Descending

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GrumpyGregry

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
PpPete said:
Weight off the saddle and on to the pedals (at 3o'clock and 9 o'clock) is best for poor surfaces.
Otherwise, inside foot at 12 o'clock, outside foot at 6o'clock - and push down through the outside foot. Somewhat counter-intuitive but amazing how much stability that gives you.
Gravel is rarely across the whole road. IME If you are balanced & in control you can usually make minor course adjustments to avoid it.
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That bearing down on the outside pedal thing... it's amazing.
 
ianrauk

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Martin. on a long left hand bend, wiggle your left hand lug hole out a bit to give you more balance. For a right hand bend, repeat the process but with the other lughole.
 
U

User482

Guest
GregCollins said:
Feels like a a case of mind games then...
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I'm not so sure - with MTB it's much more about picking good lines and allowing the bike to absorb the bumps. There are techniques like manualing and bunny hopping. I also think it's easier to tell where your limits of grip are on on the MTB than on the road.
 
OP
OP
martint235

martint235

Dog on a bike
Location
Welling
ianrauk said:
Watch and learn from a certain Mr Cancellara
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See. Exactly my point. I'd be on the brakes all the way down there which is why I made the statement that my descending is c**p!!
 
CopperCyclist

CopperCyclist

Veteran
Hector said:
TBH I think your questions are irrelevent.

5) Have faith in the tyres when leaning, the amount of lean though is something that you'll learn with experience.
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Or that could read 'the amount of lean is something you'll learn with A BAD experience!'
 
marzjennings

marzjennings

Guru
Location
Houston, Texas, USA
martint235 said:
See. Exactly my point. I'd be on the brakes all the way down there which is why I made the statement that my descending is c**p!!
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Watching Cancellara descend was awesome and I think there's a few things we can take from that video.
1, The road is clear, he can use the whole road because there should be no uphill traffic. One less thing to worry about.
2, The road is clean, swept clear of rocks and gravel. Again another thing he does have to really consider.
3, He knows the road and therefore how much speed he can bring into every corner
4, He trusts his bike, he know's his brakes work well and his tyres will hold.

Two things that have helped me in the past

1, Follow someone else who is faster. It helps me to see what can be done so I understand what I have to do.
2, Practice actually descending, how often do you just set out to ride one section of road/trail? Ride it once, go back up and see if you can go faster and repeat.

And one tip I've found useful is to move back and up a little in the saddle. Don't stand, just direct more of your weight through your pedals than your bum, especially in the corners. Really weight that outside foot. Putting more weight on your pedals than your saddle will lower your center of gravity and,I've found, make the bike feel more stable.
 
Moodyman

Moodyman

Legendary Member
I've always been a nervous decender, but this became a 'terrified' descender after a 30mph fall in February (ice).

It's taken me months to recover my descending confidence. A good technique I found is to sit far back in the saddle, then to lift the backside to unweight the saddle. Suddenly, your weight is carried by the pedals - better centre of gravity, but enough weight remains over the rear wheel.

EDIt: Pushing down on the outside pedals is very good when leaning hard into corners
 
Andrew_Culture

Andrew_Culture

Internet Marketing bod
Location
The People's Republic Of Suffolk.
Moodyman said:
I've always been a nervous decender, but this became a 'terrified' descender after a 30mph fall in February (ice).

It's taken me months to recover my descending confidence. A good technique I found is to sit far back in the saddle, then to lift the backside to unweight the saddle. Suddenly, your weight is carried by the pedals - better centre of gravity, but enough weight remains over the rear wheel.

EDIt: Pushing down on the outside pedals is very good when leaning hard into corners
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Me too, although in rain not ice, I'm only now getting my confidence back! Still a bit nervous on roads, but that's probably good for self preservation :smile:


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