Help with descents

I could really use a website that has sizing information for bikes. Wrench science isn't cutting it. It would be nice if i could buy another stem and make some adjustments myself and start there. For all i know, when i make the cockpit changes everything else could come easily. What is also nice is the changes would be pretty inexpensive and i could do it myself.
 
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Kmoodymz3 said:
This has been a good thread with quality information. I'll give some advice that works for me, and I learned it from a pro DH'er, Gene Hamilton. Sing a really stupid song and smile when you hit the techy stuff. Sing out loud! Really this helps you relax. If you can laugh at yourself all the better! I had the same problem with the fear of techy down hill and while it is really silly to be singing nursery rhymes, or the circus song (the one you think of when the cicrus starts up) on the trail but this works if tensing up is a problem. Now when I ride with others I teach them this and they love it.

Pixychick's advice on visualization is great too. Give it a try. Singing and visualization won't cost you anything.

If you can take a MTB course Gene's is excellent, you will learn so much and he teaches drills that you can practice to continue your improvement.http://www.betterride.net

Riding with others is also a great way to learn, don't be afraid to ask for a demonstration, or to repeat a section.
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Funny, i read the exact thing on mtbr yesterday. Someone was talking about some expert female rider that teaches courses and tells her students to do the singing thing.
 
idbrian said:
I could really use a website that has sizing information for bikes. Wrench science isn't cutting it. It would be nice if i could buy another stem and make some adjustments myself and start there. For all i know, when i make the cockpit changes everything else could come easily. What is also nice is the changes would be pretty inexpensive and i could do it myself.
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I am not a professional bike fitter, but have had several done on myself. To my knowledge, sizing is very personal, and is not just height and inseam. A stem can be used to slightly adjust a cockpit, but ideally should be relative to your arm length. It keeps the weight distributed properly. An old rule was to look down through the handlebar while in the riding position and the front hub should be lined up with it. With riser bars and trail bikes, I don't know if this rule is still used. If you have a reliable bike shop, they may be able to advise you.
 
idbrian said:
I could really use a website that has sizing information for bikes. Wrench science isn't cutting it. It would be nice if i could buy another stem and make some adjustments myself and start there. For all i know, when i make the cockpit changes everything else could come easily. What is also nice is the changes would be pretty inexpensive and i could do it myself.
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What size Trance are you riding and how tall are you? And do you know the stem length? There seems like some very knowledgable people on this board that can help with sizing even online. Some pics of you current setup could help too. Like some other recomended, and this would be my next step, bring your bike to a good shop and have them fit it for you - tell them you like to ride tech trail.

But unless the frame is 2 sizes too big, or you have really short arms and a very long stem, I'm not sure the cockpit is totally the issue. It could be off and could use some dialing in but if you can't get back with the seat lowered then something else is going on. BITD many of us used to ride 130mm stems w/out any problems on tech stuff - I rode long ass stems when I live and rode the rocky tech trails near Boston. Although nowadays people are running them short (including me). I remember reading that Mark Weir said he can ride anything w/ a 70mm stem - both up and down.

I like John's advice about Diablow - although maybe it was the virgin/hooker comment that got me. Padding up w/ a fullface and a plush rig takes some fear out of stuff. Although some of those trails are pretty burly. Like he said, you learn that place, any other place will be no problem.

Here are some links to Lee's site - he has a good way of explaining things and it might help you determine what going on with cockpit and body positioning:

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/?s=stem+length

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/?s=body+position
 
idbrian said:
Funny, i read the exact thing on mtbr yesterday. Someone was talking about some expert female rider that teaches courses and tells her students to do the singing thing.
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That would be Marla Streb who teaches with Gene at times.
 
BiknBen said:
It's not about the bike. Regardless of the amount of travel, you have to distribute your weight appropriately on the bike when descending. This will often require you to get way back and off the seat. You know it is steep when you feel the seat in your belly. ;)
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True that Ben, it has nothing to do with your bike. The front end of my bike is probably lower than anyone's and while some of the super steepy steeps feel scary, it's still all rideable. Biggest tip, which I'm sure has been mentioned somewhere in here already, let off the front brake and let her roll, it prevents you from getting the front wheel caught up, as with most tech stuff, momentum is your friend.

-Jim.

PS-Anyone remember the Ned Overend video where he had people do downhill drills using only the front brake?
 
NJ-XC-Justin said:
You can remove that spacer yourself real easy. I've done it and I'm no mechanic. You don't have to remove the lowers -- you just push the piston rod through with a 5mm allen key. Shops tend to charge $75 or more for this sort of thing.
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Yep, I heard it was pretty easy, but I needed a full overhaul anyway. I just got it back last night and will put it through it's paces tomorrow.
 
jimvreeland said:
True that Ben, it has nothing to do with your bike. The front end of my bike is probably lower than anyone's and while some of the super steepy steeps feel scary, it's still all rideable.

...

-Jim.
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Jim - I'm sure you remember Tomac riding drop bars during XC races BITD. That setup must have been pretty low plus with the long stems of the day. He handled the course at Mt. Snow with those things without issue. In fact I think he was passing people going thru the downhill sections. Granted Tomac could ride a track bike and descend better than all of us but still.

I could also hear him coming from a distance away with those Tioga disk wheels - those things were like a drum. Some funny setups back then.

Found a sweet pic of the setup:

tomac_worlds_500pix.jpg
 
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Funny that this link is making the rounds again, I just saw it yesterday on someone's blog. I have to say I enjoyed it as much yesterday as the first time I watched.
 
tire pressure, elbow position, riser bar,horizontal crank arms, more leaning less steering into downhill turns etc.
 
Ok so i took a 90mm stem from my GF's old bike and replaced my 110mm with it to see how it felt. HUGE difference. Getting back behind the seat was so much easier and felt a lot more normal and comfortable. So i was able to practice getting behind the seat on pretty much every descent i came upon today to start getting used to the feeling.

This helped tone down the fear quite a bit. I found my goal for the evening and came across a techy descent i would never had the nerve to do, a descent that would surely endo me if i could not be able to stay behind the saddle. but the fear was still there. So i tried singing the singing a song approach, which sounded silly to me, but it worked. I simply sang the alphabet out loud. I see that it simply takes away that second guess i would get right before doing a descent, or the second guess that i some times would get during a descent which would lead to endo's.

So i'm going to purchase a not so expensive 70mm stem and try that out, because i could still use a little more room behind that saddle. I know a shorter stem is suppose to make climbing a little harder but i'm pretty strong at that. The shorter stem felt very comfortable today.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Just get a 29er. Every problem known to mt biking is solved then. I pretty sure you don't even have to keep your eyes open when descending.
 
Kirt said:
Just get a 29er. Every problem known to mt biking is solved then. I pretty sure you don't even have to keep your eyes open when descending.
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Now Kirt, lets not be silly. While 29ers do solve most issues, everyone knows you need to keep your eyes open so you can yield to climbing riders:D
 
Since buying a 29er, I...

* Now have 20/20 vision
* Used to be impotent but have since fathered 6 illegitimate children
* Beat Chuck Norris in Tetris
* No longer need to stay at a Holiday Inn Express to solve complex problems

...the list goes on.
 
With my new avatar<<<< I decided I was no longer qualified to weigh in on advice issues.
Nice one Norm.
 
So i got a nice deal on a 70mm Race Face Deus stem. That is 40mm shorter than when i started. I was nervous that the big jump would feel very different and twitchy on my climbs. It feels great. I have been riding my only bike, Trance, for a few years now and had no prior experience to really know how a bike was supposed to feel. I'm even wondering if maybe at 6' if i should have gone with a Med. Anyways, with the shorter cockpit i feel like i'm riding a completely new bike with new abilities. Happy.

Is common in your early years to really trash a bike? My Trance has tons of chips and scratches. Pretty much every tech ride i go on adds a pretty good scar to the frame. I often long for a new frame, and am then reminded how much abuse it would have to take.
 
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