When it comes to mountain biking, there are those who love the effort of the climb and those who love the adrenaline of the descent. But in both cases, riding the MTB well downhill is the quintessence of fun with fat tires. A situation, that of descents on a mountain bike, which it scares both expert and novice bikers and that, both for safety and for fun, requires mastering the right technique.
Downhill MTB: how to ride it
There is little that can be done: on slopes that can be considerable, and on terrain that is inevitably technical, with the presence of stones, roots, holes and curves, having good downhill mountain bike riding technique is essential to avoid falls, overturns and consequent problems. So let’s see how to ride the MTB downhill, and what we can possibly do from the point of view of the set-up of our bike to improve, or increase, the feeling in the saddle when meters and meters of altitude gap open up in front of us. Unless it’s a race or a downhill course, there are 3 moments in which the management of a mountain bike descent can be divided: the before, the during or actual descent, and the after.
Before the mountain bike descent
It is the preparation phase, in which our eyes see the beginning of the descent (but often do not see its development nor the slope and characteristics) and in which we must prepare to face it. The first thing to do is adjust your speed to avoid dangerous jumps or drops which could literally send us off course and make us fall. In this sentence the position on the bike remains the standard one, sitting on the saddle, with the right control of the center of gravity and the front stay of the bike, which determines its rideability and control. In fact, it is only when the descent really begins that one can or should resort to out of the saddle.
Off-saddle riding, the basic technique for riding a MTB downhill
The The basic technique for riding a MTB downhill is out of the saddle. What does off-saddle mean? It means detaching your pelvis from the saddle (and lowering the saddle to the minimum range) and move the center of gravity towards the rear wheel. The reason is quite intuitive: you need to counteract the downstream thrusts, which could cause tipping forward, and increase grip and weight on the rear wheel. All in a progressive manner and without lightening the front end too much, thus losing driveability.
Standing on the pedals and moving your pelvis backwards the legs must be flexed and not rigidthe arms will relax without stiffening or being completely tense, and with the right support of the forefoot on the pedals we will have the heels pressing down. And this also contributes to the bike’s grip on the ground.
In any case, out of the saddle or not, the gaze is always turned forwardnot fixed 1 meter from the wheel but careful to anticipate any obstacles and to predict and imagine the best line to set.
During the actual MTB descent
The out of saddle begins as soon as the front wheel is lowered in the slope phase, and increases as the slope increases. That is, on really notable differences in height, over 50% and maybe up to 70% for the really good ones, the pelvis not only moves backwards but also lowers until it touches the rear wheel. The further back and the lower it is, the greater the grip and control of the vehicle will be. However, the natural consequence of this retreat out of the saddle is the stiffening of the legs, arms and torso, and unfortunately this is a fairly common mistake caused by fear. In words, you need to keep your legs, arms and torso soft and relaxed, to cover the variations and roughness of the terrain and facilitate control of the vehicle; in reality you have to try, try and try again, until you acquire the right and natural confidence in being able to manage this delicate phase smoothly.
> Iwrite to yourself to ours newsletter filling out the form below!
Spoiler: we send few, but good ones!
After the descent
When the difference in altitude ends and you exit the descent you need to reposition yourself correctly on the saddle and regain the right weight distribution between front wheel and rear wheel. The potential risk is in fact that of “wheelieing” the bike with the risk of tipping backwards, and in the reality of a ride this repositioning occurs quite automatically and instinctively, especially if after the descent there is a slightly uphill stretch. which you need to go back to pedaling.
Speed and use of brakes downhill on a mountain bike
Having said that about the riding position in the 3 phases of a descent, doubts remain about speed and use of the brakes. Simply speaking, the speed should be moderate, certainly in the phase approaching the descent and unless you are already a rider “with a handle”. But even for an inexperienced rider the advice remains valid, in case of stones or roots, of let the bike slide and avoid excessive braking: MTBs are made precisely to overcome those obstacles, and braking excessively would cause exactly what you don’t want, that is, tipping over.
The fact remains that When going downhill on a MTB the brakes must be used, and contrary to what you might think, both brakes must be used. The basic rule is that of do not block the wheels, which would result in the braking force being nullified and losing control of the vehicle. A good recommended balance is usually that of split braking 80% on the rear wheel and 20% on the front. Which means learning to “feel” the bike based on your riding style. Good advice, especially with current MTB braking systems, is to use only one finger – usually the index or middle finger – to brake: it may seem counterintuitive, but it’s enough to apply the right force, it allows for greater sensitivity when operating the brake lever, and It also allows you to keep your other fingers on the handlebar grip, maintaining high control and safety. And to make sure you really apply the right and necessary force, good advice is to maximize the moment of force applied to the brake lever, i.e. pull it by its outermost endeven by moving the brake lever in or out of the handlebar.
Said of the basic techniques for tackling a MTB descent, then every rider is different and every bike is differentand there are some adjustments that can be made to find the right feeling between the two (before possibly changing bikes).
Raise the stem or handlebar riser
Let’s think again about out of the saddle and the advice to remain loose and fluid with the arms and pelvis: to avoid excessive stiffening of the arms and excessive squashing of the torso forward, a good adjustment that can be made is to raise the stem or handlebar riser, i.e. the height of the hand support compared to the attack itself. It seems like little but it can actually do a lot.
Increase the fork travel
Intuitively a fork with greater travel means greater control of the bike, but a good rule is to never go beyond 20mm of difference compared to the rear suspension travel. But be careful: increasing the travel of the fork can also alter the geometry of the bike a little, in particular by raising the bottom bracket from the ground, i.e. the center of gravity, which alters the control of the bike a little and also its pedalability uphill . In short, it is a subtle balance to be struck very sparingly.
The same happens by reducing the steering angle, which is a more complicated change to make but is certainly a strong trend in the world of downhill MTBs.
Increase the progressiveness of the fork
Even more, and even before, you need to increase the fork’s travel increase the progressiveness of the fork, i.e. check that the Sag is set correctly. What does it mean? It means that the fork compresses progressively, avoiding immediately reaching the bottom of the stroke where it would no longer have the capacity to absorb other impacts and where the geometry of the bike also changes substantially, influencing the riding dynamics. Practically all good quality forks, therefore for MTBs that also tackle challenging routes, allow you to adjust the Sag, increasing or decreasing the volume in the positive chamber.
Increase the section of the tires
The one of increase the section of the tires it is a controversial solution, which not everyone agrees with and which has its pros and cons. It depends a lot on the surface on which you pedal and face the descent: on stones and rocks it makes sense, on compact and fast surfaces it can make the MTB more grumpy to ride.
The section of the tires, or rather the section of the tire that adheres to the ground, can also be “widened” decreasing the inflation pressure, and therefore increasing the grip. However, you need to know that on the other side of the scale there will be an increased risk of pinching or puncturing the tire or perhaps even bead breaking, if tires and rims are not of high quality.
READ ALSO: How to ride a MTB: Marco Aurelio Fontana’s advice
Advertising
You might also be interested in…
2024-05-02 07:34:28
#MTB #downhill #drive
