Help With Descents



jwroubaix

Member
Jun 6, 2007
177
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I've been doing a lot of the canyon rides lately and I absolutely hate coming down these canyons. What's the trick with descents? I end up riding my brakes the whole way down. The sides of my calves really start to hurt as well. It must be the way i'm holding on for dear life. I've tried going down into the drops but I feel really uncomfortable in the drops. Please help.
 
  1. Breathe, ease up on your grip, and relax. Your tires provide more traction than you think.
  2. Don't drag your brakes. Let the bike run on straights, saving the braking to just before the corners to adjust corner entry speed. You can brake while corner, but be gentle doing it.
  3. Look where you want to go. If you're staring at the road just in front of you, you'll find things seem to happen much more quickly than you can handle. If you stare at that obstacle on the outside of the corner that you don't want to hit, you'll hit it. Don't target fixate.
  4. Practice descending on a familiar descent or two, that way you can slowly increase you speeds while knowing what lies ahead.
 
Just like a car, do all your breaking befor the corner and accelerate out of it
 
When you're cornering on a descent, adjust your legs so that your inside foot is on top of the stroke and your outside leg is down in the 6 O'clock crank position; this will maximize your stability. Keep your arms loose and bear your weight on your legs. It's kinda like skiing.
 
To add to alienators list.

Put your bars where you can comfortably ride in the drops and have good access to the brake levers.

If the hill is steep, move your butt backwards on the saddle a bit. Shifting the weight backwards helps rebalance the weight distribution. Going down hill tends too place more weight over the front wheel.

Relax. Sit on the seat with legs and arms relaxed.
 
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTmoxu9kFA&feature=related]YouTube - How to Cycle Downhill[/ame]

Try looking at the above link on YouTube. The speaker does a good job demonstrating the art of "counter steering". I was totally baffled by it until I tried it. The bike turns by leaning more than by orienting the handlebars and tire the direction you want to go. You actually put a little weight on the outside handle relative to your turn such that it points the tire just slightly opposite of your turn angle. This allows you to lean more heavily on the bike while holding your center of gravity. As a result, you can corner more sharply. Check it out. The video is maybe 1 1/2 minutes.
 
As others have said your weight should be on your feet not your saddle. My technique is if going straight cranks level butt a couple of cm above the saddle knees in squeezing top tube. You don't want your weight on the saddle as every little bump in the road will disturb your position. I ride with my hands on the hoods elbows down and tucked in.
 
 
Rich
http://roadbikefever.com
 
 
 
Increase the distance between your brake pads and rims so that your rims don't rub when you're cornering.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The first thing you need to be sure about is your bike. Is it up to rapid hill descents? If the spokes are loose, the brakes barely working, the chain slack and the handle bars out of line then the answer is no. Some bikes are better at hill descents than others are and badly maintained bikes are not suitable at all. If your bike is in a poor state of repair then you shouldn’t be out on it at all and you should definitely avoid hills. A well-maintained bike will have no trouble descending hills however steep.

There’s no doubt that there are dangers involved in descending a hill at speed, and a well maintained bike will soon pick up speed. When I bought my Allez I was out on a run and I reached 45MPH descending a hill, this can be frightening if you don’t know how to cope with it. The first danger is obviously the brakes. You cannot stop at 45mph by applying your brakes. Your braking distance has increased and if the road is wet, you can add to this distance to take into account wet rims. If a rabbit decides to jump onto the road as you are descending you will have to be ready to negotiate your way around it because stopping suddenly is an option you do not have.

Another danger is from holes or gravel. You need to be concentrating a 100% on your descent. This is no time for daydreaming, total focus is required. Watch the road ahead for any potholes or gravel, both hazards that could send you skidding off your bike if you cannot negotiate them. Obviously, you always have the problem of cars to contend with, this is second nature to most experienced cyclists and finally there’s the road condition. If the road is wet, your problems intensify.

Anticipation is the key to safe hill descending and being aware of the limitations of your bike. Because your braking distance has increased, don’t follow too close behind cars. If a car in front of you slams the anchors on, you may end up sliding across its roof if you are too close. Remember the brakes on a car are better than yours. If a car driver gets nervous descending a tight bend and brakes, you need to be well back so you can brake.

Keep your speed down on the bends. You don’t know what’s waiting for you around them. There could be anything from a broken down car, a pedestrian or a big hole that some telecom company has dug. Don’t go round a bend at top speed unless you are in a competition and you know there is nothing there. If you don’t know what’s round there ease the brakes on. You can’t afford to gamble on a bike.

Ease your brakes on when negotiating a tight bend. As well as giving you some control should there be a nasty surprise waiting for you, easing your brakes on will also give you more traction. Because you are travelling downhill, most of your weight will be on the front brakes so this will be working more efficiently. You can combat somewhat this by moving your riding position.

Common sense, total concentration and anticipation are the keys to descending hills safely. There’s one ride I go on for a few hours where during the ride there are a number of hills following each other like waves. There’s no bends just straight road so I’m quite comfortable descending one hill at speed so I can hit the other hill with momentum. Each hill will provide its own challenges. Until you are comfortable, descending hill just take it easy and exercise caution.
 
Originally Posted by decca234uk .

Keep your speed down on the bends. You don’t know what’s waiting for you around them. There could be anything from a broken down car, a pedestrian or a big hole that some telecom company has dug. Don’t go round a bend at top speed unless you are in a competition and you know there is nothing there. If you don’t know what’s round there ease the brakes on. You can’t afford to gamble on a bike.
 
Had that issue today and on your list you can add big tree limb fallen in the road. Fortunately I had to slow down for a hard switchback and just on the other side coming out of the turn there was the big tree limb in my lane. I was already in a very conservative descent. No reason to get crazy when there are no trophies handed out on a training day.
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