My friend C said, “I’m not comfortable on most descents. I all but white knuckle most of them. How did you learn to descend so well on the road? Were there specific exercises you did or was it just following other riders or something else entirely?”
For years, when I lived in Southern California, I made regular pilgrimages to the steep hills in and around Malibu, to revel in the sheer joy of going fast downhill, so I have some thoughts on the subject of descending and some answers for C and anyone else who wants to get better at going downill on a bike.
So, were there specific exercises or did I just follow other riders? Honestly, it was both of those and more. More than any other aspect of cycling, going fast down a paved descent is a mind game. The mental game of descending is every bit as important as technique.
I gotta pause here and make the case for this, which matters. The mental game is important because unless you’re already a skilled descender pushing the limits of your bike, I can guarantee you can go downhill faster than you are currently, for the simple reason that most of us never come anywhere near a bike’s limits.
So, really, the first, most important ingredient in going faster downhill is simply a matter of trusting the bike. The bike wants to stay upright and the faster you’re going, the more it wants to stay upright.
Before I dig into the technical things you can do to improve your descending, I want to acknowledge that not all bikes descend well, though these days it’s hard to find one that feels nervous. In terms of the bike itself, your position will affect how the bike descends. What kind of wheels makes a difference; the heavier the wheels, the more stable the bike will feel.
Okay, technique. And to reiterate, this is for descending on a road or gravel bike.
- First, stay seated. If you’re on a gravel bike or on a rough road, you might lift your butt a bit, but generally, in the saddle is the way to go. That’s because good descenders will use their hips to adjust their bike’s line, often once in a turn, riders will do all the line adjustment with their hips.
- Next, put your hands in the drops, nowhere else. A road bike is designed to descend best with lots of rider weight on the front wheel. With your butt in the saddle you’ll get the most weight on your front wheel with your hands in the drops.
- When you drop in and begin to feel yourself accelerate, level your cranks. Most turns don’t require your outside foot to be down to get through them quickly. With your cranks level you can shift your weight more easily from left to right and back. It’s this inability to shift the rider’s weight quickly that makes many riders uncomfortable on descents.
- Back to the saddle for a sec: Don’t just keep your butt in the same spot on the saddle when you lean the bike. Lean the bike but try to keep your weight over the tire’s contact patch as much as possible. That means in a left turn, you’re shifting your weight slightly to the right.
So those are some technique things to work on. Now for some location stuff.
My biggest single piece of advice aside from hands in the drops is to find a descent that is challenging, but not terrifying. And no one gets to tell you which is which.
Go on a ride where the sole purpose is to do that one descent as many times as you can. For that reason, you might not want to take on l’Alpe d’Huez. A descent of a mile or two is ideal. You want, if possible—and believe me, I’m aware that I’m describing terrain that doesn’t occur in most of the US—so, you want, if possible, to find a descent with a half-dozen turns or more. The point is to have to work on shifting directions and shifting your weight. Getting to know one descent super-well will teach you loads about how your bike corners, how long you can wait before beginning to brake, and just when you need to enter a turn.
The other thing that helped me years ago was finding terrain that was quick, but not challenging. For me, the mountain roads above Nice were perfect. The roads are all 5 and 6% grades and I could sprint into those descents and accelerate out of turns and keep pedaling until it was time to drop into the next turn. Because I wasn’t in a situation where I was just continuing to accelerate due to a steep grade, I had terrific control over my speed.
Finally, yes, find some riders who are better descenders and get on their wheel as they drop into a descent. And here’s the thing: You need to be close. You can’t be third or fourth in line behind them. Get on their wheel and follow as close as you feel safe and do all you can to mimic their line and brake when they brake.
Years ago I was on a bike tour in the French Alps and there were three riders on the tour who were amazing descenders; one of them was a woman who held a world record in Alpine speed-skiing, something like 150 mph. I often had to sprint to get on their wheels at the beginning of a descent. I learned from them just how late I could wait to begin braking for a turn, even in switchbacks. And this was in the days of rim brakes and 23mm tires pumped up to 105 psi. With bigger tires and disc brakes you can wait until even later.
Finally, look through the rider you’re following. Don’t just stare at their butt because you’ll read them braking later than if you’re looking ahead of them. You need to look at the terrain as much as possible to educate yourself on how they are reading the road.
It’s a good idea to let them know what you’re doing, too. Information, in this case, is safety.
After all, you don’t have to descend like a pro. You don’t have to be “fast,” whatever that means. But developing a little skill and a little confidence with descending will make you a happier, safer rider.
Image: Brian Vernor