[Closed] Dodgy descents

Lean too far back...front wheel washes out...too far forward OTB.

Whenever I have one of these problem descents I tell myself to get as low as possible, saddle dropped, hips down and back, elbows out, chest towards stem and look way down the trail. Flick through any copy of Dirt and you see plenty of photos of downhillers doing it much better than I can. Obviously the lower your centre of mass, the more weight you can get onto the front wheel before you start tipping over the bars.

29'er.

I feel your pain. Well my plums do anyway, after a similar episode last night. Grrrr.

So- the trick is to get as low down and as far back as possible?

Not neccesarily far back, but certainly weight down. That way you can keep weight on the front wheel without having to be so high above the pivot point.

Without knowing the descent I wouldn't want to be any more specific but most people can get hteir weight lower than they do normally. I certainly can...

Matther01 I know the decent you mean. Bring you down to a fire road on a right hand turn and quite twisty at the top,

The way I do it is pick your line and the. Don't brake until the bottom. Works well for me.

JCL - Member
29'er.

tennis racket

I was told once you should be more worried about your testicles coming into contact with the back wheel than the steepness of the trail.

I have a nemesis descent at the moment.. I'm completely psyched out by it

Smallacombe rocks starts with a sloping slab of slippery granite with a flattish run out only a couple of feet long and peppered with boulders, immediately into a rocky chute.. There is a rollable line but you need to be committed and hold your wheel on the line as it will definitely get knocked off more than half a dozen times before you reach a bit of trail where you can get an opportunity to compose yourself..
Penalty for failure is quite high with a fall of about 8 feet onto boulders very possible at all times..

I've only cleared it once and last attempt I lost the front end but was unscathed.. The next guy down wasn't so lucky and broke his arm and I've walked it since..

Let off the brakes, stand strong (ie not taking hair off your gooch) and ride it like you mean it. That trick too of not letting your head drop, keep your head up looking really far ahead, not only sets your body up better, but also allows planning instead of reacting.

I only ever cant do stuff if im fannying about.

Sounds like it'll break you at somepoint. Personally I'd save myself that hassle.

Yet again at Brocton

Stinger? Slow down way before you hit the steeper part, dont brake over the rooty drops, then lean, look left and move your shoulders and hips with your head- the way you want to go and this will help get the bike pointing left, very quick dab on the brakes to avoid the magnetic tree then back off the brakes. Your tyres will grip better if they arent trying to slow down.

Yunki, is that down this?

[img] [/img]

Walking seems wise!

By the way, when I said hips down and back, it wasn't because you want to get your weight back but because it's the best way of getting your weight low - if you rotate your hips and and back it drops your torso into a low horizontal position and then if you think about getting your sternum down and towards the stem you end up in a low but strong position. If you just try to hunker down you're likely to end up with your shoulders rounded/hunched and weak, with your centre of mass coming forwards which you definitely don't want, plus your neck/head position is likely to cause your sight line to be far too downwards to the ground just in front of your wheel.

Brake (if required) before the steep bits and the turns, to let it roll free but with appropriate speed over the bits where grip/stability is in short supply.

Scruff should be the Ed Oxley of Cannock Chase, words of wisdom and a fountain of knowledge 🙂

No beard though.

I've come off on Stinger in the wet, down that root complex to the right at the top.

Now take my chances down the small drops to the left or the bigger ones in the middle.

Rocketman - no...that ones a piece of cake

Pbooker - thats the one im on about...think the no brakes and live in hope is the way forward!

Rocketman - no...that ones a piece of cake

High Voltage in Les Arcs..... Not THAT steep, but the exposure gets to you instead!

Closer to Home, there one short (10m) near vertical drop/descent off the top of the ridge at Woburn Sands which i can't see how to do, because the trail turns 90deg left immediately at the bottom of the drop. There's no way you can brake on it, because it has a couple of tree root drops across it. It IS rideable, because it has signs of being ridden, but i'm just not sure how to approach riding it.

JCL - Member
29'er.

POSTED 14 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

650b would see you right, it would "murder" the trail

Lean too far back...front wheel washes out...too far forward OTB

It sounds like you need to relax a bit more, let the bike move underneath you and just as importantly, keep your balance to prevent the front wheel from washing out.

Yunki - was that on a STW ride? If so I think I might have been there.
I rode it that time (badly) but have been back several times, had a mild OTB there right at the bottom on that pointy tombstone rock. Essentially that one is confidence to let the bike do its thing, I've watched a freind pretty much hop into it, staying firm and letting it roll seems to work.

It's hilarious watching 30-40 ramblers coming up it on hands and knees then just pitching the hardtail in and looking pro.... (until the OTB anyway)

As others have said with staying lose and low, but try and drop your heels and wrists at the same time. Looking at bike side-on, think of the wrists like the hands round a clock face (handlebar) and you want to try and get them closer to 9 o'clock. When they are higher (say, 11 o'clock), bumps will rotate your wrists (and you!) over the bar, rather than into it. Tilting your levers higher can help with this a lot, as not doing this may automatically put your wrists too far over the bar. Also make sure the fork is at a good pressure and not burning up travel too quickly...

Chiefgrooveguru - yep that looks like smallacombe, the tricky section comes down through the rocks just to the left of your shot.

Yeah it was Shamus.. The guy was gonna continue riding 😯
Si from here bounces down from rock to rock like a mountain goat