Trail Etiquette

[VirginiaHeritage]

You’re all wrong.

Broncos have the right of way. Doesn’t matter what direction.

If two Broncos meet, the one with more doors has the right of way.

Same number of doors? The Bronco with the most recalls has the right of way.

I thought this was common knowledge.

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[BleednBlue]

Except it isn’t.

Gravity helps you backing up downhill. Gravity works against you if you are backing up a hill.

But front rotors are larger than the rears

 

[DALOLA]

Wouldn't it be nice if on-road drivers worried about etiquette too? I drive about 20K road miles a year, mostly freeway.....the cr@p I see on a daily basis is unbelievable. It's a miracle the carnage isn't way worse. And the absolute STUPIDEST things always come from some moron driving a Prius.... Thank God there are no Prius(s, es, ses? whatever..) on the trails.

 

[Rydfree]

Except it isn’t.

Gravity helps you backing up downhill. Gravity works against you if you are backing up a hill.

It's more about the weight of the frontend and traction. Gravity always wins if you F' up though.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

Brad from TrailRecon did a good video on this a while back:

 

[bassist]

But front rotors are larger than the rears

It's more about the weight of the frontend and traction. Gravity always wins if you F' up though.

And if you are trying to back up the hill, all the weight is on the downhill side, so your rear has decreased traction, meaning you have more push than pull.

Backing down the hill, you don’t have to overcome the force of gravity - you just need to mitigate it a bit through your brakes. Rotor size doesn’t matter because you aren’t screaming downhill at 70mph.

 

[shadowfax]

And if you are trying to back up the hill, all the weight is on the downhill side, so your rear has decreased traction, meaning you have more push than pull.

Backing down the hill, you don’t have to overcome the force of gravity - you just need to mitigate it a bit through your brakes. Rotor size doesn’t matter because you aren’t screaming downhill at 70mph.

Laughs in 4 wheel drive...

 

[shadowfax]

Brad from TrailRecon did a good video on this a while back:

Pretty good explanations here.

 

[shadowfax]

But front rotors are larger than the rears

Agreed. Front end brakes carry 70ish% of the entire braking force of a vehicle. You won't have much weight for effective traction on that end of the vehicle when backing downward.

 

[bassist]

Agreed. Front end brakes carry 70ish% of the entire braking force of a vehicle. You won't have much weight for effective traction on that end of the vehicle when backing downward.

Except that you aren’t traveling at a speed where the rotor size makes a difference.

 

[RBF 1401]

And if you are trying to back up the hill, all the weight is on the downhill side, so your rear has decreased traction, meaning you have more push than pull.

Backing down the hill, you don’t have to overcome the force of gravity - you just need to mitigate it a bit through your brakes. Rotor size doesn’t matter because you aren’t screaming downhill at 70mph.

And then you lose traction and start slipping... backwards!
Never a good idea.
A good way to slip off the side of a cliff. 🫣

It is just safer to back uphill than to risk sliding backwards.

If you start slipping as you are backing up the hill, you and your vehicle are pointed in the direction you will slip, and you are more able to control the vehicle as you will slip foward.

Of course you can totally prevent worrying about all of this if you stay aware and notice the wisps of dust in the distance and make a point to stop and have a picnic at the nearest wide spot in the road. Enjoy a sandwich or some crackers and cheese or beef jerky and a bubbly beverage while you wait for the other drivers to go past.

 

[swamp2]

Good to hear differing opinions on hill right of way. It's similarly confusing for mountain bikes.

The official rules are that bikers and hikers yield to horses and bikers yield to hikers, both independent of hills. Then on hills the down hill rider yields to the one climbing. However, in practice, due to multiple issues, it often proceeds oppositely. This is due to 1. Difficulty braking (traction) at speed going down hill and 2. Folks often want to let the down hiller enjoy their entire run uninterrupted.

I don't really get the horse rule... If your horse is spooked by hikers or bikers and that risks you being bucked off your horse or injuries to those passing, you probably shouldn't have said horse out on public trails.

 

[gbub]

I have been doing off-road adventures for over 45 years. The standard rule is yield to uphill traffic for vehicles and bikes unless conditions are such that it is obviously dangerous for the downhill traffic to yield.

When I was in Viet Nam, I operated a large construction scraper with a group of them. We had a rule amongst our selves to yield to the downhill scraper. Reason being, our brakes were so bad we could not stop, especially when loaded, unless we dropped the pan. Dropping the pan created serious damage to the road.

 

[ssls6]

The uphill rule is about momentum not braking. It takes a good 4x4 system, high clearance, proper tires/infation, and momentum to get up hills in CO. That's the reason published at least here. Other states may vary. Again, the situation dictates and don't be an A-hole.

 

[Pops]

lots said about up/down hills...... down in CA, up in WA.... sigh.
I appreciate the passing questions -- I'm usually the slow one who pulls over to let others pass, without needing to be asked.


Here's my latest etiquette gripe:

KNOCK OFF LEAVING CRAP LIKE THIS ALONG TRAILS !! :

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