My strategy, when i want to slow down while going down, is to pump the rear brake. This minimizes the chance of locking up, provides some cooling and keeps the powerful front brake in reserve, So far so good.
I do appreciate all those who have posted that caution trumps adrenalin rushes on down hills. I have decided to revert to my old routine of riding this route counter clockwise, dealing with the tough uphill and enjoying the fast but relaxing downhill on the other side. Spent three hours out in the canoe on Lake Eden today. Gad zooks it's hot out there. Michael On Saturday, July 14, 2012 9:45:35 AM UTC-4, kennet...@gmail.com wrote: > > Or use disks. That's one of the reasons we got disks on the new > tandem, though I still alternate front/rear to allow the disks > themselves to cool. > > It's been interesting to see how people limit their speeds. I do if > I'm unsure of the road but if it's a nice, visible road with no cross > traffic I tend to let it roll. We've hit 50+ on the tandem a couple > of time (on Tour de Blast we actually used the disk as a light drag > because there were state patrolmen around and they were rumored to > ticket cyclists breaking 55mph - which would be insanely easy coming > down from Johnson ridge on a tandem!) Cindy has been fine with it, in > fact I sometimes keep it slower than she would like since I have a > better idea of the handling/stopping abilities of the big bike. > > -Ken > > On Fri, Jul 13, 2012 at 11:28 PM, Bill M. <bmenn...@comcast.net> wrote: > > On a truly long and steep descent, trying to come down too slowly has > its > > own peril - overheated rims and blown tires. Letting the bike roll out > some > > allows some energy to be dissipated by the wind, sparing the brakes for > when > > they are really needed. It can be a fine line between over-braking and > > under-braking. At some point wisdom would have you stop to let the rims > > cool. > > > > Bill > > Stockton, CA > > > > > > On Friday, July 13, 2012 7:53:40 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: > >> > >> I'm not a particularly anxious person, although I do get anxious when > >> someone compliments my courage! I regularly downhill at 40+ mph and > have > >> hit 50 on good pavement and reasonably straight mountain descents > without > >> too much anxiety, but one hill this year has me spooked. > >> > >> One of my favorite routes is a 23 mile ride with 1400 feet of climbing > >> that is equally divided among lightly traveled & good dirt roads, > mostly > >> descent chip & seal town roads, and a third of moderately traveled > state > >> roads. It provides beautiful pastoral scenery, a good view of the > whole of > >> the Mt. Mansfield ridge line, and a stretch along the Lamoille River, > >> including the impressive Fairfax Falls. In the past I have always > ridden it > >> counter clockwise, which includes a beast of a 3K climb, including a K > of > >> 20%+ grade right in the middle. This year I reversed direction and > have > >> been riding it clockwise on my Rambouillet, with a very nice set of > Grand > >> Bois Cerf tires. The first time down it I discovered the pavement on > the > >> steepest section was not in good condition, no pot holes or heaves, > just > >> lots of broken chip and seal. The bumping was quite dramatic and I > felt > >> like one good hole could toss me over the handle bars. Garmin was > showing > >> 47.5 when I lightly squeezed the rear brake. Fortunately the Paul's > Racers > >> have excellent modulation and I safely slowed enough to feel OK. > >> > >> But when I got to the bottom I asked myself why I chickened out, since > I > >> was just fine, and thought that the next time I would lay off the > brakes. > >> But this hasn't happened. Instead each time I have gone down it, I > have > >> gone slower and slower. Today I took out my Trek, which has 32 mm > TServes > >> to see if I would feel more comfortable at higher speeds with the > softer > >> tire. But when I got to the top of the hill I realized I had no real > taste > >> for the experiment. I went down at 25, until I could see the good > pavement > >> at the bottom and then I let it roll out to 39. > >> > >> So I ask myself, is this wisdom, or just yielding to irrational > anxiety. > >> > >> Michael > >> Westford, VT > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To view this discussion on the web visit > > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/CcFxE2NTBTgJ. > > > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > For more options, visit this group at > > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/WicVB6Uecw4J. 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