Am pretty new to road riding and really struggle with descending on corners etc etc. I would like to learn some techniques and wonder whether coaching/skills sessions for the road actually exist?

As always, thank you so much. 🙂

Where are you based in this septic isle?

I’m really surprised that anyone who rides an MTB has trouble on the road. I can appreciate that the riding position especially on the drops is unfamiliar but the principles are the same. Just do the same as you do on the MTB. E.g for corners brake before the corner, weight the outside pedal, look where you want to go and lean the bike into the turn. Only thing that’s road specific is riding in a group and joining a club would teach you that.

The skinny tyres freak me out when going downhill fast sometimes

The skinny tyres freak me out when going downhill fast sometimes

This is the only thing I am having to get used to. Yet to put my full trust in them yet.

…well that and thinking my wheels will fold if I hit a bump in the road at 40mph.

I have to get past 80kph on a road bike before I get anything like the rush of going down a nice loose rocky downhill trail on an MTB

I thought of a name for a course a while ago while reading about greatrock of on a road bike. “Don’t get bit u men or women. I’ll get me coat.

Thanks for the replies.

iDave – I’m now in Wiltshire.

uponthedowns – it’s cos the bike is a lot lighter, particularly noticeable if it’s a windy day. Have forced myself onto the drops and tried desparately to relax! Balance doesn’t come naturally to me.

I’m just feeling that some tuition, and with someone telling me what I’m doing wrong with body position, would help tremendously.

This is a damn good question, I’m not overly sure on the legalities of coaching on the road.

Have you thought of joining a club and riding with more experienced guys, that way they’ll give you tips as you’re riding, it’s certainly improved my road bike handling

You’re probably not doing anything wrong and its just a case of getting used to the bike and riding position. Give it some time and it’ll come. Staying aboard an MTB is much harder than road riding.

Most clubs have coaches, Look on the BC website for your local clubs.

CG no need to force yourself on to the drops. On the hoods is fine.

You could do far worse than join my old club Chippenham Wheelers. They use Castle Coombe racing circuit on a tuesday evening so you can practice away from the traffic.

Mail me.

No no no I don’t do clubs!

I guess I’m still not used to the handling so will continue to pootle along my quiet and scenic roads. With the cornering, I don’t feel confident in leaning mainly due to skinny tyres.

Thanks again for suggestions.

Sounds like a good excuse for MM and me to pop down your way for a road ride :-).

See ya soon

pete – it’s all so different but at least the roads are less busy here, although the surfaces leave a bit to be desired!

rusty – I’m very very slow but when I improve, it would be great if you and MM came down. You’re not too far away. 🙂

It has taken me ages to get used to cornering fast on a road bike. However you do get there and as someone else said when you get the confidence there the technique from mtb will help a huge amount. Cornering at close to 30mph is an interesting sensation

I know it sounds obvious but try to look further ahead than normal and anticipate and get set up early. You’d be surprised how hard you can push decent rubber in the dry.

No no no I don’t do clubs!

Neither did I until this week – have now seen the error of my ways!

Did wonder what it’d be like riding in a group/chain ganging etc. did my first race on Tues and it was all self evident. And pretty good fun – even scored some points!

P.S.
I don’t use the drops cos they feel horrid 🙂

Personally, after years of riding motorbikes and bmx/mountainbikes, i think cornering on a road bike is more similar to motorbikes.

Road positioning, hitting apex’s, pushing the front into the corners, weighting, lean angles.

Hooning into and out of roundabouts is a pretty similar sensation, just slower and with less clothes on. 🙂

When I first got my road bike I used up half my brake blocks up in the first week of riding. But I’m on the same set over 2 years and a good few thousand miles later.
On a mountain bike you brake really late when approaching a corner because of discs and big sticky tyres.
With a road bike once I realised that you have brake much earlier you can really cut through corners at speeds that cars struggle to keep up with you.
Have faith in road tyres, they are much better than you’d think possible.
Be very gentle when braking in the wet and don’t Brake when the bike is leaned over or it could slide.
I found riding a road bike help make me a smoother rider on the road and on the dirt.
Descending a twisty road at speed on a racey light weight road bike is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done on a bike. period.

if you want to talk to someone who really knows what they are talking about, that doesn’t involve a club, start with British Cycling, although they will say ‘go to a club’ so be ready for that response 🙂

try finding a route with good tarmac and corners left and right – repeat it over and over again, keep an eye on the speedo, if the numbers go up you are on the right track

there are articles on bikeradar with tips – but you need to get in the drops and get your bum back so spend some time getting used to this position on little straight descents

it will build up over time

Just join a club! No really!! This will have the biggest impact on your riding skills and fitness. The fact that ” you don’t do clubs” probably means you will fit in perfectly. 🙂

Oh for God’s sake what’s the silly mare gone and done now…? 🙄

What are you doing riding a road bike CG??? 😯

I can’t get on with drop bars, so use low-profile bullhorn bars instead. Keeps my hands in one position, and I’m not too much over the front wheel and not too low down. Apparently I will die if I try to use them on longer rides according to one ponce in Condor or somewhere, but I’ve done an 80 mile ride without issue. 🙂

Trouble is you guys all started off on bmx’s/motorbikes so you have the balance thing sorted. My wobble board has been found so that should be fun!

Obviously not having disc brakes makes a huge difference hence I will only go out in the dry.

Elf – I enjoy the road bike but I only pootle and admire the scenery.

Jedi used to road ride, he might be able to help? Give it time…I was rubbish descending for a good few years, it’s only after a lot of practise, pushing myself out of my comfort zone and new brakes that I can descend with ease now. I have even gone as far as perfecting my tuck to help my racing, something I never thought id do!

Otherwise, brake well ahead of when you need to, stay relaxed and look at your exit. Dont think about the skinny tyres, not had an issue (in all weathers) with that. I know where you are coming from with the wind – I’ve learnt that being on the drops and pedalling helps keep the bike stable so you could maybe try that?

Cinnamon Girl – i had a similar problem with cornering on a road bike. Always seemed to drift to the outer edge of the corners. Spoke to a few folk, and now its sorted … heres the 3 key things:

1) Outside pedal fully down and all the weight onto it

2) Really make an effort to bend your inside elbow and pull your inside shoulder downwards towards your wrists and bars … forces you to lean your body into the corner … to begin with it might be over exaggerated, but you’ll find a comfortable balance after a while.

3) Look up and past the inside line of the corner away down the road towards where you want to go … not the outside edge of where you think you might end up.

Out of the three, point 2 is the one that helped me most.

——————

In terms of general descending, I stand with the pedals level, knees pulled into the top tube of the frame and thighs against the seat with my butt over the back.

Relax the shoulders and dont get too tense on grabbing the bar. The steering is and feels lighter on a road bike when at speed in the drops, but keep things smooth and you’ll be fine.

dirtygirlonabike – Member

Jedi used to road ride

Understatement of the year for STW I think 😉

Are you riding with the death grip? Just ride on the drops and don’t grip the bars tight – there’s no need to – and relax arms and shoulders. Oh, and go to the Pyrenees or Dolomites and learn on proper descents.

The rules say:

Rule #64 / Cornering confidence increases with time and experience.
This pattern continues until it falls sharply and suddenly.

First thing to learn is to get over the silly “i don’t do clubs” thing and join a club. Most of the skills are group riding skills anyway.

What is it you cannot get with corners in relation to mountain bikes? I don’t really think it’s that different, only faster which can effect your confidence. That just comes with practice and working just under your comfort limit.

Balance doesn’t come naturally to me.

balance is a skill like any other – can be learnt, trained and improved on.

my road riding came on after having skills tutoring with jedi (offroad) i just seemed to relax on the road bike too…

Does anyone actually take the time and effort to go out and learn things these days? Developing experience, learning things by putting the hours in, you know, like trying?
One of the great joys, one of the defining things about any kind of cycling is that smoothness, that familiarity that comes from hours, days, weeks and years of practice.

I’m not having a go at CG, but the whole ‘don’t earn it, buy it’ thing dismays me.

cg, a lot of closed road circuits ( I guess Castle Combe or maybe Thruxton aren’t *that* far away from you?) run group training sessions midweek through the summer. You don’t have to join a club but the nature of road riding is that you learn way more within a group environment. Or go on a road riding holiday. I can recommend both Freeride Spain and AQR for the road riding and the coaching. My descending and cornering improved massively over the course of a week in Spain, Simon is a great coach both for MTB and road.

I can recommend both Freeride Spain and AQR for the road riding and the coaching. My descending and cornering improved massively over the course of a week in Spain, Simon is a great coach both for MTB and road

Funnily enough I know someone who went on 7 MTB trips with Freeride Spain & learnt nothing. She didn’t realise this until she went with another holiday company and became a much better rider within a few days.

I couldn’t believe she was crying because she was so happy to have been coached over a 3 foot drop.

She is now a repeat customer of the other company.

Thanks again for the replies and also for not pointing and laughing! Some good suggestions for technique too. I’ve made a huge effort with my cornering on the mtb and has nicely fallen in place now.

crikey – yes, I understand what you are saying and do agree somewhat. But I genuinely regret not investing in tuition when I first started mountain biking. One is always learning but, for example, I could think that my body position was correct for descending but in actual fact an instructor might see that I wasn’t far enough behind the saddle.

Edit: mountain biking will always be my first love though!

Welcome back c_g.

Not much more to add that hasn’t been said already.

I remember following you down Conholt Hill on mountain bikes a while back and thinking you;re mad going down there at the speed you were going, especially on knobbly tyres at 40+ mph.

I seem to remember you were in the tuck position over the back of the saddle with your elbow’s in. That technique is not so different on a road bike. You just need to learn to trust your tyres. They offer a lot more grip than you think.

As suggested above, see if you can go out riding with other people and try and match their speed and lines when you can. Failing that, you could always wait until Rusty and I come down and then you could follow me as I am now a riding god!! 😉

Edit: mountain biking will always be my first love though!

We’ll see. They all say that at first. 😀

I don’t think road bike skills are different to mtb, leaving aside group riding and all that stuff.

Really do try and get used to being on the drops and covering the brakes – it is so much more stable when descending. Oh and relax – it stops the bike wobbling. IMO climbing for an hour followed by a high speed 20km descent in the Alps/Pyrennes/Dolomites is great buzz once you get the hang of it.

I went to see jedi recently. we spent a lotof time looking at how I corner going downhill. over the last week or so I’ve seen the same stuff going uphill and on the road. on or off road, it’s a bike at the end of the day. not sure I believed that before but I do now!

Mulletus – oh yes, Conholt Hill. 🙂 That didn’t worry me but, then again, on a mountain bike I feel more stable. Yes, you’re right, I do need to trust my tyres. I hit 56 kph the other day, had to force myself to relax due to the poor condition of the tarmac. Should really have slowed down before I started the descent. 😳

london_lady – am getting better on the drops but only when I know the road and what to expect. Those Alpine descents would terrify me!