Good advice guys . I would add this : focus on the line you want to take rather than on any obstacle or rough surface you want to avoid , if you focus on that pothole in your path and not on the road around it you're far more likely to hit it .
Exactly, "Target Fixation" is the foe, it has caused MANY a crash or near misses. Always, always focus on the exist of the corner, even when it is blind. Vision on Corner entry, then eyes quickly seek the apex, then the exit. In a matter of FRACTIONS of a second. Otherwise it's too late. The best tutorials will be from Moto roadracing.
I always try to descend the same road I ascended. That way I can pre-spot my descent for things like rocks on the road, sand, roadkill, branches, and blind turns. This past week I went up Angeles Crest Highway, near Los Angeles, and noticed all the rocks and debris were washed to the ascending side of the road, so coming back down was real smooth, and I felt alright in pushing it a little.
I am 50+ and I am getting that itch to ride serious again. Coming from a competitive running background... I enjoy your Channel. With all the tech training with pro content ... Considering buying high end BMC but may have to sell an organ to do so.
I've worked on descending and found that weighting the outside leg was a huge help. Also, looking ahead and not at your wheel, so you can see upcoming junctions, potholes, gravel etc and make your line choice early and more smoothly. Finally, having a bike that fits. Being on a too small bike makes for sketchy high-speed descents. Check the geo, the BB height, the reach.
You left out one of the key components: understand how the bike actually turns. To turn to the left, put forward pressure on the LEFT bar. To turn right, put pressure on the RIGHT bar. If you want to turn tighter, push harder. If you want to turn less, push less. To turn a steady arc, keep the pressure constant. Use that gyro to your advantage. So many people fail to understand this basic principal so they end up scalloping the turn by turning 7 or 8 times when they should just carve it with one well-placed arc. You almost covered it when you talked about keeping your weight over the bike (weighting the outside foot). But it’s the pressure on the bars that makes the bike turn.
Thanks @Jamie for writing this, I was about to tip the same as this is *very* important and not very often mentioned in all how-to-descend videos. Maybe two more - keep your shoulders relaxed, more tight they are - more difficult to turn... And keep your sight on the curve exit (i.e. where you want to go), rather than staring at your front wheel.
Finally! So many spend hundreds of hours watching videos and thousands of dollars out of pocket on trying to go up a mountain faster only to lose it by being crap on the descent....another tip for blind turns, look at the outside of the turn. If the curb is coming toward you the corner is getting tighter, if the curb is moving away it's opening up and you need less brake on entry....👍....bad habits, to this day I still drag my rear brake until the apex....learned that from Moto legend Kenny Roberts and I've never been able to shake the habit!.. happy new year 👍
Haha me too! I used to race 600 supersport and still brake in the same fashion. I remember hearing Kevin Schwantz say he trail braked with a back break until the apex to stretch the bike out and get it to squat while it also allowed him to get an innitial break of traction and slide the bike around the corner thereby getting it turned towards the exit earlier. Brave stuff! Probably from his dirt track days.
Happy New Year, Tristan. Thanks for the inspiration. Any chance you could do something on the bag setups you and Ben were using? I didn't realise handlebar bags were a thing until your vids (sheltered life, I know). Cheers
Thanks Andy! So I run the Attaquer Adventure handlebar bag and Ben runs the Cordel Durum which I also had up until recently (you can see a little more of it in the France credit card packing video I made in August). In general bar bags are just a super simple and useful way to carry more without over filling your pockets..I don’t generally run one in summer but in winter it’s ultra helpful to carry extra layers, jackets, gloves, food, etc. Highly recommended. Shoot me a message via Instagram if you’re interested in the Attaquer bag and I’ll hook you up with a small discount code. 👌🏼
Just wanted to check back & say thanks for Tip #6 ! I had already known most tips but never thought about this one. Now I have tried it a few weeks & want to say Thank You Ben! Works very well & again something I never thought about before...unweighting the saddle does improve the ability to hold a line ...Nice! Thanks!!
Happy new year to you and thanks for the mint content Andorra looks class where would you recommend renting a apartment for a weeks holiday in the spring ?
Thanks Neil! If you’re coming up here I’d recommend La Massana or Ordino as a couple of options..both are at around 1200-1300m so you don’t have to climb crazy heights to get home, or if you want somewhere at altitude go for El Tarter or Soldeu. Bring your climbing legs wherever you stay, that’s for sure.
Really nice video that makes me wish I could be outside. I am doing only indoor riding now as our streets, while heavily salted, are nowhere near as clear as those roads in Andorra. I am envious! Good tips for descending which I, as the object of much hilarious comment from my cycling friends about how I go downhill, will put into practice come April and clear roads. Happy New Year!
Try to relax, avoid tension in your hands, arms, shoulders, legs, ... Look ahead of you, into the corner. Take the pressure of your handlebar and bend your arms to lower your head and thus your centre of gravity. This way all your weight is on your outer pedal.
Really nice video! New to the channel just want to ask, should i upgrade to carbon clincher wheels. I have rim brakes on my bike and I am kinda scared if descending with rim brakes with all that fuss of brake failure while descending. Although I have taken a lot of notes from your videos and it helped just a little bit scared and looking for an expert opinion. Thanks for the content keep it up!
Thanks for the comment Thomas! Glad you enjoyed the video. Depending on the rims, you might find carbon lighter and faster through the air, however braking performance is (on the whole) not as good, especially in the wet. I haven’t had any kind of brake failure before, but I do notice I have to brake for quite a long time to properly slow down and I generally take it more cautiously than someone like Ben who is both a better rider and also on disc brakes. If you’re not descending long or steep descents, carbon rims will offer an advantage in terms of performance so I’d recommend them.
See you next year! All the best for the new Year. Throughly enjoyed all your videos this season, or should I say year. Congrats on your success and look forward to your new playlist. Adiós amigo. 👍🥂
This content just keeps getting better and better.Those descending tips won’t help that much as I’m in Perth but when going in to the hills , I’ll remember it.
Thanks Tristan (& Ben) - nice insight / tips on decsending. I always feel i am a poor decsender never feel confident at high speed (60kph+). Its picking them lines on flowing high speed bends to stay smooth i always seem to judge it wrong and destablize the bike. Actually feel better on hairpins (something like Alp D'Huez) as lower top speed. Anything you can offer on those types of fast flowing descents? Still.......... looking forward to my week in the Luz area end of July / Early August 2022 and decsending some of those mountains.
My number one recommendation is always to practice at a speed you’re comfortable with, and trust the process that as you gain more confidence you’ll become faster. It takes a long time to get quicker and it’s not a process that should be rushed. Most cyclists (and many other high-speed, high-risk sportspeople) tend to go quicker than they should probably be going, without realizing the rewards are not worth the risk. Keeping an eye on maps really helps though, to know how sharp a turn might be so you can judge your braking a little better before it. I’d also recommend paying close attention to planting your outside food down hard on drawn out curves so the bike stays stuck to the road. Essentially what’s in the video, put into practice across all kinds of descents so you can get more and more comfortable with cornering at speed in time. All the best with it! 👌🏼
"Theyll like you even less if you crash on the descent rushing" This is why i laugh at the other competitors, and the general cycling community You all train and compete like dorks And im not saying be dangerous, but i have found a lot of time saving advantage that goes against community opinion You guys are soooooo safe xD like wow super safe xD
Good job guys! I have a question, what measure does Ben use on his bike? What is the height of the saddle, what is the difference in height between the saddle and the handlebars, what is the distance between the saddle and the center of the handlebars, what is the length of the stem? I ask all this because I'm 188cm just like Ben. Thanks a lot!
Great content again Tristan, the back catalogue is getting me through the WA Quarantine after just returning from the UK. It is great to see your mate, Ben (great name) in a different light. Always a fan of any Aussie, but have become a big fan of Ben after seeing this stuff. Keep it up both of you. You should do Aussie update each week or month with any of the other Aussies over there, especially the lesser known ones. The secret life of Aussie cyclists in Europe is always interesting. Happy New Year mate.
Thanks mate! Stoked you’ve enjoyed the videos and hopefully quarantine is treating you alright. I’ve definitely got aims to cover a few more of the Aussies this year. Keep an eye out 👌🏼👌🏼
Hey Tristan I really love your videos great work my friend, could you also do a video about filming and take pictures with strictly an iPhone, am also a cyclist and really enjoy creating content on my bike, I would love to up my game with some tips from you. Thank you and greetings from Greece 🇬🇷✌🏽
Thanks for all of the fabulous videos this year Tristan, very inspiring! Hope to get to Europe next year and get some rides in, thanks again and cheers from Australia 🦘, Patrick
Yeah, all WT riders (with the exception of a couple) have private or team-assigned coaches who prescribe and then analyze each of their training rides.
@@tristantakevideo I had a feeling that's how it's done. Also, what's that mounted on the seatpost of Ben's bike? I'm like 99.999% sure it's the Garmin Varia radar but i just want to confirm. 😅
Pretty new to your channel and have watched a few vids now. Not sure if you mentioned this in any videos but what cameras do you use when you go out riding the bike?
Hey man, I haven’t actually mentioned it (not outright, anyway) in any videos. I film everything with my iPhone 11 Pro and also a GoPro hero 9. Will hopefully be upgrading to the iPhone 13 Pro very soon though. 👌🏼
I’d always recommend in the drops for the lower center of gravity it provides, which leads to better stability. Make sure to keep your elbows bent so you’re compliant with the curves of the road and can soak up bumps with your arms.
What were you and your ride buddy wearing? Details please. I really struggle with keeping warm after sweating and you guys seem ok. I get like the worst back craps and wind burn unless I completely change my wet clothes on decents
This sounds like a layering issue when climbing. Ben and I were both wearing a long sleeve baselayer, a long sleeve jersey, and then I had a gilet on as well and put on the lightweight wind stopper for descents. The issue most people have is not taking off layers when they start climbing and then getting too hot/soaked in sweat by the top of the climb. You’d have to be in very cold conditions to be freezing on a climb so my recommendation would be to wear less going uphill and put on layers once you’re at the top.
"Tip it In" & Happy New Year to you & Ben! That was great & the footage was super. I saw by your shadow you were not holding a cam so I imagine you used that mouth mount gopro? If so I am just amazed at how well your POV tracked Ben on the descent. Really nice! Thanks again & looking forward to more of your great videos in 2022!
Appreciate the tips mate. 6:40 "do all your braking before the corner" Sorry lads, :D absolutely incorrect for most corners. "Passive Trail Braking" will be the most efficient for the majority of corners. Trailing off as bike gets to the apex will allow for maximum exit speed. And, that is what cornering IS ALL about, Maximum exit speed. 2:18 in slightly off line at the exit. I could see you had to slow way down to stay within the dotted center line. And again at 2:33. Bigger mistake, running wide of the exit. This is because your initial turn-in to the corner was too early. But some good form in there, not bad.
