Nasty, Steep and Rocky Downhills

[LIBERTY]

Any tips for not ending up on your head? or just making it down without having to bull dawg the bike..

[kxmark]

Be very, very careful.
Sorry about my humor.
I really don't know how to reply except by saying, once I'm commited to a steep downhill, I just go with the flow and be very, very careful.

[KXcam22]

LIBERTY,
  Downhills are all in the head. As many say "It's just a straightaway on a bit of an angle" but it's a natural area to fear.  The trick is to convince yourself that you want to go fast down it then practise till you're comfortable.  The pitfall to avoid is trying to go down too slow!  

     I'm one of those guys that loves donwhills, the steeper the better. It is my favorite place to pass.  What I find works for me is to not worry so much about your speed and concentrate more on keeping your balance with the bike.  Stand and keep your weight low and way back over the rear fender, using the brakes (both) to keep your speed in check (never the engine).   I always pull in the clutch so I can freely lock/unlock the rear wheel as needed.  You can only control your speed so much, once your tires start locking and sliding you must back off on the brakes a bit and let yourself pickup speed.  It's pretty hard to control a bike (for long) with either of the wheels locked up.  As you pickup speed (clutch still in) keep shifting up into approximately the right gear you would be in for that speed. That way if you meet an unexpected obstacle (tree, dropoff etc) you can feed out the clutch and give a handfull of throttle to jump it.  In a nutshell: stay balanced and let er roll!

   On slow gnarly downhills try to avoid putting your feet down if you can help it.  Stand up and trials-ride down using your weight and locking the rear wheel (momentarily) to slide the rear end from side-to-side to manuever around obstacles.  Above all stay in balance with the bike. As soon as you put a foot down you start losing bike balance.  Remember its all in your head.  Some people will 5th gear WFO through the whoops all day long but use 2nd on a downhill!  Hope this helps. Cam.

[Rick]

KXCam22 hit the nail on the head when he said"stand".  As noted, most folks fear downhills, so sit down instead of standing up while going down hill.  I, too, pull in the clutch, as I don't want the engine dictating my downhill speed.

One other note, your rear wheel is almost useless.  Only your front wheel will slow your progress, but use it wisely, or you will end up on your head.

Rick

[alan]

Great INFO!

I have always used some simple rules!

1 Never sit down!

2 Up Hill, Nose the front fender!

3 Down Hill, Butt on the back fender!

4 Use power and rear brake to control front wheel and keep you one line!

5 Avoid the front brake!

I am still here and I'm almost 60!

So it works for me!

Alan

[hoopty]

Attack it, you WILL go where your eyes are looking so only look where you want to go.

[Rick]

Alan,

Great advice, "Never sit down", and I agree with hoopty to "Attack it...".  This is the most common mistake, but takes time to perfect.

Rick