Bit off topic but what I'm saying is probably the best way to tackle closely spaced bumps is to hit them as fast as possible with the front wheel unweighted, arms and legs supple to absorb the shocks the suspension lets through.

Briggo

Mickey Eye wrote:

Can someone post a picture of these bumps?

They arnt bumps, they are dips where water during crappy times has got on the trail and riders riding through have eroded the trail.

Work is being done to harden the trails to stop this happening in the future.