Any tips for riding in sand?

[gmtmin5]

As the title says, any tips for riding these dry and sandy trails? I know to keep weight off the front and generally I'm fine when going straight and fast through it but what about when a hill is sandy, or going through turns and the front starts getting pushed around?

[Critter7r]

Finding and following someone's previous path usually works for me in corners with deep sand. Other than that, sand simply requires a lot of improvisation. On straights, staying back in the saddle and having enough speed to carry you thru the trap is the only thing I've found to work consistently.

[classrc]

Get a fat bike:mrgreen:

I've had good luck with a larger tire at lower pressure (tubless). A 2.4" Ardent or Racing Ralph, or other tire at 20psi works well...

[mtbfree]

Sand is one of the trickiest obstacles to ride through on any two-wheeled vehicle.

If it's deep sand, your best bet is to loosen up on the controls and let the bike do what it wants to do. Try to keep your input to the handlebars to a minimum. Keeping your weight back is a must. If you have to corner in the middle of a sand pit, be prepared to let the bike drift a little bit, but the idea is the shift your weight slightly more forward and lean the bike without leaning your body, which will force the tires deeper into the sand where there's more traction.

If it's light sand over hard-pack, treat it just like you would loose gravel or slick mud... be prepared to slide around a bit. If you're not comfortable drifting the bike, then lower your speed into corners significantly to avoid sliding out. If you are comfortable drifting a bit, then lean the bike over in a smooth manner and try to find the balance point between sliding and falling and ride it out. Keep some weight on the front tire to get it to bite, but not so much that you push the front out on the corner.

In both conditions (deep sand and light sand over hard-pack) climbing gets tricky. Seated climbing is your best bet to keep the rear end planted and gripping, but if you must stand, it becomes a balancing act between spinning the rear wheel and pulling the front wheel off the ground. As you're standing and climbing, experiment with shifting your weight back until the rear starts to bite... the natural tendency is to stand up and shift your weight forward, but this causes an immediate loss of traction. Imagine standing while keeping your butt directly over the top of the saddle. It feels awkward at first, but it's the only way to get power down while standing and climbing in loose conditions.

Hope that helps. Sorry for being long-winded.

[JonathanGennick]

Sand sucks.

mtbfree's advice is good.

If I'm flying down a hill and hitting sand-over-hardpack at the bottom, and assuming my tires have hope of reaching said hardpack, I'll usually keep my weight balanced on the tires.

Sometimes coasting through is better than pedaling through, especially at speed. Sometimes your front tire slows, and pedaling keeps your back tire moving, and then things go wonky.

Speed control is sometimes better done w/the rear brake, because you don't usually want a weight shift onto the front wheel.

When struggling to pedal through deep sand there is sometimes a point at which you can feel the rear tire bite when you lean your weight back.

Tread makes a difference. I did a 24-mile ride on Friday on some Bontrager XR-1s. Fast tires. Not good in sand. Had to walk a couple of the sand traps.

mtbfree is right on about improvising. You'll get used to it. Michigan offers plenty of opportunity for practice in sand.

[mtbfree]

Sand sucks. ...

...You'll get used to it. Michigan offers plenty of opportunity for practice in sand.

1) Sand can be a lot of fun once you get used to it... Head up to Boyne sometime and ride the DH trails. They're 70% sand, but TONS of fun to get drifty on

2) There's lots and lots of sand up north if you're looking for some place to practice. If you want some practice down here in SE MI, head out to Torn Shirt at Brighton Rec area

[jjc155]

this is what has worked for me (i'm no expert lol).

1) like mentioned, have enough speed and weight back to almost glide across the sand.

2) I went to a 2.4 inch wide tire up front and lower my pressure when i'm gonna be in alot of sand, you kind of just float across it, lol

3) follow the worn line in the sand even if its not the "prefered" line for speed, the sand will be compressed alittle more there.

4) I still HATE sand in corners, gives me the willies, only thing that helps me is to slow down and be very deliberate in my line, speed,steering etc.

Hope this helps

J-

[G.Cook]

29er or Fatbike.

[i69whitey]

ride all winter

after some time on glare ice, sand is GOOD traction
seriously, riding in poor conditions helps, whether mud, snow,...
like was said, light on the controls and learn to trust that those two-wheel drifts will end
hopefully with you still aboard

[JonathanGennick]

3) follow the worn line in the sand even if its not the "prefered" line for speed, the sand will be compressed alittle more there.

+1. Had forgotten that one. It is especially true on doubletrack frequented by heavier-than-bike vehicles such as ATVs and trucks.

[gmtmin5]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess it's just going to take some additional practice to get it down, figure out where I need to be on the bike.

[iamkickstand]

What difficulties are you having? "Sand" is extremely vague.

[b_b]

Keep pedaling hard and don't brake! Stay loose and don't freak when the bike floats around. Worse thing you can do is stop pedaling or brake. Proper tires and pressure helps too.

[obxsurfer]

I spent the first 38 yrs of my life living and playing next to the ocean in south eastern virginia and north eastern north carolina. In the outer banks of north carolina you can drivd

[obxsurfer]

1 air down it helps staying on top of the sand
2 power and speed it gives you momentiun, keeps you on top
3 weight back keeps the front lite helps going through the traps and keeps the rear driving up the sandy hills
4 turn not as much weight forward as normal but still more forward and expect to dig and carve or slide and drift. Just react in the turns.
5 straight through the traps try to pick the firmest widest line but if it all tracted up with crossing lines pull up on the bars power and blaze your own lines sometimes that's the best
6 loose body and on the steering be ready to react the sand is going to have it's way with your bike and the deeper and softer the greater it's going to move you.

Practice makes perfect I have noticed in races and just riding people tend to brake and tense up just before the sand and that's the wrong thing to do. It's all about carring your speed through.