Snow Technique

JavaCofe

Hey guys,

got the thermals and snow treads on and looking for any 'tid bits' of advice on snow riding?

so far I've dropped my rear pressure down to 30psi and shifted saddle down 2" so I'm getting good rear traction though the tail 'flicks' a fair bit still and corners at anything close to good speed result in a mouthful of the white stuff.

thoughts/comments welcome

bennett_346

just practice really, i assume you mean snow and not frost or ice? the latter two never have any grip really so just take it easy but for snow just slide with the bike, its going to break in corners so just go with it and try to remember it will possibly find grip again provided your body positioning is right.

DodgeT

Try to keep good balance/position and don't jab on the brakes, just try to be smooth without too much exageration in the movements.

JavaCofe

thanks guys. I mean snow+ice. I've found that snow is easy enough once I get a good pace, but corners I have to cut pace as even my fatty treads give up. any ideas on how to cut slipage on climbs?

bennett_346

JavaCofe wrote:

thanks guys. I mean snow+ice. I've found that snow is easy enough once I get a good pace, but corners I have to cut pace as even my fatty treads give up. any ideas on how to cut slipage on climbs?

Very steady pedalling with no erratic movements, and a 22t chainring/36t cassette

Managed to surprise myself yesterday in the snow by climbing a pretty steep snowy technical climb of about 70m by sitting down and pedalling even when the wheel began to slip, you'll be surprised what it can pull itself out of.

I did ofcourse slip on an icy road 5 minutes into the ride, hold a 180 then tank slap between some parked cars for which im now sporting some canny bruising on my ribs!

JavaCofe

nice.

Northwind

Snow can vary a lot... Low pressures don't neccesarily help, sometimes they'll cause your tyre to fail to bite, if the snow has a bit of substance to it. I had to raise the pressure in my swampthings at the weekend.

ilovedirt

Like Northwind says, the type of snow and tyres can change dramatically. Sometimes you might want your tyre to cut through the snow to grip on the ground beneath, in which case you want a skinny tyre. Or a really fat chunky tyre to grip in the snow itself (i guess anything in between will be pretty useless). Swampthings with plenty of pressure would probably be ideal.

As for technique, plenty of weight on the rear for climbing, but not so much that your front wheel wanders too much. In the corners, plenty of weight on the front wheel to aid grip, but not so much that you're gonna go over the bars if you make a small mistake. If the back wheel breaks loose (which it will), let it go and don't fight it. As long as your front wheel tracks, the rear will follow, eventually.

delcol

like danny hart said about his world champs win when asked how he had done it hitting all the big lines..

let it hang out keep loose..

386ka

ilovedirt wrote:

In the corners, plenty of weight on the front wheel to aid grip, but not so much that you're gonna go over the bars if you make a small mistake.

Not always. I wouldn't recommend putting plenty of weight on the front wheel in the corners, because snow is not like asphalt it is very loose, and when it does wash out, you will not recover from it if you are in the aforementioned position. My advise is to go slow, and try to learn as you progress.
Also, you will need to learn how to cycle uphill from standstill. Those who hadn't experienced this may not know what am I talking about. You will notice that you won't have enough grip to start cycling, and your back wheel will start to drift. My advise here is to put the rear brake on, take one leg off the pedals to balance, prime your pedals with your other leg, and sit on the saddle. This will give you enough grip, release the brake and start pedaling slowly.

Cheers mate, I hope I have helped you with my opinion.

ilovedirt

386ka wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

In the corners, plenty of weight on the front wheel to aid grip, but not so much that you're gonna go over the bars if you make a small mistake.

Not always. I wouldn't recommend putting plenty of weight on the front wheel in the corners, because snow is not like asphalt it is very loose, and when it does wash out, you will not recover from it if you are in the aforementioned position. My advise is to go slow, and try to learn as you progress.

Like I said, enough weight over the front that you don't go over the bars etc. When you start doing it, you find out very quickly that where your weight is over the bike changes how the bike handles, and you will automatically know where to place your weight for certain situations. If you keep practicing in snow, you will find a place where there is enough weight for the front tyre to grip in a corner well enough not to slide out, but not so much that if something goes wrong you lose control. That's what I was saying. At the end of the day, keeping the bike mostly upright is the main thing, and if you have to let both wheels slide out and stick a foot out in a corner, well that's fine, and usually more fun as well

But as you say, snow can be very loose, and you should always ride it with a little bit of caution. But with a loose surface, I would say you want to have a good bit of weight on the front wheel, otherwise it will wash out because it just won't grip. It's all fine having plenty of grip on the rear wheel, but it's not ideal in a corner when the main concern is getting the front wheel round. The back can do whatever it likes!

386ka

True true.

It is not a big deal to fall in snow anyway, so go out and have some fun!

PS, here in Skopje, Macedonia we still don't have a mm of snow...

JavaCofe

lol thanks for the advice guys

biggest problem that I encountered today was 'falling off' tracks laid by a 4x4 as the fresh snow was too deep to get good momentum going.

Northwind

Won't work for everyone, but it's worth trying a comical OTT riding position... Imagine you're going to be on the cover of MBUK, get those knees and elbows out. You'll look like Peter Crouch but it may encourage you to relax, and it can really help recover slides. Getting the weight down a little will help too.

It's possible to achieve the same without looking like a big mental spider, but it's a good way to start if you don't have a relaxed posture.

gezebo

+1 for skinny tyres or higher pressure to cut though the snow. Think how a ferrari handles on snow and ice with its wide tyres spinning in the snow compared to a little fiat easily driving past laughing with its skinny wheels and gentle power making it all so easy...
I'd still like a ferrari though!

Northwind

But then you meet deeper snow, and when you cut into it you just end up buried... Not sure if there's a perfect solution but I reckon most folk don't go riding in deep snow.