Rock steps.

bwfc4eva868

Basically why Am i so scared of them? Now Rock drop off back onto flat trail I can handle fine but the slippy rocky Steps on Healey Nab and the one on Homebaked at Gisburn,I'm absolutely petrified of and have to walk them.

Now alot may have to do with the fact I have not rode my bike for a good month or so. But I'll be honest, I was really Nervous at the Nab the other day. I don't know if its just me or I have the wrong bike. When I approach steep stuff, i know i should shift my weight back, but on my Carrera i still feel like I'm going to topple over the bars.

monkey_man_1

im sure alot of it will be a confidence thing! try lowering you saddle a bit maybe when doing any routes that dont envolve a lot of pedeling. for dh i put my saddle as low as possible and if i need to i can get my arse touching the back wheel when going down steep stuff.

bennett_346

i feel like im going to topple over the bars on everything on my carerra, they aint made for off road

bwfc4eva868

Not really. Mine handles all of the red at Gisburn and Lee quarry. And i probably will be fine on rocky steps once i get my confidence back.

Raymondavalon

Drop saddle, weight right back, cranks level, don't even consider the front brake and let the bike to the work for you, just steer it, but ensure your arms are relaxed.

bwfc4eva868

I think maybe i was just mostly taken a back as it was my first run. Second run i kinda skidded down them lol. May have to get a qr seat clamp.

monkey_man_1

what carrera do you have? maybe soften the forks a bit and increase the rebound if going over alot of bit rock? also soften tyre pressure. should help keep a bit more grip and keep you in contact with the ground more giving more cnfidence.

i have a carrera fury and so far found it excellent. hant been riding that long so im still a bit wobbly but again thats just getting to know my bike and confidence. ive also just raised the epicon fors upto 140/150mm, should help keep the front end high when doing steep bit and can run my forks a little soft to hand the bigger bumps

bwfc4eva868

A carrera vulcan with 100mm forks. Rebound is set to Tortoise slow and feels nice. Just the while bike feels really steep and tall. Maybe if i moved my seat down it will be fine.

Anonymous

Confidence is the majority of it, at least that's how I've felt, and I'm still not confident on a lot of things.

The bike however can help boost the confidence. Skills compensator perhaps, but geometry makes a difference. I've just moved to a slacker head angled bike and suddenly I'm less worried about OTB moments on things that did freak me out before. Mainly I think because my body isn't so far forward when pointing down. But with the right skills I'm sure a steeper angle can be adjusted for by getting the right balance on the bike.

I still have so much to learn though, and most of that is about overcoming my fears rather than specific skills.

bwfc4eva868

I saw a bloke on a Spesh Rockhopper with 80mm forks on and he was leathering it down the black run. And the geometry maybe ever so slacker on that than mine but not a massive amount. It maybe just a case of me not having ridden for a while. Also i usually put a full face helmet on because it makes me feel safer.

1mancity2

The best thing to do is adjust your speed before the steps, then if you need to use your brake on the section only feather them on and off.

Seat down a little will help and only do it if you feel right about it, doubt is your biggest enemy.

bwfc4eva868

Once i do it once im fine the one at lee quarry at the beginning of the red i usually launch into. May go midweek and just focus on the steps a few times then hit the full loop at speed.

felix.london

bwfc4eva868 wrote:

May have to get a qr seat clamp.

This.

If you're doing long climbs, twisty single track and steep, technical descents - that's three different seat heights right there

bwfc4eva868

Have invest in one me thinks. I know my carrera can handle it easy enough.

mrmonkfinger

A QR to change saddle height will help - if you cant get you a*se right down behind it, its too high.

Then go and session some steps somewhere - practice, practice, practice.

1mancity2

mrmonkfinger wrote:

A QR to change saddle height will help - if you cant get you a*se right down behind it, its too high.

Then go and session some steps somewhere - practice, practice, practice.

This is all you need to do practice, and if you are happy with the bike maybe get a dropper seatpost so you can do it on the fly without losing momentum.

Northwind

bennett_346 wrote:

i feel like im going to topple over the bars on everything on my carerra, they aint made for off road

What absolute bobbins

delcol

why not just take a 5mm allen key with you then you can adjust it.(untill you get a qr.

what size stem is on the bike maybe a shorter stem would help increase your confidence as you wont be as far forward, making it easier to get the weight back...

which rock steps are you refaring to at healy nab.. is it the rock garden on the blk run..

felix.london

1mancity2 wrote:

maybe get a dropper seatpost so you can do it on the fly without losing momentum.

This...is next on my list

1mancity2

felix.london wrote:

1mancity2 wrote:

maybe get a dropper seatpost so you can do it on the fly without losing momentum.

This...is next on my list

Worth every penny bud

bwfc4eva868

Had a bash this afternoon and put my full face on just incase. Having the seat down massively improved confidence. Took me a few runs to get to grips with it fully now. Was very slippy to today and i Finally managed it.

It may not be the best bike in the world, but it puts a smile on my face. Till i pay off my vredit card and get a Full suss.

And Delcol, its really sad, but these ones at the very beginning of the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xjSaklq8Wg

bartimaeus

Nothing looks as steep and as technical as it really is when viewed POV... if you just beat a feature that had you worried then good on you. Once you've done it several times then you will wonder what all the fuss was about - until you see someone like me looking nervous at the top

bennett_346

Northwind wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

i feel like im going to topple over the bars on everything on my carerra, they aint made for off road

What absolute bobbins

No really, i can't ride mine now without falling off. I was probably fine when it was all i had but im too reliant on FS now to go back. I've lost the skill. When i say they're not made for off road, well they're not, theyre made for tow paths etc. That doesn't mean to say skilled people can't ride them off road though

Northwind

What absolute bobbins. I certainly wasn't skilled when I got my Kraken, but it went offroad very nicely- much better than it did on towpaths. Now, it's all rebuilt and has my own parts on and is my Official XC Race Bike, and actually goes offroad worse

stumpyjon

The rocky section at the end of Homebaked does freak quite a lot of people out, took me a few false starts to get down it and even now I know it's coming (and I built the step at the top). It is actually confidence, it takes a little controlled speed and it's fine, go over the step at the top too slowly and it puts you off balence for the rest. Ironically my best descent down there was on my hardtail, I was debating all the way down Homebaked about whether I was going to ride it or not, right up to the point my front wheel was over the step. It's actually pretty grippy most of the time apart from when the numpties insist on riding down the side and dragging mud back onto the rocks. The only time I've come off down there was when it was icey, then it's time to give it a miss.

bennett_346

Northwind wrote:

What absolute bobbins. I certainly wasn't skilled when I got my Kraken, but it went offroad very nicely- much better than it did on towpaths. Now, it's all rebuilt and has my own parts on and is my Official XC Race Bike, and actually goes offroad worse

After 2 months of riding off road my carerra vulcans forks seized up beyond repair, both wheels went out of true, the mech hanger snapped riding along smooth singletrack, the freehub seized beyond repair, and the headset became loose. Another month later the forks pee peed all the oil on the floor from riding down the road and ended up sagging to 50%. Bear in mind the forks were elastomer damping and a non adjustable air spring. :shock:

Madness

Northwind

Aye, neglect like that is madness. How long ago was this? For the last several years at least the Vulcan comes with a Suntour XCM, which is neither air sprung nor elastomer damping, nor do they have much oil in them to "pee out", not that it would affect sag if it did. So does make me wonder.

bwfc4eva868

stumpyjon wrote:

The rocky section at the end of Homebaked does freak quite a lot of people out, took me a few false starts to get down it and even now I know it's coming (and I built the step at the top). It is actually confidence, it takes a little controlled speed and it's fine, go over the step at the top too slowly and it puts you off balence for the rest. Ironically my best descent down there was on my hardtail, I was debating all the way down Homebaked about whether I was going to ride it or not, right up to the point my front wheel was over the step. It's actually pretty grippy most of the time apart from when the numpties insist on riding down the side and dragging mud back onto the rocks. The only time I've come off down there was when it was icey, then it's time to give it a miss.

Oh well not so bad then if its just me who found them a bit Intimidating. I did find it alot easier carrying some speed into them and feathering the back brake slightly.

It really must of just been a confidence thing after a lack of ride time. Thee only thing I won't attempt on my Vulcan is stupidly high drop offs.

Would Like a dropper seatpost. Would one fit on a Carrera?

mintedox

I had issues with homebaked too, going round healy nab a few times is what gave me the confidence to go back and do it. Keeping good momentum really helps and keep your weight back.

bennett_346

Northwind wrote:

Aye, neglect like that is madness. How long ago was this? For the last several years at least the Vulcan comes with a Suntour XCM, which is neither air sprung nor elastomer damping, nor do they have much oil in them to "pee out", not that it would affect sag if it did. So does make me wonder.

The wheels were from neglect, that i'll give you, but the rest was just crap quality. And the forks were definately air with elastomer. I spent a lot of time researching that when i used to ride it. It was a 2007 model vulcan with the old XCM, none of this new V2 or V3 stuff which is coil/oil (2 people i know have them, and they're like a completely different fork). The change in sag wasn't to do with the oil, they just did that because the air spring started to leak i imagine. If they were coil the sag couldnt possibly change.

Northwind

Is it possible you're confusing the sealed damper unit for an air spring?

Not really sure how you'd elastomer damp a fork tbh. Elastomer spring, sure.

Incidentally- the more recent XCMs aren't coil-and-oil either, they're also coil-and-sealed-damper.