Riding very rocky single track

[EmptyB]

Try stay loose and leave the front brakes alone as much as possible

[supertorro]

All the tips, aside for the wheel size nonsense are valid.

Why don't you just setup a meet/weekend ride with some folks and then session a rocky section? Ride it again and again, and try different things. In your neck of the woods the little I know about is the section of rocks at the Steilte Trails area. Not sure that is the best place to learn, but don't know anything suitable in your area.

 

I volunteer myself for this, but then I'm not known as being the king of descents so my advice might not be the best. Still you could at least try different things. Different position, suspension setup, different bike. Actually I wouldn't mind a session on some rocks, because I'm rubbish at it.

[dev null]

BTW, something else I saw this morning.  Last week I received my Fox fork back from a service, and I completely forgot to check the rebound.  When I checked it this morning, it felt slow on the rebound.  I am sure it would have just made everything that is already bad in my setup even worse.  My handlebar is 660mm BTW.  That also maybe need some attention.

[Thermophage]

BTW, something else I saw this morning.  Last week I received my Fox fork back from a service, and I completely forgot to check the rebound.  When I checked it this morning, it felt slow on the rebound.  I am sure it would have just made everything that is already bad in my setup even worse.  My handlebar is 660mm BTW.  That also maybe need some attention.

Well from Rapide you can get a great deal and sort both stem and bars for cheap...

http://www.rapide.co.za/product/rapide-rize-r-controlpack-2/

 

70mm I would go for but up to you. 

Remember wider bars+shorter stem may still give a similar body weight distribution to narrower bars and longer stem. Depending on the ratios between the two. And wide bars can always be cut...short bars cannot be lengthened.

 

No need for dropper yet, rather manually drop the seatpost on descents for now and use your legs as shock absorbers to keep the bike more in control as well. I did this for years before getting a dropper...Can be a pain in the butt, but not as much as falling on your face

[dev null]

Well from Rapide you can get a great deal and sort both stem and bars for cheap...

http://www.rapide.co.za/product/rapide-rize-r-controlpack-2/

 

70mm I would go for but up to you. 

Remember wider bars+shorter stem may still give a similar body weight distribution to narrower bars and longer stem. Depending on the ratios between the two. And wide bars can always be cut...short bars cannot be lengthened.

 

No need for dropper yet, rather manually drop the seatpost on descents for now and use your legs as shock absorbers to keep the bike more in control as well. I did this for years before getting a dropper...Can be a pain in the butt, but not as much as falling on your face

 

I usually drop my seatpost manually before I go down Steilte by about 4cm, but this is tedious to do in a race, especially a race where you do a route for the first time and do not know what comes next.  And yes, my legs get a proper workout when  I do that.

[RocknRolla]

BTW, something else I saw this morning.  Last week I received my Fox fork back from a service, and I completely forgot to check the rebound.  When I checked it this morning, it felt slow on the rebound.  I am sure it would have just made everything that is already bad in my setup even worse.  My handlebar is 660mm BTW.  That also maybe need some attention.

 

Bazinga!

[s14phoenix]

shock could be compounding through the rocks since it could not recover in time. The bike will then feel like every rock is stopping it and send you over your very narrow very far forward handlebars.

 

I like the short stem long bar but if yours works for you then so be it. fix the fork setup first then try again.

 

Best thing I ever did was to get a dropper post - sounds like you need to invest in one also.

 

Nothing wrong with a 26er. All the downhill teams only recently went to 650B etc. - have you seen the rocks on a DH course?

[supertorro]

http://www.cotic.co.uk/video/rocketman

 

Check out from about 1:30. Good lesson in rocks. Point and shoot

[dev null]

Just some feedback.  I couldn't find a 70mm stem at the LBS, but at least got me an 80mm in place of the 110mm stem.  The steering is a bit more twitchy now, so will probably need a wider handlebar than my current one which is 640mm.  But my budget is shot for this month, so it will have to wait.

 

Tomorrow afternoon I will hit Helderberg Farm/Steilte to see how much difference it and the correct rebound will make.

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback.  Just wish I had the money to buy a new bike with a frame to fit my body, but we can't always have everything in life.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Just some feedback.  I couldn't find a 70mm stem at the LBS, but at least got me an 80mm in place of the 110mm stem.  The steering is a bit more twitchy now, so will probably need a wider handlebar than my current one which is 640mm.  But my budget is shot for this month, so it will have to wait.

 

Tomorrow afternoon I will hit Helderberg Farm/Steilte to see how much difference it and the correct rebound will make.

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback.  Just wish I had the money to buy a new bike with a frame to fit my body, but we can't always have everything in life.

 

 

With a wider bar, you won't be sorry! 80mm is still pretty long, but given your frame size it's probably for the best. 

 

EDIT: BTW - the Rapide bar http://www.rapide.co.za/product/rapide-rise-r-780-9/ is R 350 delivered. 780mm wide. And bro - I can tell you now. The difference it'll make to your bike is amazing. Even if you eventually cut it down to 750 / 740 - it'll be far better for you. 

[JXV]

At no point in the whole thread have you told us exactly what bike you ride, year/model or suspension travel front and rear. So all the advice on stemlength etc is purely speculative.

 

The geometry of some older 26ers has steep headangles and less trail with a short top tube so a short stem can make them really twitchy....as you found by switching to 80mm stem which is quite long by current standards.

 

We could give better advice if we knew exactly what you're riding...maybe a side-on pic too so we can see if there are any weird stance issues. Nonetheless, by current sizing norms your 1.82m seems a little tall for a Medium frame.

 

I also say BS to those who say the wheel size is immaterial..its not, but skilks can compensate. If your skills are good and you can ride gnarly rockgardens then you''ll ride even gnarlier ones on a 29er....but 29er wheels are weaker and heavier and it is tricky to get long travel into their frames....so some will prefer 27.5. My 26er has more travel than my 29er but the 29er rides rocks so much better.

 

The other advice on skills, visualising your line, getting your weight back on rough stuff, dropping the seat etc.....all good. But lets hold back on changing your geo until we know what geo you actually have.....

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[MphatiPyga]

Hesitation = devastation ????

[Uni]

With a wider bar, you won't be sorry! 80mm is still pretty long, but given your frame size it's probably for the best. 

 

EDIT: BTW - the Rapide bar http://www.rapide.co.za/product/rapide-rise-r-780-9/ is R 350 delivered. 780mm wide. And bro - I can tell you now. The difference it'll make to your bike is amazing. Even if you eventually cut it down to 750 / 740 - it'll be far better for you.

 

How do you get through narrow gaps on such wide bars - there's gaps my 680mm bars barely make.

[AlanD]

How do you get through narrow gaps on such wide bars - there's gaps my 680mm bars barely make.

You ride with a small axe. Chop trees till bars fit, then ride again :-)

[Uni]

You ride with a small axe. Chop trees till bars fit, then ride again :-)

Haha the bruises on my arm exposes me as a bash my way through kinda rider

[rudi-h]

Hubbers

 

I have a problem I am trying to solve.  I really struggle riding very rocky single tracks like the one up in the mountain in this past weekend's Fine Breede.

 

I am currently on a 26er Dual Sus, Medium frame.  It feels like I constantly get my wheels stuck and then want to do OTB.  In fact, I did a spectacular OTB right in front of the medics at the top.  I lose to much speed, and then it gets even more tougher to negotiate the rocks.

 

Is this just riding technique, or is this also bike related?  Will going to a 29er make it much more easier?

 

BTW, I am 82kg, 1.82m tall.

 

get a dropper post.  wheel size isn't the answer.  flats also help