Why you SUCK at Downhills!

[@robertrips]

I love big downhills, even if you mess up you’re still gonna make it to the bottom!

[@cheifreal]

I like that attitude. But I tend to be all or nothing and the more sketchy the better.

[@MrDemontech]

hahahaha

[@andrewbrown9304]

There’s no one else out there online giving out such expert advice for riders! We appreciate you man🙏🏻

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

That means a lot! Thanks so much for the support!

[@inmauledun]

The best dirtbike teacher on youtube, you can read beginners mind and give details explanation and how it make sense

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Thanks for the support!

[@wild_trail_flow]

I haven't been riding enduro motorcycles for very long, but whenever it comes to technical downhills my skills are usually better, even when compared to very experienced enduro riders. That simply comes from more than 15 years of riding MTBs on technical trails. The same way a trials motorcycle is a great hard enduro cross-training tool for mastering balance, double blip, splatter and other trials techniques, riding downhill or enduro MTBs is a good way of learning technical downhill skills. They very easily transfer to an enduro motorcycle. If you are planning to get a bicycle for building moto endurance, instead of getting a road bicycle it might be more beneficial to get an MTB, so that you can work on fitness and skills at the same time.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

I definitely need to try some mountain biking! Thanks for watching!

[@riders.oregon4474]

I think the years of downhill skiing helps me . I don’t fear the downhills.

[@mofekka]

@@riders.oregon4474 me too. Being an expert skier makes me not afraid of steeps. So I have fun with them versus fearing them. Here is an example - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJOmf2eEpqeFa68

[@martincantwell2557]

Absolutely, went from moto to mtb for years and now back to moto... balance and good technique are essential on a mountain bike since you don't have the weight or engine to rely on...now I've transferred all those skills back to moto and it's transformed my riding, especially downhill. Highly recommend others to use mtb as a form of training for both fitness and skills.

[@brown-brettstgermain9166]

@@riders.oregon4474 you gotta lean into it right!

[@7thirtyseven]

Rich, one of the biggest hurdles is obstacles on a downhill and more specifically if the rider has confidence they can do the obstacle and remain in control as the hill continues. Your balance practice is perfect for this, when a rider knows they can drop off a rock ledge or over roots or logs while maintaining control of momentum without taking feet off pegs it makes a huge difference in downhill confidence.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Absolutely! I'll have to do a downhill obstacle specific video!

[@bennelson9889]

@@IRCTireUSAMoto please do! This just came up in a recent ride for me. Down hill to a decent log. I didn’t know how to approach it, hesitated, and ate dirt…

[@chrisoffersen]

The cone drills made a massive improvement in my downhills. I like the tip for using the motor for a kind of ABS for the rear tire.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Right in man!! Thank for watching!!

[@timmychen6]

Thank you Rich!!!! For responding my request earlier. Thank you to much!!!!! Love you.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Thanks for watching!

[@timmychen6]

@@IRCTireUSAMoto i can't thank you enough. Im going to practice the instructions in the video hundreds of times.

[@greggmarshall5588]

Excellent advice as usual. Thanks Rich!

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Happy to help! Thank you for watching!

[@RichPlakas]

Steep downhills are my kryptonite! I think it's more my fear of ledge heights. This video definitely helps inspire more confidence.

[@randallduke7298]

Yep, I have totally been the guy that pulls in the clutch fully and slides down with the rear tire locked. Thanks for educating me!

[@scottzeezee4343]

Great tip on the chain slap noise while going down hill. I’d always thought that was bad and meant I reached the point that I should fully pull in the clutch. Now I’ll try to keep that noise going.

[@jamiekerr7469]

Always the best clear explanations

[@dirtbikesicehockey4788]

I always love when you can slowly descend a hill and the bike is at idle the whole time.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Great feeling!!

[@SalSpaceKhan]

Alternating pressure is so key here with the giant coal hill hill climbs! Comes in SO handy!

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Absolutely! Thanks for watching!

[@brycejeannot8665]

Thanks for posting this. Just did Redbull outliers and really struggled at the downhills. Wish I would have watch this first.

[@TheNickademas1]

Great instruction. One thing I would add is the clutch fully engaged engine on because there is an obstacle at the bottom of the downhill or somewhere along the downhill route. It’s a sure fire way to know that hey I’m going to guarantee the bike isn’t going to stall for this.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Great point! Going to have to add handling downhill obstacles!

[@robsonenduro3316]

zig zag pattern works for me on very steep downhills where there is a risk o going over the bars. Going down sideways also allows me to stop almost at any time.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

That's a great point. You can always kick that rear to the side and slide.

[@thailandmopedadventures611]

Your Videos helped me a lot in my Trainings so far - Thanks Rich!

[@thehungryhunter3454]

So I get the chain slap sound when I feel like I'm doing a good job but I didn't know the what the sound was or if I was hurting my bike. Thanks for saying that so now I understand.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Glad to help! Thanks for watching!!

[@finrampe]

Great vid and good tips. Being able to balance stand still makes a big difference in up and down hills. Any possibility to make advanced edition with at least skid plate height (or even bigger) obstacle on steep downhill? Downhill obstacles tend to make me feel like I have no clue what to do - my inner rideprocessor pops syntax error .. compress the shock, snap the clutch .. but I don't want any more speed .. aim at 2/3 mark or try to time doubleblip? don't want any big jump with plenty of speed to cope with later on.. the least I want is rear wheel bump high from obstacle and push me towards handle bars. Obviously it would be best to stop before obstacle but if it appears from nowhere like they usually do. 😱

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Absolutely! I'll put it on the list!

[@abdulrockman3992]

My problem with downhills are the ruts. In my country ruts are very common in the terrain, when I try to downhill the ruts guides the front wheel which make it really difficult to balance, especially when the rear tire is on a different rut lane.

[@bransonbasher6534]

Okay, that demonstration of full lock turns is my next goal post.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Good luck thanks for watching!!

[@bransonbasher6534]

Luck? Naw, buddy, what I need is commitment to improving my fundamentals and discipline to put in the work. Thank you for the support though, I know what you mean.

[@someth1ngstube]

Thank you, good tips. Biggest concern for me is front wheel locking onto rocks or roots at an angle or sliding off far enough and me going high side. Been close to that couple of times and seen consequence of others getting there.

[@brown-brettstgermain9166]

Great video on so many levels.

[@cyclemoto8744]

Thank you. Cheers from OZ

[@franciscoortiz8104]

Awesome videos!!!

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Thanks for watching!

[@dalepellerin]

I keep running into super steep Colorado decomposed granite. The clutch management for engine braking tips are spot on. Thank you

[@austincrabtree2850]

Im in Colorado too and just went on a super rocky trail that had steep downhill. Didn't really know what do to because I didnt want to be under heavy front brake when hitting rocks.

[@mikelowry007]

It feels cool to get the dead engine clutch technique. i can weight the entire back of the peg to save energy when they are super long and technical as well

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

🤘🤘

[@dirtbiketrailrides]

Rich, I saw you at TKO last week but didn't get to say hello! Maybe next time 😜. Thanks for your helpful videos, and yea DH mtb'ing is awesome, plenty of control with grippy tires and brakes, good practice to make it less scary. Its more so the jumps that are sketchy and cause injuries!

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Oh man! Should of said hi! I’m always around the races! Next time!

[@corsair7531]

Great instruction Rich! Is there a preferred gear to be in when performing an engine off downhill? I would think 1st or 2nd. Your instruction videos are extremely helpful. Thanks.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Its definitely depending on your gearing but 2nd is a best choice most of the time.

[@Yoda-em5mt]

Am i alone thinking that dead engine down hilling is just stupid and yeh yeh i see the likes of bb57 and jarvis doing it , maybe my tracks are to gnarly as i have heaps of sections were if you were to stall it and not be able to blip of stuff you will just die 😯😜😜

[@neildxb]

Nice one! Thanks

[@williamfisher5348]

greatly helpful

[@rideroftheweek]

Steep downhills are one thing. That I can handle. Steep downhills with 90 degree switchbacks, trees, roots, big rocks, ruts and ledges with near vertical drop-offs is another. That's where I am a little less confident.

[@bas2137]

Hi Rich! Love all the vid’s & tips as the starter rider I am. I’m not too bad at maintaining ‘grip’ or at least not locking up when downhill and thus keep control of my speed, but one thing I am not good at / confident in is the situation where a steep downhill is followed directly by a steep uphill, or when covering a deep ditch. I just can’t seem to hit it right an always either don’t carry enough speed to go up again, or I try to get that momentum up front and end up hitting the bottom too hard and flipping the bike.. on the rare occasions I did manage at first try, I have no clue what I did different to previous approaches. Would you have any idea what I’m doing wrong based on that description, or even better know of a video that covers such required technique? Thanks from the Netherlands for helping us understand! 🇳🇱

[@mie8835]

Sir make some suspension setup for Enduro thanks

[@Lost1Byte]

Thanks!

[@davedonedis]

LoL, I suck at the long downhills in WV that are rutted, muddy, and full of baby head + size rocks with no end in site and turns! I’m fine with the ones I can see the bottom for some reason.

[@thedifferencerealestate8905]

Hey Rich! Need help on tire selection. Turkey TX, cap rock canyon NEPG in 2023 March. What is a good tire for that race? I run the M5B, I think that’s not going to work in that terrain. Thanks!

[@sarahdell4042]

These are some really useful tips! I have a horrible habit of using only the front brake, and leaning super far back on steep declines with my 2 stroke. On my 4 stroke I really take advantage of the massive engine braking, which feels like cheating. Horrible form I really need to work on!

[@Cross-Country-Biker]

Hey Rich, TNX for the lesson, i have found bad fork setup to be dangerous...with drop offs on a downhill - fork tucking in and not returning in time. Any idea what to adjust?

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Sounds too soft.

[@Cross-Country-Biker]

@@IRCTireUSAMoto Thanks Mate

[@NOorah-oj8gt]

I rode mountain bikes for well over a decade before I started riding dirt bikes and my downhill speed is much faster than people who are faster than me on uphills..

[@Starlightranchwyoming]

Can you cover down hill with a switch back? I'd like to learn a pivot on the front wheel.

[@Starlightranchwyoming]

As of now I either do a complete 180 pivot on the rear, or get off the bike and slide the rear around.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKbWl6OGiLF_ntU

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

This as well kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWjCq4R6nttmq9k

[@emilfumea1054]

Hei Rich! I wonder why r u allways using the midlle finger for cluch? It's better for u, or u have an injury? Great videos by the way! Keep going great job!

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

I learned that way! I don’t advocate for one or the other 👍

[@lisimahus]

Well, good luck with that technique of engine braking taken from motocross for really steep downhills! It is not realistic for two strokes, albeit for 4t given the massive engine brake could come into play to some extent. More often than not in a hard enduro situation you will need to factor in that sometimes 'no front brake applied' is necessary to get you over a slippery obstacle e.g. tree roots pointing sideways or wet stone face etc. I find it a much better advice to approach any downhill in sections, as sometimes you simply cannot brake hard on a section, but only on the section next below. Sequencing your braking becomes a must have mental skill! Sometimes more speed is better for stability purposes. Anything that will get you safe and "on your pegs".

[@manoliswec5674]

my fav part of riding is downhill, its very easy for me cause ive been riding on a mountain ideal for downhill bicycles. i often turn off the engine and sail through while trying not to hit the brakes at all. i believe that helped me a lot even though its a little controversial to say the least...

[@onthethrottle7104]

Why is it controversial? IT's not like your'e getting any special control with the engine running when you're going down hill.

[@manoliswec5674]

@@onthethrottle7104 actually you are, bike is more stable, especially if you accelerate when you can. but i do enjoy the bicycle feeling a lot!

[@791068]

Downhills are ok for me! It's uphills that I find challenging? Btw, which finger are you using for the clutch in this vid?

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Middle

[@Chrissurfs]

Im on an xr400, I need to get something smaller. Mine feels like a tank .

[@JohnBorgJacob]

awesome

[@Dukett9999]

Hi Rich I find, that 4 stroks are much easier to ride downhills because of their better engine breaking. When I used to ride 4 stroke I often just put it in 1 gear and let it role with additional use of the front break. Now that I'm rideing 2 stroke I have to use the rear break and I often stal the engine. I try to keep my backwheel roling because it gives me more controle but I can't help it sometimes it locks. Any tips on how to prevent staling the engine? Thanks a lot in advance and perfekt explanation as always. Cheers Ralph

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Use your clutch. We talk about it in the video.

[@CesarSan19]

Awesome as always. Thanks! One question, Rich, I usually hear that it is not recommended to engine brake a 2 stroke because the oil comes in only when you put some throttle. Is this correct or what do you think about it?

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Yes if the engine breaking for a very long period of time, like on a long downhill road. It’s definitely recommend it to blip the throttle. But for most Hard Enduro down hills you’ll be all right. Thanks for watching.

[@user-sp8eb6iz7f]

What brand of tire do you recommend ??

[@c-note4146]

I saw the title and thought to myself, “he’s right, I DO suck at downhills”

[@Montana_lifestyle]

I just try and lock up the front brake and ride a stoppie down the entire hill!

[@InternetzVideoz]

My downhill rules are: 1) go faster than things falling around you. If you are being passed by sliding derbies, then you are likely floating on unstable ground. 2) stand, hips back, straight arms, like in the vid. Instead of rear traction, I'm thinking de-weight the front tire for better lines and less washout. 3) motor running, 1st or 2nd gear, front brake. I have a 4 stroke and rarely touch the rear brake or clutch. 4) when going over loose rocks or sticks, momentarily ease up on the brake and let the bike roll over the obstacle; it's less likely to kick out. 5) pick your lines and don't be afraid to change; I find it similar to riding ruts. Pick where you want to go and ease the brakes till better traction. Also don't be afraid to use a different line than the guy ahead of you. 6) you close distance on the downhills. Ppl are afraid of them, and it's easy to pick up too much speed. But if you use good techniques, you can gain time on the rider ahead of you.

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

I am guilty as charged. If I can see the run out at the end I’m ok. If it’s got a curve or I can’t see the bottom I get freaked out about building uncontrollable speed and slamming into a tree. So I turn the bike off, keep my right foot on the peg, use the clutch in and out, and use the front brake, tap, tap, tap. With my left foot I do a technique I call “pussy footing” and kind of shimmy down the hill until I feel ok to roll. Yes. It’s terrible. Don’t do this. 😂

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

😂😂 Thanks for watching!

[@justinrisley8466]

Didn't think there was any engine braking in 2 strokes??

[@rossneville-lamb8370]

Can you clarify is it clutch lever out with engine on and clutch lever pulled in with engine off? THANKS

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Yes that is correct.

[@kimbopslayer562]

Have to be VERY careful not to stall with engine breaking.

[@adamniswonger8015]

Nothing worse than messing up your opportunity to slow down mid-decent only to continue going faster and faster on a rocky hill.

[@warrenstemphly5756]

And here I thought it was because I’m old, fat and scared of permanent injury

[@karrror]

Engine breaking in 2t?!😅 No way

[@highsnburgers4862]

Rich doesn't have that problem.

[@daviddriscool]

Because they don’t ride dh mtb

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

I've never tired. Sounds fun!

[@PBmxer]

Because of my dh mtb experience I gas it. I find its much safer and it connects the bike to the ground.

[@rebekahfrench5747]

practice more, try diffrent shit is the only way and don't fear the bike. the ground only gets harder as u get older..

[@batipapo]

The video title is awe fully discouraging. Maybe “keys to better downhill” might be a more uplifting 🧐

[@jeffgood6441]

Not gona lie im a fucking monster at hillclimbs the ones i dont make my god do i hate that shit and there aint no technique helping when its vertical

[@jeffgood6441]

And I sure as fuck am not standing up when I go back down over the vertical dips better keep that ass on the fender and stay tucked and hope that rear tire stays on the ground

[@tudorcranfield2183]

𝐩яⓞ𝓂𝓞Ş𝐦 💔

[@TROXXOS]

Please… Please stop rotating your camera to fake the steepness of hills… My brain hurts🤷

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

Come ride with me and find out if what we go down is steep? 🤷‍♂️

[@TROXXOS]

@@IRCTireUSAMoto I've watched almost all of your video. I know you can go crazy hillclimb or downhill. You don't need to make it "look" steep, when it already is.

[@IRCTireUSAMoto]

You watch all the free videos and still complain. I don’t owe you anything. The truth is I have students who aren’t professional camera men taking the videos. I say, “stand here.” That’s about it. What ever part of the video you are talking about, come ride it.. it’s that steep.

[@TROXXOS]

@@IRCTireUSAMoto I'm sure those hills feel like a vertical wall if it come in front of me🫠

[@cengizozbek5285]

Curious if you meant to say engaged for disengaged and vice versa when discussing clutch usage going downhill. I’m thinking it’s an engaged clutch with feathering in on a running engine? Unless I’m wrong in understanding clutch terminology. Thanks for the riding instructions.