Correct way of descending a steep hill?

John_Carter

Hello,
I'm sort of new to this and wonder how to correctly defend a hill, assuming its steep and I font want to take too many risks (i.e. lose control and fall) - it's not a DH thing just how to deal with steel decants when XCing.

Specifically if its wet and slightly muddy, do you brake all the way down? Which wheel? Soon you'll lock it up and start skidding, do you alternate braking wheels? What about turns on a decent?

Please share your thoughts,
Thanks!

PerformingMonkey

Get your weight as far back as possible (bum out over the seat). Minimise use of front break, if that locks up your pretty buggered.

On most turns, get your pedal down on the outside of the corner. On the sharper corners don't be afraid to get the inside foot out of the pedal and use this to control the bike.

welshkev

go as fast as you can and enjoy it. pedal flat out and brake if you need to. if you fall off it's all part of the fun

pilch

Your body should be in a vertical line through your bike to the slope with your knees bent, often people mistake this for getting back off the bike, its not the same thing, if you get too far off the back you will lose control of the front end, keeping your weight balanced will keep your grip.

Also i'm going with your front brake is your friend, it will stop you far quicker than the rear which will skid all over the place, as there is more force exerted through the front and thus grip rather than drag which you get on the rear, on loose stuff/mud its a bit more of a balancing act between front & back.

Also you need to be 'reading the trail' looking forwards to pick you braking points, if its a technical descent with straights into loose corners try & scrub your speed on the straighter or grippier sections before you go haring into the sketchy stuff.

Briggo

John_Carter wrote:

Hello,
I'm sort of new to this and wonder how to correctly defend a hill, assuming its steep and I font want to take too many risks (i.e. lose control and fall) - it's not a DH thing just how to deal with steel decants when XCing.

Specifically if its wet and slightly muddy, do you brake all the way down? Which wheel? Soon you'll lock it up and start skidding, do you alternate braking wheels? What about turns on a decent?

Please share your thoughts,
Thanks!

Practice gradually, it'll become second nature.

It sounds corny but you need to feel the bike beneath you and simply control it at a speed you're comfortable with, i.e. gradually applying the brakes and not yanking them on, keeping loose and allow the bike to move under you and importantly balance your weight out in line with the gradient of the descent such as moving your weight back.

rockmonkeysc

You shouldn't be too far back on the bike, your weight should be vertically above the cranks. The front brake gives a lot more control than the rear and you can get more braking force.
Stay low on the bike, knees bent & relaxed.
As long as you stay within the limits of your ability speed does help.
Try to avoid foot out cornering, you're more in control of your body position with feet on the pedals and the exit will be smoother. Always keep the outside pedal down and put some pressure through it. Lean the bike, not the rider.

bennett_346

As with anything MTB the more you try to think about it the harder it gets. Just do it however it feels right and every time you fall you'll learn what not to do.

You'll read all these tips but you won't remember any when you're faced with a steep hill, let alone suddenly be able to pull them off as if they're a revelation.

When you were a child learning to ride a bike did you listen to what your parents were telling you, or did you do what you thought would work, fall over, and get back on the next time and not repeat the same mistake?

jairaj

If you haven't already, drop your seat down and out the way.

Cqc

Unless you are cornering or doing something which requires pressure on the bars, keep your hands light on them by putting all you weight in your feet and bending your legs, this way your body won't be too far forward when it's steep or too far backwards when it's not steep. When cornering, push the bars down into the ground to gain front wheel traction. When braking, always brake the same amount with both brakes so that you don't always have to think about what brake to use, etc.

John_Carter

jairaj wrote:

If you haven't already, drop your seat down and out the way.

Why?
Are you supposed to lower it for decents and bring it back up to normal hight for regular pedaling?

PS
Thanks for all the great advice!

Angus Young

John_Carter wrote:

jairaj wrote:

If you haven't already, drop your seat down and out the way.

Why?
Are you supposed to lower it for decents and bring it back up to normal hight for regular pedaling?

On descents you need to be able to move around and if you don't drop your seat it will be just in the way of where you need to move.

jairaj

Not just the descents, many other situations in MTB you need to be able to allow the bike to move under you. A fixed seat height us usually a compromise, hence quick release seat post clamps the recent invention of dropper posts.

But my suggestion was mainly just a temporary measure to help you learn the skill. If you prefer to always ride with your seat height fixed then that's fine, raise it back up once you find more confidence in your riding.

kajjal

Depending on how steep and rough dropping your seat post will help. The tip about getting your weight over the back of the bike also helps. Learn to use both brakes to control your descent, the front brake has more power until it locks up so don't be afraid to use it just be careful. Steep downhills are about feeling the bike and adjusting braking, weight and balance to get the best out of it.

Also don't go too slow and pick the best line to keep you moving

declan1

I would learn with your saddle at its usual height. You only really need to lower it if you're doing some fast dh riding (which I'm sure you're not at the moment).

I'm definitely not a skillful descender but I keep my saddle up while descending everywhere apart from, say, Golspie.

cooldad

Agreed^^^^^^^^^^^^
Unless it's something really techie.

gt-arrowhead

PerformingMonkey wrote:

Get your weight as far back as possible (bum out over the seat).

Ignore

Listen to everyone else, keep yourself in the middle of the bike. Too far back and your front will become unweighted and you will easily lock it up and have a massive crash as a result. You will also lose control over anything rough as a result of the front being so loose.

Concentration is key. Just focus on the ground infront of you. When i say infront, just look ahead on the terrain you are riding, not infront of your front wheel.

Dont yank your brakes, i had a rather fast off a few weeks back because i tried passing someone who was going slower infront, but then he sort of moved over to me (not his fault really, but he moved in my direction) and i slammed the brakes. Ended up in a two wheel lock up and a crash down the hill.

John_Carter

Thanks,
That's some great feedback.

What about breaking while turning in a steep decline? Which brake should you use? front or rear? I believe I saw somewhere that the bike turns on its front wheel so its more sensitive?

Thanks for all the great advice!

CitizenLee

Lots of great advice here, but I'd say just try not to overthink consequences or correct techniques as you'll soon figure it out through trial and error. It's all very well knowing how to do something in your head, but that knowledge can soon go out the window when you're out there actually doing it. As you're pinning it down the hill trying to decide what break to use, you'll be in a ditch by the time you've tried to remember what the suggestions were on here. Man up and get dirty, it's half the fun

dhobiwallah

Not the best idea to brake while turning anywhere really - brake before turning... Most of the time if things are going wrong, hard braking will make them worse as your weight gets thrown off - momentum will quite often carry you out of the other end wondering what happened...

Use both brakes - with more pressure on the one with more traction (the front one - the steeper you are/the further forward your weight is the more weight/grip is on the front.)

If you are on level ground with your weight in the middle of your bike then both wheels have equal weight through them. If you are pointing so far down that your rear wheel is in the air then 100% of your weight is through the front (and rear braking will obviously achieve, literally, nothing). You will be somewhere in the middle of these extremes - where about depends on the terrain and your position on the bike at the time.

While a rear wheel skid is easier to control than a front one - ideally you want neither. (a 30mph plus rear skid on a road bike on a steep downhill in the USA where I forgot the brakes were the other way round scared the pants off me!)

All the stuff you remember as a kid about never touching the front brake because you went sailing over the bars is down to your body positioning being pants. If you are bolt upright at speed and slam the front anchor on then that will happen. If you are bolt upright and slam the rear anchor on then it won't, but you will skid as your weight is thrown forward on to the front wheel and away from the rear. If you lean back and slam the front brake on you will be doing well to lock it up unless quite slippy. (Try the above on a flat quiet road). If is is slippy enough to lock both wheels then you have braked perfectly for your weight distribution and the fact you are skidding is due to the fact you were going too fast to stop in the conditions. A gamble we have all taken - and sometimes are asked to show our cards

rockmonkeysc

Some really bad advice about braking techniques there.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Some really bad advice about braking techniques there.

Then give us better.

rockmonkeysc

It's not something to be explained on the Internet. A good coaching session is well worth doing.
Braking is mostly about knowing when to stay off them, judging where the grip will be and getting a good feel for your bike, brakes and suspension.
It's also worth knowing how to use features like ruts and berms to scrub speed and getting used to shifting gears while braking for a fast corner exit.

gt-arrowhead

I personally think it is very hard to explain to someone how to use the brakes. Its just something you have to slowly get used to.

cooldad

This ^ and this ^^

If you have to think about braking you're either too soon, too late, or going to crash.

richywales97

Just bomb down it as fast as you can.

One day you'll become numb to the falls

Thewaylander

hold your obvious in you left hand, cover your eyes with your right and blow your nose this will increase your speed by at least 30%