brakeing down a mountain. :s
- Thread starter barry_h20
- Start date
yeah the hairpin was tight. and there were traffic. we ride on the right side of the road and was doing a right turn. cars going up the mountains were on the left. so there was not much space to turn fast. it was hard controlling the speed. im using xerolite rims.Paulie-AU said:
barry_h20 said:
Well, the first rule with any two wheeled vehicle is that you need to be in control and ready for what the road brings to you. There should have been signs indicating the hairpin, right? For said hairpin, since it was a right hander, move close to the centerline on the road and try to enter the corner a bit late with your eyes on the apex. Entering the corner late, allows you to apex a bit later, which opens up the exit of the corner for you, allowing you more room on exit or allowing you to carry more speed through the corner. DON'T get in the habit of using the other lane entering or exiting corners. The last thing you want is to exit a corner and find Señor Car Grill in your face.
However doing a late apex on the turn does no good if you didn't brake enough.
You need to let us know what pads you have and what calipers you have. Moreover, we need to know how close your pads are set to the rim, as well as how much pad you've got left (how long have they been on the bike?). Without knowing these details, it's really not possible to say what happened. You should also tell us what shape the brake tracks are in on your wheels: are they dirty or dinged up?
No matter the case, it's important to know your bike's condition, be familiar with its performance in varying situations, and most of all, know what your real limits are. Over-cooking a turn is the wrong place and time to find out that either your brakes or your skills aren't up to snuff.
Well depending on your brake type. (ie. disc or whatever) downhill braking is hard as you must learn how to brake early and get the right apex and turn in and out. When you do manage to get this turning down you will start to experiance alot of brake wear and they will tend to slip as the brakes are worn down. You should see how your brake pads are and get the right apex through the turn.
Sounds like you just got in a little over your head on the speed and exceeded your comfort zone. When this happens, only advice I'd give is to scrub off speed with the bike upright, look ahead and plan the smoothest line, release the brakes while banking into the corner, and go for it. Don't panic and run straight off the road into the "soft" ditch or shoulder. On dry, clean roads with good tires, the bike can be leaned over around 45*, which certainly feels scary to most of us who don't do hard cornering very often. Practice on twisty decents will build your control and confidence.
Bikes I've ridden take a firm pull on the levers to really stop quickly. If you reached near the limits of braking force, you'd probably notice the back tire skidding as it started to lock up. It will get your attention, but it's not really hard to control if you just ease off the rear brake a bit. To minimize the weight-shift, slide back off the saddle and stay low as you start the hard braking.
Bikes I've ridden take a firm pull on the levers to really stop quickly. If you reached near the limits of braking force, you'd probably notice the back tire skidding as it started to lock up. It will get your attention, but it's not really hard to control if you just ease off the rear brake a bit. To minimize the weight-shift, slide back off the saddle and stay low as you start the hard braking.
I also pay attention to what the posted speed limit is on the turn. The first time down the hill I am very cautious until I know what the turn is actually like. I want to know what the entrence, center, and exit are. After I have figured that out is when I start to try to improve my speed.
I have a very large frontal area so I use my body a lot to slow down prior to the turn. My goal is to be able to "cook" the turn the next time down. With the key word being next time.
If you were going 56KPH, what was the advised turn speed? How tight was the hairpin, I have been on very tight HP, and very wide HP. They are all different.
I have a very large frontal area so I use my body a lot to slow down prior to the turn. My goal is to be able to "cook" the turn the next time down. With the key word being next time.
If you were going 56KPH, what was the advised turn speed? How tight was the hairpin, I have been on very tight HP, and very wide HP. They are all different.
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