Descending

[Eden]

I want to enjoy my road bike. I really do.

But i have a problem - descending. I freak out, almost quite literally. I can be pedalling a flat at 35 km/hr but turn that into a descent, and i feel genuine panic.

OK - first thing take a deep breath and try to relax. If you can handle mt bike descents, a road bike should be a piece of cake. If you are stiff and tense it will only make cornering harder. Relax your upper body and try to not grip the handlebars in a death grip.

I feel unstable, not sure where to position myself...

For descending on a road bike you always want to have your hands in the drops. This can be scary for a lot of people, but it is the most stable position and if you are set up well, you should have the best braking power here

I think part of the problem may be my bike set up. I think maybe the break levers are a little far for my fingers, which means i kind of have to do a wierd hand thing to reach, which means in a pinch, i'm letting go of handlebars to grip the levers - what do you think?

This really makes it sound like you are on the tops... get in those drops and get those levers positioned (shimmed if you need it) so that you feel comfortable reaching them. Give yourself some time to get used to the feeling too. Almost 100% of our new racers tell us they don't feel like they can reach the brakes from the drops... most of them are just not used to the position yet. I have also noticed a tendency for bike shops to set the brake levers very high on the bars these days. This will make it harder to reach the brakes in the drops. I personally prefer the hoods to be level with the ground, which puts the levers closer and less awkward to reach when you are riding in the drops.[/QUOTE]

But the other problem is i don't know where to look and how to be...

A lot of this is going to be the same as on a mt bike.
Look where you want to go - through the turn, not at the turn.
Brake before you enter a turn, braking hard as you turn can cause a skid.
Cut across the apex of a turn - in other words take the straightest line possible through the turn.
Here's where a road bike will differ from a mt bike - rather than having both pedals level through a turn, your inside leg should be all of the way up, outside leg down (for balance and to avoid pedal strike).

I can go down rocks on the mtb but put me on the road...

Thanks!

Some of our most skilled descenders on the road are mt bikers/downhillers. Put your mt bike skills to use and you'll be a great descender in no time.