Learn the CUTTY

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I don’t do cutties a whole lot, but I do occasionally employ them. Honestly, I think we could dedicate another entire video to cutties! But for now, here’s How To Cutty:

A cutty is neither a skid nor a drift, it’s a powerslide. If you do it correctly, you shouldn’t see a skid mark in the dirt but sideways slide mark through the corner.

I’m usually using a cutty when I can anticipate the slide and use it to my advantage rather than getting surprised by a slide and getting out of control. To practice cutties I usually find a field with questionable traction. In this case I found a gravel covered lot in a super busy section of town. I don’t have any traffic cones to mark out a course, so I set up the next best thing: a bunch of water bottles.

You’re going initially for a slalom, but also S turns. As you zig zag further and further apart, it actually gets harder. So, you can practice cutties on just a straight line, but they’re not very hard and you’re only turning the bike maybe 60 degrees. When the corners get more substantial, you have to push it more and you can do this by stretching your course out.

This is definitely easier on a full suspension bike, because you can use the rebound of the rear shock to help you break traction. In this case, the Orbea is a fantastic bike because it has that pretty dicey, pretty slick rear tire and a pretty grippy front tire. On the gravel here it ended up being a good combo to get a few slides.

So I’m pushing down and as I’m pushing down, I’m pushing out with the inside leg. This will cause traction to break. At the same time, I’m looking ahead to where I want to go and I’m using the opposite hand to help control the counter steering.

As you keep practicing these, they will get easier and easier. The biggest two dangers to me are low siding, and even worse, to continue sliding further than you want- you can end up going backwards or you can simply high side. Jesse Melamead posted a clip on Instagram way back of someone doing a full 360 on accident when trying to cutty.

I’ve had a lot of friends break their collar bones doing cutties, although usually it’s after a party, riding home on wet asphalt. Or dry asphalt and a lot of partying… either way, cutties aren’t as safe as they might seem.

On the trail, the real advanced move happens when you’re able to combine this into a regular corner that has a spot for a good pump. That way the downforce you use to create the rebound effect goes into pumping and as the bike travels upwards you can then crest into another descent and increase your pump.

If you do master the cutty, it will give you another option when situations change and things get dicey, and in general, if you’re comfortable sliding your bike, when you end up in an accidental drift you’re not going to panic, you’re going to know what to do and you’re more likely to ride out of it safely and in control.

Let me know if you have anymore questions about how to cutty, where to cutty, or even just what a cutty is! Thanks for joining me on this fun tutorial!