Bombing down a hill?!

OwnedByJolie

I'm 22 and havent ridden a bicycle since i was 10 years old. I recently bought a Trek 1200 Road Bike and rode it for the first time tonight. I went up the hill and down the hill through a normal neighborhood street. As i was going down the hill i couldnt help but use the breaks all the way down due to being fearful. I know i've seen pros go down a hill at high speeds, but being a newbie I havent fully given my trust to my thin tires yet and am scared of doing an endo out of no where.

Has anyone ever low-sided from going too fast on a turn? or just flipping over and by doing an endo?

ganderctr

On a neighborhood street I don't generally get over 25 mph because there's too many things that can reach out and hit you (cars, pedestrians, tennis balls, etc.) When I'm out on a real road I open it up a little more. Even coming off mountains, I don't really like going faster than about 35, personally.

triguy98

I once low sided going around a rain slick turn. Turning so fast trying to beat the next wave of on coming cars that i slid right off the shoulder of the road and over a drainage ditch, where i managed to bike the bike off me, catch it, and run to a stop.. without anthing but my feet and tires ever touching the ground. All on my second ride with a road bike..ever. Still one of my more proud moments.

Just watch for cars. Test your limits. Ya might crash or wipe out once or twice, but it's how ya learn. I cant count how many many times I crashed while learning to MTB. THAT's where the REAL downhill action is at. After some serious MTB, road downhills are nuttin.

Bluey_27

what do u mean low-side?
If your braking hard try to use both. But dont brake to hard with the back cause it locks up the back wheel easier (i can tell u this from experience, it does!)

OwnedByJolie

LOW-SIDE meaning when you going through a turn and your rear tire loses traction and then you and your bike tips over and results in a fall.

question: when i was using my rear brakes, it made a "chech" noise or something like that every 2 second interval as the wheel spun. is that a normal part of breaking in the brakes?

Bluey_27

hmmm...thats exactly what i did.

mabey....heres some likely causes and solutions

Cause -------------------------- Solution
Brakes out of adjustment - centre brakes
Bulge in rim or rim out of true - True Wheel (take to bike shop)
Brake mounting bolts loose - Tighten bolts
Rim/ brake blocks dirty - clean them
Grit in hubs - Get LBS to service and regrease hubs
Brake block toe in incorrect - Adjust brake block toe in

rayner

I reckon the noise is just cos you've got new brake pads. Might also be some shit in your pads, the join on the rim rubbing against your pad or a crappy braking surface. My moneys on the brakes needing to be worn in.

As far as 'low-siding' goes you'll be right as long as you're sensible. Unless its a super sharp corner it shouldn't happen. Mind you I've done it before...51kph in a crit took a corner too sharp hit a bit of loose hay, lost grip with both tyres, nearly had it back up and then a piece of glass blew my back tube out. All that for a lap prize....

iShawn

What is the best way to clean the rims? Do you want some sort of tackiness left on the rim for the pads to adhere to? Do you want to make it slick as new?

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ryan_velo.

Well, I use soap & water, then wax it down reall good to make it nice & shiny!

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velomanct

speeding down hills at 50mph+ is one of the best parts of cycling!

you just need to get experience and you will feel more comfortable at high speed.

some days, I will hit a very fast downhill at over 50, and then during the rest of the ride, going 40 feels slow.

just watch out for broken pavement and obstacles/cars

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Muddy Beast

always be aware of your riding...now i mtb but i also go fast down street hills and the best advice is to first go down the big hills a a slow pace and get a feel for the bumbs, and were all the rocks, stumbs, pot holes are...then after awhile you'll no were to brake and turn and were not to...as long as your aware of wats going on you should be fine *things to keep in mind....wen it last raind, if any sand from snow has been sprade and not cleand, were you might have caught an edge last time, were cars and people come out, ect.*


~Scott

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Wolfzazi

Whats been pissing me off recently is hills covered with gravel. i'm riding with another rider and he can fly down at around 77km/hr while i'm at around 60 trying not to crash on the turns, and he's just going smoothly. In another hill thats short but very curvy, same rider goes down it around 40k while turning on grvael!! I go near 30 and fall. How can you practice how to downhill on gravel??

Muddy Beast

learn to slide turn....its risky but it works....i do slide turns on it sometimes...basically you just lock out your rear tire and put your inside foot down to slide....after lots of practice you learn to slide perfectly almost like wat you see on parts in the movie "on any sunday" if you havent seen that movie check it out...its a motorcycle movie from late 80's? but yeah...you'll learn *try figuring out what your friend does...ask him for advice*


~Scott

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Bluey_27

Curvey desents suck. I always end up going to fast on the corners and having to cut across to the other side of the road to get round. I guess i just need practice. As for cleaning your rims you can use a Rim Cleaner Rubber. They clean up your rim to look like new and give you better braking.