Has anyone got over their fear of going downhill?

I feel your pain on this, I
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!

For me it has been practise
For me it has been practise and some more practise which has helped me relax going downhill. But having done the Fred Whitton this year, the descents there were totally different to what I’m used to. I was a lot slower than a lot of people there, even with lack of familiarity of the descents taken into account, I was slow. But I would sooner finish my ride by riding home and not by being driven home after a trip to A&E.
Also I prefer the overall average speed of a bike ride, I see people who reach well into the 40’s mph, but their average speed is slower than mine. For me making up the time on the climbs and flats is more important than the hairy chested max speed figure…
Do what you feel best for the time/situation, don’t be dragged into something you aren’t comfortable with, it’ll just end in tears.

Having crashed at over 80kph
Having crashed at over 80kph on a descent some years ago, I can understand trepidation as I have largely lost my mojo.

At high descending speeds, braking isn’t really an option if you get into trouble so do not go fast if you are not sure of the road ahead. I think most riders tend to sit too heavily on the bike, gripping the bars for grim death. Raising your behind and shifting it back helps with weight distribution, especially when you apply the brakes, and allows the bike to follow the road whilst you follow a smoother path. This means that the shock of bumps is only transmitted to and acts upon 7kg of bike, not 85kg of bike and rider combined. It feels much more controlled.

Remember, that 2 square cm of tyre contact will not enable you to stop quickly if you are descending at speed. Focusing on climbing quickly is much safer.

I don’t think I would
I don’t think I would disagree with any of the advice above. The main thing is descending in a way that makes you feel comfortable. If you react under base instincts (rather those gained through experience) you’ll end up over your bars.

I learnt a lot by watching others on the bike. And while you do not need to follow them, watch what they do and see how they successfully descend quicker. That can be hard on the white knuckle ride, but you’ll get a good sense for when then are braking and when they don’t. Try to follow them (brake at the same point they are braking, not at the same time). That can be hard but once you start trusting their approach you’ll improve your speed tolerances and feel safer.

The tendency is to sit high and move back from the speed, it’s something that affects skiers too, but just like skiing if you put your weight forward and get low you’ll have more control. Get on the drops and this will improve your ability to brake. After doing Pyrenean descents you need that control in the braking, your hands would die if your tried to do it on the hoods.

As one poster indicates with his story of Ditchling Rise, be careful on unknown sections of road, and also make sure you’re happy with surface/contrast of light. On mountain descents you often get run off which creates wet patches and cracks in the road, these are not a problem unless you’re cornering and trying to apply directional force over a looser surface. I did the RAB a few years ago and down the straighter, more open descents I was usually the fastest, but come tighter twistier descents I was more cautious. At one point holes were being filled with sand along one of the tracks, although no one I knew came down I was certainly happy that I had taken more caution in the approach and all of us felt certain that someone would have a nasty fall on this particular downhill descent with a sandy bend.

One more thing to add to all
One more thing to add to all the very good advice is possible try another bike. I loved the way Planet X Pro Carbon climbed and convinced myself I was absolutely pants at downhill. Anything above 20mph was brown streak inducing. Got myself another bike last year and was clocking up 40+ a bit too often.

Some people are natural descenders just like some are natural climbers.

JaseCD – fantastic post,
JaseCD – fantastic post, couldn’t put it better myself. I don’t want to think of myself as good or fast at descending but I tend to be the first of all my mates. Look quite a long way ahead, you’re going faster than usual so you need to be picking your lines and dodging potholes obstacles lumps of rock etc earlier. Watch the white lines and catseyes – at speed they can catch you out, especially if wet.
Remember the front brake is the powerful one, so don’t use it too hard if you’re cornering. The back one can be brilliant at changing your line and if you lock it up let it go and grab it again. I rode down an Italian mountain road on a bike with a dodgy back brake, God the hairpins were hard! Locking the back wheel doesn’t have to end in disaster but locking the front is almost guaranteed to have you gravel rashing.
I got one of the corners badly wrong on Ditchling Beacon not long ago, approaching way too fast and the corner was shaded so the road was damp. I couldn’t slow enough for the corner locked the back wheel and at one point the bike was drifting left with the road going right. Ended up rubbing my left shoulder and side on the muddy bank to slow before hitting the deck at a manageble speed. It goes to show no matter how much you think you know the road, you need to have some room to manoeuvre or make a plan B.