Riding steep terrain is one of my favorite things about mountain biking! With this it is important to know this risks and responsibilities that come with it.
When riding down anything steep the first thing to consider is the conditions that you are riding in. These conditions can range from how wet the trail is or if the steep section has lots of roots and rocks. There are different techniques for riding steep sections based on the challanges that come with it, but in this paragraph I am going to go over the basic rules.
The first thing to consider when riding something steep is body position. The way your body is positioned on your bike is important when it comes to balance, control, and speed. The general position you want to be in while going down the descent is standing up and have your butt behind your seat. Your elbows should be at a slight bent angle and your pedals should be even with eachother. This is a general stance while riding anything steep that will help with your overall control of the bike.
The second that is important to know is how and when to break. It is almost impossible to ride extreme descents without breaking at least a little during the ride or else you could lose control. When breaking you want to have a few fingers on your break triggers at all times. If you feel like you are gaining too much speed slightly press on your breaks at the same time. Pressing on both breaks is so important becasue if you don't you will most likely get hurt. If you press just the front break your front tire will stop causing you to flip over your bike. If you press just the back break, your back tire will slide causing you to skid out. When you press your breaks it's important to start off with very minimal pressure. If you feel like you are still going fast you can slowly apply more pressure, but starting slow is important. When you break it's also essential to keep your same stance so you can stay in control.
I also want to talk about riding steep sections when it's wet or if it has rough terrain. When the section you desire to ride is wet you want to avoid breaking as much as possible. This doesn't mean you can't break, but it means the less you do, the better. With the section being wet you always want to keep your same stance on the bike and the same rules apply when breaking. The only difference about breaking is try to break in sections. Holding the breaks, even with minimal pressure can lead to a loss in control. When it's wet you are better off breaking then wait a second, breaking, then wait a second. This way your bike won't spin out.
Fianlly going down something steep that includes rough terrain such as rocks and roots can be tricky, but also super fun. When you ride this stuff all of the same rules apply except for one thing. You typically don't want to break while your on a big rock or root, especially if there is a few inches under the rock or root. This can again lead to a crash and no fun for anyone. If you keep your stance, break safely, and keep your eyes on the trail you should be good to go!
The most important part about all of this is to be safe and have fun!
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