The key to down hilling is relaxing your upper body. The steeper and rockier the hill is, the more tightly the rider tends to put a death grip on the handle bars. Most riders tend to slow down as they approach obstacles such as rocks, then apply both brakes.
If you don't apply your brakes, the rock will stop your wheel. This isn't good, as the rock can throw you off balance and completely kill any type of momentum you have.
Relaxed riders won't slow down as much. The combination of extra momentum, no front braking at crucial moments will allow the wheel to bump over the rock and continue onward with little effort.
If you are going slow, it's essential to release your brakes as much as possible when you approach an obstacle. This may entail going a bit faster, although the result is much less painful. On steep hills, going really slow will always make things much more difficult.
One exception to this is a very tight turn. If a hop is out of the question, you'll need to slow down to allow the smallest radius of turning circle. This kind of thing takes practice, although track standing isa great way to improve on your balance.
Although down hilling is one of the most extreme methods of mountain biking, it can also be one of the most dangerous. If you're new to mountain biking you shouldn't start out with down hilling, as it takes a lot of practice.
With a bit of practice and knowing the right techniques, technical down hilling is something you'll find fun. It can provide quite a rush and a lot of excitement for those who seek adventure.
Need To Stop - Make Sure The Brakes Function
You are starting to see these more and more on all new forms of mountain bikes. I am talking about bicycles with disc brakes. Previously the majority of disc brakes were found on more advanced bicycles, however now they're beginning to show up on many more of the budget bikes as well as a result of their unique braking power. Mountain bikes typically encounter some fairly difficult riding conditions and because of the landscape that we operate them in, there is always the unfortunate possibility to damage the brakes. What follows is a discussion of a very simple, yet extremely effective technique to make repairs on your damaged brakes permitting you to get back biking again.
Disc Brakes Are Exposed - This is the Problem
When you actually stop and look at the disc brake setup of a typical bicycle, you will recognize that the disc rotors are not guarded which contributes to them becoming damaged very easily. I found out recently exactly how simple it was to bend one and once the rotor bends, the brakes start to make a serious grinding noise. The typical disc brake functions by making use of 2 brake pads that clamp onto metallic disc attached to your wheel thereby reducing your speed. The housing that encloses your brake pads only has a very slender opening for your rotor to slip in to. Should you bend the metallic rotor, it no longer fits between your brake pads and now begins to rub as it revolves. Since it is now rubbing, you will be cycling as though your brakes were being partially activated.
We can change that quite easily so let's discover how.
Bike Disc Brakes Back To Normal
To begin with you'll want to un-attach the brake housing (which is normally located on your fork). The bolts can be taken off from the housing using an Allen key. Upon detaching the mounting bolts, the brake housing should simply fall free of the fork. Get a plastic zip tie and fasten it to the fork so that the end is protruding towards your rotor (it'll be used as a temporary depth gauge).
With the strip in position, turn your tire in order for the rotor is moving next to the plastic tie strip and look for the gaps to show up. Rotating your tire permits you to assess exactly where on your rotor the bend happens. With the damaged rotor locations identified, utilizing an adjustable wrench, bend the metal rotor steadily back into its correct position.
Carry out a couple of minor adjustments using the wrench and test the rotor clearance yet again using the zip tie. You might want to repeat this bending procedure several times however with persistence, you should be capable of getting your rotor quite straight yet again.
When you are satisfied with your repaired rotor's positioning, then all that remains would be to take off the plastic zip strip, and re-install the mounting bolts which connect your brake housing to your fork. There ought to be minimal, if any, rubbing of the brakes with your rotor.
Take a Ride and Enjoy the Rewards of Your Labor
Now that you have fixed the damaged rotor, proceed out to the paths and give it a try. As you've just found out, this approach is truly uncomplicated and fortunate for you that it is since if you ride your bike routinely, you'll probably need to use it again and again. As you just discovered though, this shouldn't be a concern for you since you know the procedure on what to do now.
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