DARTHVADER

i feel like a little girl that dropped her lollypop on the ground. i have a frown.
everytime i try to trackstand i fall over, help me. what's the secret?
i can do it for a second then i have to move forward some then back and then it just gets out of hand and i usually fall then people ask if i'm ok then i blush and say yes. leave me alone.

also. skidz. how do i do them? everytime i try the cranks just jerk my legs around and i probably look like a ragdoll.
what should my tire pressure be?
could my chain be too lose and causing this?
maybe my rear wheel needs to be trued...

gasftl

What's your gear ratio?

DARTHVADER

50/18

DARTHVADER

i must not have the zen to trackstand or the muscles to skid. i could go to the gym but how do i get the zen?

Tinuz

Well, you shouldn't complain. I just tried to skid, jerked my clipless pedal out, lost control and slammed the wrong brake (the front, that is). That sent me on a short parabolic path over the handlebars into the ground.......ouch.... (nothing too bad, road rash, some bruises and a cut just above/to the side of my eyebrow).

So yeah, I have the same two questions here..running 48/16 on a 700c bike with 170 cranks (i think, not sure on the cranks).

gestalt assault

zen makes me hungry and laugh at inappropriate moments...

onetwentyeight 

to learn trackstanding, practice riding slowly in the tightest circles you can manage. it helps you figure out where your feet and handle bars should be.

~Stuart~

trackstand: don't do it with your feet attached to the pedals, at first at least. Heres some things I do, they might work for you or might not.

I lock my rear leg, I feel there is less variables to deal with if your only using one leg to make adjustments.
I also put lots of weight on my handle bars (so standing up leaning kinda forward)
Lastly, I started off doing a kinda rock back and forth on the bike, and as I got better I moved less and less (Currently I can no handed trackstand with out moving, even on my mountain bike).

Just try one at ever set of lights, or stop sign... I was late for work for a while before i got the trackstand down.


Skid: This was a lot easier once I was comfortable on my bike.

Heres a step by step for the simple "Balls to stem" from there you can modify it to do sit down skids

Stand up
Shift weight forward onto your hands
When your pedals reach 12 and 6 shift your hips forward towards the stem, and stop pedaling (Aiming to stop pedaling when your rear foot is 9-10ish, i find its easier when my foot is about there).

a minor hop of the rear wheel before you lock up helps, but isnt nessassary

ps: skid = not for stopping, more for ****s and giggles. And i learned on a 49/16 with 28c tires.

or do what i did, and keep trying till it works.

dooktruck

i learned to trackstand by getting my friends to let loose a bunch of rattlesnakes underneath me and my bike in a kiddie pool

to learn to skid get a rope about 8 feet long tie it to that tube (that has your bikes label on it under the bars i think its called a hard tube or something) then tie the other end of the rope the bumper of your friends car. get on your bike and tell your friend to tow you in teh car real fast around 45 mph then tell your friend when he gets to 45 slam on teh brakes in the car...this is how i learned to skid ...teh first time was scary but now i expert

brandonspeck

use the force.

brandonspeck

+5

uke

of head hitting pavement.

gestalt assault

before zen:
https://www.vimeo.com/2097665

after zen:
https://www.vimeo.com/838980

ilikebikes

"i can't skid or trackstand like a man, help!!!"

Thats easy, do it like a women!

joetronic

for track stands, I put my front foot on the crank arm to keep it steady, and use back foot for back/forward motion. Also helps if front foot is slightly uphill when learning, like the crest of the road. Right foot front, left side of yellow line, vise-versa. If you have a front brake, feather it on and off. How I learned on my mountie years ago.

Skidding I learned in wet grass and on loose, fine gravel, like the crap on the edges of the road after a storm. Wet, fresh tarred parking lots are nice to learn in too.

Do you have some type of foot retention?

dooktruck

duct tape

devilshaircut

I learned to track stand while in traffic on hilly roads. I found it was the best way to kill time at busy intersections and the hills helped a lot in learning. If you aren't practicing in the road then I would say find some park or something that has an inclined path.

chrislaaaaamb

Agreed+18(104)^76ish

4zn_balla

When are people going to stop advocating nuts to stem skids? You're going to get someone hurt. Skidding is one way to stop of slow a bike and nuts to stem is going to make them hit something face first.

gestalt assault

talk to the hand...

uke

^ shortly after that picture was taken, five drivers passed and remembered why they hated cyclists.

Jabba Degrassi

Have you considered practice?

tashi

Hey, woah, lets not get crazy. Personally, I'd like to get better at bikin' by reading about it on my laptop.

JackD

Yep, tight circles, then do a little jerk on the pedals. This sort of circle jerking will make you most excellent at track standing.

gestalt assault

doh...but i want to impress my peers NOW...