Bike Basics – explaining to someone how to set off?

Dear STW,

A friend of mine called me a little earlier, and she explained she has been getting some knee pain, not surprising as i’d already explained the saddle needed lifting off of the top tub (honestly!)… anyway…

The bit she is stuck with is the setting off and then getting to the right height to sit down.

I explained it thus: straddle the bike, put your right leg on the right pedal at the ‘4’ position (if it were a clock) and with your left leg, once you’ve pushed your right pedal down, push off with your left leg, then lift your left foot, put it on the pedal and do one or two pedal rotations, then sit on the saddle.

I thought doing it that way would be a bit easier for her, as opposed to the push your right leg down and hop on,… or … have i over-complicated things?

she’s scared of falling, despite my advice that if she lets go of the handlebars, falling off might happen…

How would you describe the setting off bit?

(she’s in doncaster, i’m in sheffield and i’m *really* busy with work so dont have time to drive over)

thoughts / comments?

(she’s booked into a ‘basics / fundamentals’ skills course, and i wanted her to have the saddle at the correct height before she does that)

thanks in advance,
Jonathan

stabilisers

4oclock?
I have the right pedal at 2 I suppose

Although I think you are probably over complicating a basic fundamental bike thing

Is she pretty?

🙂

1. Place bike at top of steep hill facing downwards
2. sit on saddle
3. Brakes off
4. Feet up

What could possibly go wrong?

here you go[/url]

She is my ex, so i’ll skip the bit about aesthetics and the possibilities of dodgy jokes!!

Thing is, she can ride ok, she did 25km around ladybower, so the balance thing isnt too bad, its just a confidence thing about standing up.

I know some people generally put the left leg on the left pedal, push down and swing the leg over, but that caused more confusion.

Suggesting ‘MTFU’ to her wasnt well received either…

ta,
JT

I think you might have as much luck trying to teach someone to juggle over the phone…

is there no-one nearer she knows who can ride a bike and go through it with her in person?

im not sure if its how you describe it, but having read that i dont think i can ride a bike at all.

She should probably do that horse mounting thing where you stand on the left-hand side of the bike, put your left foot on the left pedal, and push along with your right foot (which is crossed over your body and behind and left of your left foot) a couple of times before swinging it over the saddle. Viola!

I explained it thus: straddle the bike, put your right leg on the right pedal at the ‘4’ position (if it were a clock) and with your left leg, once you’ve pushed your right pedal down, push off with your left leg, then lift your left foot, put it on the pedal and do one or two pedal rotations, then sit on the saddle.

Four o’clock? You’d want your pedal at 1 or 2, surely?

Maybe she needs to have the saddle a bit lower, to give her a bit of confidence?

I detect ex issues here

Did you bin her by any chance?

iamsporticus – Yep.

thanks chaps … i’ll suggest the horse mounting type…

jt

wtfu !!! 😆

for starting off, she needs to be able to put both feet flat on the floor IMO, its a massive safety net for the beginner.
once she can pedal on the flat in the park, stealthily move it up half a cm at a time, before sending her off up a hill.
if shes got the confidence to pedal, she will be more than happy to sacrifice the safety net for MUCH easier pedaling.

Chocolate foot (not necesserily right foot) at 2 o clock i would say, and make sure shes in a gear easy enough to pedal, but not too easy so it spins out from under her (32:18/20 say)

Its called practice.

I always start off with my brakes locked, stand onto the pedals and release brakes, seems somewhat easier to me?

I have this problem teaching my wife. At least I don’t have to do it remotely…. I stopped her doing the scooting along thing and get her to start as most of us do. She doesn’t like the saddle up high though but I insist on a reasonable hight. Getting off is amusing as her natural instinct is to do something akin to the way Frankie Dettori jumps off a horse. I think this is because she used to ride a bike with a girl’s step through frame so having a top tube makes things interesting. If she suddently wants to stop she dismounts rather than work out how to brake correctly! I’m not sure if we’ll ever get to ride much together really beyond a little easy bridleway stuff.

My other halfs fun is drastically reduced by her inability to stop and step off without falling forwards over the bars in a stumbly fashion. Its something I want to fix but I dont know where to begin, I dont seem to be able to think of a way of explaining how I stop and step off. Very odd how different people work.

are you fcking serious? sounds like shes either mental or she phoned you up as she likes you and is trying to make conversation and show interest in you… go over there and push her down a hill like your dad probably did when you were 5, i’m sure she really doesnt want you to call her up and talk shit about feet at 4 o’cockl

you sound mental too 🙂

I used to do that horse mounting type, but then I heard it causes a lot of lateral stress on the rims. Now I have a full susser I just plonk my arse on and it sags enough to hit the pedals easily. 🙂

Hold the bars, get the bike onto the back wheel, run forward and jump both feet onto the pedals, then continue the manual as far as she can.
Surely?

DrP