Tacky...

[SLP Punk]

I've seen this term used when describing trail conditions, but I'm not sure what it means. Can anyone help me? :embarass:

[Shorty]

I think of it as...

Having some moisture, but not muddy or greasy.

Your tires will get very good traction, but you won't be sinking into the trail tread.

Your tires MAY make a slight impression in the tread, but it will not create a rut.

Mud won't stick to your tires when it is tacky.

[Trevize1138]

I've seen this term used when describing trail conditions, but I'm not sure what it means. Can anyone help me? :embarass:

When it comes to trail conditions "tacky" is synonymous with "perfect." :cool: I'll post conditions as "dry" if a trail really needs moisture because it's mostly hard-packed dirt with spots of dust and even sand on top making for poor traction.

Tacky conditions are usually more prominent this time of year with the precipitation we get. If you know a trail pretty well you'll develop a good idea of how long it takes to dry out after a certain amount of rain. Then you'll start planning your rides for that window of time when perfect, tacky conditions can be found. Later in the summer is when dry conditions predominate. It also seems to become more difficult to get tacky conditions later in the summer because of hard-pack conditions and excellent trail design: water sheds nicely off the trail and never soaks in.

[gopherhockey]

Tacky is sometimes confused with damp. Damp, at least in my mind, means your tires are probably picking up some mud and you are rolling very slow. Tacky is the next step on the way to being totally dry.

I don't necessarily see tacky as being perfect. I still think of tacky as being a slower roll. There is a time between tacky and dry (before bone-dry) that I usually like to ride. (usually it lasts for about 30 minutes and its gone...)

I typically won't ride a (metro) trail until its at least tacky. Other areas of the country have different soil and can be ridden with different "rules". Some see us as being too strict with ours, but the soil we have to work with kind of demands it....

[manual63]

It means the trail is just not right. It's the wrong color and doesn't match well with anything else. Sometimes it also means the trail just has a bad sense of humor and you just have to call it "Tacky".

Also, pretty much any trail Dan Burros is riding is "Tacky"....:)

[berrywise]

According to urbandictionary.com

something tacky is somthing you turn your nose up at, unless your a tramp, it is usually cheap, breakable, and not worth alot. townies look tacky most of the time, wearing plastic soverign lookalikes 20p from that machine in the chippy.(now thats tacky!)