Going Downhill

[Irulan]

For me, correct technique was the key to getting out of the fear place.
the proper position for descending is butt out of the saddle, feet at 3/9, eyes looking ahead. As the trail steepens, you can move backwards to keep the CG low. Braking, one finger on the brakes. Modulate: use gentle pressure or feathering, do not grab or skid.

[spazzdog]

And then there's the road descent... it goes something like this:


whooooooooooo-hooooooooo, lean, whoooooo-hooooo, lean again....

spazz (who loves speed)

[LBTC]

Funny

I'm pretty brave and reasonably fast descending on my mountain bike, but on my road bike I'm a complete weenie! yikes!! Especially if there is wide open space beside me (cliff, steep hill, etc) I wish I understood why so I could get over it. I mean, what's worse? A little pavement? or rocks and trees and dirt and....well, you know what I mean. So I ride the brakes down roads, and feather the brakes lightly on the trails....

yup. I'm a walking (riding) contradiction.

Namaste,
~T~

[spazzdog]

I have a traffic circle (rotary, round-about) just down the road and sometimes when I'm coming home (slight downhill) I'll go shooting into the rotary (yes I look for cars) and do a couple laps just to get that lean at a good speed (usually about 24 mph at entry).

With light traffic, it's a blast... you should see the expressions on drivers faces as I pass them or stay even with them. Yee-hah!

spazz

[Trek420]

tips on cornering, decending. This be for the roadies:

1) Brake before the turn then, simultaneously-
2) Stand on the outside pedal
3) Head up, look through the turn where you want to go
4) Lean into the turn (no brakes)
5) zoom out! wheeeeeee.

In more detail:

1) Brake before the turn, control your speed. Good technique lets you ride fast, never ride "at the limit." Hold back a little so there's room to correct errors.

If you brake in the middle of a turn, that forces the
bike upright, which makes you ride wide to the outside
of the turn. This is not a good thing unless it's raining.

Note, if the pavement is wet you DO want to slow and take the curve upright, steer the bike. If you lean in wet conditions you risk whooosh, wheels slip out from under you.

But normally, slow before the turn, then release the brakes as you
lean into the turn so you can roll through without any
braking.

2) Weight on the outside pedal. This means, the
outside pedal should be down (at six o'clock), and the
inside pedal up (at twelve o'clock). You should
really stand on the outside pedal, so your butt is not
on the seat, and you have no weight on the inside
pedal. Stand on that outside pedal all the way
through the turn.

This does two things.
a) it's a balance thang (insert drawl here), like carving a turn on skis
b) more important it's a safety thang. if your inside pedal is down you risk catching it on the pavement and then down you go.
c) I sometimes pedal through the turn, still keep the action light on the inside edge.

3) Head up. Look where
you want to go. This means even though you're leaning
your bike, your head is upright and looking ahead. Your
bike goes where your eyes look, so don't look at the
pavement in front of your wheel. Focus on the road
ahead, where you will exit the turn. Look at the safe line.

4) and, of course, lean the bike as you

5) stomp on the pedals...whoopeeeee.

At first, it's hard to do all of these things
simultaneously while rolling through a corner. So practice through corners at less than full
speed. Practice each of these elements, separately,
then in combination, until you can do them all at the
same time.

When you feel that these techniques allow you more
control over the bike, then gradually increase speed
on subsequent downhill runs. This way you can build
confidence and technique without getting in over your
head.

To Repeat,
your approach to a corner looks like this:

Outside pedal down, using brakes to control speed,
head up looking as far as you can see through the
turn.

Entering the turn:

Release brakes, lean into turn with full body weight
standing on outside pedal, head still up, eyes looking
through the turn.

Roll all the way through and set up for the next
turn.

It's like learning anything, e.g. dancesteps. You
talk yourself through the routine at first, then
supposedly it becomes second nature. Thought I'd pass
this along just in case you find a kernal in it.

[Veronica]

Don't overthink the problem.

Tires lose their traction at about 1 G of force. This means if you're going through a corner that requires about 1/2 a G, and you brake at 1/2 a G (which is HUGE - that's equivalent to 30 degree slope) you still only have about 3/4 of a G on the bike. That's like doing 20 miles an hour through a 33 foot radius turn - picture a good size traffic lane, a bike lane, a sidewalk and a small median. (Did it on the tandem. )

So given that, the likelihood of something bad happening due to your cornering ability is small so long as your gear is maintained and the road is dry and free of debris. Maximum cornering speed comes at a 45 degree lean angle (you and the bike). Keep the lean angle less 35 degrees (from upright) and you have lots of room for mistakes. In other words, as long as you don't wiggle around a lot, your actions on the bike are less important than the traction between the road surface and the tires. So, sand, oil, water, slick pavement and bumps are the real things to worry about.

My advice is to find someone who goes faster downhill than you and follow them. Take exactly their line. Whatever they can do on their bike, you can do on yours.

V.

[LBTC]

My advice is to find someone who goes faster downhill than you and follow them. Take exactly their line. Whatever they can do on their bike, you can do on yours.

Good advice, V! heck, it worked on the mtb, it might as well work on the roadie!

Now, if I can only get them to slow down just a little so I can see which line they're taking.....

namaste,
~T~

[Trek420]

veronica sez to "find someone who goes faster downhill than you and follow them. Take exactly their line. Whatever they can do on their bike, you can do on yours."

ok, if you say so, this would be me following you

[SadieKate]

2) Weight on the outside pedal. This means, the
outside pedal should be down (at six o'clock), and the
inside pedal up (at twelve o'clock). You should
really stand on the outside pedal, so your butt is not
on the seat, and you have no weight on the inside
pedal. Stand on that outside pedal all the way
through the turn.

This does two things.
a) it's a balance thang (insert drawl here), like carving a turn on skis
b) more important it's a safety thang. if your inside pedal is down you risk catching it on the pavement and then down you go.
c) I sometimes pedal through the turn, still keep the action light on the inside edge.

Weight on that outside pedal lowers your center of gravity which increases your stability. A tiny bit of pressure on the inside handlebar combined with this will help force your tires to grip better. Practice this last bit with a feather touch. I found I could corner tighter and faster with much more confidence.