Is it just me (rubbish older novice) or is grip reduced by cold weather on a trials bike? I was out yesterday and on admittedly, very soft ground I could barely move forwards, never mind anything resembling a tight turn without the front washing out, even on level ground. 4 psi front and 3.5 psi rear. Michelins..

The bike is a 2016 250 Beta Evo 2T so I can't blame the bike at all. I'm finding it very frustrating, any confidence I had is literally slipping away.

Also, long steep slippery descents, what gear do you guys use? I'm using first going down, clutch engaged and as much front and rear brake as I feel comfortable with... 

Feel like I'm banging my head on a brick wall.

Thanks in advance guys...

Edited December 17, 20178 yr by blueflag
Omitted details

The short answer is it depends, but probably. A lot depends on where you are and what 'cold weather' means in your case.

Around here it's presently -11C... suffice to say I'm not out riding. But when it warms up to freezing or so, I will again, and how much grip there is depends a lot on the condition of the ground. The tires themselves will get hard in the cold, so not grip as well on rock, but once the ground is frozen solid there's a ton of grip. The slippery conditions arise when you get a thaw, then a re-freeze, and you end up with a sheet of ice just under the surface soil. That's always a mess.

If you're just talking about it being chilly but well above freezing, there's no real change in grip levels. What I do find is that from one day to the next, I can go from hero to zero pretty quickly. A lot of it is just how you're feeling on the day.

I'd say it's experience, we did a trial last weekend where the ground was frozen solid, on one section many riders just couldn't get up it where the more experienced ones did so easily, try and learn what it going on with the rear wheel when you touch the throttle, tyre squirts about, shut off then back on again.

 Get your weight back, you are probably to forward with weight on the bars. Bend your knees more.

Thanks for the input guys, towards the end I was leaning back more and it DID feel better.

I'm pretty happy with my handlebar position generally but do people once they have a baseline tend to move them a bit depending on conditions?

I'm sure a lot of it is in my head and lack of confidence, couple of guys there were going round like they were on rails.

I suppose if it was easy then everyone would be doing it....

 

Incidentally, it was above zero, some pockets of snow.

At that temperature your tires will be a bit harder and the ground with snow was likely a bit damp so could cause a bit of grip issues.  

Amplify that slight grip loss with not putting the weight back it will cause what you described.  I really learned this by riding in the cold and snow on purpose.  Was well worth the snow play.  

id be running lower pressure aswell in the rear. we did a trial today with some good steep sections up and down and all very thick slop. was slippy ay @bilks

I was running 4.5 front and 2psi rear.

as said though if body position and power delivery is wrong, tyre pressures wont really help you.

Edited December 17, 20178 yr by danbillam

Yes Danbilliam was just a tad slippy today,good throttle control was needed.

 

You suspension fluid will also be thicker so a couple clicks off the dampers may help. Cold dense air will also affect how the engine runs and will usually result in more power. Depending on your jetting this can also result in a change to the power delivery.

As above you will probably want to keep more over the back wheel. This is actually very good practice as it’s pointing out weakness in your technique. When you can turn on the really slippery stuff you are properly centered. All the little tricks that allow you to get away with bad tecnique when there’s traction won’t work on ice so view this as an opportunity to fine tune your skills. Don’t move your bars once you have a natural comfortable position. It’ll just screw up your muscle memory.

Lots of stuff to think over here! So when trying to turn at slow speed when it's slippery should I keep my weight over the front? I'm leaning the bike over, hopefully enough to allow it to track.

No question all of his weight was on the outside peg! 

Reckon I need to get out and put more time in practicing.....

 

5 minutes ago, blueflag said:

No question all of his weight was on the outside peg! 

Reckon I need to get out and put more time in practicing.....

 

nothing better than more ride time mate

another tip aswell not sure if you do. but get yourself some flags for practising tight muddy turns etc. when practising youll probably find without them flags down youll take a turn wider or easier line.

I'm going to sound like a total plank here...

It occurred to me yesterday that in the 11 months I've had the bike I've never set my suspension to suit my weight. In all the years I raced on tarmac I would adjust and tweak my suspension, why the &^%*" did it not occur to me to at least get the preload right?

Bottom line, as I'm carrying a bit of middle aged lard the sag is approximately 75 MM at the rear (3 inches). That's not going to help the bike turn...

I'll remedy that, short of fitting a new spring at the moment and see if it helps. Am I right in aiming for 50 MM (2 inches) sag?

Also, how much sag on the front?

Cheers guys!