Descending Technique and ACTION SHOTS

[Mr.Gib]

It is a bit of a viscious cycle. Come into a corner hot, bad body position leads to less than required deceleration, and before they know it they are deep into the corner, still on the brakes, and going straight instead of turning. Hooking your junk over the back of the saddle is not too far back in some situations. Not sure what the ladies would call that And hell yeah you'd better get low. AVV and others roll up to the corners with their bodies fixed in the same position as they pedal.

And women, with relatively shorter arms and torso, end up more over the front wheel, giving even more cause to get back and low. I hope they have good dental insurance.

Watching the women's Giro was often dissappointing in the descending department. Brandt and Longo Borghini are very good. Cecilie Uttrup Lugwig is dreadful. The fat guys in the Fondo video were better.

[TobinHatesYou]

Kristen has only been cycling competitively at any level for 3 years, so she sort of gets a pass. She's one of the strongest women in the WWT and should be part of more winning moves.

[TwiggyTN]

AvV mentioned after one of the Giro mountain stages last week that she was happy to be in a two-up break so she could descend at her own pace down the mountains. So yeah, that's a problem.

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[Mr.Gib]

AvV is my favorite cyclist on this planet, male or female or other, and it pains me to know that she is not happy in the descents. But even if she deliberately chose to be more conservative, a ligitimate strategy given her ability to make up any losses, she could do so with even less risk if she tidied things up a bit. Along with the braking issues, drifting toward the center of the road long before the optimum turn in point happens way too often. That was also the story of her crash at the Olympics.

[TobinHatesYou]

We shouldn’t be surprised that the most physically talented riders can get by with suboptimal technical skills or questionable tactics.

[robbosmans]

Pidcock descending in todays stage is perfection

[Karvalo]

I wonder if that is enough to put paid to Mr Gib's knee out = bad crusade, or will he still be trying to shout back the tide?

[maxim809]

Heh, come on Karvalo do you really have to stick a knee into Mr. Gib?

In fairness I don't think we're gonna get the physics promised -- but let's be real this problem is too complex so nobody can deliver such intricate models. To overextend the ask is to sealion. Let's call it a wash, and move on.

Stepping back even Big Picture.

I discovered what you do with the knee is just like cadence: It is self-selected. You do what is best for you. For the course at hand.

To state one is better than the other is like advocating for 72rpm is better than 90rpm, or 105rpm, or 120rpm. Experienced cyclist know such conjectures are nonsense. It just simply all depends, and there is a personal aspect at play as well. So there is no need to push one person's style on to another person who is simply built different, or to claim one is better than the other.

That said, Knee Out is definitely more popular by a big margin, but I can see a very small subset of descenders making the opposite work for them.

But even bigger picture, we KNOW this isn't all there is to great descending, anyway.

Watching this conversation play out has made me realize the knee is actually a huge distraction, and there are more important aspects we should be talking about.

[Karvalo]

Watching this conversation play out has made me realize the knee is actually a huge distraction, and there are more important aspects we should be talking about.

I have this funny feeling that he's going to reply to this saying 'Yes! That's what I was getting at all along!' when in fact he was pretty much the only person trying to definitively state that one knee position was objectively better than another, and that it was really important.

[bobones]

One of the best recent displays of descending and most definitely knee out.





Eurosport video.

[Karvalo]

One of the best recent displays of descending and most definitely knee out.

Just imagine there are people out there who'll tell you that doesn't look athletic!

[MagicShite]

The knee out does seem instinctive to MTB guys because we're basically pointing our penis to the direction we're turning at. This is a technique sometimes taught by MTB coaches.

The knee is a distraction, it's mostly a pelvis twist that allows for slight bike rider separation and also more weight on the other straight foot. When you twist your pelvis into the turning direction, the knee out is the consequence.

[skinnybex]

The knee out does seem instinctive to MTB guys because we're basically pointing our penis to the direction we're turning at. This is a technique sometimes taught by MTB coaches.

The knee is a distraction, it's mostly a pelvis twist that allows for slight bike rider separation and also more weight on the other straight foot. When you twist your pelvis into the turning direction, the knee out is the consequence.

This is exactly what I said 2 moths ago in my original post about body-bike seoperation and allowing the most sidewall traction at varying lean angles as well as the weight on the outer leg pushing through the BB to aid in cornering traction. I learned this from MTB riding because thats all I used to ride and it's even more important in Gravel racing where the tire volume is considerably less than on a MTB and your railing loose DH sections at 35-40mph on gravel-rock-mixed surface. When you open your torso in the direction your turning and look trough the apex of the turn it aides in having clean riding lines. Obviously there are many variables to the entire process but Pidcock put on a masterclass in how to descend at insane Pro level speeds.

[micky]

The knee out does seem instinctive to MTB guys because we're basically pointing our penis to the direction we're turning at. This is a technique sometimes taught by MTB coaches.

The knee is a distraction, it's mostly a pelvis twist that allows for slight bike rider separation and also more weight on the other straight foot. When you twist your pelvis into the turning direction, the knee out is the consequence.

[MagicShite]

The knee out does seem instinctive to MTB guys because we're basically pointing our penis to the direction we're turning at. This is a technique sometimes taught by MTB coaches.

The knee is a distraction, it's mostly a pelvis twist that allows for slight bike rider separation and also more weight on the other straight foot. When you twist your pelvis into the turning direction, the knee out is the consequence.

Was it because I made a grammar mistake, i.e. not using penises or was it because I used the word penis?

Sorry too autistic to tell.