Why Is Visibility Important When Descending on a Bike?

Question

What would be the impacts on me both in terms of safety and performance if I am going downhill.

Answer 1

When it comes to descending, visibility is extremely important as it helps one to prepare for what is ahead. If visibility is bad, it may be difficult to spot parked cars, debris, or other changes on the road surface. Never exceeding a speed at which you can absolutely see, removes any surprises and lets you choose the quickest and safest way around corners. Last but not the least; tree lines or road signs can also be used when the exit of a corner radius is not visible to estimate how much the corner gets sharper.

Comments

Decreasing radius turns have caught me off guard a few times. Knowing your descent is pivotal before pushing any descent. Until then, lower the risk and break early and take the best line you can see. You can always start pedaling if you ended up playing it too safe. Banking in smoothly is another big lesson to learn. Smooth is fast.

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Great clip! As a descend enthusiast i can agree 100%. Visability is key to aproaching the turn. Awarness of the road ahead is also very important.

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Nice content with good explanations. Concerning "seeing the exit": With modern bike computers in navigation mode you can anticipate every turn with a short look on your screen. That helps me a lot. And I am not even trying to corner or descent as fast as possible (I am not racing but touring) – I just try not to die, ride without fear and have at least some fun while descending :-)

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Descending is nice when roads are properly maintained - a thin sand film on the road is often enough to make you slip.

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I find descending more difficult than ascents. I'm fine with up to 10% gradient uphill, but even 5% downhill gives you lot's of speed, and I don't yet have skills to tackle the corners at high speed efficiently.
Securing the visibility of the exit, aiming for the late apex, unless the turn is clearly visible, doing all the braking before the turn help, but it's still scary af.

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By the way, only way to go downhill safely is going slow, doesn't matter how skill or confident you are, the faster you go the riskier it is, tires may slip, a rock may be there, a hole, you making a mistake etc

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i use my garmin 1030 to show me how tights are the turns.

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When entering a bend, my focus is not so much "where is the end of the bend" but rather "where does this bend's radius reach it's minimum". After that I can plan my speed/leaning/breaking. The bend's point minimum radius will will never appear later than the end of the bend.

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Fast and safe are impossible.   If it's safe, it's not fast enough.   Well, how could you call a speed fast, if you can go faster?
The most important is that for us, mortals, roads are not closed, hence you should never go fast downhill if you want to be safe.  It's always risky.

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I am a skilled descender, but I rarely (almost never) use the drops while descending. This could be because that's how I learned it, bike fit issues, or flexibility in my back. I would likely benefit from a bike fit. What can information can you give us on riding in the drops vs. on the bar tops?

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But Pidcock does something eles that allows him to descend with extra speed: watch his upper body. He leans the other direction to reduce the pressure/physical force on the tire.

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I stopped watching when you passed dangerously

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I stopped watching as soon as there is a pass on a double yellow.   Nothing is worth that risk

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Dude, "How to descend QUICKLY"!! Fast is an adjective, so incorrect to describe an action. Basic grammar.