Discussion: practise
in: Becks; Becks > 2014-07-23
Jul 24, 2014 9:52 AM
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there are some fun things you can do - best to mess about on a secluded bit of tarmack - eg a car park after hours.
- ride along holding on to an ankle as you pedal
- go real slow and place your water bottle on the ground ( without it falling over ) easier if its half full and if its a 750ml)
- pick it up again on the move
- ride a line, look over your shoulder without deviating. do this both ways.
- The parking space crit. This one I love and it is an excellent exercise. Ride a circuit within the confines of a single parking space - you soon get the hang of it. clockwise, anticlockwise, once you've mastered the oval circuit then move up to the figure of 8.
Other things - if there is one go ride in a club bunch - that gets you properly focussed on the need to stay steady. One up on that is track riding - they'll happily glide past an inch off your handlebars !
- ride along holding on to an ankle as you pedal
- go real slow and place your water bottle on the ground ( without it falling over ) easier if its half full and if its a 750ml)
- pick it up again on the move
- ride a line, look over your shoulder without deviating. do this both ways.
- The parking space crit. This one I love and it is an excellent exercise. Ride a circuit within the confines of a single parking space - you soon get the hang of it. clockwise, anticlockwise, once you've mastered the oval circuit then move up to the figure of 8.
Other things - if there is one go ride in a club bunch - that gets you properly focussed on the need to stay steady. One up on that is track riding - they'll happily glide past an inch off your handlebars !
Jul 24, 2014 12:18 PM
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Wow! All of those things sound exceptionally difficult! Even though I've ridden my mountain bike for years I've always been a bit of a wimp when it comes to balance type stuff.
The riding a line looking over your shoulder one sounds particularly helpful - my main worry is that I can't signal confidently on the road bike.
The riding a line looking over your shoulder one sounds particularly helpful - my main worry is that I can't signal confidently on the road bike.
Jul 24, 2014 1:24 PM
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Practice is definitely the way to go. Even just making your commute a few times will make it all feel smoother. I feel wobbly at the beginning of every cycling season, especially when getting back into traffic after a winter of running.
When biggins got a new road bike last year it was much more "live" than his old one. Perhaps stiffer, maybe shorter wheel base making it feel comparatively squirrely. So he went on lots of practice rides to get used to it. Your body will figure it out with practice and it will become second nature.
Also practice braking with one hand or the other (while signaling for example) to get a feel for the difference in braking power between front and back so you learn how hard to pull in each situation and from different hand positions on the bars. I find it difficult to brake smoothly with my hands on the drops, which is why I naturally go to the hoods in anticipation of stopping or even plain turns. But I'm sure I could get used to braking from the drops if I did it more often. I'm most comfortable with hands over the hoods - one or two fingers over each lever - for riding in general.
"Track stands" (balancing while standing still) are also excellent to practice. Pedal slowly to a stop and then try to hold in place with only very minimal wheel movement, keeping your feet on the pedals. Practice looking ahead (as if at a traffic signal) while doing this. I tend to focus on a spot on the ground or the car bumper ahead of me and make glances up, or using averted vision to see the light. As you get better at it you'll be able to minimize body motion and wobbles and use very subtle muscle contraction and movements to keep the bike upright. Best not to practice this in traffic though :)
When biggins got a new road bike last year it was much more "live" than his old one. Perhaps stiffer, maybe shorter wheel base making it feel comparatively squirrely. So he went on lots of practice rides to get used to it. Your body will figure it out with practice and it will become second nature.
Also practice braking with one hand or the other (while signaling for example) to get a feel for the difference in braking power between front and back so you learn how hard to pull in each situation and from different hand positions on the bars. I find it difficult to brake smoothly with my hands on the drops, which is why I naturally go to the hoods in anticipation of stopping or even plain turns. But I'm sure I could get used to braking from the drops if I did it more often. I'm most comfortable with hands over the hoods - one or two fingers over each lever - for riding in general.
"Track stands" (balancing while standing still) are also excellent to practice. Pedal slowly to a stop and then try to hold in place with only very minimal wheel movement, keeping your feet on the pedals. Practice looking ahead (as if at a traffic signal) while doing this. I tend to focus on a spot on the ground or the car bumper ahead of me and make glances up, or using averted vision to see the light. As you get better at it you'll be able to minimize body motion and wobbles and use very subtle muscle contraction and movements to keep the bike upright. Best not to practice this in traffic though :)
Jul 24, 2014 1:41 PM
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Echoing what everyone has said above - practice will make you a lot more comfortable. I love riding my road bike, and commute on it all the time, because it feels comfortable and easy to maneuver. (I don't think I've ever had to type "maneuver" before. What a strange word).
Just doing squiggles/zig zags in a parking lot will making you feel more comfortable, as will practicing riding very slowly. Get the feel of how much you have to tilt to turn, how slow you can go before tipping over, how much you have to compensate to take a hand off the bars. Also do some practice in the parking lot of standing up while you pedal - a useful skill, and one that teaches more confidence on that bike.
Enjoy!
Just doing squiggles/zig zags in a parking lot will making you feel more comfortable, as will practicing riding very slowly. Get the feel of how much you have to tilt to turn, how slow you can go before tipping over, how much you have to compensate to take a hand off the bars. Also do some practice in the parking lot of standing up while you pedal - a useful skill, and one that teaches more confidence on that bike.
Enjoy!
Jul 24, 2014 6:51 PM
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Agree - it will come with practice. Go play in a parking lot where there aren't scary death machines (cars). Also, make sure that your bike is a good fit for you.
One thing that helped me was to have my outside foot down when curving. It makes you more stable as it puts your center of gravity in a better place.
Not sure if this is an issue for you, but I rode sometimes in a group and would get nervous about others bumping into me. I did a training afternoon with a girl who raced, and we did drills including purposefully bumping against each other and then leaning into each other while riding to get used to how it felt. It was not as destabilizing as I thought it would be.
One thing that helped me was to have my outside foot down when curving. It makes you more stable as it puts your center of gravity in a better place.
Not sure if this is an issue for you, but I rode sometimes in a group and would get nervous about others bumping into me. I did a training afternoon with a girl who raced, and we did drills including purposefully bumping against each other and then leaning into each other while riding to get used to how it felt. It was not as destabilizing as I thought it would be.
Jul 25, 2014 9:42 AM
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As well as all the above, if you're still not massively comfortable in the drops (particularly around town and with braking) get some cross/interrupter levers so you can also have control of the brakes on the flat part of the bars. Found these are a godsend for city riding.
Jul 27, 2014 6:18 PM
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walk:
Great advice. Another dealing with looking behind or signaling - when you look around, there is a tendency to drift in that direction as the opposite hand will follow. Move that hand closer to the center of the handle bar to limit the movement, shorter lever arm. Same can apply for signaling.
Also if in a group and following closely behind another bike, never, never, ever overlap your front tire with their rear wheel unless with good sideways separation.
Also if in a group and following closely behind another bike, never, never, ever overlap your front tire with their rear wheel unless with good sideways separation.
This discussion thread is closed.