Has anyone got over their fear of going downhill?

Try going somewhere like Andalucia. Virtually every ride in the interior of 20+ miles involves a 'hill' of some sorts. When over there I can do several loops of say 60 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing with the corresponding descents and see maybe 3-5 cars per ride.
The Tarmac is often slick black silky smooth stuff. Those 2 factors really help.
Apart from being stunning it's great practice and well worth the few hundred quid for the week.
There's no point over here, the descents aren't long enough, the roads are s###e and there's a car on every other corner. I ride occasionally in the Peak District and it's a nightmare. If there's any hint of that dewy greasy road surface then I'm on the go slow..

i've managed to up my "gotta brake panic" speed from about 30mph to about 40mph. Still pretty rubbish, but much better than it was, and it means most descents are now quite fun.

suggestions-

- really concentrate on relaxing your arms and hands- try to hold the bars as lightly as possible- it helps you remain calm and keeps the bike steadier

- remember to breathe!

- where possible, slow by air braking rather than using the brakes themselves- it is a real confidence boost to get to the bottom without having touched the levers at all.

If worried by descending better watch the Giro stage today on short descents !

I went down Winnat's Pass the other day, and I was gripping the brakes most of the way down... Pretty scary, that one.

When I was a kid I had a bad crash, probably due to doing the death grip, as a result was always rather slow and nervy. But now after returning to the road I have learnt to relax and get my position right (hanging my backside further back off the seat, from mtb days) this now allows me to be able to descend fast and have been able to reach the dizzy heights of 53 mph, on not very good roads. This is fast enough for me. I think its about state of mind and learning to relax and go with the flow and trying not to touch the brakes too much. Hope you have success and don't worry you will be able to slowly build up your speed. Most of all ENJOY yourself.

Great thread, I too suffer from this problem.

 As a natural slacker I used to love going downhill, until I was doing nearly 90kph and got a HUGE speed wobble. At one point I was contemplating jumping off the bike as aiming for the grass was probably better than hitting the tarmac. Somehow I managed to get the bike back under control and I stopped ok, but my confidence was shattered to pieces. The thing is now that I'm probably in more danger now as I am so stiff and nervous on the descents. Some good tips here though and I'm going to try and work on this over the summer. Annoyingly round where I live you frequently find yourself going down 1:5's, 1:4's and on occassion 1:3's

Some good advice above, tho I'm not convinced the 'cancellara knee out' makes much difference to weight distribution since you'll be putting a lot of your weight through the outside pedal (which will be at its low point). Tho what it may do is help point the riders shoulders (and hence view point) around the corner - ie look where you want to go.

Definitely better on the drops, slightly off the saddle to absorb any unexpected bumps. Get good at bunny hops!! Still hate descending though, it's not much more fun going up hills though tbh!

The day after Gent-Wevelgem I rode up and over Kemmelberg, well the pro's make it look so easy.

If anyone has any tips for descending  -20% cobbles with a sharp right hander at the bottom without resorting to brown shorts I'd be grateful.

My technique was to grip the brakes until my hands cramped.

Just make a note of your threshold speed and nudge it up 2mph each time. 

The other method is the braver one, if your friends can do it, you can do it. I used to use that one doing trackdays on my motorbike, I'd run well under my potential till i followed a faster rider. Not too much faster though. 

Like many others have said there are lots of us in the same position as you. I came to road cycling from a mountain biking background where I was a reasonable descender, but on a road bike I found going downhill on a 25mm tyres with forks that seem the same thickness as ice lolly sticks and brakes that seem to scub a little speed rather than stop the bike frightening. I barely improved over 6 months, but a change of bike has helped and descending is now something I am fairly average at instead of p*ss poor. I changed my bike from a Canyon to a Trek, the main differences that seem to make the bike more stable and inspire more confidence are disc brakes (only 140mm rotors but inspire so much confidence as I know I can stop), a slightly lower bottom bracket which means a slightly lower saddle height and lower centre of gravity, and 32mm tyres (im 90kg and run them at 80psi) which soak up a lot of the bumps in the road so I don't feel like my bike is going to fall to pieces over rougher sections of road.

Might seem a bit silly this but ....... Glasses/sunglasses that provide decent wind protection. 

When your eyes are steaming & your vision is blurred things can feel very fraught very quickly. Some decent protection that holds the wind off & allows you to clearly see what's coming up leads to things feeling a bit 'slower' and rather more controllable.

Don't worry about it, unless you're in a race there's no need to go fast. You sound pretty new to the sport, I guarantee by this time next year you'll be going far faster downhill (but still safely).

Following someone going downhill faster than you and stick to their line and be safe based on the fact that if they were to die you can see what to avoid

I'm just scared of cars pulling out and I can't stop lol.

Make sure you have decent tyres and practise the bends carefully and know how your bike responds.

So a fantastic solution is to go to the alps and ride down a mountain or two!

Loads of great advice here - genuinely the above worked for me and I now love descending.

Stay relaxed and a top tip is if you find your shoulders tensing (death wobble) then touch your bent knee to the top tube it will help enormously. Wobbles are all in the mind if you stay relaxed and off the brakes a bike will not wobble.

Also ride to what you can see, and as far as drag braking (gentle scrubbing) goes do NOT do it. Let the bike go free as far as you can see then brake as hard and as long as you dare to enter a corner - for sight line reasons.
The reason I say this is that if you do go and descend something like Alpe d'Huez then you will get very hot rims from braking so you want to only do it when you need to and then as short time as possible, tube blowouts from overheating are a very real risk - annoying at best and cna cause serious injury if it decides to go at the front and at speed.

Finally, remember slow in - fast out as far as corners are concerned safer and ultimately quicker!

Have fun - Oh and I used to be so scared that speed wobbles were always the order of the day - no more!!

Another thing to do is have a good long look behind you to suss out what traffic may be coming and how fast. If you know it is clear behind you can concentrate on your own thing, but if a few vehicles are coming it may even be worth pulling over and letting them go; also let them clear a good distance down the hill if there is a chance you will catch them.
The Boxhill descent is a classic case, although it isn't that steep, the speed bumps slow (most) cars down a lot more than bikes, it is quite easy to keep up with a car between the speed bumps, never mind through the hairpins.

Most cyclists have fears about descending. By admitting to your fear you've taken the biggest step to dealing with it. So here goes,

1) Descend at YOUR pace not anyone else's.
2) Dominate and command your lane so you don't get squeezed at the wrong time.
3) Get down in the drops. It lowers your centre of gravity and gives you better bike control.
4) Braking. Always do any braking with the bike upright and travelling in a straight line.Try to regard your back brake for speed control and your front brake for stopping. 'Cover' your front brake but try not to use it. Locking up the back wheel is a lot easier to deal with than locking the front (A locked front often leads to you eating Tarmac). One last thing on braking. You will be amazed how effective just sitting up and using your body as an air brake is.
5) Practice makes perfect and builds confidence. The more you do it the better you will become. Fear is a good thing provided you are managing it rather than it managing you.
6) Have fun!

One final piece of advise that I should have put in a lot earlier. Learn to read the road as far ahead as possible. Look at the way hedges shape, telegraph poles, buildings, road markings (particularly the style of centre-line), etc. For instance a single street standard in a rural area will often be placed at a junction.

I hope you find this useful.

One thing about all this has been nagging at me - going downhill fast is one of the joys of cycling.

Just managed to come down my longest and steepest descent, the Blwich. I used to be like the OP but all the tips mentioned on here really work ... Not the fastest down but an average of just under 50kph for me is good !

Hi Charlie

I was the same, but now I quite enjoy descending. I'm not the fastest, but faster than many. You're better off slow and safe than fast and reckless.

You have to get comfortable with descending & improve at your own pace.

A riding skills course helped my cornering, which subsequently helped my descending. Get on the drops for better grip of the bars, lower centre of gravity and better access & power for braking. Bodyweight through the "outside leg" (pedal), and your inside bar. Get your speed right before you reach the corner. Practice on smooth clear flat roads. When you've got it, you can start trying it on gentle downhill bends.

Observation. There's a tendency to look immediately in front of your front wheel. Occasionally look further ahead to see where the road is going. Hedge or tree lines can give you an indication. The map on your Garmin can be handy, if you have one. You'll know what's coming up, and can then look ahead at the road surface, and what other hazards you need to account for.

Are you confident in your bike? A reasonably modern bike will be stiff, which helps, as will reasonable quality wheels. I use 25mm tyres of a good quality, and good quality brake blocks. All these things help my confidence when descending.

Practice, but within your own limits. Smooth sweeping descents, reasonably quiet - and repeat. Repetition helps learning, and you'll gradually relax each time and reinforce what you're learning as you go along.

I think the main thing is to practice, and learn at your own pace. Enjoy improving! Good luck :o)

I feel your pain on this, I am very similar myself.

Following one (fairly minor) crash and a couple of "death wobbles" coming down hills a couple of years ago I haven't had the confidence to really descend at speed.

As soon as I get on the drops and the speed veers upwards of about 30mph my arms lock up and I panic brake. I often stay on the hoods for lots of less steep descents, just consistently scrubbing off a bit of speed to stay within my comfort zone rather than having to squeeze the levers for dear life! Just watch on longer descents you aren't on the brakes all the way down as the rims can get very hot and I've heard can blow your inner tube.

I also moved my saddle back about 10mm which really helps locate your weight further back when coming downhill.

I am getting better, but it is just practise. Practise, practise, practise. Pick familiar roads and just go up and down to get used to how it feels going downhill at increasingly higher speeds. All the best!

It’s something I’ve been trying to come up with a plan for after a monumental crash in Autumn. What I’ve asked myself is ‘Is it cornering or downhill speed?’ It’s certainly just speed downhill. I can actually ride faster on the flat than I can tolerate descending! So, mechanical worries aside, why is this? It comes down to me feeling that above a certain speed I don’t have control, and that I may as well fall off now because it’s inevitable it’ll happen. So it’s not so such the speed, but my ability to control the bike whatever is comes along above a certain speed.

I’ve read quite a few articles (and there are videos of) Oscar Saiz who does descending coaching for pro teams and riders. He puts them on MTB downhill courses first to get a sense of handling skills. That’s made me question my capability to control a bike. Can I ride with no hands, bunny hop, pull a wheelie, get the back tyre to slide out on a gravel corner etc etc? So once a week and when I go to the shops on the MTB I aim at the roughest bits of road or speed bumps, ride an off road track, and just generally dick around like a kid on their first bike. Plus it’s actually good fun! I would like to get better at falling off, as I’m sure there are good and bad ways of doing this. I’m not sure how to go about that bit though!

Another thing Saiz does is get trainees to do multiple descents of the same stretch of road without braking. After a few runs they knock seconds off a relatively short stretch of road. This is something I’ve done a few times and my threshold certainly gets further down the hill each time, playing around with things like position as others have said.

Things are slowly starting to coalesce. I’m still very cautious around others and traffic, but I’m fine with that. My end goal is to be comfortable again at 30pmh on a reasonable road. Then I can start thinking about corners….