How to descend properly
 

I ride this road a lot, average gradient about 5% whole way, this guy is fast, REAL FAST!
This guy is taking 15mph corners at 34 MPH, and taking 20 mph at 43 mph. His lean angles are insane.
He's using 23mm tire front, 25mm rear tire. (anyone saying wider tires give more cornering grip need to reassess, because this guy clearly demostrate that you do not need wider tires to rail like mad).

He wouldn't have to pedal so much if he ditched all those flapping clothes.

Dat lean angle. :eek:

I remember SAFA from one of the Terry Barentsen Hotline videos from about a year ago. Doesn't surprise me at all that he descends like a bomb. Guy is nuts.

He still damn near got the KOM. He’s not a roadie, he’s a fixie guy. Those guys are allergic to spandex and don’t wear it unless they have to. He didn’t because he got shuttled up the climb.

I also asked him what tires he’s using... his answer: “no idea”. It takes a certain level of not caring to send it this hard, and I guess at that point you wouldn’t care about your equipment either.

Attitude is everything. If you're not worrying about dying, you can relax, stay off the brakes, and point your bike in the quickest direction downhill.

Not sure how to learn that at my stage of life...

I wouldn't watch that.

First - why does he ride on his top tube?

Second - if he has to ride on his top tube just to maintain 40 mph, it's not very steep.

Third - if he's ridden this road before and knows it pretty well, this seems like pretty standard stuff. If the got off the top tube and positioned himself properly he'd have better control over the bike through the corners.

IMO he's not going that fast. Standing up on a downhill? He's not spinning out (sit down and spin the gear out please)and has poor technic controlling the bike. People like this don't last long.

must be in his 20s when other things take over good judgement. I remember reaching 130mph in a Chevy Citation in my 20s. would never consider it now ~40 years later

looks like fun for sure but would also be fun to it the ride from his perspective, or is he afraid the helmet cam would slow him down?

Meh....
43 mph downhill on normal roads.....zzz

I hate people using the term "fixie" who don't understand what it means.

Please explain what it means then... if not fixed gear bike.

was waiting for someone in a prius to pass him while in full tuck.

Um, the bike in the video has a rear derailleur, therefore is not fixed.

I liked the little wheelie at 1:34.

Good eye. I could have sworn it was because he was coasting 75% of the video.

Have you considered that maybe I follow this guy on instagram and therefore know a little bit about who he is and what his background is?

I just re-read your post describing him as a "fixie guy." I thought you meant he only rode fixed gear. Clearly this bike is not fixed. My bad.

Fixed gear means no freewheel, no free hub, no coasting.

See above

Some more SAFA, that "fixie guy."

Well....it was entertaining, LOL!

this is one of the iconic climb in the LA Socal area, it's a climb that anyone who's remotely a cyclist, from weekend warriors to top level pros, would train on, and believe me many pros even though they're training do not coast down they hammer hard in between corners. The Safa guy in the vid in waearing sailboat surfers clothes and missed the KOM by 3 seconds. The Safa dude doesn't have the top speed of the pros because them pros can hit 50mph in between corners, but Safa guy is fast due to his savage cornering speed and savant lean angle. But you 2 guys call him not going that fast? Time to put up your own video boys or you just armchair experts. Yep.

The lean angle and visual perception of speed are exaggerated because of the wide angle lens. I'm glad they posted actual speed metrics.

The premise here is descending properly. Sure, he goes pretty fast but personally, I don't think the video is a great example of proper descending skills. For one thing, he seems to be flicking the bike pretty aggressively at times. It looks dramatic, like drift racing, but it isn't the fastest way around a turn.

Watch some pros on youtube and they rarely if ever throw the bike around like that but are very smooth when entering and exiting the turns. Being smooth is key. If coasting through a turn they put their inside knee out, plant their outside knee against the top tube and weight the outside pedal. They are also very good at late, threshold braking. And hands on the hoods with forearms level is more aero than in the drops if you want to go fast.

I'd post a video of myself going 54 MPH on pavement and into the high 40's on gravel but I'm not in the habit of having cars follow me down the mountain at that speed.



-Tim-

Coasting through heavy traffic with feet up off the pedals!

Very slightly faster but much less control and not good for threshold braking. It’s rare to see anyone descending a steep winding hill on the hoods.