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Too slow going down hills
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Oh one more tip - if you are nervous don't try and go quick on a steep hill, find a long, open, gentler one and see what happens. I know the perfect one in Cambs with a fantastic road surface.
well I tried the counting today and made every attempt to be braver. Got to 28mph
but that is an improvement!
Must try harder.....
My top speed is 44mph with my old wheels but I reckon I might be able to top that with my new ones
I used to hate downhills....I started out with an MTB on the road and my first trip downhill on my road bike was accompanied by me screaming all the way! My OH is a nutter on the downhills so I quickly got used to just following and now I have a big grim and shout 'weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' all the way down.....tis free speed after all!
But it is a matter of confidence and the more you ride, the more you'll improve.
I did a lot of counting today
It's about confidence and good positioning. I really need to improve but have done nearly 50mph, if you are practising use roads that you know.
Fear isn't a bad thing though at least you are riding well within your capabilities cos lots of people don't
By the way if I had a cable car to the top i'd be walking down too!
You need to ask fb about descending...he's done the fastest of people that I know...over 100kph at IMCH....I managed a paltry 50 something mph. (but I didn't have his weight advantage!)...my speedo was reading in mph and fb's was in kph....you can do the math as they say.....
I believe I am the official holder of the forum downhill speed record at 109kph or 68mph from IM Switzerland......wheeeeeee.......but I am not the only downhill nutter around - Rosey, Bassy and Pebble have some fast downhill speeds as well
downhilling is all about confidence and experience I believe - and you need a certain amount of idiocy as well! leave the brain at the top of the hill sort of thing!
mountain biking is definitely a great way to develop downhill skills - if you can crack speed off-road, then on-road is no issue. if you fall on either it's still going to hurt so accept that.
you need to read the road well ahead to anticipate problems - when I hit that top speed in Zurich it was on the 3rd lap so I knew what the road was like - and trusting your gear is also paramount. having tyres at the correct pressure for corner grip, brakes in good order for when you need them, wheel spokes all nicely tightened and straight, and generally everything on the bike in good nick helps.
on the bike stay relaxed - easy to say, difficult to do! - with your arms and shoulders loose and flexible. if they're tight, you will be tight and won't react so well.
brakes: a common mistake is to overuse the rear brake but that can cause a wheel to slide away if you overbrake. you can control a lot of speed by fettling the front brake - not too tight, but feather it. if you need to shed a lot of speed - use both brakes at equal pressure for best control.
as you enter a bend at speed, scrub excess speed off before you hit the apex - not during the bend. braking in the bend is likely to throw your wheel out and flip you, or it will slide away. stick you inside knee out (watch motorbike racers) during the bend for balance. as you start to exit the bend, start pedalling again to gain speed back.
on wet or gravelly roads you need to be more cautious obviously and try to choose the drier/cleaner sections for grip.
and if you are using deep rims wheels - watch out for sidewinds as otherwise you may find the speed less controllable when the whole bike is being blown around.
the more downhilling you do the more the confidence will increase - so go enjoy it
The thing that scares me about fast downhills in training is the possibility of cars pulling out or braking in front.
I did a a recce of Wimbleball on Sat and that hairpin followed by a sharp downhill to a t-junction was a nasty surprise. We were in a group and a van overtook the back of the group and then puled in - there was no way I could have stopped in time if he had braked hard.
I imagine its easier when racing though!
Well explained FB.
I quite like rides that involve cable cars usually means no pedalling up at all
I've got to say I'm a wimpy downhiller on MTB among my peers but quite clearly as I said previously it has give me an advantage on road.
I'm guessing no disc brakes on road bikes due to weight and also the speed they would stop you at might be a tad dangerous? Cos rim brakes are cr@p !!
Got disc brakes on my hybrid.
I think that thinking about what "might" happen is the stumbling block here, I seem to have no problem disengaging my brain and "going for it", be that going 30mph downhill on a cycle, or doing 165mph down the front straight at Snetterton on my bike!!!
the thought did pass through my brain when I hit that speed in Zurich that I really did not want to crash at that speed just wearing a tri-suit. it would have been mighty messy!!
O5 - disk brakes on road bikes would be way too powerful for the majority of riders. I've crashed on road badly as a result of disk brakes - smacked into the armco totalling my rear wheel and roadrash like no tomorrow (my missus went down behind me breaking 3 ribs) after being too fast on a smooth road surface on the MTB. I lost the rear wheel twice under braking but managed to bring it back, 3rd time was beyond correction so I went. the combo of powerful disk brakes and knobby tyres did me - off road the tyres would have bitten into the dirt, on smooth tarmac it was like skating on ice.
Out of curiousity, are people afraid of falling off, or of something being around the next corner that they might have to suddenly stop for? Always the latter for me. I always assume that just out of sight there will be a car coming the other way, or a flock of geese in the road, or a hairpin turn, or... or... or... So my usual limiting factor is visibility. Finding a nice wide A-road on a clear day is an absolute dream.
Record was 49.2mph on the Lamps Moss in t'Dales.
I'm afraid of both Archie - but mainly the idea of meeting something around the corner (i often do where I cycle, and it's only a matter of time).
If I can see well ahead and the road is straight I'm OK and have got up to 35mph on one road I often go on (not much i know, but I don't have the body weight to give me a lot of momentum
)
When I don't know the roads I'm back at square one - i've been doing the coast to coast cycle last 2 days - 4000m of ascent (and therefore presumably descent), some pretty damn steep by my standards and i am VERY disappointed to see my bike computer has registered only 30 mph as a max speed
.
I'm also quite surprised to see I still have any rear brake pads left.
Fat Buddha - lots of helpful hints there - thanks
Downhills I am fine.... downhills with bends are a different story!
Glad to see lots of others have the problem ! Its a bit like the AA... my name is purpletrilady and I am scared of down hills and my max speed is 28MPH
.
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
Melds 31mph
This was this weekend, I think my max has been 34 but I will go with this for the porpoises of the game
Bring on the downhills
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
K9 35mph
Melds 31mph
Good idea....I will improve!!
Adds time to wheeeee club in shame.
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
K9 35mph
Melds 31mph
Soup Dragon 25mph
Firstly get on the drops. Brake hard and late. Point the knee to the side you are turning into the corner...
MOST IMPORTANTLY.... look where you want to go up the road not at your front wheel. Other than that it is, like FB said, a matter of practice and experience. You should never think about what may happen, as nervousness leads to jitters, leads to less control leads to falls leads to road rash and broken collar bones. It also has to be said a decent bike does make a difference. I had an old Kuota that used to scare me shitless over 40mph, virtually going into a "tank slapper". Dint stop me doing it, but made me more aware of its failings
Note to self...
must try 'knee corner thing' on next bike ride....
Note to self...
must get bike with drops... tomorrow!
I might get faster then. 
Except its fear that slows me down not the bike.
why do people keep mentioned road rash and broken bits
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
K9 35mph
Melds 31mph
Purpletrilady 28mph
Soup Dragon 25mph
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
K9 35mph
Saffers 34.5mph
Melds 31mph
Purpletrilady 28mph
Soup Dragon 25mph
Perhaps I will do better on the Surrey Hills Ride.
The Wheeeeeeeeee Club
K9 35mph
Saffers 34.5mph
Melds 31mph
Purpletrilady 28mph
Soup Dragon 25mph
PinguPongu 30pmh, I knows cos one of the speeding signs flashed it up!