- We're out here in Santiago, it's the middle of summer,
it's not rained for weeks, so this is a how
to ride dusty and loose corners.
(upbeat music)
So these trails in Saint Christopher
are right near the city center of Santiago.
It's a real cool little network of trails.
And check out this one, it's super dry of course,
it's really hard pack.
You've got loads of different things to think about here,
you've got some steps comin' in, pretty steep.
Then when you get to the meat of the corner,
it's got this really loose stony stuff on top
of really hard pack, and here, this is where you need
to make most of the corner, it's gonna be super slippy.
That's gonna move really easily.
Then you've got a long flat exit.
So this corner is all about nailin' this part,
and it's all about tryin' to be super careful.
Fast on the way in, slow around this bit,
try and maintain your grip, look to the exit,
and then try to come out of the corner fast.
But this bit is gonna be slow.
It's gonna be really important to judge your speed,
because you're not gonna be able to ride this corner fast.
Think about goin' steady and maintainin' your momentum.
This corner is super slippy, try not and get too excited
and try and conserve your momentum.
Think I'm gonna try it once more, as you can see
that I had to dive my inside foot to stop me
from fallin' over, super slippy.
Also try and make sure I'm in quite a low gear
on the way in, so brakin' hard,
maybe change gear before I brake hard.
So when get this flat exit, I can then pedal straight
away in be in the right gear.
(upbeat music)
You see after a few goes how all the stones are sort
of pushin' to the outside and makin' a rut?
I want to try to get it all out,
'cause there's a lot more grip,
just 'cause you're gettin' away from those little stones,
you're actually ridin' through a bit of a clear piece
of the track, and there's just way more grip.
Also this corner, I'm brakin' quite hard on the way in,
(unintelligible) in this middle part of the turn,
I'm really comin' off the front brake, because if
that front wheel slides, it's just gonna keep goin'.
So I really try and get that front wheel grip in.
The type of tires you have on your bike is gonna make a
massive difference to dry and dusty corners and loose stuff.
Sort of big, somethin' with downhill tread or Enduro tires,
these big side knobs, super soft rub on these tires,
it's gonna make a massive difference.
You can't afford to be aggressive in these turns,
but it's definitely a case of,
I could be a bit more forceful with these tires.
If I were on a cross-country bike or a lighter,
faster rolling tire, you're just gonna have to go slower.
(bike tires crunching)
On a loose switch back like this,
lines gonna be super important, it's temptin' to go up there
to get wider in, but there's a chance you can slide of that.
So I'm gonna stay close to the bottom of it,
then get nice and wide.
You can also see I'm on dirt up here,
if you go too far inside, you catch the edge of these rocks.
So, keepin' it tight, see the outside of this log,
findin' the good dirt, open up the corner a little bit.
On this attempt, I felt like I was goin' too inside
on the corner, and I was riskin' actually touchin' those
rocks on my wheels, so a couple little skids
just opens up the arc of the back wheel.
A super tight switch back here, again loose and super dry.
It's temptin' to come here, but to get 'round this bit
is almost impossible, you're gonna have
to do an endo to get round there.
So really think about openin' up the corner,
super loose here, so it's gonna have to be slow,
nice and conservative, get wide.
Then you're at that point with switch backs
where you've got to commit.
Almost feels like you wanna stay stood up,
but you'll never make it round,
you'll also sort of lean the wrong way.
So you've got to get to this point, almost at the apex,
commit, lean in, or at least try an lean the bike over,
try and keep your body upright, keep it more stable.
Again, make the meat of the corner here,
so you don't run too wide on the exit.
Switch back's probably my least favorite type of corner
to be honest, just no flow in them, but there's a skill
to try and master them.
We're into the proper dust now, but actually this stuff
is pretty firm underneath, and there's like half an inch,
an inch, of really fine dust on top.
And it's really grippy, with my tires on,
you know big aggressive tread, it sort of digs through
that top layer into the firm stuff.
It's surprisingly grippy.
So anywhere it starts gettin' deeper,
and we did rides over night in Patagonia,
where it's almost like you need to stay back
on the bike a little bit more.
Try and float that front wheel
where it's really really dusty, and honestly you can't rely
on the support because through that dust you might find
there isn't a big hard-packed base underneath there,
and sometimes it just gives away.
So that's some tips on dry and loose corners.
We rarely get it quite as dry as this back in the UK,
but actually it's not too dissimilar from ridin' in mud,
where you just don't have as much traction.
You don't always get it right, as you can see from my elbow,
I crashed in the Patagonian dust just a couple of days ago.
If you wanna see a few more videos
from our trip out here to South America,
click over there for Blake Valparaiso's video.
And there's a Santiago scene check comin'
soon as well, so check that out.
Thumbs up if you like ridin' mountain bikes in the sun
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