Starting

[old_fart]

Im thinking of starting some downhill stuff. Is there anything i need to do to bike bike (or myself) to prepare it for downhill riding?:confused:

[Plow King]

Chuck some wideish tyres on and you'll be set. 2.3ish or more.

good luck, hardrocks are alright for dh there a good do it all bike!

[roxy12]

a full face helmet is a good idea normaly and if you plan on racing you must have one.

[ScottD]

2.35's will probally be pushing it on your bike in terms of tire clearance, some combined shin and knee pads and a full face

[thecat]

2.3 tyres are plenty wide for the majority of Aussy tracks. Any bigger and they get too heavy.

You'll need to make sure your bar ends are pluged or capped (No cookie cutter scars thanks)

other than that just go over your bike and make sure every thing is in good working order.

[321]

Get an Ambulance membership and sort out your health insurance




But seriously get a full face and some good tires ( 2.3s will fit with decent clearance) and you will be ready to go

[Vicious_Fishes]

a guy i know has 2.5 maxxis on his hardrock ( i didnt look for mud clearance, but they did go on the bike )

and get some gloves, a helmet & some leg armour of some sort, or at least wear trousers if no armour and wear your grippyest shoes.

have fun :D

[NoFearNick7]

Pfffft, its not what you ride, just get out there! Well actually armour is a pretty good idea :p But really just get out there and ride! I could do DH on some 1.9 tyres if I wanted! I dont know how well I would do, but I still could!

[TJMA]

Pfffft, its not what you ride, just get out there! Well actually armour is a pretty good idea :p But really just get out there and ride! I could do DH on some 1.9 tyres if I wanted! I dont know how well I would do, but I still could!
dont listen to him, hes an idiot

[I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11]

Yeh tires and a FF are reasonably essential. though you can skimp on tires and ride on pure BALLS..
Armour is probably a good idea if you're not confident, but once again not neccessary.
Have a think about gloves and grips.. Fat grips and padded gloves are comfy but give you less contol...and thin grips with a unpadded glove will ive you more.. (duh) as you're just starting out your hands will probably get sore so try and find a nice comprosmise between the 2. I reccmomened ODI lock on ruffians for pretty much any riding.. though the Yeti ones are pretty good too.
Take some time to check your bikes set up. You want to be failry aggressive in DH.. so not long stems and short bars. I would presume your bike came like this or is currently set up for like freeride type stuff anyway.. so it should be all good. It's not massively important but it gets you in a better position to handle techy stuff.

[roxy12]

oh one other thing if you dont already have friends who rid i suggest you look into it its not a fantastic idea to go dh on a deserted track, if somehting went wrong well you get the idea.

[goatman]

I'm an old fart as well getting into a bit of DH, lucky enough to have some good riding closeby here on Sydney's northern beaches. A couple of things that helped me were:
getting a DH stem (50mm 10 degree rise) some 8" rotors and a couple of 2.5 Maxxis Minions for my Kona Coiler. The more cushioning the better for the rock gardens around here.

Got all of it off Torpedo 7 as well as a good Full Face for $80, bright orange but who cares! Also picked up a nice Mace 'Swat Jacket' for $62 off ebay brand new. Have a look in the moto section!

Planning to do a couple of 'club events' later in the year and just did a trip to Thredbo.

[@nDr3w]

would you guys and gals recommend some armour for racing...ive got everything else other than that.