How to turn (without slipping)
 

This is a newbie question, so please no harsh words:

I did a left turn going down hill at around 15-25MPH on dry bumpy paved road, but my rear wheel slipped to the right a few inches in the middle of the turn. The bike and I were both leaning left before the slide. The tires are Maxxis Fuse with a few hundred miles on them.

What should I have done? I found a few threads about counter-steering, but it doesn't seem like it has anything to do with a sliding rear wheel? Do I just need to get new / better tires?

Cheers.

you tire is going to hop easier on bumpy corners, so you'll probably want to take them a bit easier. If you had your inside pedal down, its possible it hit the pavement causing you rear tire to jump. When cornering you want your inside pedal up and outside down, weight the outside pedal also.

Agreed, outside pedal down, think of it like two forces acting against each other, lean into the corner but push down on the outside pedal so that you have a "balance". Works for me :)

If you have enough room:

http://www.porschenet.com/DEimages/figure-a.gif

More info: Racing line

Apexing is generally more about maintaining speed through a corner but is also has an effect on traction.

you can also try to put the correct amount of air pressure in your tyres.

Also, do your braking BEFORE you enter your turn.

That's a good one. Rock hard tires dance around too much. The energy that's required to lift the tire ultimately has to come from you and it's not moving you down the road faster.

+1.

For a noob, you are doing something very right. You went around a corner and when you lost traction, it was at the REAR wheel, which is always the way you want it. This is the limit that all racers look for in going around a corner, and you found it!

If you lose traction on the front tire, its almost always an instant crash. The rear, however, you can slide quite a bit, a foot or more, ans still recover as long as you just relax and don't put ANY input into the bars.

If you weren't braking in the corner or doing any major input into the bars when the back slid, I would leave everything as it is and keep doing exactly what you did.

I respectfully disagree with San Rensho. I suspect what happened was a simple bounce, not a slip.

Kooker - you already know about the "weight on your outside pedal" rule. At the same time you're pushing down on that outside pedal, bring your weight slightly off the saddle. If it's really bumpy/sketchy pavement you might even lift and hover completely off the saddle, but just barely.

What happens is, if your weight is fully on the saddle, you hit a bump with the front, no prob your elbows absorb it. Then the rear hits, catapulting your butt up in the air and un-weighting the rear tire, which then jumps off the lip of the bump and goes sideways.

If you instead float above the saddle, your outside leg acts as a shock absorber, allowing the rear tire to maintain contact.

The tires are not great but unless you go to quick wearing and relatively expensive tires you will not see a big performance advantage.

Thanks for the advice!

I didn't brake before the turn, and I may have moved my weight away form the seat right before (or during) the slide. I'll change my habit of keeping my pedals horizontal (right foot front, left foot back) for turns.

I believe that corner becomes very intuitive after enough turns. I've wiped out before myself and I've also been super scared and scarred for a few days since :)

But after a while, you will learn to "feel" when it lean, how to lean, and how to position your body into the turn.