[Kyoseki]

Ok, so I was dumb enough to listen to my flatmate and tried riding Trailer Canyon today, the first part of it was particularly rutted, rocky and steep, biggest problem I had was if I had to put a foot down I had an absolute bugger of a time getting started again.

Whenever I stood on the right pedal either I'd pop a wheelie and go nowhere, the rear tyre would spin and I'd go nowhere or I'd go forward about a foot, roll backwards and have to put my damned foot down again.

So what's the trick ? Just practice trackstands more so I can get both feet on the pedals from a standstill ? Get better tyres ? (XC, loose surface/gravel, any suggestions ?)

 

[bike_freak]

You can either get into a real low gear, hope for the best or just walk...


If it is really steep and loose, then you don't hve much chance starting on it.

 

[Kyoseki]

You can either get into a real low gear, hope for the best or just walk...

If it is really steep and loose, then you don't hve much chance starting on it.

Ok, generally I was in a really low gear hence popping a wheelie or not getting enough forward momentum to get the second stroke in.

With a higher gear I found I just wheelspan as soon as I stood on the pedal (I'm a clyde).

I generally had to run it up the hill to a flat spot, so long as there isn't some special trick I'm not clued up on

 

[JDO]

There're some tricks that can help.

1. Sit on the very tip of your seat. If you don't like the feeling of the thing trying to enter your bowels put the tip of the seat a bit aside on your isquion bone. You have to put your wheight on the rear wheel but puting some amount of wheight on the bars is important in order to control the front wheel.

2. Lean over the handlebar, elbows out.

3. Put your nondominant foot on the 11 o'clock position.

4. With the right gear on pedal firmly but not too much.

5. start pedaling with the dominat foot, exagerate the forward position until your wheels move fast enough. Forget the cleats for now, clip when you are pedaling safely.

6. Repeat 2 million times. Pray a lot.

 

[*rt*]

Ok, so I was dumb enough to listen to my flatmate and tried riding Trailer Canyon today, the first part of it was particularly rutted, rocky and steep, biggest problem I had was if I had to put a foot down I had an absolute bugger of a time getting started again.

Whenever I stood on the right pedal either I'd pop a wheelie and go nowhere, the rear tyre would spin and I'd go nowhere or I'd go forward about a foot, roll backwards and have to put my damned foot down again.

So what's the trick ? Just practice trackstands more so I can get both feet on the pedals from a standstill ? Get better tyres ? (XC, loose surface/gravel, any suggestions ?)

hike-a-bike! on stuff like that, once you're out your done for and you might as well just hike it up to the nearest spot where the trail flattens out enough for you to get clipped in and start.

one thing that helps is being in the right gear. sometimes i'll downshift a couple times so that i have enough resistance on the foot i clip in first that i can almost trackstand until i've got my other foot back in. but if it's really steep i just hike & push.

rt

 

[sandan]

Ok, so I was dumb enough to listen to my flatmate and tried riding Trailer Canyon today, the first part of it was particularly rutted, rocky and steep, biggest problem I had was if I had to put a foot down I had an absolute bugger of a time getting started again.

Whenever I stood on the right pedal either I'd pop a wheelie and go nowhere, the rear tyre would spin and I'd go nowhere or I'd go forward about a foot, roll backwards and have to put my damned foot down again.

So what's the trick ? Just practice trackstands more so I can get both feet on the pedals from a standstill ? Get better tyres ? (XC, loose surface/gravel, any suggestions ?)

Don't worry about clipping in the second foot. Get going first. Usually I need to shift into a larger cog to get enough forward momentum to go. So shift down one or two cogs, get pedalling and then clip in the second foot.
Trackstand practice is always a good thing.

 

[pacman]

Don't worry about clipping in the second foot. Get going first. Usually I need to shift into a larger cog to get enough forward momentum to go. So shift down one or two cogs, get pedalling and then clip in the second foot.
Trackstand practice is always a good thing.

First find a section of hard pack that can give you traction and length for a least a half turn. You want to get the maximum body and bike momentum on the first pedal stroke, that means shifting to a higher gear and cranking hard. Lower gears are OK if the terrain is smooth as pavement but on rough terrain you want speed to carry you over the obstacles.

 

[Barkdog]

More little tricks that probably only work for me:

If the trails wide enough, try starting at a slight angle (not directly uphill) to reduce the steepness.

I also sometimes have luck clipping in one foot, squeezing one brake with one hand (probably the rear brake), holding a tree with the other hand, clipping in the other foot, and then pedaling like crazy.

 

[Kyoseki]

Thanks for the info guys, I shall have to bear this in mind next weekend

 

[Strafer]

I also sometimes have luck clipping in one foot, squeezing one brake with one hand (probably the rear brake), holding a tree with the other hand, clipping in the other foot, and then pedaling like crazy.

This works for me, unless you live out west where trees are few and far between.

 

[RustyBearings]

Thanks for the info guys, I shall have to bear this in mind next weekend

Trailer Canyon?

That's 2 minutes from my house (riding)

Didin't think anyone except me actually rode that.... I think you might be talking about that first "switchback," the one before the way off-camber turn. I always stall right before that turn, and can never get started again. I just walk to the level part and start from there.

I have the same problem as you though... can never get started once I mess up on a loose climb.

rustyb

 

[The Lone Wolf]

Try and sit down on the seat and use a easy gear. If you stand up you loose traction. I'm fairly good at trackstands so I can usualy remount on climbs by just sitting down, jump on the pedles then catch my balence before I get going.

 

[WheelieWonka]

WheelieWonka

^ yup. Low gear and stay seated. And like everything else - practice makes perfect. Knowing how to trackstand is also really helpful. I'm actually getting good at starting in the middle of steep climbs.
Find a hill that's just barely too steep and practice what works for you there.
What I do is actually place my dominate foot (right leg) in the down position. While my left foot is still on ground, I position the left pedal just slightly foward so that when I go to step on it, my predominate foot comes up, slight pause (trackstand), then the predomnate foot gets the spin going. Again, stay seated and maintain as much traction so that the front wheel 'almost' wants to come up...
Also, I think the stronger you are at climbing the easier it is to start in the middle of a steep climb. Practice hill repeats. Find a crazy steep hill and try to climb to the top. HR should almost hit max and the climb should take about 1-2 minutes tops. Ride back down and DO IT AGAIN! Repeat this 6 - 10 times but let your HR drop back so that you aren't out of breath anymore. Soon, you'll be a freagin' goat...

 

[fsrxc]

Find a tree to grab, mount up, off you go...