Winter is here. So too is the rain and mud we associate with it. Make sure you prepare your bike properly and you’ll find yourself much more inclined to get out riding. Photo: Billy Thackray

The trouble with riding through the winter, with all that mud, rain and potentially ice and snow, is the damage such conditions can do to your pride and joy. However, with a few precautions there’s nothing to stop you smiling right through the winter and enjoying every muddy mile of it.

Keep it clean!

An obvious one this, but it needs stating. Mechanical parts on a mountain bike don’t take too kindly to being caked in mud and still asked to work flawlessly. Metal and water don’t mix, but regular and thorough cleaning will prevent rapid deterioration.

Use the time cleaning your bike to carefully inspect it. There’s a lot more wear and tear on the many components of your bike in winter. In particular, pay attention chain, cassette and chainring teeth, cables, brake pads, bottom bracket and headset and pivot bearings. Spot any potential problems before they become a bigger issue during a ride.

Tyre choice

Lightly treaded tyres might be great in the summer but show them a bit of mud and they’ll hoist up a white flag and surrender. Now is the time to invest in some tyres better suited to the muddy conditions of the winter. We’re not going to start making tyre recommendations here, we just don’t have the space to get into this debate.

Onza Greina tyre – perfect for muddy trail riding. Click over to our tyres feature to find out more…

So have a look at our roundup of the 13 best mud tyres here.

If you’re still unsure, a good place to start is to see what local riders are using, or ask a club or bike shop in your area. There’s nothing like local knowledge to find the best tyres suited to the particular demands of your nearest trails.

Tyre pressure

Along with tyre choice, tyre pressure is hugely important when tackling inhospitable terrain. Generally you want to go with a little less air pressure to provide you with more traction when it gets muddy. Like tyre choice though, it can be dependent on your local terrain. Do you ride somewhere rocky or rooty? And the tyres you choose will influence the pressure. Our advice is don’t be afraid to experiment until you find a good balance.

Lube your chain

Choose a lube designed for wet weather conditions, as any oil can quickly and easily be washed off the chain when riding through deep snow and slush. To ensure your bike runs smoothly, make sure to lube the chain before and after each ride. There’s a huge choice of lubes but generally a wet lube will be better suited to riding in mud. If it’s dry and frozen a dry lube will work well, but dry lubes need more regular application.

With all the mud and water getting at your drivetrain, it’s more important now than at any other time of the year to keep moving parts well lubed. Photo: Billy Thackray

Mudguards

There will undoubtedly be a lot of mud and crap being thrown up into the air and much of it will land on your body, which (as anyone who has experienced this will know) is very unpleasant. So stay warm and dry with a decent front mudguard. It’ll remove the need to scrape grit out of your eyes on a regular basis if nothing else.

Okay, so we know they’re unfashionable and all, but a rear mudguard can also provide a good first line of defense against the slop coating you from head to toe. We’d certainly always step out with some sort of front guard at the very least.

All that mud build up isn’t going to help matters. Wash your bike regularly to at least get the big chunks of mud off – it’ll save weight on the bike and make the ride more fun. Be careful though: viciously blasting at bearings with a jet-wash will flush all the grease out. Photo: Chris Jackson

Avoid rust

Treating those components likely to rust quickly with a corrosion preventative such as ACF50 will make sure your bike lasts the winter, and that under the encrusted dirt lies a gleaming, unsullied machine just waiting for the restorative flush of hot, water and a decent, bike-specific, cleaning agent.

Carry your essentials

Having a mechanical is bad enough at the best of times, but when it’s pouring with rain and your toes are frozen, it’s the last thing you want to deal with. Make sure to carry all the essential tools and spares you need to keep your bike rolling on a ride. At the very least carry a spare tube, decent pump, tyre levers if you need them, and a high quality multitool with a chain breaker. Other things to consider are spare brake pads, as all that grit and water will wear through quickly. A spare mech hanger and a few spare chain links can be a good move too; mud has a tendency to crunch drivetrains…

Feeling the cold? Check out our recent Essential Guide to base layers here.

With such a vast choice of tyres out there, it’s no wonder that so many questions start ‘What tyres for…’ In this guide, we’ll explain the features of modern tyres to help you choose the right rubber.

Choice, choice and more choice. Image by Cris Bloomfield via Flickr.

There’s a saying about gear and the weather: ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather – just the wrong choice of clothing’.

The same is true of tyres. We often fit the wrong ones. Most of us want to fit tyres that work on every surface, then we curse the bike, or tyres, when things go awry. We travel miles to get to a bike park in Wales or Scotland only to find that our super sticky mud tyres are pretty much useless on the rocky descents and climbs.

What do we do? Do we buy a set of tyres for each location (having learnt our expensive lesson) or do we go for the compromise? This can be a daunting task.

Whether you’re riding a 26in-wheeled bike or a 29er, or going tubeless, it’s the grip that matters. Our essential guide to cross country tyres is here to help you through the mire.

Tyres need working edges to grip. Working rounded bits don’t. Time to replace these. Image by Cris Bloomfield via Flickr.

Where do you ride?

Tyre selection is probably one of the hardest of choices to make when fitting out your bike and by and far the greatest influence on the quality of your ride and handling of the bike. The weather conditions here on our compact island constantly change with the seasons and more often than not – four seasons in one day.

Whether you live in the north, south, east or west, you just don’t have the luxury of simplicity with terrain and weather. Almost anywhere within the UK you might encounter mud, sand, rocks, roots, tarmac, and grass. Sometimes, that’ll be in a single ride, or in some cases just a few hundred metres. If you want to take the fit and forget route with your tyres, then compromise might ultimately be the name of the game.

Tyre construction: threads per inch (TPI)

As the name suggests TPI refers to the thread count in a tyre’s casing. A low TPI means the manufacturer has used thicker threads to weave the tyre casing, making it more durable, but stifer. High TPI indicates thinner threads, making the tyre lighter and more pliable.

Tyre construction: Siping

Sipes are the small incisions on, or in, a tyre tread, usually in the knobs. Siping a tyres creates more working edges, boosting traction on pretty much any surface. Shallow cut sipes stay firmer under heavy loads and hard braking.

By increasing the number of working edges, sipes and cut-outs increase grip. Image by gcfairch via Flickr.

Tyre construction: Terraced treads

Tyres that feature stepped edges on the tread offer a progressive feel as you turn into a corner. The idea here is that in the initial stages of a turn the tread is supple and conforms to the terrain, as more pressure is applied at the apex of the turn, the tread becomes stiffer to provide support.

Tyre profiles

There are two general types of tyre profile: rounded and square. Rounded profiles normally offer less rolling resistance so are better for going quickly, but they offer less grip as less of the tyre is in contact with the ground. Less grip is available while cornering too, as the tread patterns on the outside of the tyre normally the same as the centre sections.

A square profile normally supports a more aggressive tread pattern offering plenty of grip but with the disadvantage of higher rolling resistance, especially on smooth, hard packed surfaces. There’s usually plenty of cornering grip on offer as the more aggressive tread pattern bites into the terrain. The combination of speed and grip comes at a price, though.

Minimal treads roll quickly, but offer very little grip on loose or muddy surfaces. Image by Danny Clark via Fickr.

Tyre manufacturers have been working hard on improving the all-round performance of cross-country tyres. More and more tyres are appearing built of two, sometimes three different layers of tread compound. The mix of harder and softer compounds enables tyres to roll and corner better, giving you the best of both worlds for a wider range of riding conditions.

Grip, braking, inertia & rolling resistance

The wheels and tyres on your mountain bike are the components that have to be turned, so it’s only natural to want this to happen as easily as possible. But here’s the problem: we want maximum grip combined with a light wheel/tyre combination that’s easy to rotate, especially when the going gets tough.

You can get buckets of traction from mid-width tyres if the tread design is right.

We need grip to stay upright and to propel ourselves forwards when it’s slippery, and we need the tyre to grip in the opposite direction for maximum braking effect. Fitting those new disc brakes will amount to nothing if there’s nothing to bite into the ground.

The lighter the tyre, the lower its inertia and the easier it is to turn the wheel. Lightweight tyres tend to have thinner side walls to reduce this, which is great for weight saving but not so good for preventing pinch flats.

Rolling resistance is the force needed to actually push the tyre along the ground. Tyres with minimal tread blocks have low rolling resistance, so will be quicker over hard packed ground than a more aggressive tread pattern but usually don’t offer much grip on loose surfaces. This becomes a problem when you hit soft or muddy conditions where the tyre can’t dig in and provide grip. That’s not a disaster for a few metres, but you will soon get fed up with the lack of grip if your frequently ride though mud or soft, wet ground.

The ultimate in low rolling resistance is the slick road tyre, but they’re not much use off-road unless you are riding clean, dry rocks.

Tyre manufacturers have to trade off these four attributes as it’s impossible to make a tyre that is light, grippy in all situations and fast-rolling.

Mud shedding

A tyre with an open tread pattern, with large gaps between the blocks, will cut through the mud and normally clear it easier than a close block pattern.

Wide-spaced knobs on a Specialized Storm Control make for good grip in muddy conditions.

This is because the mud has little purchase as there are fewer blocks of rubber to get packed between, and the blocks tend to give a little (that squishy feeling) allowing the mud to fall out. Good mud tyres usually have blocks with sloping sides to help drop the dirt.

Cross-country race tyres

Racing is all about going as fast as possible and we spare no expense to do this. Race tyres generally fall into two categories: as little tread as possible or a full-on mud pattern. Why? Because a narrow tyre with smaller and tighter tread pattern for dry conditions offers much less rolling resistance.

A closely-spaced shallow tread block pattern rolls quickly, but needs ‘just right’ conditions.

Narrow (around 1.7in), aggressive mud tyres are found almost exclusively on the racing circuit but these are tyres that will cut right through the crud and still offer up acres of grip. Only thing is, narrow tyres don’t offer much cushioning. Remember, racing is all about going as fast as you can for a few hours. If you are racing over larger distance then you need to look at a bigger tyre for better cushioning.

Having said all that, if you ride in an area that makes you live in fear of clogging up your bike during the wet seasons (horrible wet chalk or clay, muddy going etc) then a narrow, mud-specific tyre will certainly help you cope.

Rider weight

Remember that lightweight tyres usually have thinner walls? Well, if you’re a big unit then you might want to look at something with stiffer side walls to reduce the chances of pinch flats. This is going to add rotational weight of course, but there’s the compromise again.

Cost

Less is more. Expect to pay a premium for lightweight folding tyres. If you are on a budget then look for tyres with cheaper wire beads that have the same tread as your preferred lightweight option. The difference is only a couple dozen grams, which might matter to a racer, but is not vital for general riding. [As pointed out in the comments below, the difference can be around 100g, so if weight matters to you, then folding tyres make sense. - Ed]

Setting up and looking after your tyres

Check to see whether your tyres are directional; or even if they are front or rear specific. Some tyres might have tread blocks with chamfered leading edges on the front tyre for less rolling resistance, with a square block pattern at the rear for grip.

Chamfered blocks, as on this Kenda Slant Six, are a sign of a directional tyre. Make sure you point it the right way.

There will be an arrow on the side walls indicating the direction of travel. The side walls should also be marked with the minimum and maximum tyre pressure. Inflate them to a pressure somewhere between the two unless you are certain you know what you’re doing.

Rider weight, ride conditions, and terrain will all play their part in how much air you put in your tyres. Too little pressure will make the tyre slow, and increase the chance of pinch flats. Too much pressure will reduce traction as there will be less tread in contact with the ground. Rolling resistance will be lower for sure, but the ride will be harsher. You’re less likely to get a pinch flat though.

Topping your tyre pressure up every couple of weeks (at least) is a good idea. Leaving your bike in a shed for 12 years, like this, isn’t. Image by Drew Saunders via Flickr.

It’s worth buying a floor pump with a good gauge or even a separate gauge so you can experiment with pressure. As little at 2 or 3 psi can make a difference to the ride and performance.

Conclusion

It’s worth putting some thought into your tyre selection, especially if you are serious about your mountain biking. A great place to start is to read the tyre reviews here at Bikemagic, look at what your fellow riders are using; watch and see how they get on, or talk to your local specialist bike shop. There are plenty of great tyres out there these days and the choice seems to grow by the day.

If your tyres have developed cracks like this, it’s time to retire them. Image by Cris Bloomfield via Flickr.

When you do find that one special tyre that does it all for you we suggest grabbing a couple or three pairs. Tyre makers have a bad habit of treating tyres as fashion items and dropping perfectly good tyres from the range.

What tyres for red rocks? Image by Vik Banerjee via Flickr.

Keep going after dark with a good set of lights. Image by Dagza via Flickr.

The latest trail lights are smaller, brighter and longer lasting than anything we imagined years ago when we thought a 10-watt light was the pinnacle.

Battery and bulbs have come a long way, with the most expensive lights a rival for modern car headlights. While it’s easy to spend a small fortune on a set of lights, the affordable end of the spectrum now offers mountain bikers a lot of choice.

Budget

You can get a lighting system bright enough to use off-road from about £100 up to about £900. As the price goes up, usually so does the amount of light, the run-time and the sophistication of the features available from the on-board electronics.

Magicshine lights start at around £100 and are popular with value-conscious riders.

Brightness

This is what really matters with a set of mountain bike lights: how much illumination they provide. As a rough rule, 150-200 Lumens is enough for a helmet mounted light while anything over 300 will let you keep a decent pace on trails you know.

Keeping spending and you literally turn night into day, its not uncommon to find lights producing in excess of a 1000 Lumens.

Don’t take manufacturer claims too literally. One maker’s 800 Lumen light might not be noticeably brighter than another’s 700 Lumen unit. Not everyone measures output in the same way, and some companies just take as gospel the word of their lamp supplier.

Lamp types

You once had to choose between inexpensive halogen bulbs, seriously spendy high intensity discharge (HID) lamps and early LED (light-emitting diode) systems. LED technology has advanced to the point where manufacturers can choose a vast range of emitters and fulfil just about every need with them, so it’s rare to find anything but LEDs.

Entry-level lights make do with one LED while more expensive and brighter options will use several, giving a better and more useful spread of light across the trail.

Batteries

Batteries have improved dramatically too. They almost all use lithium-ion chemistry these days, which crams more stored electricity into a given weight and size than the old lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries. Lithium-ion batteries also allow manufacturers to pack the lamp and batteries into one unit, so you don’t have a separate battery and cables running over your bike.

Most of the brightest lights still use a separate battery however, which might be encased in a fabric pouch or plastic housing and Velcro-ed to the top tube or similarly convenient place.

Exposure pioneered the single-unit lamp. This the self-adjusting Reflex which dials down its output when you slow down.

Charging

With Li-Ion batteries charging is a fairly straight-forward process, and many lights come with ‘smart chargers’ so you don’t have to watch the clock – just leave it on charge through the night and the charger will take care of everything. Some use USB cables which are handy for charging your lights from your computer or at work.

Mounting

Easy to overlook but the bracket can really make or break a lightset. You’re looking for a bracket that’s easy to use, preferably doesn’t need any tools to use (handy for swapping quickly between bikes) and most importantly holds the light securely in place – the last thing you want is the light wobbling all over the place when you’re dropping into a tight techy descent. A good, solid attachment to the bars is essential. Hinged cam-locking clamps are common and effective.

The alternative to bar mounts is a helmet mount. If you ride tight, twisty trails you’ll probably find that a bar-mounted light is rarely pointing in the direction that you want to go, but a helmet light lets you look round corners.

There are disadvantages. The extra weight on your head can make your helmet wobble about and having a light close to your eyeline makes all the shadows disappear and makes the trail look completely smooth. On some trails you’ll struggle without one, though, and if you have to do any repairs on the trail, they are just about essential. Many riders pair a handlebar light with a less-powerful helmet lamp for the best of all worlds.

Check what fittings you get with the system. Some include bar helmet and bear head mountings, some have just one, with the others as optional extras.

Housings

With twin-beam setups you often want the two beams to be pointing in different directions, so having them in separate or individually-adjustable modules is a bonus. Some systems have both lamps fixed together. The manufacturer has usually allowed for the different beam patterns but you’re stuck with whatever they think is best.

Dual-beam systems like the Niterider Pro 3600 combine flood and spot for versatility and can put out huge amounts of light.

Robust and waterproof housings are essential, as are connectors that keep out the wet. Poor connectors can lead to the light cutting out at the most inconvenient possible time.

Controls

LEDs now offer so much light that manufacturers give you the option of turning them down to increase run time. If you’re riding across open moors with a full moon, you don’t need as much light as bombing downhill in the woods. A sequence of short key-presses usually cycles through the modes.

The simplest setup for a twin-beam system is a switch on each light. Some systems have remote bar-mounted switches that live near the grip so you don’t have to move your hand. These are useful if you switch lights a lot, although some rely on one button to cycle through settings (one lamp, the other lamp, both, off…) and it’s quite easy to get lost.

The most sophisticated lights are programmable, either offering some adjustment of the light level through a built-in system or with a computer interface.

However your light switches between power settings, two features that are a bad idea for off-road riding are a flash mode and an off mode as part of the normal switch cycle. You don’t want to be plunged into darkness between low and high power and you don’t want to be dazzled by the back-scatter from a strobe. Most manufacturers have thought about this and make you do something different, like a long press or a double click, to switch into a non-standard mode.

Electron’s Terra 3 is a reasonably-priced single-unit lamp.

Run times

Like light output, claimed run times should be treated with a bit of scepticism. They represent the best possible case: a brand-new, fully-charged battery, driving an emitter that’s spot on spec. Real life’s not like hat, so assume you’ll get a bit less and don’t push your luck on the first few rides.

Run time of lithium-ion-powered lights will decrease with age as the battery deteriorates. In theory, this deterioration can be slowed down by storing the battery at a low temperature, so if you put your lights away for the summer, store them in the fridge.

Dynamo lights

Remember the dynamo on your grandad’s bike that ran off the tyre and put out a sputtering and unreliable beam that died completely when the wires got damaged? These aren’t like that at all.

The combination of very efficient LEDs and high-strength NIB magnets means it’s now possible to build a dynamo system that puts out 800 lumens or thereabouts. That’s plenty for many applications, especially if swapping out or recharging batteries is hard or impossible.

Lights, the law and road manners

High-power off-road lights put out far more light than is allowed by the regulations that govern bike lights, so in theory you shouldn’t use them on the road lest you fall foul of PC Plod. In practice, the police have better things to do, but it’s still courteous to use a lower-power setting and point your lights down to avoid dazzling other road users.

Racing at night.

So much for the summer, it’s been raining so heavily and frequently these past few days that we’re quite right to wonder just what is going on. It doesn’t motivate one to get out and ride the bike, but there’s no reason why it should deter you from riding altogether.

You need to be prepared. Let us show you how, with a couple of investments and changes to your bike, you can be ready to battle the rain and muddy trails.

Rain jacket

Every cyclist should invest in a good waterproof jacket. It’s safe to say you’ll get use from one throughout the year, so it’s not just confined to the winter months. There are options from Endura’s excellent £40 Pakajak right up to Gore’s all-singing Fusion GT AS at £220.

Waterproof socks and/or boots

If there’s one thing we really detest about riding in the rain, it’s the feeling of water squelching between our toes. It’s enough to put anyone off riding in this weather, no matter how determined they are.

Waterproof socks and boots may seem an expensive luxury, but one or the other (or both for the ultimate setup) will transform your ride. It’s quite staggering what a difference to your happiness levels waterproof socks make.

Another alternative to winter boots is to tape up all the vents and mesh panels in your shoes, you’ll be amazed what a difference this small trick can make.

Waterproof gloves

For the same reason that we’ll always reach for the waterproof socks if we know there’s a high chance of getting a good soaking, so we also reach for the waterproof gloves. When you’re hands and fingers get wet their temperature will cool rapidly, leaving you very quickly with frozen hands. That’s not much fun, so get yourself some waterproof gloves.

Mudguards

In June? Well, the fitting of mudguards shouldn’t be dictated by the month of the year, instead by the trail conditions. Unless you’re riding well surfaced trail centres most of the time, it’s likely you’ll encounter a fair amount of sloppy stuff. At the very least a homemade strip of inner tube zip tied between the fork crown to stop mud being flicked up and into your eyes.

Tyres

There’s not much point in fitting those lightweight summer low-profile tyres at the moment, nor is it really necessary to put the mud tyres on. What’s needed is a tyre that is well suited to the constantly changing trail conditions, which can change even during a single ride

The exact tyre will depend on the geology of your local area, so there is no right answer, or top tip, as to which is the magic tyre for you, but looking at what local riders choose is always an excellent place to start.

Got any of your own top tips to share?

As 29ers have proved they’re here to stay, there’s been a rush of new models introduced in recent weeks, with a particular focus on the £800-£1000 bikes that will entice new mountain bikers into the big wheel fold.

Charge Cooker Hi 29er £999.99

Somerset-based bicycle company Charge has added two 29er hardtails to its 2012 range, and the Hi pictured here is the most expensive model of the two, priced at a penny under a grand.

At its heart is a seamless welded Tange Infinity double-butted steel frame. Geometry is designed around the 100mm RockShox XC-28 fork, and it’s fitted with a SRAM X5 drivetrain for reliable gear changes and Avid Elixir 1 disc brakes to scrub off speed.

www.chargebikes.com

Specialized Carve Comp 29er £999

Using a fully butted and smooth welded M4SL aluminium frame based on the same geometry as the more expensive Stumpjumper, the new Carve range is Specialized’s lower priced offering.

Expect all the usual attention to detail and high workmanship from Specialized, including a decent spec for the asking price. A RockShox XC32 29er specific fork features lockout and rebound adjustment with a tapered steerer tube stiffening the front of the bike. Specialized spec its own tubeless-ready The Captain Control tyres along with a Shimano groupset and 180mm front disc rotor to bring the bike to a speedy stop.

www.specialized.com

You can win a Carve Comp in our competition here

Cannondale Trail SL 29’ER 3 £799.99

Pitched as the company’s ideal first step onto the 29er platform, the Trail SL uses relaxed race geometry with a slightly longer wheelbase to inspire confidence through its stability when chucking it down the trail.

The frame is made from aluminium with a 1.5in headtube and SAVE seatstays – which afford a little more trail comfort – and is built with an RST Deuce Coil 80mm fork and a Shimano Deore/Alivio groupset and parts from the Cannondale catalogue for the bars, stem, saddle and seatpost.

www.cannondale.com

Scott Scale comp 29er £849.99

Scott has a range of five Scale 29 hardtails to choose from, proving (as if proof were needed) that 29ers are here to stay. We’ve picked the cheapest of the bunch, the decent looking Scale 29 Comp.

For someone looking to make a tentative first step into 29ers or for the racer on a budget, this has to be a good choice. A lightweight package with a hydroformed 6061 aluminum frame and the same geometry as the expensive carbon fibre offerings means the ride will impress, and is a good platform to start upgrading.

www.scott-sports.com

Gary Fisher Cobia £800

Where would the 29er movement be without Gary Fisher. A big believer in the benefits of larger wheels, Gary Fisher now solely concentrates on 29ers, with its entire range devoted to them.

The Cobia is the firms entry-level hardtail but there’s nothing entry-level looking about it. A smartly decaled Platinum Series 6066 butted and hydroformed frame features Fisher’s G2 geometry for sorted handling. It’s specced out with SARM X5, Avid mechanical disc brakes, RockShox’s Tora SL 80mm fork and Bontrager Ranger Disc wheels.

fisherbikes.com

Fuji Tahoe 2.0 29er £1099

Big in America for years and now with Evans Cycles at the helm the Fuji brand might make an impact on the UK scene. The Tahoe is a pick of the bunch at a smidgen over a grand.

The A2-SL frame is made from aluminium with custom butting and a Power Curve downtube and profiled top tube along with an oversize seat tube. Up front is a tapered headtube accepting an integrated headset and at the opposite end of the frame Edge S-bend seat stays with forged dropouts.

For a little over £1000 the Fuji is impressively built, a Shimano Deore groupset married with Tektro Aurigo Comp discs and WTB Prowler SL Race 2.1in tyres.

www.evanscycles.com

Like our selection? Let’s see your comments below:

It’s cold out there. Seeing a layer of frost or snow on the cars outside can be enough to put you off riding, but there are a few tips for dealing with the snow, rain, mud and worst the British winter can dish out.

Winter riding technique

Playing with tyre pressure makes a big difference. Dropping the psi means the tyre will mould itself to uneven surfaces, and spread out for a bigger tread “footprint” and more grip. The lower you drop the pressure the more soft condition grip you’ll get, but again you’ll need to be wary on the hard stuff.

Low pressure tyres will squash against the rim easily if you hit rocks, so you’ll be more prone to pinch punctures unless you slow down. Floppy tyres can also squirm badly under cornering – particularly with lightweight thin sidewall tyres – so let pressures down gradually till you find a comfortable compromise level.

More on winter riding technique here

Don’t let bad weather deter you

With the right clothing, winter riding doesn’t need to be a miserable experience. But with poor clothing and bad decisions, riding in the wind, rain and mud can be horrible, just horrible; water creeps in through the seams, the wind rips through the delicate layers and your core temperature can plummet.

Read the full blog here

It’s all about the layers

This being Britain the temperature can swing wildly from sub zero to really quite mild, and the rain can be frequent, a brief cloudburst or a prolonged downpour. These changeable conditions make the clothing decision before a ride a tricky thing, getting it right is a matter of trial and error.

Learn how to get the layers right here

Rich Rothwell shares some advice

I actually quite enjoy winter. Firstly, you know what you’re going to get. It’s not like our tantalising ‘summers’ which never seem to quite materialise, or do so in short frustrating gasps. I love the slightly gothic atmosphere of winter and, once out there probably enjoy the scenery more than the summer.

View the full article from Rich.

Rob Dean on riding year round

I like riding all year round. In fact I need to ride all year round as my journey to work takes me and my bike over the South Downs, every morning, so riding all year round is essential.

See Rob’s tips in full here.

Got any of your own top tips you want to share? Let’s hear them in the comments box below please…

If you’re new and want to keep costs down (and who doesn’t?), you’ll be pleased to know there are many low cost choices for most of the essential kit you’ll need to get underway and enjoying road cycling. We’ve picked out a decent budget option for each item, but take a look around and you’ll find plenty more…

Helmet

Like shoes, expensive research and development on the top-end offerings has down wonders for helmets costing less, meaning that from about £40 you can equip yourself with a lightweight, well ventilated, stylish and safe helmet. Whichever helmet you go for, make sure you try it on as fitting is crucial to your safety – a loose ill-fitting helmet is an absolute no-no – and not all helmets are shaped the same way

At £49.99, Bell’s Slant helmet is bristling with the latest technology such as a ‘Fusion In-Mould’ micro-shell for lightness, an Ergo Dial retention system that is easy to use and 21 internally channelled vents for maximum airflow.

Shoes

We’ll presume you want to make the leap from cycling in trainers to using clipless pedals, with shoes that clip into the pedals via special cleats. While you can spend a small fortune on the latest carbon-soled lightweight shoes, much of the technology at the top-end has filtered down through the price points.

Shimano offers a wide range of shoes at different prices and we’ve picked the MT21 SPD shoes which at £49.99 feature a rubber sole that is comfortable on and off the bike, with enough grip for all but the most slippery trail conditions. Mesh panels keep your toes cool in the summer while simple laces keep the shoes in place.

Jersey

There’s a staggering variety of jerseys to choose from, and which one you plump for depends on many factors. Decide on the level of warmth and protection from the elements you want, and whether you need a body hugging XC or baggy casual styled item.

Staying in the middle ground, Endura’s Cirrus jersey (£34.99) is a classic short sleeve design made from PolytexTM material which is light and well breathable. There’s three pockets on the back for stashing tools and nibbles, flatlocked seams for less irritation, a long zip and a fit best described as generous.

Shorts

You’ll want some decent shorts, and here you’re spoilt for choice. We’re going to make the bold decision and presume that you’re after some baggy shorts. The main things to look for are fit, features and padding. Ensure you try before you buy to make sure they fit around the waist properly, and to suss out the length of the shorty bit – this varies a huge amount. More features will hike the price up, and many shorts feature integrated chamois, a slim pad that offers extra comfort, and is to be recommend.

Dhb’s Earnley Baggy Shorts (£39.99) do well to provide quite an impressive list of features despite the low price. Inside there’s a shaped pad for your comfort and mesh liner, the waist is elasticated and the material is designed for handling some abuse, and you get a grand total of six pockets.

Gloves

We won’t deny it; we never turn a pedal unless our hands are clothed in a pair of gloves. There’s the safety that if you happen to crash you won’t rip all the skin off your hands and fingers, and they’re also more comfortable with many using gel padding to relieve the pressure that can lead to sore hands.

Fox do a nice line in gloves and its Incline Gloves (£15) standout as being of a simple but stylish design and not costing all that much. A Spandura panel across the top of the hand is flexible enough to not hinder and silicon-dotted fingertips give some added brake lever control. A Terry thumb provides a convenient place for wiping your nose/face.

Glasses

Glasses prevent wind, grit and bugs getting in the eyes and will reduce tiredness on bright days. And with the approaching summer a pair of glasses to save squinting can be a wise investment. Yes, you can splash out £200 on a fancy pair, but with prices starting from just £30, you really don’t need to.

The Northwave Predators (£24.99) are stylish and modern looking with polycarbonate lenses, available in a range of tints to suit different conditions.

Summary

All this little lot would set you back £214.95, a little shopping around though will reveal some really quite impressive discounts available.

There are many other bits of clothing that can make MTBing more enjoyable or give you added protection in a wider range of conditions, but these are the absolute essential items of clothing that we consider most important to get you rolling. It’s a good base on which to start, and additional items can be added to your outfit as and when you need them.

Strava

One of the most interesting technical innovations of 2011 was Strava, a social fitness website that allows people to compare rides. Key to its success has been the emphasis on community and sharing rides with people you ‘follow’. Another cool feature is ‘segments’ that let you choose a section of trail and ranks all people who have ridden along it into a top ten list. Use it with the Strava smartphone app or any GPS-ready device and get comparing and competing, it’s highly addictive.

UK Bike Skills

Improve your riding in 2012 and make real steps forward in all technical aspects of mountain biking, with skills training pitched at all ability levels from beginner to experienced. Learn to corner faster, how to jump properly, how to handle drops and generally ride better.

Garmin Edge 800

Most people like to know how fast and how far they’ve ridden, and the Edge 800 does this all with incredibly accuracy and above all, simplicity. It’s just a case of fitting it to the bike, turning it on and riding. It does so much more than just track speed and distance; seriously impressive navigational abilities make it ideal for exploring new trails, while the Garmin Connect online database makes it easy to upload and share any ride.

Vertebrate Publishing guide books

Often the best way to get out and ride your bike more is to discover new areas to ride and new trails, and the range of guide books from Vertebrate Publishing, covering most of the UK, are ideal.

Excellent route summaries, crystal clear Ordnance Survey maps, directions that are detailed without being fussy and include a wealth of local detail to encourage you to look beyond your front wheel. Add to that the altitude profile, refreshment stops, parking and other crucial info and it is the complete package.

Gore Bike Wear Alp X jacket

One way to face the tough conditions at this time of year is to be properly prepared, and Gore Bike Wear’s Alp X jacket with removable sleeves will leave you fresh out of excuses for not riding when it’s a little cold/damp/muddy out there.

Because the sleeves can be whipped off at a moments notice, you can adjust accordingly for the temperature you’re currently riding in, without having to remove the jacket completely.

Enter an event

If you need any motivation to ride your bike more in the next couple of weeks, whatever the weather is doing, then entering an event is a sure fire way of giving yourself a goal and ensuring you have to do more than a few rides.

Got any tips of your own? Let us know in the comments box below:

Riding through the winter can be fun. Yes, really, it can.

As the rain falls, the snow settles or the wind goes gale force, it’s all too easy retire to the warm  sanctity of the sofa. But break out into the outdoors and you can be rewarded with one of the best seasons for mountain biking.

It pays to be prepared though. There are many hurdles to getting out there in the winter. In this guide we’re going to try and remove one of the obstacles, by ensuring that your bike is winter proof. With a few changes your bike can be ready for whatever the winter is going to bring. So read on to find out.

Got a top tip we’ve missed? Add it to the forum here.

Lights

An obvious one. It gets pretty dark in the winter, and unless you are able to do all your riding during normal work hours, any weekday riding is going to be conducted under the cover of darkness.

Equip yourself with some decent lights, and don’t worry they don’t need to cost a small fortune, and you’ll see that winter night riding is one of the most enjoyable aspects of mountain biking.

As a rough rule, brightness is what really matters with a set of mountain bike lights, how much illumination will be provided. Generally speaking, the more you spend the more light output you’ll get. 150-200 Lumens is ideal for a helmet mounted light while anything in excess of 300 is enough that you can keep a decent pace on trails you know.

Tyres

Your contact with the ground will be the first thing to change, but is perhaps the trickiest to decide on. You’re not short of choices, so first decide what riding you’ll be doing, before spending your money.

Many tyres aim to cover that intermediate period between seasons, and depending on how wet the winter will get, can be used a long way into the season. More heavily spiked tyres will be ideal in thicker mud conditions, but if your trails consist of lots of root-ridden trails, those spikes will be super slippery.

Tyre width too is another area of debate, with some preferring a thinner tyre to cut through the muck and find some firmer ground below, or a wider tyre to float over the mud. Whatever you choose, make sure you take all the factors into consideration.

Chain

Your chain can quickly become the weakest link in your winter riding fun, so spend a little time looking after it and it’ll look after you, in a manner of speak.

Pay special attention when cleaning your bike post-ride, and pay a little attention lubing the chain. A wet lube is out tip for lasting smoothness. Replacing your chain every few months will increase the lifespan of the cassette and chainrings.

Mudguards

Yes, we agree, they’re not the best looking things to attach to your pride and joy. But what price would you put on a dry bum? For the cost of an inexpensive set of mudguards, you can massively increase your enjoyment of riding through the mud. Unless you like getting your arse covered in mud?

Brakes

Check your brake pads every ride before setting out to make sure your pads are in good health. Mud and grit can destroy a set of brake pads in very little time (even in one ride!), and we’d advise carrying an extra pair of pads, especially if venturing out on a long ride.

Cables

The biggest impact on a miserable ride can be shoddy shifting and braking due to mucky cables. Full cable outer from lever to brake’s can prevent water ingress, and sealed units are available to keep shifting and braking smoother for longer. Cables are cheap though can are easily replaced.

Pedals

We’ve had pedals clog with mud, and the mud freeze in the pedals, making clipping in and out an ankle jolting task. So pay regular attention to your clipless pedals, and treat them to a squirt of oil after every ride and wash to keep them working nicely.

Alternatively, flat pedals are a good choice in the winter. They’re never going to clog, and can avoid those crashes that occur when you can’t get out of your pedals.

Bearings

Headset, bottom bracket and wheel bearings will take plenty of abuse from being drenched in water, so regularly check to ensure they’re running smoothly. You might find you’ll have to service, or replace, these bearings more often through the winter, but it’s a small price to pay for a smooth running bike

Think we’ve missed anything? Pop into this forum thread and share your thoughts.

Winter puts the skids under your riding in more ways than one, but it’s also the best time of the year to pick up new skills and experience the best the countryside has to offer in terms of fresh, cold air, and deserted trails.

Head

With all that brainwork going on and only a thin layer of leather upholstery and hair keeping it insulated, it’s not suprising your body loses masses of it’s heat through your head.

This means that even if your head doesn’t feel that cold, your body is working harder to re-warm blood before it pumps out to other areas, so covering your bonce is a very smart way to keep your core temperature up.

The problem is that you need to fit this extra insulation under a helmet, which rules out bobble hats and the like. There are still plenty of thin thermal devices that will slide underneath your lid though. Various companies such as Pearl Izumi do specific thermal skull caps, while Buff’s are stretchy thermal tubes in all sorts of colours that fit around head and neck in a startling number of ways to keep you cosy.

Don’t be tempted to use a cotton bandana as it’ll soak up sweat and end up conducting heat faster than your bare head. If it’s really cold then simply taping up the front vents on your helmet stops freezing draughts.

Ears are another potential sore point but again there are several brands of fleece or Windstopper ear warmers available, and the ever useful Buff will also keep the ice from your lugs.

Although not srictly an extremity, your neck carries a lot of blood near the surface, and keeping that warm massively increases your feeling of cosiness. Scarves are generally too cumbersome but a short strip of fleece or a Buff plugged into the gap between your jacket and your head will work winter wonders, though look for high collared jackets in the first place for maximum draught exclusion.

Hands

Many a winter ride has been turned miserable by frozen mitts but there’s no need for it to happen. There are countless excellent gloves out there but you don’t need to spend a fortune if you pay attention to a few essential points.

Cramped circulation is the cause of most frozen fingers, so make sure you buy gloves big enough, with no tight spots anywhere. If you’re buying a mid or lightweight set then make sure there’s enough room to slip a thin pair of thermal gloves underneath for extra insulation when needed.

The second point is making sure the cuffs are long enough to overlap your jacket sleeves, so they don’t gap when you reach out on the bars or bar ends. Gloves that need to go round the outside of the jacket are cosy in the wind, but if it rains, water will just run down the jacket arms and into the glove. However if you tuck the sleeves over the glove make sure they can be snugged down enough to stop draughts.

Make sure you check the glove around a grip before you buy it too. Some heavily insulated mitts have too much movement between palm and liner for easy control, while others can bunch up and feel lumpy. Make sure the fingers don’t tighten up when you grip the bar either or they’ll cut circulation. If in doubt over how much cosiness to get, we’d normally plump for bigger and better insulated mitts as you’ll only lose control if your fingers go numb anyway.

Hooves

Frozen feet are so much a part of winter mountain biking it almost seems cheating to try and keep them free from the misery of frost bite but there are now increasing numbers of new weapons to line up alongside traditional warmth wisdom.

Specific winter boots are now available from several manufacturers. The cost might seem extravagant at first but considering you’ll be riding for about 5 months in them they’ll soon more than pay you back with joyful toe cosiness, thanks to waterproof outers and fleecy woolen liners. North Wave Arctic or Sidi Inverno boots get our vote, unless you can still find a pair of the monster Lake MX winter boots.

Waterproof socks from (Porelle or Sealskins) have been a saviour for many feet but if your circulation is on the sluggish side anyway they offer little thermal help. Make sure you aren’t cramming them into tight shoes which then restrict circulation, and if there’s room slip some thin thermal liner socks underneath – the difference in warmth is phenomenal.

Basic woolly socks are also excellent insualtors even when soggy, and don’t be afraid to go for knee length specials for lovely hot legs.

If you can’t run to a new pair of shoes, and the pair you’ve got are too tight for thick socks then add the protection on the outside. Neoprene overshoes aren’t totally waterproof but they’ll still be warm when wet and they’ll keep your shoes clean too. Make sure you get a pair with cut outs for sole tread, but expect the toes to flip up and fill with mud / snow if you have to walk very far in them.

At the risk of howls of derision from riding mates, walker’s gaiters are also very handy for keeping water off shins and calves if your trails are as flooded as ours at the moment. Try and find a pair with a front hook that will fit onto your lower laces or straps, and make sure they’ve got an instep strap to stop them riding up.

Technique after dark

The main problem of riding at night is visibility. Even with good lights you can only see where they are pointing and as they say, it’s the ones you don’t see that get you.

Like any riding situation where you’re not totally sure what happens next, keep your weight back so the front wheel rides up and over trouble rather than burying itself and lobbing you over the bars. If there’s too much stuff and too little light raise yourself off the bike, keeping your limbs relaxed and ready to react to any slips or slaps the bike takes. It’s also a good idea to run tyres harder than normal as unseen rocks can cause pinch punctures and fixing flats is no fun on dark wet winters nights.

Even if you can see what’s going on low light situations can cause curious problems. Beware dark bushes such as holly which can often look like the trail gap but quickly prove otherwise in a prickly fashion. On the opposite tack beware silver birches that look like the light strip of singletrack on moonlit nights. Or is it just me who’s that stupid.

Watch out for target fixation too. Your lights might be lighting up the trail perfectly but overhanging branches are all too easy to overlook (espescially if you use a peak) which can have truly stunning consequences.

Even if you reckon you know the trail like the back of your hand, lack of light can cause chaos, so always ride well within your daylight limits, we guarantee you’ll still have fun.

Mud

There have been few autumns to match this one in terms of sheer volumes of rain, and that has turned many bridleways into absolute quagmires. So how do you deal with all this filth?

The first answer is tyres. The ideal is switching to a set of narrower, toothier treads which bite deeper and clear faster for better grip in the wet and don’t clog your frame. Just be careful when you hit road or rock sections though, as those tall knobs will scrabble and slide if they can’t dig in.

Playing with tyre pressure makes a big difference. Dropping the psi means a floppier tyre that’ll mould itself to uneven surfaces, and spread out for a bigger tread “footprint” and more grip. The lower you drop the pressure the more soft condition grip you’ll get, but again you’ll need to be wary on the hard stuff. Low pressure tyres will squash against the rim easily if you hit rocks, so you’ll be more prone to pinch punctures unless you slow down. Floppy tyres can also squirm badly under cornering – particularly with lightweight thin sidewall tyres – so let pressures down gradually till you find a comfortable compromise level.

Secondly you’ll need to change your technique to get you to the far side of the marsh. Carrying as much momentum as possible into the mud will help you get a good way into it, but will increase problems if you get it wrong. Make sure you keep you weight well back, and if you can lift the front wheel without wobbling around that’ll also reduce the risk of ejecting clean over the bars.

Once you’re in, use slower but steady ’round’ pedal strokes to keep the wheel churning smoothly through the mud, and keep your butt on the saddle for that extra bit of traction weight. Spinning the wheel too fast or stamping on the pedals will just make it break traction and slip. Keep your weight well back too for extra traction on the rear tyre and learn to pull the handlebars back and downwards towards the rear axle (try bending your elbows low) to force more weight onto the tyre when you push on the pedals.

In downhill or cornering situations, weight distribution is more tricky as pushing weight back will just let the front wheel slide, but push weight too far forward and you’ll be vaulting the bars. The best technique is to “hover” above the bike ready to counteract any slide of the wheels, front, back or sideways as soon as it starts to happen. Make sure you keep knees and elbows bent and relaxed though as if they’re stiff and rigid you won’t be able to react nearly fast enough. When you’re cornering keep the inside foot ready to unclip and dab in case the front end does slide unexpectedly. Hanging your leg forward alongside the front wheel will also make sure the back wheel slides before the front.

Lastly you’ll need to learn a new set of line choices to avoid the worst of it. IMBA – the American trails and access campaigners – always advise riders to go through rather than round puddles to avoid spreading the damage round the edge and making it worse. Whether you follow the advice depends on the conditions of surrounding ground. There’s no point wallowing in the puddles of double track or fire road if the centre’s clear, but chewing up grass around the edge of a narrow path isn’t the most environmentally friendly move around.

The centre of wet sections is also often the easiest – if not the cleanest – part to cross, as wetter mud is less sticky and easier to push through. You’ll also find wheel tracks might be deeper but they’re also better compressed as opposed to stirred up half trodden mud round the edge. For the same reason aim for the rocky, hard sections – even if they’ve got running water over them – as they’ll drag far less, letting you get up speed for the next bit of slop.

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