I find that wen I go down steep technical sections of a trail, my back wheel always comes off the ground. I think it's because I use my front brake more than I should, and my rear tire almost never skids on the ground (It's been drilled into my head that I should never let my tires skid on the trail). I have never flipped forward on my bike while going down these downhill sections before, but if I keep up this riding style sooner or later I will... and it will most definitely be very painful... what should I do to correct this??
Descending
- Thread starter doanster
- Start date
*in my best Fat Joe voice* lean back
Yup - throw your ass out over the back tire. The seat will probably be in your chest. As added braking assist you can always let your ass actually hit the tire. 
If things get *really* sketchy, this position also makes a bail-out safer.
If things get *really* sketchy, this position also makes a bail-out safer.
If you are having problems getting your weight back you may want to reconsider your cockpit layout. A shorter stem will put your center of gravity farther back on the bike.
You may have too large of a frame as well. Westy's suggestion: as well as possibly changing to a riser bar, and lowering your seat a tad all may help. i run a high seat when i'm climbing exclusively, but i'll drop it an inch if i'm on a trail where i'm doing both, and i'll drop it a few more inches for a mostly descending trail.doanster said:
Also check where your brake handles are, you want them to be positioned comfortably for when you are behind the saddle. Find that happy medium on brake positioning.
Also realize that in some situation you have to skid, there just may be no getting around it. i think the key of what people are looking for is unnecessary skidding to be prevented to help keep trails happy, but of course you want to keep yourself from going off the trail as much as possible haha.
You got the right idea, keep using that front for control, and the rear as an anchor, try alternating to get different feel, pretty soon you won't even think about it anymore. Have fun.
dont use your brakes... duh
yea, shift your weight back. It probably will feel unnatural at first if your not used to it... give it some time. If you're bike is setup very XCish (longer stem, steep head angle), then you're going to be at a disadvantage from the start. Use a shorter stem if necessary - this will let you get back on the bike without being quite so stretched out. Also, drop your saddle before you hit the downhills - it will make it easier to position yourself if you don't have to worry about the saddle hitting you in the cest.