How to Downhill

The need for speed and biking come together in the Downhill. Learn about downhill mountain biking in this free video clip.

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Keep your head protected with a proper helmet
Also use elbow and shin guards
Equipment dependant sport

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Pancho Herrera is passionate about cycling. Pancho races for the SLO Nexus Club on road and mountain bikes. Pancho also has 25 years cycling experience as a competitor and pro shop mechanic.

PANCHO HERRERA: This is Pancho Herrera, with a few words about the extreme sport of downhill mountain biking. It is a really equipment dependent sport, so let's make sure you have the right stuff. Let us start with the bicycle. These bikes are extremely rugged, built and overbuilt. A lot of travel, big brakes, really stout wheels, and let us ask for a lot of suspension travel. In addition to that, they typically have fewer number of gears; you are pointed downhill most of the time, anyhow. A bicycle like this is normally intended to go up the hills, in the back of a pick-up truck, or on a ski lift, so the emphasis is ruggedness and capability on a descents, big jumps, big drop offs, etc. In addition to that, these bikes are generally built short on the top tube. When you are pointed straight down the hill, you want to make sure you can get your weight far back behind the saddle to keep that balance point correct. Very rugged, short stems, typically a wide stance on the handle bars, and a typically low saddle height, again really important to be able to push your weight off at the back of the bicycle for those extreme drop offs and jumps. Don't forget your body, number one priority; let's keep your head protected. The speeds are higher, the risk is higher. So, let's make sure you have a full faced helmet. That is a good solid stuff, keep that beautiful mug intact. Next, elbow and shin guards are really good idea. When you fall that is the first thing that hits the ground. So, hard plastic, both elbow and shin, very important stuff. There are additional body armors on the market that can cover your torso and your back, maybe help prevent a spinal injury if you have a really big stack.

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