Strategies for Horse-crete/Horsecobbles/dried hoof prints

[faustus]

So, not entirely tongue in cheek: for those who are blessed to ride in areas where horse hoof prints get baked to concrete in the summer on otherwise lovely bridleways, what do you do? It's an issue I've had for years and I tend to get on with it, but sometimes try to minimise as it's not pleasant for long stretches.
- Use bigger tyres, front and/or rear suspension? Rigid, no matter the tyre or wheel size, they are laid out at always the wrong frequency so always induce judder!
- Avoid known bad spots, even if they link with nicer bits to keep you off road for longer. (makes using bigger tyres a pain if you are linking up a 'gravel' style ride)
- Ride faster
- ride in the field if possible (do this occasionally after harvest and it's stubble)
- roller it after rainfall?

[ssnowman]

I try to avoid if possible.

It's just about ok on a fatbike with a suspension fork, but if fully rigid, you still get bounced all over the place.

[ScotRoutes]

5" tyres make a huge difference

[UnderTheRadars]

Enjoy them whilst they last..... 80% of the year it’s unrideable churned up mud

[Charliecres]

Ride a horse?




Sorry

[benp1]

There are a few sections like this near me. I live in a bit of North London with lots of green belt land. Lots of people here and quite a few stables in the area, so lots of horses actually use the bridleway when they exist, which means in these conditions they're ridiculously bumpy. I usually just hold on and pray for it to be over! They're pretty horrific when it's muddy or wet so year round they're interesting.

My only MTB is set up rigid so right now it's a bumpy affair!

[fatbikephil]

Ahh happy memories of the the 'Boltby Bash' c 1989 (North york moors). Most of the trails had been thoroughly horsed and we were all on rigid '26ers. It was like hanging onto a pneumatic drill

6" plus of bounce or 4.5" plus of tyre.

[whitestone]

Because of the prolonged dry spell around here coinciding with the lockdown all the bridleways turned to concrete before anything had chance to churn them up It's well into May up here before the farmers turn out their cattle so the fields are the same, that includes the sixty or so mad heifers in the field below us that have regular stampedes for no apparent reason.

[Laurensdad]

Big gear, lean on it / use that to lift yourself out of the saddle just a bit, soft arms and give it some speed.