Mountain biking in the rain - how to ride in muddy conditions

Top tips on how to make the most out of riding wet trails

Liam Mercer

Dec 22 2023

Riding in winter comes with a whole host of new challenges, whether that's dressing appropriately for the cooler and wetter conditions, right through to proper bike maintenance. But the one thing that affects everyone the most is that winter riding requires better skill to have more fun out on the trail simply because there’s far less grip. Here’s how to make the most out of winter riding where grip is scarce.

Even though riding in wet and slippery conditions is more difficult than it is when it’s dry, it’s the absolute best place to hone your skills owing to the lack of traction. Learning to master wet trails will pay back in dividends when the trails dry out as all of the skills and techniques we’re going to talk about will translate perfectly to dry tracks, where you’ll be much faster and much more confident as there’s more available grip.

Look up, look ahead and scan the trail

Looking where you’re going is a fundamental technique of mountain biking regardless of the conditions. Looking far down the trail is the best way to scan what’s coming and ready yourself before a feature hits your front wheel. If you’re busy watching your front wheel, you’re not giving yourself any time to react.

Looking ahead is even more important when it comes to riding in the wet. Where in the dry you’re looking for roots, rocks, and the perfect line, winter riding throws puddles into the mix, so you’re also looking and predicting where grip should be found.

In the winter and any condition for that matter, fixating on something you don’t want to hit, like a puddle or a patch of slop can cause you to ride into what you’re trying to avoid – where you look is where you'll go. This will often destroy flow during a descent and slow you down dramatically.

Stay loose, avoid stiffening up

Keeping your eyes up will help you stay relaxed and loose on the bike which is imperative to grip in general. Allowing the bike to move around freely underneath you will help the bike do part of the job for you, as it slips grips, and adjusts to imperfections in the trail.

Riding stiff on the bike will limit the way it rides in general, throwing weight around in all of the wrong ways and encouraging your bike to break traction. If you stay stiff as your bike breaks traction, you’ll drastically limit its ability to regain grip by itself by forcing weight through it. If you loosen your posture on the bike, the wheels and tyres will move around more freely, enabling them to hunt for grip almost completely by themselves. Yes, a bit of a slip can be super scary but stiffening will only exaggerate the problem. Staying loose will mean that most lapses of grip will remain momentary.

Plan your braking

As trails are wetter and softer, grip isn’t as readily available so you’ll need to start braking earlier to modulate your braking power properly. This will allow you to retain traction as you slow. Pulling too hard on your brakes will lock up your wheels, which reduces control over the bike and it won’t slow you down nearly as efficiently.

Another benefit of looking up is the ability to plan your braking properly. In the wet, braking distances vary depending on the surface and, as many bikes aren’t equipped with ABS, it’s important to map out where you should brake for the best results on the fly.

Over wet trails, it’s not often that you’ll get a choice but, before slamming on the brakes, look for a harder section of trail which will reward you with more traction. When braking over a harder surface, you’ll be less likely to lock up your wheels and the braking distance will be marginally shorter. If you’re braking through a soft section of trail, as before, start braking early and modulate your braking power to keep your wheels rolling, and gripping.

Keep your momentum

Riding through mud is slower and it requires much more effort to pedal up to speed, so retaining any momentum you already have is imperative to an easier time on the bike. There are other benefits to momentum, too, as it’ll help your tyres clear mud and better grip the trail. It’ll help you drive through sticky and rough sections, rather than get bogged down all the while saving energy for the next trail.

To keep your wheels rolling, you’ll need to pump the terrain and be careful not to over-brake. Remember to look up to anticipate any areas where you’ll need to slow down and pick the best line possible.

Pedal smoothly

Where grip is inconsistent, you’ll have to be wary of how you’re pedalling to keep good traction and forward momentum, and that goes for both climbing and descending. Pedal too hard or too sharply and you’ll spin the rear wheel, sucking momentum and wasting energy.

Instead, you can either slow your cadence (the speed at which you pedal) or you can shift into a slightly harder gear which will do the same thing but without sacrificing speed. Pedalling in circles while pulling backwards and up on your pedals will help smooth out your pedal stroke, too. This is where riders choose to ride with an oval chainring, as it smooths your pedal stroke for you.

Hone your cornering technique

Employing the correct cornering technique for flat corners will give you the most available grip, but also allow you to make adjustments and stay better balanced should your wheels lose traction.

Dropping your outside foot and leaning the bike underneath you, rather than using your body weight like a motorcycle, gives you space for the bike to move freely. But importantly, it puts your body in a stronger position when your tyres slip, which means that you can stay upright on the bike and keep control of a slide, rather than encourage the slide through improper body position.

Weight the front of the bike

Modern mountain bikes come with long front centres which do great things for stability and support, especially when the trail gets steep. However, bikes with such geometries need a tweak in riding style to get the most out of them when cornering and that rings particularly true in the winter. It’s all well and good having the rear wheel slip as that can be controlled but losing traction at the front wheel can result in a crash.

Many new riders tend to ride with their weight further back on the bike, which reduces weight and grip on the front wheel. Without weighting the front wheel, you'll likely wash out over loose and sloppy sections.

To improve front-end stability, bend your elbows and lower your chest to the handlebar. This will add more weight to your front wheel and increase grip – experiment with this until you feel comfortable. More weight on the front of the bike will help everywhere. In corners, you'll have more grip and when tackling steep terrain, you'll receive better traction when on the brakes. Riding with bent arms will also increase your range of movement over the bike whether that's when cornering or negotiating technical sections.

Author block

Liam Mercer

Tech Editor here at off.road.cc Liam can also be found photographing bikes as well as revelling in cycling's intricacies. Whether it's gravel, mountain, or e-MTB as long as it's a bike on dirt, he's happy.