From: Chris Barrett
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.off-road
Subject: Re: MTB Descending

  Editor's note:  Chris is considered to be a very good bike handler.
  He has won more than a few local downhill events.  The one year
  he and his brother Patrick entered the Mammoth World Championships
  they both placed top 10 in the Kamikaze.  He placed 2nd G.C. and
  his brother Patrick placed 5th G.C. in what was then called the
  sport class combining all three events: Trials, Downhill and
  x-country.  He raced between the years 1982 and 1987 and was on
  the first TEAM ROMP off road team sponsored then by Velomeister
  of Los Gatos.

IMHO, the following is what it takes to reach blazing speeds
on the descents.  I call them my ten commandments of 
going fast on the descents.

1)  Most important is that you have your bike dialed.  The fit,
from frame to stem to pedals to bars to brake levers, is critical
in your ability to go fast.  If you're not comfortable on your bike
you won't be able to go fast.  Get the fit dialed then make sure
your brakes and shifting are spot on.  If you don't have confidence
in your equipment, you can't go fast.  Experiment with settings like 
tire pressure and if you have suspension get it dialed as well.  
Once your bike is dialed and race tuned, keep it that way even
if you don't race.  A clean, well lubricated and adjusted bike is 
a happy and fast bike.

2)  Practice, practice, practice. . . .  Seriously.  You must be able to 
know how your bike will respond in EVERY situation.  If you are 
even a bit unsure, you will not be able to go fast.

3)  Train.  Get fit.  You can't go fast downhill unless you can go fast.
Gravity is your friend but it doesn't do all the work.  A big chainring
will only give you more top end if you can push it.

4)  Learn to read the trail and pick the fastest line.  In general,
look as far down the trail as possible.  The faster you go the
further ahead you need to be looking.  In general, you and your
bike will tend to go where you are looking.  If you are looking
right at that big rut down the middle of the trail, it will most likely
make a meal out of your front wheel.  Identify possible hazards
in your path as soon as possible, then don't focus on them.
Instead, focus on the best path around, over or through them
and focus on that line as you continue to scan the trail ahead.
In a real scary section, look where you want to go, not at big
rocks and ruts.  NEVER look down at, or just in front of your
front wheel at speed unless it's for just a split second.  Keep
your head up and eyes down the trail.  It's okay to let your eyes
flit up and down the trail, but concentrate on looking ahead as much as
possible.

5)  Learn to hop your bike.  I hate the term bunnyhop, but I love
to practice the technique.  It is a must do to being able to go fast.
Most of the time you don't need much height.  This is especially
true at speed.  Learn to time your hops so that you spend the 
least amount of time with your wheels off the ground.  Learn to do
it several times in rapid succession.  Learn to do it and be able to
change direction slightly.  This comes in real handy in really rough
rocky or rutted sections.
 
6)  Let the bike work for you.  Try to think of your tires as
edges on a pair of skis.  Keep your weight centered over your
bike and let your bike dance around beneath you.  Keep your grip
firm on the bars, but your arms and legs lose.  Keep your but just 
off the saddle.  Don't put much weight on the saddle and remember 
keep the weight on the outside pedal.  I like to have the outside pedal
slightly towards the rear of the bike and put as much weight on it as 
possible.  The inside foot is either resting lightly in the clips with the
knee pointed away from the bike or I pull my inside foot out and 
stick it up near the front wheel and out slightly.  It depends on the 
speed and terrain.  If you don't have suspension don't worry about
the wheels wanting to bounce around.  Let them.  Just keep your 
weight centered, look where you want to go and keep the bars
pointed in that general direction.  
 
7)  Learn when to go slow.  This is one of the most often overlooked
parts of going really fast.  Knowing when to slow down, and more
importantly, how much to slow is critical to blazing fast times.  The
brakes are your friend.  Use them wisely.  Remember, about 70+%
of your braking ability comes from your front wheel.  When you really
need to scrub speed quickly, grab a healthy handful of front brake.
Do NOT lock up the front wheel and NEVER try to scrub 
speed once you have committed to a line through a corner.  
That would be a really bad move.  If you come in to a corner too
hot and you need to scrub speed, use both brakes and use them
sparingly.  It's best to enter the corner at the fastest speed that
you can safely carry through the corner.  Practice braking later
and later for the turn.  Many times the person that brakes later,
and correctly, will be the first one out of the turn and on the 
pedals sooner.

8)  Wear your helmet, glasses, gloves, cycling shoes and
shorts.  There is nothing worse than having a bug or small
bit of debris fly into your eye at speed, or to have a bush
or tree branch reach out and whack you upside your unprotected
head.  If you fall without gloves and helmet I guarantee it will
be painful and ugly.

9)  No fear. . .  This is what really separates the posers from the 
people that go fast.  If you have confidence in your equipment 
and your abilities, then you are well on your way to increased
speed.  Confidence = trust = no fear.
 
10)  Have fun!  I have found that a big ear-to-ear grin and rebel
yell will definitely make me go faster.  Try it.  Don't be so serious.
There is nothing like being in really good physical shape
and being really in tune with your bike and the trail.  Good luck!

Regards,

Chris Barrett

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