siulonbow

Hi all,

I am pretty new in riding bike, I found out that I have a big issue riding my bike going downhill. A downhill with 6-11% decline, I can only ride 9-10 mph that I feel like I almost fall. I wondered how were you able to train yourself riding fast going downhill? I have no problem riding fast on flat (22-28mph), but I am kinda scared when it’s going down. I have to constantly braking. I like riding uphill because I can train my leg and expand my lung, but I am just worry riding downhill. Can anyone please give me advise on how to overcome this problem? Thanks

spry

Do a slow speed controlled crash to overcome your fears.
That will be $5 please.

MadGrad

Is this post for real? You can do 28mph on a flat but you can't descend and incline?

con

Think less, relax more, and just ride. Ride the pace you enjoy, up or down hill. After enough miles, chances are good the problem will take care of itself.

ptle

HTFU but really get a good but loose grip. Practice fast turns. Make sure you have good brakes.

Youngin

Go down a long straight road, smooth too. Ride up, ride down in a straight line. When traffic is light try swerving around lightly as you go downhill.

Crash going down a grassy hill.

ImRael

If you are scared, just close your eyes.

diziet

Go downhill at 12 mph next, 13 mph the next time, 14, 15 ... build up your comfort in small steps. You'll be zipping by at 30+ in no time. [Speeds depend on grade. Do not hold diziet responsible for your flat terrain].

Georgebowen

Huh?? I;m like 120 days into the sport and do 40+ mph on downhills and love it... thats where I have a weight advantage over those tiny hill climbing guys.

mayukawa

I guess the question is what are you concerns/fears with descending fast? Handling? Crashing? It would not be good to brake so much on a long descent, because you're going to overheat your brakes and/or rims (leading to a potential tube blowout).

HarryStoddard

Grow some balls.

The Weak Link

I don't care for the "controlled crash" idea. That sounds like tossing a kid in the dep end of a pool.

Perhaps it is a fear of mechanical failure. Make sure you check your tires, brakes and wheels before every ride. Make sure that the front skewer is on properly. Then rejoice on your mechanical ability and fly down the hill with confidence.

andre nickatina

Trade your road bike for a track bike and bomb a secluded hill brakeless while pedalling 160 rpm. That'll make you HTFU real quick.

DScott

Sometimes it's not the absolute speed that's scary, it's the acceleration. Descending with that feeling of really speeding up quickly can be a little freaky. Maybe it'd be better if you could find a nice staright downhill with little traffic, then let yourself speed up a bit, then brake, then speed up again, then brake. Braking all the time is bad, as is letting yourself bomb down the hill out of control.

It's not one or the other. Practice helps. Go have fun!

Ed Holland

Practice practice practice!

Find a steep straight hill. Embrace the feeling of speed. Then try the twisty stuff. Do check tyres and brakes regularly, and learn to get a feel for their response. Get to know the roads you ride especially the surfaces and where the gravel is....

I'll admit to a couple of sections of Page Mill Rd that I find unsettling and I know that hill rather well.

Ed

genejockey 

+1.

I have a couple places on my usual route that allow me to get up to 40+ mph pretty quickly. They're also wide roads with little enough traffic that I can generally take up the whole lane.

Once I got comfortable with that, the twisty roads weren't as frightening, though if you add oncoming traffic and rough pavement, it's usually enough to bring out the chicken in me!

gmh39

Dont go up the hill**********

Romans8:28

Healthy fear (to a degree) IMO........

Many people who dismiss high speed descents as child's play, have not crashed hard yet.

BTW: Even good brakes suck on road bike, because you cant stop/slow quickly without a rubber to road contact patch of ample size (which our tires don't have).

FriendlyFred

there's your problem....if I had one leg and one lung I'd be scared too
(I just couldn't refrain)

estabro

+1

ElJamoquio

I'll stick to Rte 9, myself. I'm too much of a pansy for 15+% grade descents with hairpins, etc.

Flatballer

grolby

Um, what? No. NEVER a loose grip. I think a better description would be "firm, but relaxed." Have a solid grip, but don't white knuckle the bars and keep your arms and body loose, but not your fingers. I've seen a guy with a "good but loose" grip take down more than half of a racing peleton on a 30+ mph downhill when he hit an unseen bump and lost his grip on the bars.

OP, also try moving your weight back a bit on the saddle when descending, practice cornering on the flat, try and find some short hills with a turn at the bottom so that you can practice and build comfort in a predictable way.

grolby

It wasn't the best post ever, but come on. That's an egregious misuse of the Picard facepalm. It's losing the impact and meaning it once had.

Flatballer

Meh. He made two statements, both statements were wrong. I figured 100% fail was good enough for a a Picard.