{"id":68,"date":"2020-04-22T12:15:53","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T19:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestrides.org\/manual\/?page_id=68"},"modified":"2025-11-01T19:19:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T02:19:21","slug":"descending","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/bestrides.org\/bikeschool\/?page_id=68","title":{"rendered":"Descending on a Bike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Open up the suitcase of courage<\/em> (Beloved commentator Paul
Sherwen’s metaphor for being bold)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Prepping the Head and the Bike<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deal with the fear<\/strong>. Descending is the easy part of cycling, the fun part. You do the climb so you can whizz back down. So experienced riders will tell you. But if you\u2019re new to cycling, descending can be terrifying. You feel like you\u2019re going to fall on your face, the bike is almost unstoppable, and you\u2019re tormented by the question, \u201cWhat happens if the wheel falls off\/the handlebar breaks\/the frame snaps?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is, there is nothing much that can be done about this except to keep descending. The good news is, that\u2019s all that has to be done. Experience will make descending feel normal. You don\u2019t find answers to those terrifying questions, you just stop asking them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you never need to descend faster than you want to. Going slow is OK. I mention this because I talk to a lot of riders who feel guilty about not relishing the 50-mph descent. \u201cI just don\u2019t feel comfortable going faster than 30 mph,\u201d they say, as if they\u2019re confessing to a secret sin, to which I respond, \u201cThen go 30 mph.\u201d The cycling community makes this hard, because it makes a fetish out of downhill speed. Riders are always humble-bragging how they were doing 55 mph the other day, no doubt while flossing their teeth. I once was sharing a meal with a 70+-year-old rider who mock-confessed, \u201cI just don\u2019t feel OK about going over 50 downhill any more.\u201d Ignore such people. Life\u2019s too short to spend it having pissing contests with macho narcissists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will get comfortable descending in time, I promise, but if you want to help the process along there are things you can do to make your bike more descent-friendly. They’re all discussed in more detail in the Your First Ride and the Components chapters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get more upright<\/strong>. Make sure your bike\u2019s geometry isn\u2019t too fly<\/em>\u2014that is, your handlebar isn\u2019t too far below your seat. About one inch below is plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you can reach your brakes<\/strong>. Make sure your brakes are low enough on the handlebar that you can reach them easily from the drops, and make sure the brake reach itself is small enough for your hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get bigger tires<\/strong>. The bigger the tire, the more traction. Additionally, if you get bigger tires, you can lower your tire pressure, thus further increasing your traction. The only penalties with bigger tires are that they\u2019re heavier, and they\u2019re harder to push when the descent is over. I have friends who ride long and hard and always ride on 35- or 38-mm tires, just for the safety factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get a quick-release seat post clamp<\/strong>. Mountain bikers lower their saddles for descents as a matter of routine, and gravel riders are beginning to imitate them, because it makes them more upright and thus more in control. If history teaches us anything, it\u2019s that road riding will follow suit soon. To do this, you need either a dropper seat post<\/em>, which costs a few hundred dollars, or a quick-release clamp, with is about $20 (see the Components chapter for details on both).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Descending Technique<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prep your clothing.<\/strong> Assuming you\u2019ve just been climbing, the coming descent is going to be a lot colder. So zip up your jersey, put on your windbreaker, put on your skullcap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Descend in the drops<\/strong>. This is not an option\u2014it\u2019s a requirement. It might seem logical to descend with your hands on the top of the bar or the hoods, because it will help you sit up straighter, but in fact descending that way leaves you unable to steer or brake. Be in the drops for any descent that feels noticeably \u201cdown\u201d (anything steeper than a degree or two). If you\u2019re uncomfortable in the drops even after you\u2019ve been riding for a while, the bike doesn\u2019t fit you and you need to fix that\u2014go back to \u201cGet more upright\u201d above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brake early, but not in corners<\/strong>. Look far ahead, anticipate the need to slow down, and start braking before you need to be slowed. Don\u2019t brake in the corner. Of course if you\u2019re railing the corner and suddenly realize it\u2019s a tighter turn than you anticipated, you\u2019ll have to brake, but do it cautiously, because braking during the turn usually forces you to lose your lean and go in a straight line, i.e. off the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hard braking for long periods of time can overheat your brakes. Overheated brakes tend to stop working, which can leave you brakeless in the middle of a 40-mph descent. If your brakes do get too hot, you may have to stop to let them cool. You can squirt them with your water bottle in a pinch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t ride lightly pressing your brake levers<\/strong>. It\u2019s comforting, because it means your brakes are always at the ready, but it\u2019s dangerous, because if you hit an unexpected pothole or other jarring obstacle, you\u2019ll reflexively clench your fists, thus squeezing the brakes and catapulting you over the handlebar. It may also overheat your rotors or rims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take it easy on unknown descents<\/strong>. I never go over about 30 mph on a descent I\u2019ve never done before\u2014slower if I have blind corners. I was once doing a first-time descent, came around a corner, and met up with a deep construction ditch running across the road, with no previous warning signage. I was glad I wasn\u2019t bombing the hill at that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust your tires<\/strong>. Road tires look slippery, but they have more traction than you believe. You can only prove this to yourself by leaning the bike over more than you think is safe in turns and noticing that your tires don\u2019t slip. Try this slowly on the flats\u2014like when you\u2019re doing our slaloming exercise below\u2014so you don\u2019t pay a big price when you go too far. But you must learn to trust your tires, or you will repeatedly go fast into a corner, decide your tires are going to fail you, slam on the brakes, and fly off the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignore this advice in the rain or on paint, leaves, or loose gravel over pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move back on the saddle. <\/strong>When you go downhill, your weight is thrown forward. If this makes you feel at risk, you can compensate by moving your butt back on the saddle. Don\u2019t overdo it, because it impairs your balance, your bike handling, and your braking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move to the center of the lane<\/strong>. On a fast descent, being passed by cars is dangerous. And you can\u2019t risk the surface uncertainties of the shoulder or run the risk of running off the road. So move out to the center of the lane, where you have room to recover from slight wobbles and the cars can\u2019t pass you (or the determined driver will have to pull out into the other lane, where they’re of no danger to you). Most of the drivers will understand. Those who don\u2019t, well, you have too much on your plate to worry about them. And you\u2019ll be going fast enough that you won\u2019t be holding them up all that much. On a nice, winding descent you\u2019ll often be going faster than the car traffic, as it works out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight is your friend<\/strong>. On a descent, the more you weigh the faster you go. So fill your water bottles at the summit. Offer to carry your buddy\u2019s gear. And accept the fact that the clydesdale you just beat up the hill is about to leave you in the dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pedal downhill<\/strong>. It seems obvious that you should coast downhill\u2014it\u2019s your chance to rest after the climb, right?\u2014but you should pedal, even if you don\u2019t want to go faster<\/em>, for 2 reasons: 1) muscles recover best under light use, so spinning downhill will hasten your legs\u2019 recovery; and 2) pedaling improves your balance and your control of the bike, because it gives you five balance points instead of three. This works only as long as you can keep some pressure on the pedals. Once you\u2019re spun out\u2014when you can no longer spin fast enough to apply pressure to your pedals, and your legs are flailing\u2014pedaling impairs your balance instead of improving it. So, once you\u2019re spun out, stop pedaling and coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Level your pedals when coasting<\/strong>. It feels more comfortable when coasting to have one foot down and one foot up, but in that position your body\u2019s natural suspension system is locked out, so if you hit an unexpected bump, instead of absorbing the shock in your flexed knees, you fly up into the air. Mountain bikers level their pedals as a matter of course, because in mountain biking bike handling is everything. If you don\u2019t like the feel of it, you can do it as an emergency measure, to be deployed only when road surfaces become sketchy\u2014when you\u2019re getting bounced around, assume the level pedal position. But the problem with that is, you don\u2019t always know the big jolt is coming until you\u2019ve been jolted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pick a line<\/strong>. Always scan the road ahead of you for danger, and map out a mental path you want the bike to travel. Pick a route through and around the road imperfections (traffic permitting). Descents aren\u2019t times for appreciating the scenery. At 40 mph, any imperfection in the road is dangerous and a single loose rock can be fatal if it rolls your front wheel. Practice picking a line even when you don\u2019t have to\u2014when the road surface is unbroken\u2014so you\u2019re good at the skill when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To pick a line, you have to look down the road. Don\u2019t stare at the road just ahead of your front wheel\u2014any information you glean will be history before you can react to it. Look 20-40 feet ahead of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stretch your hands<\/strong>. Long periods in the drops, especially combined with a lot of braking, can cause your hands to cramp or go numb. This can be fatal, since it can prevent you from braking. Learn to flex your hands while on the bar\u2014bend yours hands back hard at the wrists and spread your fingers out wide, make fists and release. If you can\u2019t ride with one hand, you\u2019ll have to stop to let your hands recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware the shimmy<\/strong>. I don\u2019t want to scare you, but some bikes have a nasty habit of shimmying\u2014wobbling well nigh uncontrollably side to side\u2014when they get up above 40 or 50 mph. It\u2019s terrifying. You didn\u2019t do anything wrong\u2014it\u2019s a design flaw in the bike. Once it\u2019s starts, it doesn\u2019t stop until your speed drops substantially. All you can do is clamp the top tube between your thighs, brake until it stops, and sell the bike as soon as you get home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare for oncoming cars<\/strong>. Descending on a winding road is the only time you stand a good chance of meeting a car head-on. Obviously, this can be fatal. So, unless you can clearly see there is no car approaching, do the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n