descending fear

[2whluge]

Speed. Isn’t that what we all want? When I changed to recumbents over 15 years ago, I test rode a Bachetta with rim brakes. Scared the hell out of me. It went so fast and I was worried about heating the rims using the brakes on a big descent.

When I got my Volae I ordered the disc wheels. (Sold the Volae last week ) I could easily hit 50 mph with the Velocity wheels. It was rock solid. Since then, I gained 15 years of experience which included flipping a Q100 at 18 mph and doing a face plant on the grass and breaking 3 ribs.

My point is: have control. Tune the bike as noted above. Hit your high speed once and smile at the memory. Then enjoy smoking the boy racers on those rolling hills when you slingshot past and they wonder what happened.

 

[Seth Cooper]

Was it windy on your ride?

I def had a few windy moments. At 20 mph a wind gust didn't matter, but yeah past 35 mph I felt it push me around not a fun feeling. The axles all were tight.

I don't want to give the impression the bike was wandering around all the time, just that it felt like it took a very light touch to keep on line, and I don't remember the V20 needing quite the same amount of concentrated relaxing effort.

I have 303 wheels so similar depth 40-45 mm (not sure which version I have)

 

[Gregory Carlsen]

I have been up to 54 mph on my v20c and regularly hit 40+ down a hill near my home (good pavement and visibility are key factors for these speeds). My experience is that the v20c is rock solid at any of those speeds. The only things I can think of are the wheels / tires being out of balance, misaligned, something is loose. One other possibility is how the boom is adjusted. In my case, I have about 18 inches in front of the pivot clamp and 15 inches behind the pivot. I have no idea if there is preferred range for the front / back ratio.

 

[Seth Cooper]

I have about 18 inches in front of the pivot clamp and 15 inches behind the pivot. I have no idea if there is preferred range for the front / back ratio.

maybe you are on to something. I measure mine as 13 inches behind (measure from center of clamp to end of boom) and 22.25 ahead (center of clamp to center of bottom bracket).
if we are measuring the same I could be a twitchier setup with the shorter 13" distance, but doesn't the angle of the boom matter as well? In other words, it is the distance measured perpendicular to the head tube that would affect the handling right?

 

[JerseyJim]

Phil Gaimon just did a descending tips video. Some advice is specific to upright bikes, but good advice overall.

 

[CruzinCambridge]

The best advice from the Phil video is to look down the road, not at the road in front of you. The bike goes where you look, so don't look down! But on a bent, you're naturally looking down the road instead of at the tarmac right in front of you.

The advice that doesn't work for a Cruzbike is putting your weight on the outside pedal. I find descending with the cruzbike with such a low center of gravity that small movements make a big difference. I could lean the bike into a corner by just tilting my head to the outside of the corner.

Then Phil doesn't mention countersteering... which makes sense since his video is an intro to descending. With the MBB and boom setup, I find you have to countersteer by lifting up on the inside hand. This is only slight since the key to descending is relaxing your grip, but it's real.

Having equipment you maintain and trust is another big key as Jim says (Hi Jim!). My Cruzbike came with 160mm disc on the rear and 140mm on the front. I felt a lot more confident descending when I switched to 160 on each. My record speed on a DF bike was 45 and I was pedaling like hell in the big ring. On the S30 I've only done 48... and it has a climbing 1x drivetrain that spins out at 35 or so.

 

[JerseyJim]

The best advice from the Phil video is to look down the road, not at the road in front of you. The bike goes where you look, so don't look down! But on a bent, you're naturally looking down the road instead of at the tarmac right in front of you.

As they say in Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes, you will go where you look. If you look down, you're going down.

The advice that doesn't work for a Cruzbike is putting your weight on the outside pedal. I find descending with the cruzbike with such a low center of gravity that small movements make a big difference. I could lean the bike into a corner by just tilting my head to the outside of the corner.

Another skill that recumbent cyclists need to learn from motorcycling is shifting weight to the outside of a turn or "leaning out". While we can't put weight on the outside leg, we can shift our weight to the outside to change the center of gravity through a turn. If you look at "motorcycle rodeo" videos, you'll see that this is a crucial skill to master to keep a bike stable, but it does seem counterintuitive to "lean out" and the degree in which to do it is a matter of feel.

Then Phil doesn't mention countersteering... which makes sense since his video is an intro to descending. With the MBB and boom setup, I find you have to countersteer by lifting up on the inside hand. This is only slight since the key to descending is relaxing your grip, but it's real.

Countersteering is a one of those things that takes more to explain than to do, then once you do it, you probably realize you've been doing it all along and didn't know it. Once again the MSF course says "Look right, Push right, Go right". It's the same for the left. Pushing the handlebar in the direction you want to go initiates the countersteer and after that the bike leans and you go. The dynamics are complicated by the pedaling action on our bikes but if you keep the "Push right" thing in mind, you'll be countersteering unconsciously. I think most riders do that anyway.

Having equipment you maintain and trust is another big key as Jim says (Hi Jim!).

Hello! I'm an S30 owner now. I have about 250 miles on it and I'm doing a century this weekend. I'm looking forward to next year's randonneuring season. I have a feeling I'll be setting new PBs for my finishing times. The 2025 NJ Randonneurs calendar is out and there are more NY rides on the schedule. Hope to see you on the road.

 

[Boreen bimbler]

I used to love the downhills on my DF bike and ended up with quite a few KOM's down some of the skechiest hills around here mainly because I had a knack of leaving my brain at the top of the hill when I decided to. But my body was also very relaxed and worked properly back then.
With the stiffness, inflammation and pain I suffer with now and the different position on my S40 I don't consider myself a fast descender any more. It feels slow to me but I don't really care as I'm just happy to still get out. Although I do seem to keep up with everyone else on the odd occasion I ride in a group though so can't be that bad I suppose.
If you want to go fast down hills just relax. If you can't relax into it then go the speed your comfortable at. If your using your brain you wont be that fast (interpret that as you will). You can learn some things but it has to be (or become) natural.
And yes, I've had some scary moments...........