On Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:45:38 -0600, Marz wrote:

Here's a question, which action produces the most heat, keeping the
brakes on to control speed on a steep hill or letting the bike go and
then jamming on the brakes at the last second to kill the speed?

Believe it or not it's the latter. The amount of energy to be dissipated
is a product of the mass of bike and rider and the height of the hill,
which remains the same whether you go fast or slow. But at higher speeds
there's more airflow over the rims or brake disks, so more heat is
transferred to the air.

Matt O.

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