General Cycling Discussion - Achy hands on descents..

Have to admit, on many descents- when veering near drop-offs; I am a real woos... I brake lots. The method I use -pinch the brakes and release to lower the speed.. Then repeat.
Coming down Mt. Palomar last Tuesday- my hands really got to hurting.. I had about 11 miles of braking. When letting rip, my speed would get to about 40 mph. Braking took it down to high 20's..
My question. I think Mtn. bikes have a braking system that allows the rider to apply less pressure on the levers. The brakes might be touchy, but they save your hands a lot when pinching down on the levers.. Any one know of braiking systems that give your hands a rest upon descents..?? And can these be applied to road bikes.?

Some couriers and other riders have been known to use their foot on the back of the front tire to scrub speed, not sure how long your shoes will last if you employ this method descending a mountian though. I'd practice this an awful lot before attempting this manuever on the side of a mountian.

Airbraking is also a good technique to save on using your bicycle's braking system. Results and effectiveness will vary, but every little bit can help.

Magura makes hydraulic rimbrakes for roadbikes, not as stylish as Campa, but they sure have real stopping power!

http://www.magura.de/english/frameset/default.htm

What kind of brakes are on the bike currently? Your options might be limited depending on the type of frame of have. Cantilever brakes generally provide more stopping power than sidepulls but you need mounting bosses on your front fork and seat stays. On my tandem, I have a rear disc brake that's used as a drag brake. The problem you might have is that one brake lever -- left in my case -- controls both front and rear canti's and the other only controls the disc brake.

Most of the brake systems out there, if adjusted properly should not cause your hands to go numb. Try adjusting the levers to different positions. Another fact might be the type of bars and stem you are using. They might have you in a position where most of your body weight is on your hands which will cause your hands to go numb fast. A different stem or just a riser bar might help out. One other consideration, what affects alot of riders is the fact that they will hold on to the bar extreamly tight when going down hill with any speed or entering a turn and having to slow way down, pay attention to how tight your grip is. One sure sing of holding on tightly is arm pump.
Good luck
Sliante:beer:

Higher-friction brake pads, such as KoolStops, will permit you to grab the levers less tightly. Also, some road brake handles offer slightly more leverage than others. For those of us with smallish hands, Shimano and Weinmann levers tend to be more comfortable than Campagnolos, Modolos, etc.

Have you ever braked so much, or for so long, that your rims heated up to a point that you were worried about the tire? I know there are some concerns with rim cement and tubulars, but what about clinchers?
I tend to oscillate my rear brakes on long, smooth descents. There are a couple of very long and steep (8 to 12%) downhill runs that are fun for speed. To decrease speed near the intersection at the bottom of one of these, I slide back on the seat, expose my upper body to the wind and apply equal pressure to front and back. My bike seems to be very stable at speed and under braking, so my confidence is high and I trust the machines performance. I think that this is critical in downhill speed and slowing/stopping.

The brakes might be touchy, but they save your hands a lot when pinching down on the levers.. Any one know of braiking systems that give your hands a rest upon descents..?? And can these be applied to road bikes.?

How about some sort of a power assist to the brake levers? No, I am not kidding.

Being rather familiar with the Palomar grade, and similar grades here in Colorado, I was rather simplistically thinking of a humungous rubber band wound around the brake lever and the end of the bars, or some sort of a spring assist. I know it sounds sort of crazy, but cars have power assist brakes - why not bikes?

Or some sort of electrodynamic assist off of a battery or generator?

Come on all you engineers. A chance for creativity here.

My wife really shares this problem, as do I a bit.

Most of you know how much drag there is from a cheep generator set, my idea was to use a wheel that size to spin a fan instead, scrub off speed and no heat for your wheels.
Btw the little wheel would run against the tread NOT the sidewall.
kev