going slowly downhill - would mastering breaking technique help?

[dawn72]

Another forum member had started a thread about his wife going down hills very slowly, something which I do too. I think if I can get good breaking technique then this may help with my confidence. Any pointers would be gratefully received

 

[jefmcg]

What do you ride? What brakes are fitted? What sort of hills?

(probably not going to be able to help even when you answer, but others will need to know)

 

[TissoT]

May be obvious ... But "squeeze" gently on the front and back brake levers at the same time when applying
and release when approaching/on bends ... flow round

 

[dawn72]

What do you ride? What brakes are fitted? What sort of hills?

(probably not going to be able to help even when you answer, but others will need to know)

I have a hybrid with v brakes and a mountain bike with disc brakes. I live at the top of a steep hill where I'm on the road but also ride some fairly easy trails -but what goes up must come down!

 

[ChrisEyles]

I struggle a lot with steep descents on my road bike (with old, slightly flexy caliper brakes).

Another technical tip is to keep your weight toward the back of the saddle, and brace your arms slightly against the bracing force (not locked, but resisting).

I'm trying to build up my confidence at the moment. I know there are a fair few hills around me that I'm definitely not at all happy going down, but there are also plenty of fun ones, and a fair few in between. It's these "in between" ones that I'm currently building my confidence on. It obviously helps a *lot* if you know the route well, so beware double chevron hills on a newly planned route!

 

[derrick]

Practice, build up your confidence.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'm a notorious downhill wuss, once I rode up a winding steep hill - the serpentine in Bute, then walked it down, was too scared to ride it
Had disk brakes too!
My brake technique is fine, I just don't like heights and speed.
Guess practice makes perfect, you'll gain confidence in time.
I'm conscious that I don't know how to do turns correctly, this is also essential to master when going downhill fast.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

• use front and rear brakes together, with a bit more use of front.
• avoid overusing the rear brakes, as this can cause skidding.
• as @tissot said, release the brakes just before any bends (unless the bend is combined with a steep down hill slope).
• as you approach a bend, veer towards the outside of your lane (i.e. the right side if the bend goes left, and vice versa), then take the straightest line possible through the bend. This generally puts you near the inside of the lane in the middle of the bend, and more to the middle of the lane as you exit the bend.
• place a bit more weight on the handlebars as you ride down hill, a tactic to minimise wheel wobble.
• I tend to ride in the drops, and when going down hill fast, I do the above, and also grip the top tube with my legs, again to minimise wheel wobble.

I've probably left out a few things, but doing the above should help with down hill riding.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Think about the line you take through corners. Perhaps your confidence suffers due to you finding yourself on the wrong line at the wrong speed? It can seem you run out of space very quickly going into a corner on the wrong line. As several have said, practice will help a lot. I did two laps of the red route on a very old MTB armed only with cantilevers. The first time down the decent I was rubbish! All over the place and had to brake in weird places, luckily nobody was around. Second time around, for once, I nailed it! Had to slow down as I actually caught some young rad gnarly type on a full susser.

This hardly ever happens but it shows even a little practice helps.

Oh, even more importantly, make sure they are adjusted correctly. Vee blocks hitting the rim nicely? The correct amount of travel on the levers? Can you adjust the levers in towards the bars if you have smaller hands? Are the levers at the correct angle? Lot of levers seem to me to leave shops in a horizontal position which doesn't give the most natural angle to reach them.

 

[KneesUp]

• use front and rear brakes together, with a bit more use of front.
• avoid overusing the rear brakes, as this can cause skidding.
• as @tissot said, release the brakes just before any bends (unless the bend is combined with a steep down hill slope).
• as you approach a bend, veer towards the outside of your lane (i.e. the right side if the bend goes left, and vice versa), then take the straightest line possible through the bend. This generally puts you near the inside of the lane in the middle of the bend, and more to the middle of the lane as you exit the bend.
• place a bit more weight on the handlebars as you ride down hill, a tactic to minimise wheel wobble.
• I tend to ride in the drops, and when going down hill fast, I do the above, and also grip the top tube with my legs, again to minimise wheel wobble.

I've probably left out a few things, but doing the above should help with down hill riding.

When the skidding (on quiet roads) is the fun bit, you've cracked it

 

[dawn72]

Thanks for all the tips folks. I'm a hit confused about the weight distribution. I would have thought that since gravity would bring the weight to the front of the bike, I should position my weight nearer the back to counteract this?

 

[KneesUp]

I think age is a factor too - I guess from your name @dawn72 that you are about the same age as me. 20 years ago I went as fast as I could wherever I could - until I could spin my 52/11 gear no faster on downhills, and then I tucked in and tried to go faster. Now I feel my mortality more keenly and am aware that it would affect my dependants if I misjudged at 40+mph, I'm a lot more circumspect about it.

 

[dawn72]

Yes, I'm 72

 

[derrick]

Yes, I'm 72

And i thought i was getting on.

 

[dawn72]

.....ok, I'm not really 72