Mountain Biking - Descending
If you know how to Climb hills and mountains, then it is time to tell you more on how you should descend.
The descent is maybe the most fun and exciting part of Mountain Biking. Of course, doing it right and safely is the most preferable way you can do it. There's no fun in wiping out and staying in bed the next few days licking your wounds. So, here is some advice:
- If you are on top of the hill or the mountain and you are ready (you've checked that the brakes work!! Also shift the chain onto the big chain ring to stop the chain slapping around and perhaps falling off.) to make your descent, decide on your preferred line.
- Wear a helmet.
- let your fingers cover your brake levers, just in case you need to arrest your speed. Be careful when using the brakes. Do not lock up the wheels. The front brake is more powerful but using it too strongly will cause you to lose balance and tip over. Go to our How to Use Your Brakes section for more details on this.
- Lowering the seat may be helpful since some descents may too steep that you would have to extend your arms to the point that you may find the saddle right in front of the saddle. A quick release seat bolt may prove useful.
- Control your speed during a descent. Remember, too much weight at the front may send you flying over the handlebars, on the other hand, too much weight at the rear may send the front end just rising and you just land on your back with the bike on top of you. Know the balance by means of adjusting the Weight Distribution according to the steepness of the descent.
Lastly, there are two ways of landing: "dropping in" and "dropping off". Dropping in is landing with the front wheel. On the other hand, dropping off is lifting the front wheel making a "wheely" just before jumping of the edge and landing with the rear wheel.
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