How to learn to get out of the saddle
 

I am new to cycling and got on to a cycle for the first time in my life in Jan. I have built fair amount of stamina and can manage 100 km rides easily (genuine- not BF stats:innocent:].

However my bike handling skills are poor.

I need to learn:

1. Making tight u turns
2. Getting out of the saddle for climbs

Any suggestions for the above? Was thinking of a trainer/rollers to help learn to get out of the saddle. Do you guys think it will help?

Regards,

Shalini

You definitely don't need trainers or rollers to learn how to stand out of saddle...

I actually only learned how to ride a bike 4 months ago and can already do this. Granted, I am not the best at cycling in a straight line doing so, but I am dramatically improving with each outing. If it helps any, try just sliding forward to the nose of your saddle and then standing up; when you need to sit down just kind of slide back onto the nose of the saddle, and then slide back into the seat. That's the way I've been doing it

1. make sure your inside pedal is at the 12 o' clock position and keep your weight balanced between your outside pedal and inside hand (so turning left - keep your weight balanced between your left hand and right foot). Don't be afraid to lean into the turn.
2. support your upper body on your hoods - only your legs should be moving. you can also 'rock' back and forth for more leverage (i.e. pull to the left when pushing down on right pedal)

1. If you have a wide open area, like an empty parking lot or school, you can practice leaning the bike more so than your body into turns and so-on.
2. I don't want to come off sounding smug but just go find a climb and climb out of the saddle. Repeat as necessary.

One of the best ways to learn is by trying to mimic someone who is already good at it ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afFI4...eature=related ).

Shift down a gear before you stand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEur2...eature=channel

Watch the other videos on hill climbing/descending as well.

I'm having trouble picturing this. What happens when you try to get out of the saddle, you just fall over?

I think you're making this more complicated than it is. You just stand on the pedals, that's all there is to it.

Practice standing when riding on level ground. Shift to a harder gear, so you will be pedaling slower when you stand up.

This must be what happens when kids all ride the bus or are driven to school by their parents and never learn to ride a bike! :)

Important you need to have clipless shoes and pedal, otherwise it's not safe to stand up.

What? No. If you look at the millions of bicycles ridden everyday, only a tiny tiny percentage use clipless pedals. If what you're saying is true, the earth would shatter from all the cyclists falling over and hitting the ground.

Are you kidding? They didn't have those when I was 5. Stood and rode for years just fine on platforms.

On 2nd thought, I think you're maybe trying to play a trick on the poster.

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...alm_statue.jpg

My first face palm post!!

+1 ;)

To be fair, though, one of my dad's good friends at work had never learned how to ride a bike as a kid. Part of the excuse -- and I think it's a bit valid -- was that they lived on a hill, so starting on a bike would either end up with a high-speed coast or a difficult climb. My street was flat, so there was no such risk. My neighborhood also had hills, though, so I learned how to stand on the pedals before I turned 8.

I also learned how to jump curbs, bunny hop, skid sideways, etc etc...

Thinking about this some more, I would think that the easiest way to learn to stand would be while coasting. Don't try to pedal. Just get used to standing and then sitting while coasting along.

Just stand on the pedals and keep pedaling.

If you're considerably overweight, it may be hard to do, but realistically, if it's hard to do, you don't NEED to be doing it- it'd just kill your legs in short order.

Hands on the brake hoods, stand up & pedal.

The master... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJEr...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=.../6/27SFeKk2LpY

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=.../9/oiCIJ2JewPE

I don't know if I agree with this. When I watch the pros, it looks to me like they've got extremely light grip pressure and a bare minimum of their weight on the bars when climbing. Standing while climbing is taxing enough aerobically. I wouldn't want to add a lot of grip pressure and pulling and pushing with the upper body to add to the aerobic costs. The videos of Armstrong and Carmichael are great examples.

Of course in a sprint or acceleration, push and pull on the bars all you want... :thumb:

For some reason that made me laugh.:D

Seriously, how can you ride 100km and not know how to stand up on the bike? I would think that would be enough practice right there!

i usually only leverage myself with short steep inclines that last less than 30 seconds. it's basically sprinting uphill, but you're climbing at the same time :p

and for more gradual regular climbs, i'd agree that you bare little weight - but i was just trying to say that you should hold on enough to stabilize your upper body.
:thumb:

I guess this all comes natrual to me...I learned how to ride a bike at the age of 3 with no training wheels...I am not kidding!

Hey congrats on learning to ride. :thumb: 100 Kms is great for your first year "in the saddle" so to speak.

I forgot what it was like to learn to get out of the saddle, but it sounds like you've got some good ideas here. I wouldn't discount the idea of trying it on a trainer if you have one. It wont be as natural as doing it on the road but the trainer might give you some confidence with it. Rollers...not so much. Save the rollers idea until you have a few more miles under your belt. Also, I would first try standing up on your pedals without turning them. When you're comfortable standing up, then start with the pedaling motion.

Next lesson: out of the saddle with no hands :eek:

Wonderful, I'm sure your Mom is proud of you.

I was doing wheelies while I was still in the womb, and look where I am now.

I bet you miss the warmth of the Womb!!!