Braking Technique on Descents

c.p.w.g.w

So i'm not the best at descending(mainly due to being about 10kg overweight). But i have never come off the bike or come close to coming off while descending.

I typically will apply both brakes very lightly to slow myself down once i feel i'm starting to pick up too much speed. But was talking to someone who races and been riding for 30 years, they were telling me i was crazy to be applying the brakes.

So if i'm crazy to apply their brakes how to you the people of boards control your speed while descending?

I have hit speeds of 60km/Hr + on some descending

uncle-mofo

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

So i'm not the best at descending(mainly due to being about 10kg overweight). But i have never come off the bike or come close to coming off while descending.

I typically will apply both brakes very lightly to slow myself down once i feel i'm starting to pick up too much speed. But was talking to someone who races and been riding for 30 years, they were telling me i was crazy to be applying the brakes.

So if i'm crazy to apply their brakes how to you the people of boards control your speed while descending?

I have hit speeds of 60km/Hr + on some descending

Braking is fine, brake before the corners and let the brakes off as you go through the turn, you might want to slow more than usual before turns so you can get used to this. Point your genitals where you want to go and keep your eyes focused on the exit of the turn. You should be looking further ahead the faster you go. Learn the limits of your tires, try a few slow speed turns with your inside foot down leaning as far as you can until you feel your tires start to lose grip so you can get a feel for their limits. Practice is everything!

ED E

[Slow and cautious rider]

Touching 60 is plenty for me and I rarely breach 65. In groups there are those that'll do 74-76 on the same hill and basically freewheel down but thats not for me.

If 30 of us go out there'll be at least one that, IMO, is reckless when it comes to descents. If you're not on closed roads there's no way you're keeping on your side when a bend arrives and if there happens to be a vehicle there you're injured or dead. Not worth it for a strava stat.

/2c

magicbastarder

if you're not trying to win a race, why worry about braking more than is absolutely necessary?
do what feels comfortable.

Wishbone Ash

uncle-mofo wrote: »

... with your inside foot down...

:eek::eek::eek:

c.p.w.g.w

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

i assume he meant outside foot down...well at least i hope thats what he meant.

Everything ye guys have posted is what i do on my descends, i'm certainly more cautious than when i first started 7/8 years ago, had a 4 hiatus which ended this year. I never cross the into the oncoming lane on the corners as that's asking for trouble.

But with the OH at home if she heard i got injured descending like a madman, i'd be in a whole world of pain

Wishbone Ash

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

.... I never cross the into the oncoming lane on the corners as that's asking for trouble....

It very much depends on the descent. Some mountain roads have no hedges and therefore good visibility of the road far ahead even when it is twisty. In those scenarios, it's safer to use the full road rather than trying to stay on one side.

Borderfox

Cant say I have ever had to use the other side of the road on a descent, I tend to brake in a straight line before a corner and mostly scrub speed off with the back brake.

uncle-mofo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

I meant inside foot down as in food clipped out as a practice drill

07Lapierre

I find it harder to descend slowly than descending fast. If your too cautious you end up with sore hands/wrists from the constant pressure of applying the brakes. Apply the brakes as you approach a bend, release the brakes as you exit the bend and if the road ahead is any way straight don’t apply the brakes until the next sharp bend. I also think a lot of nervous descenders don’t get low enough on the bike. I see a lot of people descending while sitting very upright with their hands on the hoods. Get down on the drops, only apply the brakes as you approach a bend and let loose on the straights.

531

Brake, don't break.

TooObvious

Stay loose, think flow, no need to brake on long straight descents - irrespective of how bumpy it may be, you can raise your ass of the saddle at the bumpy bits - just enough to let the bike move fore and aft underneath you. Brake before the bend not midway, look way ahead.

But most importantly - think floooowwwwwwww

Wishbone Ash

531 wrote: »

Brake, don't break.

I was hoping a mod would change it. I have visions of the OP trying to decide the best was to have a KitKat on the way down.

magicbastarder

happy to change it if the OP requests it!

Deagol

c.p.w.g.w wrote: »

So i'm not the best at descending(mainly due to being about 10kg overweight). But i have never come off the bike or come close to coming off while descending.

I typically will apply both brakes very lightly to slow myself down once i feel i'm starting to pick up too much speed. But was talking to someone who races and been riding for 30 years, they were telling me i was crazy to be applying the brakes.

So if i'm crazy to apply their brakes how to you the people of boards control your speed while descending?

I have hit speeds of 60km/Hr + on some descending

Braking technique is about gentle application and reading the road.

Get your braking down before corners, you have far less grip when leaned over.
Front brakes have far more stopping power and grip when upright than rear brakes.
Watch for loose surfaces, any gravel etc, gently apply rear brakes just to scrub some speed off. I tend to use front brakes less if surface is loose as you can recover from back wheel skidding a little much easier than if front looses grip.

07Lapierre

Deagol wrote: »

Braking technique is about gentle application and reading the road.

Get your braking down before corners, you have far less grip when leaned over.
Front brakes have far more stopping power and grip when upright than rear brakes.

yep... just like this lad!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

dastardly00

07Lapierre wrote: »

yep... just like this lad!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

Gotta laugh at the top-rated comment:

I'm amazed he can go so fast with balls that big

c.p.w.g.w

magicbastarder wrote: »

happy to change it if the OP requests it!

Please fix my spelling error thanks

Deagol

07Lapierre wrote: »

yep... just like this lad!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

Remember watching that live and clenching - and I did again watching it this time

smacl

ED E wrote: »

If you're not on closed roads there's no way you're keeping on your side when a bend arrives and if there happens to be a vehicle there you're injured or dead.

If you're coming into a blind bend on a country road it is well within the bounds of possibility that you might even meet an oncoming vehicle or other obstacle on your side of the road, as I discovered to my detriment last year. While I'll still hit the low 60s on descents with good visibility, I slow right down now wherever visibility is in any way compromised.

AndrewJRenko

Do these kind of serious descents cause serious wear on brake pads or discs?

magicbastarder

well, basically the job of a brake pad is to turn kinetic energy to heat, via friction. and kinetic energy is equivalent to the square of your velocity - so i don't know what the effect on physical wear is, but stopping a bike doing 60km/h means the brakes have to absorb 9 times as much energy as they would stopping from 20km/h.

nordicb

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Do these kind of serious descents cause serious wear on brake pads or discs?

They do. Going up is a good workout, going down on rough narrow windy roads causes a lot of wear, rims especially. This is the only advantage I see in having disc brakes on a road bike.

Wishbone Ash

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Do these kind of serious descents cause serious wear on brake pads or discs?

Not so much in the dry but on a dirty wet day on a long technical descent, pad wear is very noticeable. (I descended the Stelvio Pass on a wet day a few months ago and I used a big chunk of each pad).

All My Stars Aligned

Best two tips I've ever received..

Stay in the drops and not on the hoods, gives far better breaking control and your wrists wont get tired.

Press your inside foot down when cornering as it helps with grip.

smacl

magicbastarder wrote: »

and kinetic energy is equivalent to the square of your velocity

Square of your velocity times your combined body and bike weight surely? Those of us carrying a bit of extra ballast get up a fair bit of speed just freewheeling downhiil

Daroxtar

Look carefully at the Cancellara video, you can tell when he's braking by his knee position. When he clenches a knee or both onto his top tube it's to stop a speed wobble happening as he pulls the brakes. Watch Nibali or other good descenders, they all do the same.

saccades

All My Stars Aligned wrote: »

Press your inside foot down when cornering as it helps with grip.

What?

And when your pedal hits the road you'll be highsided into the gutter.

Always lift the foot on the side of the direction your turning too.

All My Stars Aligned

saccades wrote: »

What?

And when your pedal hits the road you'll be highsided into the gutter.

Always lift the foot on the side of the direction your turning too.

Sorry, my mistake, early morning posting! Outside foot I should have said.

magicbastarder

smacl wrote: »

Square of your velocity times your combined body and bike weight surely? Those of us carrying a bit of extra ballast get up a fair bit of speed just freewheeling downhiil

indeed - i misused 'equivalent', i meant to say 'proportional'.

Wishbone Ash

All My Stars Aligned wrote: »

....Stay in the drops and not on the hoods, gives far better breaking control and your wrists wont get tired.....

....and it lowers your center of gravity giving better stability.