In this episode of Tip It In Tuesday I speak with Australian professional cyclist for Ag2R-Citroen, Tour de France and Giro d’Italia stage winner, Ben O’Connor, on how to improve your on-bike descending.
We give tips from the simple and straightforward to more complex and in-depth techniques to help your cycling improve when the road heads downhill…
Follow Ben: https://www.instagram.com/ben0c0nnor/
Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/tristantakephoto/
See the ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/6411070589
If you’d like to support the channel further, I’d love your support via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Tristantakevideo
Music from Epidemic Sound (free trial affiliate link): https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/slnb1q
MY GEAR:
Attaquer: https://attaquercycling.com
Legor Cicli: https://www.legorcicli.it
Bont Cycling: https://bontcycling.com
Inside Line Equipment: https://ilequipment.com
Filmed on the roads of Andorra, where many professional cyclists call home. Riders like Robert Gesink and Julian Alaphilippe live in Andorra, as well as Jack Haig, James Knox, Adam Yates and Simon Yates, Mark Donovan, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Jai Hindley, Sergio Higuita, Pavel Sivakov, Esteban Chaves and others.
21 Comments
Quality
hey man great vid! would you mind sharing which sunglasses you both are wearing? thank youu!
Ben is slowly becoming a wildcard rider. Definitely a guy to watch in the coming years.
I've heard TrainerRoad using the expression 'body bike separation'. The nervous descenders I know never have this and descend as stiff as a board.
Why have I not watched you before absolutely epic , CHAPEAU all the way fro cornwall , England
Pretty new to your channel and have watched a few vids now. Not sure if you mentioned this in any videos but what cameras do you use when you go out riding the bike?
1,000th like! great video cant wait to use tese tips when my Trek domane al 3 disc comes in 2 weeks!!!!!
I always try to descend the same road I ascended. That way I can pre-spot my descent for things like rocks on the road, sand, roadkill, branches, and blind turns. This past week I went up Angeles Crest Highway, near Los Angeles, and noticed all the rocks and debris were washed to the ascending side of the road, so coming back down was real smooth, and I felt alright in pushing it a little.
Hey Tristan I really love your videos great work my friend, could you also do a video about filming and take pictures with strictly an iPhone, am also a cyclist and really enjoy creating content on my bike, I would love to up my game with some tips from you. Thank you and greetings from Greece 🇬🇷✌🏽
Top tip …get off Zwift and learn to ride properly in the real world…☺️👍🏻
Great vid. I love how elegantly he’s dancing on the pedals on the climbs, pros are different.
Good job guys! I have a question, what measure does Ben use on his bike? What is the height of the saddle, what is the difference in height between the saddle and the handlebars, what is the distance between the saddle and the center of the handlebars, what is the length of the stem? I ask all this because I'm 188cm just like Ben. Thanks a lot!
When descending, what do I do, squeeze the front brake or the rear brake? Thanks!
Oh yes!
🥁🗻
Appreciate the tips mate. 6:40 "do all your braking before the corner" Sorry lads, 😀 absolutely incorrect for most corners. "Passive Trail Braking" will be the most efficient for the majority of corners. Trailing off as bike gets to the apex will allow for maximum exit speed. And, that is what cornering IS ALL about, Maximum exit speed.
2:18 in slightly off line at the exit. I could see you had to slow way down to stay within the dotted center line. And again at 2:33. Bigger mistake, running wide of the exit. This is because your initial turn-in to the corner was too early. But some good form in there, not bad.
Just wanted to check back & say thanks for Tip #6 ! I had already known most tips but never thought about this one. Now I have tried it a few weeks & want to say Thank You Ben! Works very well & again something I never thought about before…unweighting the saddle does improve the ability to hold a line …Nice! Thanks!!
great scenery 👌🏻
thanks Tristana and Ben
tip it in
I am 50+ and I am getting that itch to ride serious again. Coming from a competitive running background… I enjoy your Channel. With all the tech training with pro content … Considering buying high end BMC but may have to sell an organ to do so.