What is moon dust?
July and August often bring dry and hot conditions to trails in arid regions like those found in Australia, the southwest, and the Rocky Mountains. Moon dust occurs when soil loses moisture and the top layer deteriorates into a fine, loose powder on top of a firmer surface. Dust exposes rocks, creates bumps and ruts, make conditions slippery and unpredictable, and can cause wheels to lose traction—potentially resulting in a crash. Below we’ll give you some tips for riding in moon dust.
Create more traction
Without the tacky surface of hero dirt, you will need to create more traction between your tire and the dirt. In general, you want to have light hands and heavy feet. Push your weight through your pedals and heels to create more grip. If you know you’re going to be riding in moon dust, you may want to reduce the pressure in your front tire by 1 or 2 psi to increase the surface area in contact with the ground. Make sure your tires have a good tread, and consider getting tires with longer spikes if you ride in dusty conditions regularly.
Look ahead!
Moon dust can lead to braking bumps, ruts, holes, and powdery, dust-covered rock slabs. Scan ahead for tricky spots so that you can be prepared. Read more about your vision when mountain biking here.
Protect your eyes while riding
We always recommend wearing eye protection while mountain biking, but it is especially important in dusty conditions to prevent dirt and grit from damaging your eyeballs. It’s hard to see with dirt in your eyes! You may also consider wearing mountain biking goggles or even clear safety glasses when riding in moon dust.
Increase your following distance
If you’re riding with friends, allow enough distance between riders for the dust to settle—not only to reduce breathing in dust, but also so that you can see the trail features clearly and ride much more safely.
Brake early
Avoid locking your brakes in dusty sections or over dust-covered rock slabs. Brake earlier than you normally would because you will have less grip.
Corner with Care
Moon dust often is an added culprit to losing traction on your turns or when cornering. This can result in sliding out, meaning your tires slide out from underneath you. Practice and utilize your bike body separation skills. Specifically lean your bike not your body when cornering. Often we find ourselves leaning with our bikes on turns and in corners, especially on low g-force turns. When you lean with your bike then your center of mass is no longer over the bike’s center which is why you lose traction. When you lean just your bike and not your body your center of mass remains over the bike's center. This keeps your tires properly weighted, generates traction and prevents the dreaded sliding out. Learn more about how to properly corner and lean your bike and not your body in one of our clinics. Join an Intermediate Cornering Clinic this summer to corner through moon dust like a pro. Other important factors we cover in our cornering clinics are selecting the correct line, proper braking and utilizing your vision correctly.
Respect the trail!
Don’t widen trails by riding around tricky sections. If needed, walk your bike through deep moon dust or over slippery slabs. Always respect trail closure signs and do your best to follow Leave No Trace principles.
If you want to avoid moon dust, look for trails at higher altitudes or in cooler areas. If you don’t have a lot of options, be careful, have fun, and enjoy your dirt-tan lines!
The Mountain Bike Mastery Course is where we take your mountain bike skills to the next level and way beyond. Join from anywhere in the world for the most in-depth, personalized coaching possible. Make some magic on your bike with Coach Erica Tingey supporting you every pedal stroke of the way.