I have problems trackstanding when I'm pointed downhill - the biggest problem is that I can't do them. Any tips? It's not like I'm the king of regular trackstands or anything, but I find these ones particularly pesky.

m.

Your pedals will probably have to be in a different position from what they are on level ground. My right foot is usually a little farther down in the back when I'm going downhill. It makes my rear leg a little straighter and gives me more leverage to use my body weight instead of my muscles to control the pedal.
Less muscle use = more stability trackstanding for me.

Nothing beats finding a parking lot on a hill and riding around in circles for a few hours.

tim

I tend to keep my pedals level no matter if up hill or down hill. Not sure if this helps but it works for me.

When possible I do what TimArchy says. Sometimes tho, you can't really help where your pedals end up. I know that if my back foot is higher than horizontal and I'm pointed downhill, my muscles start burning within a few seconds.

i trackstand with my right foot forward which means im generally trackstanding towards a downhill because of the way roads are paved. What works for me is being conscious of using the hill to your advantage. so i let the hill pull me down and forward but i put a lot of weight on my rear leg to balance things out and smetimes i actually lean a little to the left, this includes my bike. Obviously you want your pedals in a vicinity but i don't stress too much about where exactly because i think it's about shifting your weight and using the landscape too. Ease into it slowly and try to assess how much pressure the back leg will need to exert to keep you from rolling forward. slow, steady, and sensitive, feel it out.

use the force

do, or do not...there is no "try".

Use your front brake. If you don't have one, get one.

Can you actually trackstand while applying the brake, jim-bob?
How do you accomplish the constant micro adjustment of the balance point if the wheels can't roll?

Anyone back me up on this? Seriously, in my expierience, even a master trackstander won't be able to "hold the stand" when brake application takes away his/her ability to roll back and forth a little using pedal pressure...............

oddly, i'm better at (slight) downhill trackstands than uphill. it's like my back foot can make adjustments better than my front. go figure.

Yeah, I've never really had much of a problem balancing on downhills using my front brake. Then again, I'm not doing seven minute no-hand one-footed trackstands, either.