Jump to content

Turning Down Hill/ Cross Cambers


hrmad
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

Had a good practice session this morning. I've bought a set of flags and have been setting up sections where I practice. Very good way to train by the way ;)

At any rate I set up some gates on a 2nd/ 3rd gear hill, rough going with stones, humps and bumps etc. Included several turns across a camber. I could clean the section going up hill but hit a bit of a brick wall attempting it down hill.

Any advice for turning down hills? Panic set in, I tended to brake too hard on the front and sit down. I feel like my weight is too far forward and I'm going to fall inwards and down the hill.

Where should your weight be when turning down across a camber? Is it wise to go full lock? Or be able to stop during the turn? Fear of heights also seems to kick in a bit and I panic.

As usual any help appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Try to start the descent as slow as possible,you can use a lot more front brake than you first think especially when its dry.Practise this before you try turning so you're not trying to learn 2 things at the same time. When turning get your weight well off the back and to the outside and get the bike slowl enough before you turn .When turning use the back brake.Its easier going left if you have to dab you can still hold the bike on the back brake.Like all techniques the more you do it the easier it becomes.Full lock is difficult as the front digs in and tucks under

Edited by huski
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

Thanks guys for the advice and videos.

I think I didn't have my weight far back enough, more weight on the outside peg. Maybe too high a gear. And I need to work on full lock turns.

But before all that, slow speed control downhills. I need to trust my brakes and front tyre a bit more!

Thanks,

Heather

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I think you are right Heather! Going slow is the key, really slow but smooth and controlled you can see in the video how slow Ryan is going. I was in British Columbia last week and had a chance to watch some very talented young riders practicing, they where doing slow speed wheelies up a steep road with switch backs and driving at a walking pace, going through the turns never dropping the front wheel, very different seeing that sort of thing in person compared to in a video, you typically don't see people riding so slowly, the control was unreal - very impressive.

Edited by michael_t
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
 

Hi Heather

Slightly off topic, but how are you finding the new tyres, have you noticed a big difference?

Hi jfc. The tyres are great! The front is washing out a lot less and the bike feels better across cambers. I still manage to spin the back wheel, but the bike has improved in mud especially when using a higher gear and low revs. On average I use the bike twice a week, around 8 hours in total. How often would you change the tyres? Every 6 months, 12 months?

On another note, I can finally afford a new clutch case for the beast, a much needed mod :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hi jfc. The tyres are great! The front is washing out a lot less and the bike feels better across cambers. I still manage to spin the back wheel, but the bike has improved in mud especially when using a higher gear and low revs. On average I use the bike twice a week, around 8 hours in total. How often would you change the tyres? Every 6 months, 12 months?

On another note, I can finally afford a new clutch case for the beast, a much needed mod :D

Depends on the wear you are getting but the front should be good for a year the back you may want to change at 6 months,

With the back you want a good leading edge on the tyre and you can turn it around when worn to get more out of them, I would talk to fellow local riders to see how their tyres are coping with the terrain and weather conditions and what tyres suit your area,

I am using Mitchelin X11's here and both front and rear are coming up to 2 years old and still in reasonable condition but it is very dry here in Tasmania but when I last rode in Queensland 20 years ago I was wearing my tyres out much quicker as the sections had more creeks with clay and sandstone,

Steve,

Edited by vonhazza
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

Once the leading edge has become rounded we reverse ours so you get a nice new leading edge.

It does depend on what you are riding and at what level your at, the tyre will lose its softness as it ages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

You won't know yourself, the front end of your new bike will be in the air more than on the ground.

25% better results and feel good factor!

Enjoy.

Edited by jfc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

Sorry for going off topic... that crash wasn't even down hill or off camber. I actually changed the section for the remainder of the novice riders when I realized it was a little trickier than I thought when I set the section :).

Edited by michael_t
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
  • Create New...