bikenh

How do you climb loose stones, stones like the size of your fist, not rocks attached to/buried in the ground but stones laid out on the ground to help with erosion? Not a steep climb, by any stretch of the imagination compared to what I was riding on a couple of days ago on a dirt/stone road, where I had no trouble climbing it. Today I decided to try hitting a trail for the first time. It wasn't my intention for the day but it became my reality before I left the park. Mountain biking is something I said I would never do thanks to sucking at cornering and I prefer not to take on the trees Amazing how my mindset has changed in the past two weeks. I tried the same short stretch numerous times and I could not climb it to save my soul. I keep getting stopped by the stones. Yes, leaves are also very present in the same area, but I'm not noticing any trouble with losing traction, only trying to keep forward momentum due to loose stones moving around underneath the wheels and causing me to scrub speed. In other spots with the same grade and only packed dirt, I had no trouble keeping the momentum.

Yes, I've already read I should not be doing what I'm doing, but I don't care. I'm only playing, not actually 'riding', at least not yet. Someone, not sure who, bought me a new bike at Christmas, a Specialized Sirrus 1.0. Been riding it on plenty of dirt/gravel roads and have already said, yes I will take it on the trails on give it a shot and see a little mountain biking for the first time, can't believe I could ever think that thought. Love the handling of the bike, even going over decent sized roots. I expected to feel it more from going over the roots/rocks than what I did. Not what I was expecting by a LONG SHOT. Yes, I've already been walking on several trails to see what they looked like and to form my own opinion as to whether I would even consider riding them or not. I was out on the walk today and right near where I had parked the bike was the stretch of trail I ended up riding. It was one of the few areas with decent dryness from all the recent rain. I decided the heck with it and wanted to see what I thought and how much jolting I would get from the roots and rocks. The only I truly ended up with was perplexity on how to climb the darn stones.

I think I'm in trouble, with myself...I've known this since I took the bike out for the first ride on the road almost two weeks ago. Dang does that bike handle beautifully, much nicer than any road bike I have ever ridden(over 125,000 miles ridden 2011-2019).

obrentharris 

Wider tires, 2.1"+
Lower pressure, 30#-
Suspension, especially front
Momentum
These things will al help you avoiding stalling out on loose stones.
Brent

veganbikes

The Sirrus 1.0 is their bottom of line road hybrid, not even remotely close to a mountain bike. If I were taking a bike like that out on gravel I would cram wider tires on it and lower the pressure as obrentharris said but knowing the bike is not really worth putting much if any money towards beyond keeping it safe enough till I can get what works for my riding. If I were trying to go on mountain bike trails I wouldn't even consider it. I am nowhere near skilled enough to ride that kind of bike on terrain it was not designed for, I am not Danny McCaskill or Vittorio Brummoti or similar rider and wouldn't ever claim to be.

bikenh

So will one other thing, at least one thing I will try out tomorrow when I'm back in the area again, DON'T BE A ***** Yes, I have to plead stupidity. Never hung around mtb riders or watched them ride so I have a major consideration, ignorancy. I was trying to climb the wossy footed climb in the smallest gear on the bike. After watching several numerous videos I downloaded yesterday before I made the posting(didn't watch them until last night thought) I get the understanding I was riding way too small of a gear for the wossy footed climb. Considering two days earlier I was riding up a gravel road with a 10-12% grade and I had no trouble riding up it at all, in the saddle the whole way up it, I figured I would ride the loose rock the same way, smallest gear taking it nice and easy, just stroll right up it, LOL OOPS! Maybe I'll be wrong, I'll find out tomorrow. I did see a couple of the videos also mentioned lower tire pressure. That's the second thing I'll try. I did notice a difference this morning when I rode up out of the gravel driveway. I intentionally dropped into the granny gear and rode up it that way. Granted there are no bigger loose rocks like yesterday but I was still noticing I was spinning way more than I should have been even for it. I did make it up it and it is about the same grade as what I was riding on yesterday. I go for a bigger gear and play with it some more.

veganbikes[QUOTE]
The Sirrus 1.0 is their bottom of line road hybrid, not even remotely close to a mountain bike. If I were taking a bike like that out on gravel I would cram wider tires on it and lower the pressure as obrentharris said but knowing the bike is not really worth putting much if any money towards beyond keeping it safe enough till I can get what works for my riding. If I were trying to go on mountain bike trails I wouldn't even consider it. I am nowhere near skilled enough to ride that kind of bike on terrain it was not designed for, I am not Danny McCaskill or Vittorio Brummoti or similar rider and wouldn't ever claim to be.{/QUOTE]

I didn't mind riding the Sirrus on that kind of terrain at all, even with the road tires. I had walked the stretch beforehand and I knew it was only a .1-.25 mile long stretch which I was going to ride and it was right down by the trailhead. I felt comfortable and was interested to see how it would handle it. So I rode it, and I would/will do it again and not think a thing about it. After riding down it the second time I was even more comfortable than I could have ever hoped for given the rocks/roots. I was surprised. It handles extremely well. Yes, there are plenty of places/things I wouldn't use it for but most of the trail is simple single to double track with some roots and occasional rocks but nothing beyond beginner to intermediate style riding and nothing with any kind of % grade to blink an eye at. If it was, I wouldn't have even considered riding it. Yes, I'm a *****. I have never considered myself to be a cornering expert, hence why even though I have a mtb race course literally right behind my house, I have never, until now, even consider the idea of mtbing. Road bike are WAY too stiff and they just aren't maneuverable(sp?) worth a crap. I knew after a .25 mile of riding the Sirrus on pavement that I was on a completely new kind of bike and I knew I was in trouble...with myself. Yeah, I'm picky and choosy in what I would even consider riding. I walk first and then ride second to make sure I feel comfortable with what I might ride. If I don't like it, I don't consider it. There's a few things I have seen already that even with the proper bike, I wouldn't ride it. I don't trust my handling skills worth a bleep.

Also, just like with the bike, aka the difference in handling between it and a road bike, I'm giving myself the chance to learn the difference between rubber, err tires as well...and a bit how leaves/pine needles effect the handling. Except for one place I have walked thus far everything is pretty well littered with leaves and pine needles and I'm still wandering just how they effect the handilng/traction(both wet and dry and I would think their would a noticeable difference between wet leaves and dry leaves).

Kapusta

Sirrus has something like 32mm tires, correct?

32mm tires on fist sized loose rocks? There is the root of the problem. You want much bigger tires at low pressure.

unterhausen

Yesterday I took my gravel bike downhill on the flow trail near my house. It has a few rocks and some roots but is really bumpy. 38mm tires. It didn't go that well, whereas it's fine on my mountain bike. I don't see myself climbing on large loose stones with my gravel bike, I generally walk.