Downhill (DH)

Key facts

Bike types

MTB

Typical travel

180–210 mm

Terrain

steep, rough tracks, big jumps and drops

Protection

Full

Racing

UCI Downhill World Cup and World Championships

Where it began

In the Repack races of 1976–1984, riders in Marin County, California, raced heavy old cruiser bikes down a fire road on Mount Tamalpais — one of the moments mountain biking itself was born. Downhill has been a World Championship discipline since the first UCI championships in 1990.

The bike

180–210 mm of travel, a dual-crown fork, a very slack head angle and a long wheelbase for stability at speed. It is not made to be pedalled uphill: riders get to the top by lift or shuttle.

Protection

A certified full-face helmet, goggles, gloves, knee and elbow pads and usually a back protector — required at races and wise everywhere else.

Related articles

• Santa Cruz Bicycles — A Californian maker of full-suspension mountain bikes, founded in 1993. Known for its VPP linkage, carbon frames with a lifetime warranty and the V10 downhill bike.
• Full-suspension bike — A mountain bike with suspension at both ends. The rear shock keeps the back wheel on the ground over roots and rocks, which means more grip, more control and less fatigue.
• Disc brakes — Brakes that squeeze a steel rotor on the hub instead of the rim. Hydraulic disc brakes are the standard on mountain bikes: strong, controllable with one finger and unbothered by mud.
• Freeride — Riding for the line rather than the clock: big drops, jumps and steep natural terrain, chosen and ridden with style. Judged on creativity and flow when it is raced at all.
• Enduro — Racing the descents and riding the climbs: timed downhill stages linked by untimed transfers you pedal up yourself. Also the name of the long-travel bikes built for it.
• Full-face helmet — A helmet with a chin bar that protects the face and jaw as well as the head. Standard for downhill, bike parks and big jumps, and more and more common in enduro.
• Goggles — Sealed eyewear worn with a full-face helmet that keeps dust, mud, roost and branches out of your eyes at speed. The foam seal is what glasses do not have.
• Mullet — A bike with a 29′′ front wheel and a 27.5′′ rear: the big wheel rolls over the trail, the small one keeps the back end agile and out of your way on steep ground.
• Shuttle — Getting to the top of a descent by car, van or pickup instead of pedalling, so you can ride down again and again. A shuttle day is to trails what a lift pass is to a bike park.
• Bike park — A resort of graded trails served by a lift or shuttle, so the whole day goes into riding down. Usually a mountain ski resort in summer, with flow, jump and downhill lines.