Riding on wets

[Scarecrow-K3]

Ok dont flame me but theres a possiblity that Friday might be moist :rain: and I'll be on wets if it is so, What are they like? as I've heard that they stick like doodoo to a blanket. Do any of you have any advice for riding on wets. What will I/should I expect? I will have tyre warmers.

[madmatt1969]

they move a little on the carcose but yer stick well ...feel a bit odd for a few lap ..you will get used to um

[K3_600]

You will love wets, very, very grippy but if you haven't used them before take a session just to get used to them. Run pressures around 32/32, avoid drying lines (they are meant for standing water not damp.

2 trains of thought on using them. Some say don't use tyre warmers as they will give you superb grip for the first lap at most unless you are really used to pushing them, in which case they will cool on a cold, wet track leaving you open to the possibility of false confidence on cooling tyres. Instead go out on cold tyre and let the heat (and confidence) build as they heat up naturally. Others say warm to around 75/80 degrees prior to going out and you will be fine.

I opt for the former as I can build my confidence in them and feel what they are doing.

You WILL be surprised though.

[littleblue]

my advice... dont use your tyre warmers, build heat in the tyres slowly as you go faster....

otherwise, they will grip really well for a few corners, but if your not going fast enough, you wont retain the heat in them, so a few corners more and you will be off... far better off, building the heat in them slowly and they will then grip more and more for you as you up your pace

run them at about 33 psi cold for front and rear, just ride smoothly and progressively and build your pace slowly. brake in a straight line and just ride SMOOTHLY with no sudden braking. you will be amazed at the grip you can get, even knee down with wets, despite dony being a bit slippery in the wet

[stu]

hardest thing i have found is the mental side of using them being able to push in the wet but brain saying noooooooooo it's wet still haven't quite got used to them yet.

[Scarecrow-K3]

I think braking in s straight line will be the tricky one as I've been braking to as close to the apex as possible. I guess its a case of learning from scatch and not to use a dry technique.

[littleblue]

and soften your suspension off from the dry settings........ i take two clicks of rebound and compression off, both front and rear. i leave the preload alone. if it dries out, dont forget to put the suspension back to your dry settings

once your going fast enough with enough heat in the tyres, you can brake to the apex and still grip.

braking close to the apex isnt always a good thing. i carry some brake to the apex, but i've scrubbed off alot of speed already when upright. sometimes the transition between carrying some brake and getting on the gas can upset the front, leading to loosing the front. much better off being on the power even if just a little bit, out of the corner as soon as possible to keep the front planted.

Just my 2p worth of opinion :)

[K3_600]

It's all about being as smooth as possible in the wet. As LB has said, piling up to the apex on the brakes is only going to lead to the obvious unloading of pressure through the front suspension and tyre, the subsequent lack of grip and transfer of inertia away from the contact patch. Far better to scrub off as much speed while upright and drag the back brake up to the apex if you feel the need. This way your front end is stable and focused on grip rather than loading and unloading suspension.

[Scarecrow-K3]

I agree LB and K3 600 its not always good practice to trail break front or rear. But thx for the suspension tip I would of deffo forgoten that!