Road Bike Descending Tips

Descending on a road bike is in our opinion, one of the best parts of riding a road bike - after ascending some steep hills, a good stretch of downhill road provides the perfect reward. For those riding competitively, downhill sections provide some of the very best opportunities to make up time, and if a competitive rider can make rapid progress on downhill sections, quicker than the competition, there are massive advantages to be enjoyed. In this post, we look at what every road rider can do to improve their downhill riding performance, and these tips are relevant for all cycling abilities, from the professional racer, right across to the purely recreational rider.

Ensure Your Bike Is Roadworthy

Good performance on the bike starts with a roadworthy bike. Luckily for us, bikes are now fitted with powerful disc brakes as standard - which provide excellent braking performance across all weather conditions. Ensure your brakes are in good condition, and that you are running the right tyre pressures. Failure to run a properly maintained bike at high speeds is a recipe for disaster.

Look Well Ahead

Although looking well ahead at the road infront of you may seem unnatural at first - if you fail to look far ahead, you can focus on what is immediately infront of the bike - and react late and last minute to avoid hazards, such as debris in the road or potholes. Looking well ahead, allows the rider to read the road and keep in control - reading traffic, junctions and hazards all in good time.

Choose Your Line

If road and traffic conditions allow, think about the line that you are taking on the downhill. There's no need to stay on a fixed line when descending, especially on long winding descents. You can straighten out and smooth out your descent by looking well ahead, as mentioned above and reading the road. Choosing a line sounds difficult in theory, but selecting the right line becomes a natural part of riding, when out on the roads.

Be Aerodynamic

If you are on a speed focussed road bike, get tucked into the bike and create an aerodynamic shape, to minimise air resistance when travelling downhill. Use the drop bars on your bike if you have them, keeping your hands over the brakes and the controls of the bike. Ensure to keep your elbows bent, acting as your body's suspension for rough parts of the road.

Braking

It's important to get your braking performance and tactics sorted out when riding descents. Ensure that you keep brakes covered, but do not be tempted to ride your brakes all the way down a descent. Be prepared to use them, but only use them when you need to actually apply your brakes. It's also a good idea to use your body to regulate your speed, instead of applying the brakes. Going round corners, you can raise your body to make it act like an air brake, you can lower your body when back on the straights to build the speed back up.

Pedal Position

Keep your pedal position equal in the 3 o'clock/9 o'clock position. This ensures that there is plenty of clearance between your pedals and the ground, whilst also encouraging a balanced position on the bike.

Lean With The Bike

Leaning with the bike happens naturally, and is much more natural than it sounds. You can lean a decent amount without losing any traction on the bike, just be more mindful of losing traction if riding out on wet roads.

Weather And Road Conditions

Think about the weather and road conditions you are riding on, in wet conditions - you can expect braking distances to be larger. Also look at road conditions, if you are riding on recently resurfaced roads, with plenty of gravel and debis on - descend more carefully than you would on dry, smooth roads.

Relax

Relaxing when travelling down an ascent is important - keep your body loose and you will enjoy the journey a lot more. One of the biggest ways to keep relaxed, is to travel at a speed which suits you - don't worry about being the fastest cyclist on the road, you have plenty of time to build speed and experience. If you find yourself travelling too fast, do not panic - and if you suddenly find yourself running into a patch on gravel, straighten the bike out and get through as best you can. If you are looking far ahead as you can, you can negotiate hazardous terrain in good time, but try and avoid piling on a load of brakes, or rapid changes of direction.

Learn And Practice

One of the best ways to improve any cycling performance is to get out on the roads and practice. If you have the opportunity to safely follow a more experienced rider, you can see how they tackle descents in the real world.