Coming down fast, not falling off!

simonmck said:

Hi

Following a few accidents, resulting in broken wrists elbows, and so on, coming down hill on a road bike, has become a bit more of a worry and slower as a result, which is not ideal, as Im not enjoying it as much and I'm not keeping up.. 2 questions?

1) Can anyone recomend a way of down hill training that gets your confidence back.?

2) could I look to a different bike, that handles better, perhaps absolves that bumps more so I would be more stable..etc etc. Currently I have a specialized, Allez Comp.. carbon forks, concrete leather seat, with Continental Duraskin tyres. I'm pretty light frame, and after a long ride, I can feel a bit mashed.

Where I live is pretty hilly, with roads that are small and ibad repair, or gravelly etc... etc.

Many thanks!.

Simon

1) Find a smooth, clean descent and do repeats up and down until you're comfortable at speed with no braking. Stay away from the roads with sand or gravel on them if at all possible.

2) If you're light, say 68 kg or less, and running 23 mm tires, suggest you try pressures of 85-90 psi front, 90-95 rear. You'll get better ride and road grip, with no penalty in rolling resistance.

Drops,get on the drops and stick your [censored] as far back as it can go.

You are far more stable on the drops, you have more control and you get better leverage on the break levers.

dhk said:

2) If you're light, say 68 kg or less, and running 23 mm tires, suggest you try pressures of 85-90 psi front, 90-95 rear. You'll get better ride and road grip, with no penalty in rolling resistance.

I run my tires at 130psi, and feel quite squirrly going around some corners on steep descents. Does 90-95psi offer better grip/feel and security on high-speed descents?

Thanks for all the messages..

Would a smoother bike help much, ie all carbon, rather than a stiff one?
Mines pretty stiff, also does lack of weight become a hindrance>? ie blown about sticking to roads etc. etc

Many Thanks

SIMON

Orange Fish said:

I run my tires at 130psi, and feel quite squirrly going around some corners on steep descents. Does 90-95psi offer better grip/feel and security on high-speed descents?

Depending on your weight, I think lower pressures work a lot better for grip and steering stability. After all, at lower pressures the tire will hold the road better over little bumps, rather than bouncing. Plus, you get a bigger contact patch, and more steering slip angle to make the front end a bit calmer in response. I'm 177 lbs, and use 95-100 front, 100-105 rear.

Everything I've read, and my experience, says that you'll have lower rolling resistance on real roads with lower inflation pressures that are right for your weight. If you only ride on super-smooth asphalt pavement, max pressure might be fine...but that's not where I ride 99% of the time. Realize it's kind of an emotional issue, but it doesn't hurt to experiment a little and find what works best for you.

Also, I'll confess to balancing my wheels/tires. Tuning up my new bike, I was adjusting my gears on the stand and noticed that the back end of the bike was bouncing at least a 1/2 inch when the wheel was spun up at 25-30 mph. Since I often descend at 40 mph plus, figured some balance weight would be a good idea to smooth things out.

simonmck said:

Thanks for all the messages..

Would a smoother bike help much, ie all carbon, rather than a stiff one?
Mines pretty stiff, also does lack of weight become a hindrance>? ie blown about sticking to roads etc. etc

Many Thanks

SIMON

Doesn't the Allez Comp have the Zertz inserts in the CF fork and seatstays? If so, don't know how you could get any smoother. Not all CF frames are smooth either....they vary in stiffness, just like steel or AL do.

Not familar with the Conti Duraskin tires, but they could be on the heavy and stiff side if they are for bad roads. I like Conti GP 3000s (430 tpi casing), but Michelin Pro Race or Vittoria or Hutchinson race slicks should ride great also. Proper pressure helps the most; balancing wheels/tires doesn't hurt either.

If you really can't avoid riding on poor roads, you could go to a 25 mm tire and reduce pressures even more....like 80-85 psi.

dhk said:

Depending on your weight, I think lower pressures work a lot better for grip and steering stability. After all, at lower pressures the tire will hold the road better over little bumps, rather than bouncing. Plus, you get a bigger contact patch, and more steering slip angle to make the front end a bit calmer in response. I'm 177 lbs, and use 95-100 front, 100-105 rear.

Everything I've read, and my experience, says that you'll have lower rolling resistance on real roads with lower inflation pressures that are right for your weight. If you only ride on super-smooth asphalt pavement, max pressure might be fine...but that's not where I ride 99% of the time. Realize it's kind of an emotional issue, but it doesn't hurt to experiment a little and find what works best for you.

Also, I'll confess to balancing my wheels/tires. Tuning up my new bike, I was adjusting my gears on the stand and noticed that the back end of the bike was bouncing at least a 1/2 inch when the wheel was spun up at 25-30 mph. Since I often descend at 40 mph plus, figured some balance weight would be a good idea to smooth things out.

Interesting, so what's the deal with tires like Tufo tires with the 220 psi max??? I was thinking about using something like that.