cycling downhill

shamrock55

just wondering what peoples take on this is,i was cycling on some country roads today which was about 6 miles of a gradual climb question is when i turned around to go back its obviously downhill so i was going at a fair speed then the thought popped into my head if i fall off hear im dead simple as either that or ill have no skin left its a road bike im on but what i want to know is if your going downhill is it best to cycle flat out if you can ie if its not to steep and gears will let you or should you just free wheel nice and handy im only riding for a bit of fitness by the way;)

cantalach

Joyce is alive!

murph226

flat out

ednwireland

flat out

my suit of lycra will protect me !

Max Speed: 70.4 km/h (yesterday)

shamrock55

ednwireland wrote: »

flat out

my suit of lycra will protect me !

Max Speed: 70.4 km/h (yesterday)

sweet jebus thats fast:eek:

Chris O Donoghue

Sounds like you're still breathless!

It depends: on a good, dry surface, with little or no entrances to houses etc, I go flat out everytime. It's gravitys payback for making you suffer on the way up.
I sort of accept that if I come off I'm going to be peeled.

Chips Lovell

I'll put it this way, only go at a speed at which you are confident you can control your bike. If you're inexperienced, don't take any risks. You'll find your descending skill improving over time.

mjo

It all depends how cofident and skilled you are descending... I wouldn't risk any little misstake and can be brutal.;)

ednwireland

shamrock55 wrote: »

sweet jebus thats fast:eek:

unfortunately this is less impressive

Avg Moving Speed: 20.4 km/h

although it did include

Elevation Gain: 1,312 m

btw what el tonto said dead straight empty road, surface aint great but the focus cayo i have is pretty stable at speed (55mph on my old raleigh when i was (a lot ) younger was scary, hat bike wasnt stable at speed.

Biopace

Flat out!

67.5 km/h off-road yesterday

thebouldwhacker

I normally try not to take the pi$$ if I'm solo but I got 80kmph last year coming off the Conor Pass until a cute little sheep decided to joining the fun I think she got a bigger fright than I did oh wait no I definatly was more surprised I wasn't long slowing thats why I try not to take the pi$$ when I'm solo however if I'm with a group faster the better many eyes can spot dangers better and if you pick your spot the 'look at me I'm in front' act like a buffer to take the hits though this also causes pile ups maybe its just a feeling of group safty anyway as the old saying goes if your afraid of falling off you bike you shouldn't be cycling cos there's only two types of cyclists those who have fallen off and those who haven't fallen yet
All in one go:D

J Madone

http://janoskohler.wordpress.com/2010/06
-trajectoires-cycles-rider-janos-kohler-victorious/

This man will show you how it's done !

He's fair quick on the flat also

shamrock55

ill have to get one of those computer thingys i havent a clue what speed im going i doubt its as fast as you lads though:P

spokeydokey

You don't need a computer...

Just make it up like everyone else. Then embellish it a bit.

Cookie_Monster

J Madone wrote: »

http://janoskohler.wordpress.com/2010/06
-trajectoires-cycles-rider-janos-kohler-victorious/

This man will show you how it's done !

He's fair quick on the flat also

I work with him, you never guess he's a speed maniac

I've clocked out at 72.3 kph so far

Columbia

20 seconds easy spinning to relax the legs and then flat out, but for the love of god don't sit there gawking at your bike computer on the way down.

As for cornering, you need to be somewhere in between confident and insane.

edit: just to add, definitely don't freewheel down, you need to keep a full bloodflow going through your legs to recover properly from the climb.

Mint Sauce

My top speed was 75kph. At that point the only things on my mind was on, (i) hoping to all things holy the guy in front does not veer right, (ii) that I dont hit a chip, (iii) my brakes work, (iv) <censored>, (v) really cannot lose this £50 bet.

Like this other guys said, really depends on your own confidence, weather, whoes around you,ie traffic, road condition, etc. The above situation it was on a dry day, no wind, no traffic, bar a few other cyclists spread out, and a straight road as far as I could see, peddling at his point was not flat out, although at times had my knees clamped againt the top tube trying to stop the vibrations.

Ps, I lost the bet.

fat bloke

Yeah, I used to love that sh1t. Down dodgy rough descents like the Sally Gap and Luggala, hands of the brakes, eyes bulging outta their sockets. Mental when I think back on it. -I don't do that anymore. I'll go full bore on wide well surfaced roads like down the embankment or whatever, but now I'm happy to get UP the hills as fast as I can, and I'm in no particular hurry down the other side.

FISMA

Downhillers that expect to live to a ripe auld age must learn foreseeability.

Having topped 100kph myself at the Tourmalet. I only do so under certain constraints.

Know your surroundings. Are there gates opened that tractors can pop out of? Are there cars parked whose doors might open? Are the conditions good: dry road, no muck, no moss.

There should be no turns and you should be able to see far ahead.

Always assume that the car in front of you IS about to do the most stupid thing they possible can do: (1) you will never be disappointed and (2) someday you will be right.

You will never control all the variables. For example, I have been hit by a bird - seriously. I grazed the tail of a squirrel and nearly got hit by a deer that I startled.

Tea_Bag

ive hit 63km/h or thereabouts once, when i was a young insane teenager, and wont do it again. all i really remember was horrific vibrations that make the wheels jump a little when you hit what i could only assume to be small stones, and a dog coming at me. feck that its not worth it.

smacl

FISMA wrote: »

Know your surroundings.

+1, and be aware they change. There's bigger, wider, deeper potholes around the place after the cold winter. Hit one on Sunday around Lacken that was most of the width of the road. Nice to see some get better, e.g. Cruagh road, and a few shovels of tar thrown into the potholes up the sally gap.

For my abilities on the roads around Wicklow, I rarely go over 55kph, although I'll make an exception for the Wicklow gap on a clear day

on_the_nickel

My only (for the most part) fear when going down hill fast is gravel on corners. Had a near off at about 70km/h when my front wheel hit some gravel and it scared the sheeitt out of me and I'm always wary.

But on straight, dry, good roads, my advice is enjoy it and don't look at the speedo. I was fine coming off the Sally Gap one morning, til I looked at the speedo and saw 79. It was only then I tensed up!

cantalach

spokeydokey wrote: »

You don't need a computer...

Just make it up like everyone else. Then embellish it a bit.

Ah...but you can't make it up if it's on your GPS trace for all the World to see.

seamus

As said, above all, do not ride faster than you feel comfortable with. Speeding downhill you will always feel a little unsafe, but if you hit a point where you feel, "I have no control over this bike", then gently use your brakes to scrub your speed and bring you back to where you feel in control.

Do not brake when turning. Especially at speed. Scrub your speed before you hit the corner, then release the brakes.

You will get quicker over time. I hit just over 68km/h on a descent over the weekend (wind was actually holding me back, I've done well over 70 on that particular road) and jimm who has more experience than me, still managed to pull away from me and put about 300m between us.

manwithaplan

The important thing to remember is that wheels hardly ever fall off.

fat bloke

manwithaplan wrote: »

The important thing to remember is that wheels hardly ever fall off.

Yeah, and the chances of that happening are inversely proportional to the RRP of your wheels.

The amount of people I saw out last weekend blithely spinning around on sub 800 euro non-carbon death-traps was truly shocking. :pac:

neris

Ive only got 69.1 but that was because id no glasses on couldnt see and realised there was a car park coming up in 500 meters were i was sure some smart arse would pull out of at speed

manwithaplan

When I am descending at 70kph, I like to think about the precise moment I closed the front quick release lever. Can I remember the impression it left in my palm? Was the bike on the floor or on the stand when I did it? Did I leave the gas on?

Canis Lupus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNwmpLPhoHw

Harrybelafonte

Have worked on my downhill speed, was always a bit wobbly, but have improved, 70kph down far side of Wicklow Gap, over 65kpn from Sally Gap towards Laragh, but after a few frights I'll never got over 40 going into Howth from the hill or into Enniskerry from the steeper part. 40's pushing it.

daragh_

I'm a nervous descender at the best of times (as Unionman will confirm).

Coming home from a spin on Sunday after leaving the lads I got caught in a bit of tomfoolery along Pine Forest Road, chasing two lads from South Dublin CC, who were both much much faster than me. I managed to just about keep up with them until the hill after Johnny Foxes. Sweet jebus I've never gone down a hill so fast. It's an interesting experience going flat out down a hill watching someone accelerate away from you.:eek:
I was amazed at how quickly and tightly they were able to take corners. I don't think I'll ever have the balls of steel to do that.

seamus

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

but after a few frights I'll never got over 40 going into Howth from the hill or into Enniskerry from the steeper part. 40's pushing it.

The main problem is worrying about what cars are going to do. Every corner has a potential farmer with his jeep and trailer parked blocking the road.
I'd love to give some of the big descents a go on a dry day on closed roads. Though I suppose we learned from the Rás last year that even then there's no guarantee that you're safe from idiot drivers.

TinyExplosions

As has been said before, it's all about being as relaxed and comfortable as possible... speed will come with time and experience, as will picking the right line (something I'm terrible at, as Niceonetom knows!) -one way to improve is to follow someone who is a lot faster than you -not to try and keep up necessarily, but to follow their lines if you can, it's one of the easiest ways to get the speed up.

Pushing to the limit is also another technique, ie going as tight as you can till you fall off in a corner, though this 'Blorgian' technique does have it's downsides (though you do get to know at exactly which point grip starts to stop)

My favourite descent in Ireland though is off the Sally Gap towards the N81 -regularly top 80kph on that one (though that may be more to mass that technique or skill)

Ardennes1944

80kph?:eek: do bicycle tyres have speed ratings like car ones?:D

Harrybelafonte

seamus wrote: »

The main problem is worrying about what cars are going to do. Every corner has a potential farmer with his jeep and trailer parked blocking the road.
I'd love to give some of the big descents a go on a dry day on closed roads. Though I suppose we learned from the Rás last year that even then there's no guarantee that you're safe from idiot drivers.

Agree. Tends to be easiest ont he examples I gave cos you can see well aheas of you, though I did over 70 on what I thought was an empty road when a car appeared from a hedge. Lucky he stopped cos I couldn't in time.

TinyExplosions

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

80kph?:eek: do bicycle tyres have speed ratings like car ones?:D

You could get up to 90+ without having to worry much about tyres imo, the top descending pros coming off the alps be topping 100

Harrybelafonte

TinyExplosions wrote: »

You could get up to 90+ without having to worry much about tyres imo, the top descending pros coming off the alps be topping 100

Didn't Cancellera average over 100kph trying to catch up with the Peleton after his puncture in 09 TDF (or was it just last year)?

trad

manwithaplan wrote: »

The important thing to remember is that wheels hardly ever fall off.

I lost a front wheel going uphill. Doctors still admire the scar.

TinyExplosions

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Didn't Cancellera average over 100kph trying to catch up with the Peleton after his puncture in 09 TDF (or was it just last year)?

yup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxXqQqAc2pA

Ardennes1944

TinyExplosions wrote: »

You could get up to 90+ without having to worry much about tyres imo, the top descending pros coming off the alps be topping 100

I thought they might have tyres with better speed rating than most of us though. I'd love to know how fast I'm going but my cateye won't start reading atal? I've reset it and snapped it back in but nthing happens when I cycle,any ideas?

TinyExplosions

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

I thought they might have tyres with better speed rating than most of us though. I'd love to know how fast I'm going but my cateye won't start reading atal? I've reset it and snapped it back in but nthing happens when I cycle,any ideas?

The tyres they use aren't vastly different that the ones you buy in the shops. I've never looked to see if there is a 'rated' top speed though -I just assume it's faster than I'll be able to get.

Is the magnet on your front wheel set up correctly on the cateye -could be that the magnet on the spoke is too far away from the sensor on the fork, so it's not being picked up?

ednwireland

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

I thought they might have tyres with better speed rating than most of us though. I'd love to know how fast I'm going but my cateye won't start reading atal? I've reset it and snapped it back in but nthing happens when I cycle,any ideas?

wheel magnet not close enough/ out of line with sensor

Ardennes1944

Thought I'd ask anyway, as ye all know, I'm not afraid to ask:P

Yeah the magnet lines up perfectly with it and is on the spoke closest to it

FTGFOP

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Cancellara’s Descent

That was mental. My stomach knotted up a few times watching that.

TinyExplosions

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

Thought I'd ask anyway, as ye all know, I'm not afraid to ask:P

Yeah the magnet lines up perfectly with it and is on the spoke closest to it

But how much space is between the magnet and the sensor? it needs to be pretty damn close

Ardennes1944

I loosened the sensor, swiveled it around a bit and bingo

seamus

Usually the magnet on the spoke has moved out of alignment. If that's all hunky dory, then you've a worn or frayed cable between the sensor and computer.

trad

Here's a descent - Kelly in the 1992 Milan San Remo - off the Poggio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL3jQmkj3uI