1 EASY TRICK to faster downhill runs

There is a trick that I have been using on downhill runs for as long as I can remember that drastically effects how I attack the trail.

I listen to music on the way down.

But…there is a specific way I do this and a specific reason it works…so let’s look at each.

Why does listening to music help downhill runs?

On this subject, I can only share from personal experience but I have talked to other riders that experience the same thing. When you put on headphones and listen to music on downhills, it does several different things for you as a rider.

Side note: I have heard of people singing songs to themselves and other techniques to get their mind more focused. That doesn’t work for me because it doesn’t solve #1 below and I end up getting distracted and forget.

1 – It gets rid of micro adjustments due to trail noise

This is a big one for me. I find that when I hear too many of the rocks hitting the tires, branches breaking or even just dirt that sounds loose…the less I make micro adjustments to speed, steering and approach that I do not need to make. There are many times during our rides that we actually hurt our speed and momentum by grabbing the brakes, steering off our line or other actions that are in response to something we hear going on with the bike and trail.

These speed/momentum robbing actions can multiply as you go down the trail. When you take some of the trail noise out of the equation, I find that I let the bike do more of the work and I don’t try to adjust as much. That equals a smoother and faster ride.

2 – The music gets me “in the zone”

When you add the first benefit with the fact that listening to music is much like walk up music in baseball…it is a motivating combo. We even have our 9 year old walking up to AC/DC Thunderstruck at his baseball games because it gets him amped up to hit well. We all have that one song (or playlist) that amps us up and convinces us to ride harder, take harder lines or try obstacles we might have otherwise.

I went even as far to create a playlist of the songs from all of my favorite mountain biking videos. Nothing like a little bit of extra motivation pretending I am Thomas Vanderham.

How I properly setup my listening for optimal results

There is a very specific way that I setup my listening for optimal setup. Let me also say this…if you are going to listen to music on the trail…don’t be that guy that can not hear anything around you. You end up holding up people on climbs and descents if you can’t hear your surroundings completely. Also don’t be that guy listening to music on a speaker. Not everyone wants to hear what you are listening to and one of the best things about mountain biking is being with nature. We don’t need your cheap speaker blaring. In other words…don’t be an inconsiderate asshole no matter what you are doing.

I use the AirPod Pros from Apple and there are several reasons I do this.

  1. I have an iPhone so it is a natural pick for ease of use/setup.
  2. While these are noise canceling, they have a setting that allows you to hear outside noises. I switch this to on. I want to still be able to hear some of the trail. What I want to prevent is hearing every little pebble but I love hearing the tires rip terrain. I adjust them to perfectly balance both.
  3. I do not turn the volume all the way up…especially on climbs. I want to be able to hear people coming up behind me. I also want to hear some of the trail like I mentioned above. That perfect balance between music and trail noise has been the sweet spot for some of my fastest runs.

This has been one of the tips for riding that has really helped me smoothen out technical terrain. It gets my mind in gear as well as hides certain noises that I don’t need to hear. I will say…I do not do it every ride and rarely when I am with other riders. I am not always out there to kill my best time and there is a lot about a group ride that would be taken away if I have a harder time hearing those riders around me.

So…do you listen to music during your DH runs? Has it helped?

3 comments

Marina November 26, 2020 - 5:29 pm

I’m curious about this idea, but hesitant.

I don’t normally listen to music. But one time I went for a run and decided to listen to some really aggressive song. And tripped and fell and twisted my ankle. For the first time in my life. I think it happened because I got so engrossed in the music I stopped paying attention to my running, but kept running nonetheless.

So my questions to you are: how do you prevent getting so lost in the music that you stop paying attention? Do you listen only while riding on trails you know? Adjust the volume down? Did you start only as you got comfortable as a rider, etc?

Reply
Eric Johnson November 20, 2020 - 7:10 pm

I never thought of this! I never wanted to be “that guy” but I never thought about the sound levels so you could still hear ambient noise. Thanks for the insight.

Reply
Robb Sutton November 21, 2020 - 5:23 am

Anytime Eric! Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Reply

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