|
Even if you've got an old clunker - you'll weigh considerably more than
it does. A typical rider to bike weight ratio is around 6:1. The obvious
implication is that the position of your body on the bike has a major
effect on how the whole arrangement performs. Weight transfer is the
secret to controlled descent and stopping.
Whoa
there baby! (the fine art of stopping)
 In the
previous UnderGround I raved about setting up your brakes correctly
for one (or at the most two) finger braking. The secret to stopping
in a hurry is to focus on your front wheel. On the flat, it accounts
for about 70% of your stopping power - even more when you're on
the slope! When you hit the brakes, your effective centre of mass
moves forward - the back wheel lifts and the front digs in. So
there's more traction up front and more effective stopping using
the front brake. It's a good plan to shift your weight back at
the same time to avoid pitching over the handle bars.
Government Warning: ensure the bike is upright and pointing
straight ahead while grabbing lots of front brake, ie. not cornering.
More about this next time. Remember to squeeze the brakes progressively
rather than "slamming on the anchors." You achieve maximum braking
just before your wheels lock up (same principle as ABS on cars).
Skidding is not an effective way to stop, is totally uncool for
the track and shows your lack of skill to others.
Get
Down, James Brown (descending with style)
 As
you descend, your centre of mass shifts forward causing the back
wheel to become unweighted. When you brake, your effective centre
of mass moves even further forward and the stopping process wants
to rotate you and your bike over the front wheel. Clearly this
is not a good scene. Compensate by keeping your body low and
easing your bum off the back of the seat.
When it's really steep you'll end up with your stomach resting
on the saddle. You've got it right when your back wheel stays
in contact with terra firma, so the bike is stable and you avoid
doing the full frontal spontaneous dismount (ouch).
|
