Ride a Mountain Bike in the Snow
Riding a mountain bike in the snow can be exciting. It is easy to learn and sometimes necessary. The following is a step-by-step explanation about how to ride a mountain bike in the snow.
Contents
Steps
- Stay calm. When you are biking through snow, it may seem that you cannot control your bike. If you do start to slide, just relax and turn out of it. If you tense up, you could react too quickly causing the bike to slide out from under you.
- Body position. When riding in the snow, you can either ride standing up or sitting down. You want to keep your weight shifted back to keep the rear wheel down. If you are standing up, bend your knees and elbows to keep control of the bike in case it slides or you hit something. If you are sitting, keep your arms bent and try not to move around.
- Turning. Remember to take it slow. If your bike starts to slide, turn slowly.
- Always look ahead to where you are going. Keep an eye out for ice or obstacles that can cause you to slide to stop quickly, causing you to wreck. Also, watch out for ruts in the snow. If you do start to slide in a rut, try riding in fresh snow.
- Start out slow and gradually build your speed. The snow will determine how fast you can go. If you are not sliding, you can go faster. If you start to slide, slow back down to get control again.
Tips
- Don't panic; the snow is more grippy than you will expect.
- Bike in low gears to keep your wheels moving.
- Buy snow tires/good mud tires.
- Sometimes, it helps to drop your seat.
- Ride a low-sitting bike.
Warnings
- Wear a helmet because biking in the snow can be unpredictable and dangerous
- Try not to bike in icy conditions because it is harder to maintain control.
- Not all snow is the same, so be careful when biking and be ready for all possible scenarios.
- Don't go biking if the snow is too deep because if you hit a deep spot, you will flip over your handlebars.
