Riding Ruts

[iainross]

I'm new to this off road lark and am having big problems coping with ruts, especially in slippy mud. Not 4x4 tyre ruts but ones left by bikes. In a straight line as well as corners. Any suggestions?

 

[Gardener]

When you are coming to muddy, greasy ruts at speed, don't panic, get off the seat and keep your weight centered, look as far ahead as you can, to the end of the ruts if poss., let the bike move under you and under no circumstances put a foot down unless of course your forward momentum=0. A dab in the muddy ruts=you on the ground. Be smooooth and easy with the throttle. Mud ruts can be a lot of fun.

 

[Fe_princess]

That is great advice!

 

[justql]

Look at the end of the rut if it's straight, the bike will stay in it and track straight if you stay on the pegs and on the gas.

In a corner I don't look ahead really that much entering the corner, let the bike get into the rut, lean it, then look ahead as you get on the gas.

 

[ride_red_15]

if its wet enough, make your own

 

[justql]

As far as not putting your feet down, I remember an enduro in Texas a few years ago that was so muddy it was one long rut from start to end. You could see the marks from where people had just drug their feet on each side of the rut. Everyone was complaining of leg cramps after ward. Oh it was a great enduro.:p

 

[bud]

When it comes to deepish ruts on straights, I think the advice above is good. Feet on the pegs, gently on the throttle. Small soft ruts, like you might find on a fresh muddy grass track I think are quite similar to sand - ie weight back and hard on the throttle.

In rutted corners, muddy or otherwise, use the rut like a rail. Try to keep the momentum up going into the corner. Lean the bike in and use the throttle to maintain balance. You will likely need to put your inside foot forward/out to save yourself from the occasional lowside.

 

[iainross]

Thanks guy's. With the amount of rain we've had this week there is going to be a lot of mud out there.

The part that might be difficult to follow is looking to the end of the ruts. Some of the lanes here are one long narrow rut in the middle or follow the 4x4 rut and smack your bars, leg or pegs on the hedge at the side of the track. They can go on like this for over a mile sometimes. I find I am OK if I can keep it together but once I start to lose it, it gets ugly.

Nice vid Bud.

Iain

 

[Moo]

Also... when riding rutted turns, you can LIGHTLY drag the front brake to keep the front from getting out of the rut, although this may be a better tecnique for drier conditions.

 

[ziggypop]

I am certainly no expert but a buddy of mine gave me some excellent advice. He said look where you want to go not where you are afraid of going because your bike goes where you look. It helped me a lot. I stay out of more ruts than I used to but I still suck when I fall in.
good luck

 

[srgnz]

Ruts are created by 90% of the riders following the same path - like sheep. The good guys don't often ride IN the rut - they use every other bit of trail or zigzag across the ruts. I know what you mean about the narrow trail with one endless rut, but try staying out of the rut whenever possible.

 

[KLX_BOY]

RUTS

Getting Out Of A Rut
Stuck in a rut ? Maybe these race tips will help !

There are really two kinds of ruts - short ones and long ones. And there are different techniques for riding each.

For short ruts the idea is to pick up the front wheel and carry it to the other side. You should be in the standing position, with legs bent and elbows up. Steer with your body and the rear wheel. And with only one wheel on the ground there's less chance of crossing ruts.

For long ruts, you should be in the standing position, picking aroute and lining it up. Select second gear and accelerate at and through the rut. Always look well forward; have your head over the filler cap and body weight to the rear. Bend your knees and get your elbows up ! Keep the bike upright and use your body to steer. The quicker you hit it the easier it'll be, believe me !

The secret of getting out of a rut is speed. The faster you attack it the easier it is. Only in really extreme conditions - where the track is a bog or the ruts especially deep - should you sit and paddle.

KLX_BOY

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

I've been trying to improve rutted corners since I started racing this past September. I've got this bad habit of looking where I am and not where I want to go. I guarantee as soon as you look where you are it becomes an instant screw up.

I spent the weekend at Mosier Valley slowing down so I can go faster. This track is deep sandy loam and gets killer ruts. I noticed if I never looked at the ruts going into & coming out of corners I never had a problem, if I even glanced down once I was in the ruts I normally high sided and went down or at least lost valuable time getting off in the lose stuff.

There are also long straight-aways there and dirt so lose that if you were to walk in it you would sink 6". I found I would get squirrelly and loose my line unless I looked way up the track where I wanted to go. It's a hard habit for me to break (not looking where I am) but if I can ever get it down 2nd nature I'll be proud of myself.

 

[kevinkdx]

The best advice that i can give is to keep your foot out as far in front as possible and wiht the opositte foot push on the outside peg. this works for sand riding and grass and dirt too, not sure about mud , but if you concentrate on doign it and looking ahead it helps a lot.

 

[fmfkx125372]

srgnz hit it right on the head. If you can avoid the rut, do it. It is way smoother and faster. You may be on the edge of the trail with a few face smackers, but you will defintately be smoother/faster. I took a class that Rich Lafferty was teaching and he showed us this. After trying it out, I couldn't believe it. Such a simple idea that worked great! That goes for whoops too, if you can see a flatter/smoother part on the edge of the trail, go for it. You will be surprised at how many people follow the ruts and deep woops just becuase it's there. Huge energy saver...Good luck!

 

[MRKRacing125]

There alot of different techn. for riding ruts. What I do, is I keep a steady throttle the whole way through, because I dont want to spin the rear end to much causing it to move over to the next rut! You always want to stay in the middle of the bike, keep the elbows up and stand up, with alittle bend in the knees! The best thing to do is DONT PANIC! If you fall your in mud, so it wont hurt that hard, and if you start to get loose dont spin that tire!

 

[Boozer]

do a search, as this issue has been discussed.

 

[Camstyn]

One important factor.. The faster you come into the rut, the 'shorter' the rut seems. Look far ahead and hit it as fast as you can, weight back and on the gas.