Like many people who try backwards circles, I'm having trouble getting through the bottom of my pedal stroke. Does anyone have any hints?

go out and practice some more. It will come, trust me.

just practice. thats all I can really tell you.

Commit! (I can't do it yet either)

Can you trackstand with either foot forward? I've heard that helps.

probably the the only advice that helped me, was when I would start to get stuck with them I started to rock my body back and forth to get moving. pretty much practice. and like cynikal said, learn to trackstand with either foor forward.

Today I was thinking it might be easier to get out of the bottom of the stroke if I start with my non dominant foot forward. That way the dominant foot will be forward as it comes up---sort of analogous to a switch 180 in skateboarding. If this theory is ****ed maybe someone will let me know.

I will work on ambidextrous standing, it's a pain in the ass though because my chainring is out of round and my chain is only tight when my dominant foot is forward.

yeah, give that a try. if it doesnt work just keep trying. that what I did. like 3 hours of trying them. it was a very dizzying night.

pedal backwards as hard as you can and turn either left or right. It will come.

You Can Do It!

Don't Give Up!

he means it. i met chris within weeks of getting his first fixed gear, and he was doing backwards circles.

no advice from me because i can't do em.

**** you chris.

(thats because i taught him)
no seriously, riding with somebody else helps a lot. watch what they do. mimic that.

yeah, I credit all my **** to ryand.

when i first started learning them i kept looking down at my wheel ...big no no . keep your head up and let the bike steer you .. and practise alot . i pump out over 20 now no sweat . you can do it ! .

i used to always straighten my arms out after the first quarter of the circle which would ultimately mess me up. once i corrected that it got a lot easier. i also spent way too much time practicing how to do them (and i'm still not too good at it)

i've seen some folks do backward circles leaning forward, balls-to-the-stem, but i've always had better luck with my ass planted firmly on the saddle.

oh yeah, and if you ever forget to unclip before practicing, get ready for some hilarious tip-overs

start going a little faster right before you get to the bottom of your pedal stroke. it should help you get through that dead spot.

Its going to feel like your going faster than you're cranking, so that will throw you off. Just practice. I still remember being happy I did a full circle, now I don't really F-up until 2 or 3. I was doing some really good ones once, the most I've ever done and this guy walks up to me and starts asking me questions. I thought he was being a ******, but he was actually really interested in how my bike could possibly go backwards.

try using a lower gear and turning in a tighter circle...that way you aren't in the dead spot for too long

Yeah! I made it all the way through the dead spot just now, then chickened out and went forwards making the whole move into sort of a reverse u-ie. Will try some more tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Oh, and it really helped me to find some super flat ground.

just give up, you'll never be able to do it!



now prove me wrong.

i hope youre doing them clipped/strapped in . dont be scared if you bin it . it is the only way you'll learn . forget that balls to the stem crap as well . sitting down and pumping out really tight circles at one constant speed is what youre' aiming for. aesthetics g .

i learned how to do them without being strapped in because i was too scared of falling or whatever in the pedals. it worked out okay.

Thread necromancer!

After months of not trying to learn backwards circles I went out today and finally did some. What I figured out is elementary bike physics but learning how to apply it backwards felt like a big breakthrough. I am putting it here just in case it will be useful to someone (and also to show off).

Just like in a trackstand, in backwards circles you use pedal pressure to keep your bike in the same place underneath you, and you compensate for minor changes in body position by putting pressure on the cranks to move the bike likewise.

The difference is, instead of being directly underneath your centre of gravity your bike is a bit towards the direction your wheel is turned. The effect is that someone doing backwards circles is falling continually away from the direction their wheel is turned. If you start falling too fast (away from the direction your wheel is turned) you have to put more backwards pressure on the cranks to bring the bike back nearer your centre of gravity. If you start falling too slow, you have to put less backwards pressure on the cranks and let your body tip over some more.

That's it.

remember how when u first learned to trackstand? how it was hard to keep your eyes off the pavement or front tire? then now you got more comfortable and realized that it was actually easier to trackstand while just looking out in a level gaze? well thats how i got comfortable doing bw circles. instead of looking at my front tire i keep my gaze sort of level and peripheral kind of off to my left shoulder (riding backwards clockwise). This was sort of an ah ha moment for me and they became a hell of a lot more fluid.