Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - I can track stand but I can't ride into a track stand

Here's my issue, I just got into fixed bikes and I have learned the basic track stand. However the only caveat is that when I'm a approaching a stoplight, I cannot ease into a track stand. This essentially, for me, defeats the whole purpose of track stands as I only find it useful so I don't have to step off the bike while waiting at a stoplight.

Does anyone have any advice or techniques that can maybe help me out? My gear ratio is 49-16

Starting to turn the wheel to the left just before your left foot is approaching 9-o-clock can make it feel a little more natural possibly. I have to be going pretty slow, personally.

Practice by doing figure 8s. It will help you understand how to stop and turn the wheel at the same time. Works well for learning how to do it with either foot forward too.

49-16 is a lot of gear inches. Are you having trouble slowing down coming to a stop sign? Oh, and practice.

The next step is trackstanding while watching for breaks in traffic and for traffic lights to change at the same time.

Thats a big gear ratio. If you are pretty new to FG's I'd drop a few gear inches and that will make everything infinitely easier and more effective, other than moving at 35mph. As for trackstands I don't think of riding into a track stand as more than one thing but I look at anything I do on a bike as one smooth and connected action. So don't think in sepparate steps like, I'm riding, now I need to stop, now I need to trackstand... etc. Think of how to do all of that in one fluid motion seemlessly connected. this is what allows a rider to apear so smooth and comfortable on a bike and shoot holes and lanes that others don't even see. Work on that and visualize it as you ride and as you're not riding, do that along with the suggestions above and more practice and it'll come easy.

practice. and if you can't hold it, just ride in a circle til the light turns green. that's what I do if I feel i'm losin' it.

how do you learn how to trackstand without riding into it?

if you can find a sloped (driveway, road, road crowning, etc) stretch of hard surface, you could practice riding up the slope and into your trackstand. Riding out may be a bit difficult with the gearing you are running, but when I was a wee lad, this is how I practiced in my driveway. Eventually I could do it on the street or trails, fixed or free.

how do you learn how to trackstand without riding into it?

I would assume the same way I did, practicing in my house with something to grab if I fell and my feet not clipped into my pedals.

I would assume the same way I did, practicing in my house with something to grab if I fell and my feet not clipped into my pedals.

That's how I learned.

I'd say just practice. The figure 8 excercise is a great idea. Helps you be more precise with back pressure.

I would assume the same way I did, practicing in my house with something to grab if I fell and my feet not clipped into my pedals.

That's how i started, but I found it safer (and better, i think) to get out in the open to learn. This decision came after I fell into my fence trying to hold onto it.

how do you learn how to trackstand without riding into it?
I can't grasp this either. Do you have a brake?

I had a similar problem. For me it took a while to get a feel for how much back pressure and when to apply it so that you stop with the cranks roughly horizontal. Having such a high gear ratio probably doesn't help, but it's probably doable. You also have to get over your ingrained fear of falling once the bike comes to a stop.

I learned to trackstand without riding into it. Straddle the bike and put the cranks at 12 and 6, put your back foot on the lower pedal. Push the bike forward just enough to make the cranks horizontal and step up onto the other pedal. Flail until you stay balanced. It helps at first to have something like a stairstep that you can run into with your tire and prop yourself up for a couple seconds.

I think that subconsciously you tend to worry that you might loose your balance and accidentally pedal forward, thus potentially sending yourself into oncoming traffic. I would start by trying to stop a lot earlier-- I think you'll find that nervousness has a lot to do with it.

Also, that is a tough gear ratio to learn on. I'm now running 18/47, and it's much easier than my 16/48 days.

Also, that is a tough gear ratio to learn on. I'm now running 18/47, and it's much easier than my 16/48 days.

Yeah but 18 gear inches must top out pretty slow...

srsly. practice.


/thread

^ Pretty much. It's real easy if you have brake, just use it so the bike stops with the cranks at the correct locations and bam you're trackstanding. Funnly enough i find it easier to trackstand no handed than sitting down.

same here. just found that out last night when i was doing trackstands in my dorm room. then i went out riding and realized it's much easier to ride into one than to go into a trackstand from a stop. but i'm runnin 38x18 so it might be different than the op's gears. and i've been riding fixed for longer so that probably has a lot to do with it

practice. and if you can't hold it, just ride in a circle til the light turns green. that's what I do if I feel i'm losin' it.

I'd strongly suggest against doing this, it's asking for a horrible accident. If your having trouble holding it, don't. Clip out instead, and put your foot down, if you can't get back in without considerable effort, then you need more practice at that too.

higher gear inches should make it easier to track stand because it aint so "reactive" to your pedal movements, so you can pretty much sit perfectly still once you get the hang of it. 49-16 is pretty steep though/

learn whilst being clipped in, this will teach you to do it right, otherwise there's almost no point in trackstanding (from a practicality pov at least).

but yeah, it comes with time and practice.

learn whilst being clipped in, this will teach you to do it right, otherwise there's almost no point in trackstanding (from a practicality pov at least).


It will teach you how to break your falls maybe, but asking someone whose never done trackstands to learn them while clipped in is pretty harsh trial by fire. Learn unclipped first, and then, once you have enough experience to ride out of it or otherwise save it, learn it strapped.

practicing trackstands while clipped in sucks. i have fallen right over unable to click out in time.

practicing trackstands while clipped in sucks. i have fallen right over unable to click out in time.
maybe its genetic and your reflexes are weak?

I'd strongly suggest against doing this, it's asking for a horrible accident. If your having trouble holding it, don't. Clip out instead, and put your foot down, if you can't get back in without considerable effort, then you need more practice at that too.

yer sooo right.

nahh whatevz, to each his own, brothel

maybe its genetic and your reflexes are weak?

don't be pu$$y sore still. put some ice on your knees and stfu

my knees don't need ice.
they feel fine.
i run 48/18.
sounds like you could use some ice, with your falling over and all............?

/thread

Practice. All there is to it. Practice without ur feet in the clips, cause there's nothing worse than a tip over at an intersection.

just saying,
if you were to practice clipped in, you'll kill two birds with one stone, learning to clip out/track stand at the same time ;)

emergency clipping out then becomes second nature.

my gf learned how to trackstand yesterday in about 20 minutes, today she was bustin natty fabs and holdin stands through red lights. instead of asking the interwebz you could be practicing.

Practice, because you gotta know the timing without thinking about it. ...

And, totally negative on practicing unclipped. You will be riding clipped all the time, you have to learn to do track-stand in the conditions idential to your usual riding conditions. You fall? Hey that's life and more incentive for you to learn faster. (Which means if you don't know how to track-stand at crosssection, you had better not be using cliplesses.)

T

Sink.