Cycling downhill

corblimey

I'm sure I read in a thread somewhere (it may have been here, but I've been bombarding myself with cycling info this past month) that it wasn't advisable to freewheel down hills, that you should keep pedalling. Does that mean switching to such a low gear that you can actually pedal, or should I just keep pushing the pedals around even though they're not having any noticeable effect on my speed? I've got some long gentle slopes on my current route, and it seems easier to just freewheel a little and then start pedalling before the hill ends.

aidanbike

No Problem to freewheel downhill, mechanically it is ok.
A good reason to pedal a bit on long downhills is that you can seize up and cool down a bit if you stop pedalling. But that would require putting in some power and not glass cranking (just spinning an easy gear).
In terms of safety, not riding on the brakes too much is better advice as this can cause overheating and in extreme cases, blowouts.
But in this country that should not be an issue.

blorg

Unless you have a fixed gear freewheel down hills. WTF do you think it is there for!

If you do have a fixed gear pedalling down hill is advisable.

Gavin

Pedalling also helps to maintain bike stability. Useful if there are crosswinds