Old 11-25-13, 02:41 PM
  #18  
cyccommute 
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Originally Posted by elcruxio
Technical mountain bike climbing and descending. If you don't learn fast you'll hurt yourself. Nothing is a better teacher than pain.
I agree, although it's better to learn without hurting yourself too badly.

Originally Posted by elcruxio
"Starting with the left foot on the pedal"
- Well, start doing it. Consciously Start with your left foot rather than your right foot. You can't learn without repetition.
About right. Although the idea of using your right foot to hold you up on a curb is a poor practice. At an intersection, you shouldn't be anywhere near a curb. Stop with your foot down in the middle of the intersection and go when the light changes. Moving all the way over to put your foot on the curb puts you out of the traffic flow but, more importantly, puts you in a poor position which the motorist will take advantage of.

Originally Posted by elcruxio
"Ride one-handed/Ride no-handed"
- I prefer not to do these since even though I can do both it feels uncomfortable. Sometimes I have to measure my blood sugar on the go so I have to do helluva lot more than just ride one handed or no handed but its never fun. But repetition. Start doing those things for short stretches at a time with a lot of repetition and it'll come to you.
While riding no-handed isn't necessarily a useful skill, riding one-handed is. There are lots of situations where using one hand on the bars is almost a requirement...signaling a turn, getting a bottle out of a cage, etc. Start, Sharpheel, by riding around in a controlled situation like Machka suggests and taking your hand off the bars. If you steer towards the hand that is still on the bar, lighten your pressure on that hand. Try to find a balance point.

Originally Posted by elcruxio
"Trackstand"
- Why do you feel you need this skill? I don't. I have never felt I need to know how to trackstand. I see no use for it.
Trackstands are useful for those times when you just need to stop but don't need to put down a foot. I use them all the time for stopsigns and stale stoplights. It comes in useful for very slow speed riding. But it's an advanced skill that should be left for when you've mastered the more fundamental skills, Sharpheel.

Originally Posted by elcruxio
"Start in a steep slope"
- Obviously a smaller gear but with the upper pedal in the 11 o'clock position with your upper body bent really low down towards the handlebars torque yourself to movement and don't worry about clipping in before you have momentum. You have to bend forward more when it's steeper. The bending might lose you power but it keeps you from doing a wheelie too easily.
Mostly right but I'll add one little mountain bike trick. Apply the brakes. Push down on the pedals and release the brakes at the same time as you start to move the bike forward and you backwards onto the saddle. If you are using clip less, clip into the upper pedal first. Don't worry about the unclipped foot, it will find its way into the clip eventually.
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