Talus slopes

[highcountry]

Hey,

Does anyone who rides in the mountains a lot have any tips for riding up steep talus slopes (talus= 4inch+ sharp loose rocks, no dirt to hold them in place)? My front wheel gets bumped out of my line then my rear wheel gets loose and it's like a pinball machine. Then there is no way to get started again so its back down to the bottom. I'd like to hear both riding techniques and suspension/tire tips. Thanks!

 

[Gardener]

Hello!
Here we call it scree. Same stuff, small loose rocks (Limestone) piled up at the base of cliffs...fun to high mark. What I do is get my weight forward to start the climb and then shift my weight back and forth to keep the rear spinning while maintaining forward drive without looping out. You must commit to a gear you are prepared to hold wide open until you are about to power out then flip a quick U turn. Shifting is not an option. You could try slowing the rebound in your fork to keep from pinballing too much on the bigger rocks. For a tire, try a mud tire with wide spacing between the center lugs.
Works for me!

 

[CR307]

Gas is your only friend on steep hills.:p

 

[highcountry]

Just to clarify the terrain I am talking about. Skree (at least our definition) is smaller loose rock and dirt. Often shale and such, very soft like sand almost, unless you fall of course. You can blast up that stuff with a mud tire one gear too high and WFO. Talus on the other hand is broken rock like granite about the size of a fist or bigger (up the the size of of a basket ball usually). It is usually new stuff so it hasn't eroded the edges so it is sharp. This stuff will chew up a mud tire REALLY fast. Especially if you power through. then the rear end spins, catches, spins, catches, spins, hence the pinball effect. And it really hurts to fall in the stuff. Anyone familiar with this? Do hard surface tires work better?

 

[Gardener]

I understand, Scree being a grade of Talus. I can't imagine climbing that stuff for entertainment. :confused: How steep are we talking here? If the incline is gradual and you have to pick your way through, a hard pack tire would be a better choice especially if it more closely matches the terrain to and from your Talus slopes. Not a tire friendly environment in terms of wear regardless. I'd still take some rebound out of your fork to help the pinballing effect.

 

[ebenmarx]

Rocks

What I do in terain like that, sit as far forward as possible keep your legs of the foot pegs just haning next to bike. If front tire hits a big rock and goes in wrong direction stick leg out and use as counter ballance. Stick to a gear and speed try and keep it constant. If you open gas in rocks it will spinn, if you spin and your tire grips a rock your bike will jump around like n bull, next thing you on the ground with rocks in your teeth

 

[highcountry]

Rocks in my teeth. That was the part that wasn't so much fun. And yes, this particular section of trail was very knarly. However it leads to an area known as the "alpine loop" which has endless miles of nice trails over high passes and through alpine meadows with the best scenery and fishing! I gues it's time to strap on the pads and go try again. I think you are right the key is steady on the throttle. My XR600s fork doesn't have adjustable rebound but the shock does. I'll try that. Look for a post on good intermediate/hard surface tires in the near future as my rear tire is getting pretty chewed (It's been on there three weeks/500 miles dual sporting). Expensive habit!