Brake in the Dirt and in Wet Conditions when Mountain Biking

The key to mountain biking is preserving momentum, but you need to keep that momentum under control, which can be hard on slippery trails. Here are some tips on braking in the mud and rain:

Steps

  1. Look ahead and start braking early. When the trail is wet, you aren't going to be able to stop as fast as on a dry surface, so allow for more time to stop. Looking ahead allows you to apply the brakes more gradually.
  2. Stay in control of steering by using one finger to brake. If you use your index finger to brake, you can keep your other fingers on your handle bars to steer. Also, by using one finger rather than your entire hand, you are less likely to slam on the brakes and lock up.
  3. Pulse on your brakes. In your car you probably have anti-lock brakes. What anti lock brakes do is they slow down the wheel by pulsing on it so that the bottom of the wheel is at rest, and therefore has a larger static friction coefficient rather than a smaller kinetic friction coefficient. What this means for all you non-physics minded people out there is that anti lock brakes prevent the wheels from skidding. You can do this on your bike by fluctuating your braking pressure to keep your wheels rolling and staying in control of your bike.

Tips

  • Inertia still applies, so when you brake your body is going to want to go forward. Combat this by pushing your hips back.
  • To increase traction on your front wheel (in the rare case you might have to slam on the brakes without locking them) push the front handle bar up and down really fast to increase the normal force from the ground, which will increase the friction.
  • If you lock either wheel and start to skid, release the brake and then once the wheel is rolling, re-apply the brakes but with less pressure.

Warnings

  • If you don't have disc brakes, your brakes can easily get wet, so try to avoid riding through puddles to keep your brakes dry.

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References

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