Rutted corners, what to aim for?

[bud]

Where is the best spot to put the front wheel in these types of single track corners? The top one is a narrow railing type rut. The problem with the pink dot line, the line I usually prefer, is that the footpeg often hits the ground (green dot).

The second rut is the type more usually found in sharper corners. The majority of riders I follow thru this type of rut tend to aim at the line marked by the red dot. So did I, but I've found that aiming further up the wall of the rut seems to make it more rail-able, and will usually force more lean and more speed.

 

[yardpro]

good drawing, but i ride in mostly loose conditions, so i can't help very much.

 

[wardy]

are these

ruts your showing lined with trees?
If so then you have little line choice.
However if its a 20 foot wide motocross corner then you have a ton of options'.
the second picture looks like it could be the best with that rut, but your not giving yourself that much room for error if the wheel "hops" out.
Not to mention it is some what mute where "exactly" the wheel is in the rut, you should be already focused on the next corner when you wheel is at this point. meaning that the minor amount of distance in a rut that can be physically changed really don't matter as long as your progression through that corner is smooth and clean.

the last thing i would worry about is exactly where the tire is.

I can give you better answers if i know what type of soil it is, Hard? soft, or in between.

wardy

 

[bud]

Wardy, yeah, they are all lined with trees, and the ruts are all pretty hard and bedded in as many of these have been used for enduros. They are all pretty slow too, and the majority of 2 stroke riders take them in first gear. Not many of these corners are more than 6' long.

I'm not too worried about exactly where I put the front wheel, more about the pros and cons of choosing one line over another, and about how to not lose speed if the wheel doesn't go exactly where I want it to.

Re the 2nd pic, I would have thought the same, that going further up the rut would make running over the top of it more likely. In fact the opposite seems true because it gives more room which saves the inside footpeg, fork leg and inside foot from possibly snagging on the ground.

 

[roostinbe]

I ride supercross predominately, but I have ridden trails some, and have found that sometimes ruts can be the hot ticket to holding onto some of your approach speed through the corner. How deep of ruts are we talking? I would just be sure and stay loose, be ready to dab with your feet, and don't slow down too much, you might find it surprisingly easy. (but don't blame me if you crash :p )

 

[bud]

roostinbe, I do actually find rutted single track to be my favorite type of riding, and I'm a lot better in that stuff than on the faster tracks. The pic at the top is about to scale. I'd guess most are between 8-14" deep. Re dabbing, it shouldn't be necessary to dab since the wheels can't slide out in a rut, but I do throw my inside foot forward for 2 reasons. Mainly because the inside footpeg frequently hits the ground, and if my foot was on the peg, that would also be a good way to end up behind the bike :D. In the more open ruts where that isn't a problem, I still get ready to dab because I often need to dab to prevent a lowside ;).

 

[motojunkie]

If you need to dab to prevent a low side, you can carry more speed in that corner.