Downhill - The Hard Fight With The Road

Adrenalin running through your veins... The death right behind you... A small road in front of you... You are focused on speed... One mistake will bring you to heaven... That's downhill. A bicycle (or skiing) competition.

Your equipment should be one of the best, because as mentioned above only one mistake will probably bring you to heaven or at least into the next hospital.
The bike you need will be very heavy, about 16-25kg is normal, but you need that weight. The weight is a result of the high stability needed otherwise the frame could brake and everybody knows what will happen then.
Downhill forks are usually double crown to get more stability and their travel will go up to 300mm.
Disk brakes are the only option here. They should be minimum 180mm to avoid thermal problems.
The frames are heavy, seat will be more at a rear point and because of this the frame could only be used for downhill. The material will be aluminum or maybe carbon for the more expensive frames.
The wheels should be 25'' x 2,4-2,5 to avoid damage of small stones and get the stability.
The shifting system is very different to normal bikes. There is only one disk in the middle of the bike and normally a nine disk cassette at the rear.

You, as a downhill driver, need to have a good mental fitness to avoid mistakes, a good general fitness because your pulse rate will be increased to a maximum, coordination to make the right moves in milliseconds and you need to focused every second to react on all the little things that change during your ride. You should never be feared or scared of a road you have to drive because in this case you should let your bike stand still and get something to drink before you drive home, but you need the respect to valuate the risk.

By: Reptor Shade

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