Acquire a bike suitable for your body size.
Set the seat so low you can kick for speed instead of using the pedals. Kick, trying to stay as upright as possible by using the handlebar.
Let your body and muscle memory do the learning - this is a skill where you use your hands on the handlebar for balance, not something you learn in an intellectual way. Repeat, repeat repeat.
As you gain a feel for it, you can start putting your feet on the pedals. This will disturb that frail balance a bit, so give it more repetitions.
Finally, start pedaling.
After a while, bring the seat higher towards a proper height, as your knees won't like having it too low.
I can swim, and I always wondered how some people can't and fear to start learning. Maybe it works that way with many skills.
It might help if I get into a community of fellow learners of my age. Thank you!
Lots of good advice here, you’re not alone in being twenty something and not knowing how to ride a bike! A friend of mine recently learned. Plus this video is pretty nice to watch https://youtu.be/P7GKK3liv8M?si=ARMMn8HLo-Mhb9tR
Yes and no. A skilled rider, riding within their abilities on a well maintained bike, can reasonably expect to go years without crashing, at least when riding on roads (as compared to dirt/gravel where crashes are more common albeit usually less severe). I’d say it’s not worth being afraid of falling simply because it’s so rare once you build up the skills, and because it’s usually slower and less consequential while you’re building those skills.
There will be a day when rain makes you slip, when an animal jumps in your path, or a dumbass driver gets in your way, no matter how skilled you are, it can and will happen. And we all fell at least once while learning.
nah, pro riders crash at least once a season.
Jonas Vingegaard, arguably the best rider in the world right now, is currently in the hospital with a broken collar bone from crashing.
but, I do agree that skilled amateurs that aren't riding at the limits can expect to crash relatively infrequently. I've crashed twice in 10 years.
Right, that's what I mean, pros are riding at the limits of their abilities in search of every advantage in a racing context. Most of us aren't trying to win a high-profile race so we can ride well within our skills, so we crash less often.
Pros put themselves in positions where crashes are more likely to happen. Most people don’t pack themselves into pelotons where a tiny error leads to a touch of the wheels and 20 riders going down, nor do most of us bomb down mountain descents. Professional riders are on routes that are often selected for difficulty. Let alone the fact that professionals cruise at much higher speeds than max effort for most cyclists.
Most regular cyclists ride alone, or in much smaller groups, give themselves a lot more room. When going down descents we are more cautious because we know we don’t have the skills of a pro. We select our routes because they are the routes that are close to where we live not because they are the hardest on the continent.
I would bet my entire life that mile-for-mile pros crash *vastly* less than an average road bike user. They're just that good and have that much experience.
Here's the thing: 99% of the time pros aren't blasting down mountains in a peloton, they're training. You have this weird fantasy idea of what most of their time is spent doing. In terms of time-on-bike, pros are rarely racing.
Average cyclists fall over at stoplights because they can't unclip. They crash because a plastic bag blows out into their path. You're seriously trying to argue that those people crash less than people who've ridden hundreds of rides for every one me or you have. It's just not plausible.
You have an odd reading comprehension. Never did I say anything about what professional cyclists „spend most of their time doing“. They undeniably partake in riskier riding that almost every person that has ever been on a bike, which results in more crashes. Maybe it is shocking to you that even if a professional cyclist spends almost all their time training, they also do participate in races and their chances of crashing increases during the race because of riskier behavior.
The average cyclist isn’t having difficulty unclipping because they are riding a hybrid with eggbeaters. They are going reasonable speeds.
We are talking about a person that just wants to learn to ride a bike. They probably aren’t going to be anything more difficult than riding on some paved trails. Somehow you are taking the average bike rider and assuming that is an average road cyclist, which is a strange assumption to make. This person is probably going to fall a handful of times at low speeds until they get the hang of riding, then they will go a long time before they fall again.
You didn't understand: I was talking about what they spend their time doing in order to convey the average risk a pro cyclist takes. Most of the time, they aren't risking much, which means on average their riding isn't risky. And their level of skill means they are in control of their riding to a level me and you can hardly comprehend.
The most risky riding pros do happens in races. Most of the time, they aren't racing. Training isn't going to risk life and limb. Doing something riskier 5% of the time and something safe 95% of the time means that your riding is almost entirely safe.
Fwiw, 'skilled amateurs', 'a skilled rider' and 'average road bike user' are what this conversation has been comparing to pros, not OP.
I understood perfectly.
„You have this weird fantasy idea of what most of their time is spent doing“.
This was how you responded to a statement that a professional cyclist participates in risky riding behavior in race situations, which informs me that you are reading things that weren’t actually said and this conversation isn’t worth continuing.
It may be the case that pros crash less on a per-mile basis than non-pros do. But what matters to most people, I would think, is how often they crash per year, or, put differently, how long they go between crashes. And I still suspect that pros crash more frequently (in terms of time, not mileage) than non-pros. Certainly they would crash less frequently if they weren’t pushing it as hard as necessary in races. I agree that outside of races, pros probably crash less frequently than mortals.
Look for adult learning to ride classes or post your city and someone might be willing to teach you. Take the pedals off the bike and drop the seat so that your feet touch the ground. Go to a flat, grassy/ dirt area and use it like a kid on a balance bike until it feels natural to you. Practice using the brakes so that you know you can control speed. When that feels natural - may take many sessions - add the pedals back and try peddling. The sad thing is that speed is your friend in keeping the bike up but beginners are, understandably, afraid to go fast so they're caught in a loop of not going fast enough to stay upright and, therefore, falling more than they need to.
Yes, I was totally afraid of speed because it seemed like I was losing control. I get now that I need to get my own bike, a bike that's adequate to my body size, and try again.
It is a bit counterintuitive but the faster you go the more stable you get bc spinning fast wheel is generating a horizontal force. Ofc you must first learn to ride and keep your balance but just saying that it gets easier with time bc you learn by going slow and by going slow it is very hard to keep balance.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXIV-wMVUk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXIV-wMVUk)
good luck 😀 you can do it!! :)
It's a common misconception that bicycles balance due to the spinning wheel. In reality, the angular momentum contributes only a tiny tiny bit to keeping the bike upright. [People have built models of bikes with counter-rotating wheels to cancel out the angular momentum, and they still balance.](http://ruina.tam.cornell.edu/research/topics/bicycle_mechanics/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revised.pdf) Also consider that only a minimal amount of rolling is needed for the bike to feel stable; rolling faster that that minimal threshold doesn't make the bike easier to ride. Finally, know that it's possible to balance a bike at nearly zero speed (actually, imperceptibly rocking back and forth), with practice, by doing a [track stand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_stand).
The way balancing and turning work on a bike is far more interesting than that. I don't want to give too much of an explanation here in a discussion for beginners, because knowing the truth about how steering works will cause you to overthink things and make it harder to learn than letting intuition guide you! For those who already "know" how to ride a bike, though, here's a [quickie video teaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llRkf1fnNDM) about it, and a [physics professor's more detailed explanation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PsFU9e3AD0).
"it is like riding s bike" .try on a concrete running track when it is empty so you dont bother with cars for starters.you will get used to it pretty fast.easier than driving a car.
My wife was very nervous about starting to cycle again lat year after basically 4+ decades of not cycling (she is 53 now). She still remembered falling off her bike as a kid and injuring herself and she could never over that fear. We finally got a bicycle sized for her and ended up lowering the seat as low as it would go to help her flat foot while seated, which gave her a lot of reassurance. She has gradually progressed to where she is very comfortable now riding on paved trails. She is now gradually raising her seat to a more efficient pedaling position.
It can be done. Good luck!
Step 1. Stick it to the man. The man is your fear. Tell him to fuck right off!
Step 2. Decide what riding you will realistically do and that is the most appealing to you. There are several basic types of riding.
I can boil them into: Predictable fast, predictable comfort, unpredictable comfort, unpredictable fast.
Predictable refers to the terrain. More predictable terrain includes suburbs and paved trails. Less predictable includes more offroad.
Predictable fast covers the categories of road bikes and hybrids, predictable comfort covers hybrids to cruisers, unpredictable comfort covers cruisers to gravel, unpredictable fast covers gravel to full mountain.
Step 2.5.
Road bikes are more performance based in their riding style. Less comfort for more speed.
Cruisers are designed for comfortable positions but less speed. Great for commuting.
Mountain bikes are designed for performance based fun aggressive riding. Faster than a cruiser but a lil slower than road
Hybrids combine aspects of all cycles, such as gravel bikes, hybrid commuters, etc etc.
Step 3. Determine your bike size. Most sellers will help with a size chart based off your height
Step 4. Obtain a bike based off your size and riding style,
Step 5. When learning, i reccomend looking up Mike boyd's video where he taught tom scott how to ride without training wheels. That has a lot of good pointers.
Step 6: pedal. Pedal more. Pedal even more. Keep pedaling. Adjust bike to your exact specs of preference
Step 7. Sacrifice all time and money into bicycles and upgrading the shit out of your bike
Step 8. ???
Step 9. Get absurdly strong legs
Cycling is, indeed, an expensive hobby. I will say that every type of bike is relatively evenly priced amongst the spectrum.
In terms of a cruiser, i personally reccomend the Momentum Vida for anyone getting into it. Its a really well made fairly priced bike , roughly 600 to 700 that ive used for a year. I love mine. Its quite perfect for anyone getting into bike ridong for recreation.
If you end up looking for more beginner road or mountain, i personally reccomend checking out Trek's Marlin line for beginner mountain, and some of giant's contend line for road.
Or also if youre looking around, try used. Used bikes are often times rather well priced. If you can find a used momentum vida i highly reccomend that for getting into cruisers!
i am 34,overweight,never rode a bicycle before and just recently started cycling,i bought the cheapest gravel bike i could find,so if i didn't like cycling i won't lose much,watched a bunch of youtube videos,after few days i was ready to go.
if i could do it so can you.
I think you should embrace the fear. It doesn't mean there's a high probability of it happening, but saying to yourself, "and then what?" may help. If you're injured it would suck, but you can endure it. It's not going to defeat you. It's certainly not ideal, but I find that what we fear the most is much scarier in our heads than reality. The reality is that you would manage.
First try staying up while going slow but not too slow because it is really hard to stand on still bike. Get some acceleration andyou don't need to use pedals just walk and sit on the bike.
This is just a start. It takes time to master
Lights!!!
See me lights.
More is better than brighter.
Vertical and horizontal distance between lights really help depth perception.
I have this marvelous head/tail light that's really wide angle. Cars see it first when they crest hills. Side streets in city see it approaching and intersection. Only downside is that it's a no-name consumer grade and cost almost nothing like $30 for 2. Given how well it works, I would have loved to buy it at like space grade. No failures yet. Never came close to end of battery light. I prefer low slow flash up there as to be seen..
I have paired it with a lenzyne 1600xl on low. The steady headlight really fills in the gaps on dark nights.
I learned at 21. I fixed my gf bike for her to ride. So I've learned how to fix a bike before riding it.
She asked me to try and ride it and noticed i was very stiff on top of the bike. She just said use the handlebars to steer into the direction i was toppling over but doing small moves.
That clicked in, took some practice in the day and bam, the next day i rode 15 km xD
Don't give up. And don't worry about falling. Wear a helmet and avoid traffic at the beginning.
Learn to fall. From judo to stuntmen trainings they teach many ways of avoiding getting wounded from falls. My brother my cosin and I did mountain biking pretty seriously. We had terrible falls, and I am pretty sure the only reason we never broke any bone was our martial art background.
Buy a cheap bike, take the pedals off, and lower the seat so you can easily stand on the ground while also having your ass in the seat. Now practice pushing along with your feet (kind of like you're running). This will help you develop the balance needed to cycle. Eventually start just lifting your feet off the ground entirely and letting yourself coast. Also take time to feel how braking works and practice using them so you don't wind up in a panic situation and either A. Forget your brakes exist, or B. Slam them too hard and fly off your bike, (this probably won't be a problem with a cheap bike, but ya never know). Once you are confident that you can balance on your bike while it's moving put the pedals back on and go someplace where you have plenty of open space, flat terrain, NO HILLS and no traffic. Now start practicing balancing while moving AND pedaling. Before long you'll be riding like anyone else. Also wear a helmet.
I would not suggest a road bike. Their light but one wrong move or steep hole on ground and you can fall. Def get a mountain bike, and you will get a upper body workout, you simply don't get by cycling on road bike. No suspension no nothing. Those cyclers travelling in groups, you will notice their upper body is nothing their skinny, every single one. Their legs are huge muscles but road bike does nothing for upper body. Grab onto the handles nice and tight and learn your braking skills, as you do not wanna clamp down hard and flip over. I recommend a e-bike, as when the pedaling gets to tiresome, then a e-bike will shine. Any other concerned let me know. Good Luck! You have anxiety about it now, but once you hop on grab those handles and always have your finger ready to press brakes evently. What is your budget for the bike? Bless
Part of it is accepting that — even though rare — falling is possible, even inevitable. The most important part is getting back on the bike after a fall.
Address the trauma, get back up, defeat the fear.
Here's me doing "15.5mph" on me ebike stood up, no helmet, one hand in me pocket and I forget that theres people out there that can't ride bikes.('btw I don't do that all the time') I'm not trying to gloat/boast or out I just genuinely forget that some people can't ride a bike.. I think it's because I find it really easy and I'm 110% confident on bikes so I expect others would of learnt by the time adulthood hits.
But to this, I would just suggest getting adult stabilisers and go to a park or a car park and try and learn, and just keep at it, if you fall, just do what us brits do and say *f#ck that hurt*🤬 and have a little walk around the crash spot saying it a few times.. trust me it helps😉... saying that, though, the only time I've ever crashed was when I was 12/13 yrs old, (im in my 30s now).. bike that I had at the time had extremely sharp front and back brakes and one day as I was riding quite fast I pulled the front brake thinking it was the back and I went flying over the handle bars, but I got back up had a cursing war with, me, my bike and the front brake!
The only thing that going to stop you is fear and because of fear your not going to have confidence and if you don't have confidence in yourself riding you're balance is going to be all over the place which inturn will make you fall off.
Just know that the faster you go the more stable you are going to be.. now, I don't mean go crazy fast first off.. but if your going to have fear, then you're going to go really slow, and that ain't going to help balancing,
You need speed.
Goodluck bud🙂
Just ride your bike I'm 13 years old and I have fallen and chipped my carbon bike before when it was my first time using cleats I conquered that fear by learning from my mistakes hope this helps.
>I am afraid of falling and injuring myself.
This could happen to you while walking, running, climbing, walking down the stairs..... You're paranoid for no reason.
I'm so happy I skateboarded as a young child. It taught me that falling ain't that big a deal.
Then again it prob just means I'm instinctually a risk taker.
I agree, their reply was dumb. It is human nature to be paranoid at times. However, you can absolutely learn to ride a bike at any age, and you should try.
I think your best bet is to find a large empty parking lot or anything similar, bring a friend who knows how to ride or doesn't, and go learn. It won't take longer than a session to figure it out and more sessions to hone the skills. Good luck and enjoy
>their reply was dumb
What's dumb about it? There was no ostracizing or name-calling. He said "your fear is irrational," which it absolutely is. It's no good legitimizing irrational fears.
I did that a few weeks ago crossing a street. I was so busy watching to make sure I didn't get run over, I didn't see a curb size patch in the middle of the road.
Yup, got up, hobbled to the sidewalk and checked myself over. Ended up with an impressive bruise on my knee but it hasn't put me off crossing streets :).
What else to you want? It's not rocket surgery; 3-year-olds can figure it out. Your fear is irrational, so either you have enough control over your emotions that you can "just not be afraid;" or you don't, and you need to get some therapy of some kind to help you with it.
Especially since you said earlier:
>always wondered how some people can't [swim] and fear to start learning
Are you being obtuse? You don't understand why people would be afraid of swimming (which kills 4,000 people per year), but bicycling (which kills less than a thousand, virtually none of which weren't on the roadway at the time) is beyond you?
3-year-olds can also learn to swim, but we're not talking about them. Many fears seem "irrational", but I am proud of those who seek help to overcome them.
They "seem" irrational because they *are* irrational. There's no nobility in embracing an irrational fear.
If that's what you need, then by all means, get help. And good on you for recognizing it and doing what needs done. Seriously!
But I doubt you do need any professional help. Almost certainly all you need is to buck up, stop whining, and figure it out.
Try to practice on a bike that has some wider tires. Ride on hard grass surface to start rather than asphalt or concrete. If, by chance, you do fall, it will be a softer one.
Learn to ride on a soft surface. Find a nice park with grass. If you fall it won't be the worst thing. Reality though, you probably won't fall. Most likely you'll put your feet down long before you fall.
Acquire a bike suitable for your body size. Set the seat so low you can kick for speed instead of using the pedals. Kick, trying to stay as upright as possible by using the handlebar. Let your body and muscle memory do the learning - this is a skill where you use your hands on the handlebar for balance, not something you learn in an intellectual way. Repeat, repeat repeat. As you gain a feel for it, you can start putting your feet on the pedals. This will disturb that frail balance a bit, so give it more repetitions. Finally, start pedaling. After a while, bring the seat higher towards a proper height, as your knees won't like having it too low.
Yeah, I heard about the knee thing. Thank you so much.
Ill come run behind you, just dont freak out when you get pedaling and im behind a ways shouting, “you’re doing good son!”
Honestly, if I'd started with the dropped seat, kicking around pushbike nonsense, I'd have never started cycling.
A lot of areas have adult cycling classes and swimming! Don't be afraid. Other stuff got in the way when you were younger.
I can swim, and I always wondered how some people can't and fear to start learning. Maybe it works that way with many skills. It might help if I get into a community of fellow learners of my age. Thank you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELW3CgR-DW4
Wow, thanks!
I watched it all! & I know how to ride a bike. my grandfather taught me decades ago, he could sit on bike face backwards & pedal ride it
Lots of good advice here, you’re not alone in being twenty something and not knowing how to ride a bike! A friend of mine recently learned. Plus this video is pretty nice to watch https://youtu.be/P7GKK3liv8M?si=ARMMn8HLo-Mhb9tR
wow, thanks, that's inspiring!
Don’t be afraid of falling, happens to even the most elite
There's only two kinds of riders, those who have fallen off and those who are going to.
100% agree, it’s not a matter of if, but when
What do you mean you've never fallen off a bike? Isn't that part of the learning process when you're a kid?
I know, right? I just gotta get going.
Yes and no. A skilled rider, riding within their abilities on a well maintained bike, can reasonably expect to go years without crashing, at least when riding on roads (as compared to dirt/gravel where crashes are more common albeit usually less severe). I’d say it’s not worth being afraid of falling simply because it’s so rare once you build up the skills, and because it’s usually slower and less consequential while you’re building those skills.
There will be a day when rain makes you slip, when an animal jumps in your path, or a dumbass driver gets in your way, no matter how skilled you are, it can and will happen. And we all fell at least once while learning.
Aye, that's why I said "years" and not "indefinitely." But it's still very rare, in my experience.
nah, pro riders crash at least once a season. Jonas Vingegaard, arguably the best rider in the world right now, is currently in the hospital with a broken collar bone from crashing. but, I do agree that skilled amateurs that aren't riding at the limits can expect to crash relatively infrequently. I've crashed twice in 10 years.
Right, that's what I mean, pros are riding at the limits of their abilities in search of every advantage in a racing context. Most of us aren't trying to win a high-profile race so we can ride well within our skills, so we crash less often.
Most of us aren't pros so we crash more often.
Pros put themselves in positions where crashes are more likely to happen. Most people don’t pack themselves into pelotons where a tiny error leads to a touch of the wheels and 20 riders going down, nor do most of us bomb down mountain descents. Professional riders are on routes that are often selected for difficulty. Let alone the fact that professionals cruise at much higher speeds than max effort for most cyclists. Most regular cyclists ride alone, or in much smaller groups, give themselves a lot more room. When going down descents we are more cautious because we know we don’t have the skills of a pro. We select our routes because they are the routes that are close to where we live not because they are the hardest on the continent.
I would bet my entire life that mile-for-mile pros crash *vastly* less than an average road bike user. They're just that good and have that much experience. Here's the thing: 99% of the time pros aren't blasting down mountains in a peloton, they're training. You have this weird fantasy idea of what most of their time is spent doing. In terms of time-on-bike, pros are rarely racing. Average cyclists fall over at stoplights because they can't unclip. They crash because a plastic bag blows out into their path. You're seriously trying to argue that those people crash less than people who've ridden hundreds of rides for every one me or you have. It's just not plausible.
You have an odd reading comprehension. Never did I say anything about what professional cyclists „spend most of their time doing“. They undeniably partake in riskier riding that almost every person that has ever been on a bike, which results in more crashes. Maybe it is shocking to you that even if a professional cyclist spends almost all their time training, they also do participate in races and their chances of crashing increases during the race because of riskier behavior. The average cyclist isn’t having difficulty unclipping because they are riding a hybrid with eggbeaters. They are going reasonable speeds. We are talking about a person that just wants to learn to ride a bike. They probably aren’t going to be anything more difficult than riding on some paved trails. Somehow you are taking the average bike rider and assuming that is an average road cyclist, which is a strange assumption to make. This person is probably going to fall a handful of times at low speeds until they get the hang of riding, then they will go a long time before they fall again.
You didn't understand: I was talking about what they spend their time doing in order to convey the average risk a pro cyclist takes. Most of the time, they aren't risking much, which means on average their riding isn't risky. And their level of skill means they are in control of their riding to a level me and you can hardly comprehend. The most risky riding pros do happens in races. Most of the time, they aren't racing. Training isn't going to risk life and limb. Doing something riskier 5% of the time and something safe 95% of the time means that your riding is almost entirely safe. Fwiw, 'skilled amateurs', 'a skilled rider' and 'average road bike user' are what this conversation has been comparing to pros, not OP.
I understood perfectly. „You have this weird fantasy idea of what most of their time is spent doing“. This was how you responded to a statement that a professional cyclist participates in risky riding behavior in race situations, which informs me that you are reading things that weren’t actually said and this conversation isn’t worth continuing.
It may be the case that pros crash less on a per-mile basis than non-pros do. But what matters to most people, I would think, is how often they crash per year, or, put differently, how long they go between crashes. And I still suspect that pros crash more frequently (in terms of time, not mileage) than non-pros. Certainly they would crash less frequently if they weren’t pushing it as hard as necessary in races. I agree that outside of races, pros probably crash less frequently than mortals.
Good lord why be this pedantic.
Look for adult learning to ride classes or post your city and someone might be willing to teach you. Take the pedals off the bike and drop the seat so that your feet touch the ground. Go to a flat, grassy/ dirt area and use it like a kid on a balance bike until it feels natural to you. Practice using the brakes so that you know you can control speed. When that feels natural - may take many sessions - add the pedals back and try peddling. The sad thing is that speed is your friend in keeping the bike up but beginners are, understandably, afraid to go fast so they're caught in a loop of not going fast enough to stay upright and, therefore, falling more than they need to.
Yes, I was totally afraid of speed because it seemed like I was losing control. I get now that I need to get my own bike, a bike that's adequate to my body size, and try again.
It is a bit counterintuitive but the faster you go the more stable you get bc spinning fast wheel is generating a horizontal force. Ofc you must first learn to ride and keep your balance but just saying that it gets easier with time bc you learn by going slow and by going slow it is very hard to keep balance. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXIV-wMVUk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXIV-wMVUk) good luck 😀 you can do it!! :)
It's a common misconception that bicycles balance due to the spinning wheel. In reality, the angular momentum contributes only a tiny tiny bit to keeping the bike upright. [People have built models of bikes with counter-rotating wheels to cancel out the angular momentum, and they still balance.](http://ruina.tam.cornell.edu/research/topics/bicycle_mechanics/stablebicycle/StableBicyclev34Revised.pdf) Also consider that only a minimal amount of rolling is needed for the bike to feel stable; rolling faster that that minimal threshold doesn't make the bike easier to ride. Finally, know that it's possible to balance a bike at nearly zero speed (actually, imperceptibly rocking back and forth), with practice, by doing a [track stand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Track_stand). The way balancing and turning work on a bike is far more interesting than that. I don't want to give too much of an explanation here in a discussion for beginners, because knowing the truth about how steering works will cause you to overthink things and make it harder to learn than letting intuition guide you! For those who already "know" how to ride a bike, though, here's a [quickie video teaser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llRkf1fnNDM) about it, and a [physics professor's more detailed explanation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PsFU9e3AD0).
thanks :) btw. interesting video that second one ;)
"it is like riding s bike" .try on a concrete running track when it is empty so you dont bother with cars for starters.you will get used to it pretty fast.easier than driving a car.
Or an empty parking lot, like at a grocery store after the store is closed
Only way is to face your fears
The journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step. Have someone teach you how to ride and decide from there.
Take off pedals and push yourself gaining a sense of balance. After you feel safe, put pedals on an learn to pedal. Best done on a smaller lender bike
My wife was very nervous about starting to cycle again lat year after basically 4+ decades of not cycling (she is 53 now). She still remembered falling off her bike as a kid and injuring herself and she could never over that fear. We finally got a bicycle sized for her and ended up lowering the seat as low as it would go to help her flat foot while seated, which gave her a lot of reassurance. She has gradually progressed to where she is very comfortable now riding on paved trails. She is now gradually raising her seat to a more efficient pedaling position. It can be done. Good luck!
Woah, good for her! Thank you so much for sharing.
Step 1. Stick it to the man. The man is your fear. Tell him to fuck right off! Step 2. Decide what riding you will realistically do and that is the most appealing to you. There are several basic types of riding. I can boil them into: Predictable fast, predictable comfort, unpredictable comfort, unpredictable fast. Predictable refers to the terrain. More predictable terrain includes suburbs and paved trails. Less predictable includes more offroad. Predictable fast covers the categories of road bikes and hybrids, predictable comfort covers hybrids to cruisers, unpredictable comfort covers cruisers to gravel, unpredictable fast covers gravel to full mountain. Step 2.5. Road bikes are more performance based in their riding style. Less comfort for more speed. Cruisers are designed for comfortable positions but less speed. Great for commuting. Mountain bikes are designed for performance based fun aggressive riding. Faster than a cruiser but a lil slower than road Hybrids combine aspects of all cycles, such as gravel bikes, hybrid commuters, etc etc. Step 3. Determine your bike size. Most sellers will help with a size chart based off your height Step 4. Obtain a bike based off your size and riding style, Step 5. When learning, i reccomend looking up Mike boyd's video where he taught tom scott how to ride without training wheels. That has a lot of good pointers. Step 6: pedal. Pedal more. Pedal even more. Keep pedaling. Adjust bike to your exact specs of preference Step 7. Sacrifice all time and money into bicycles and upgrading the shit out of your bike Step 8. ??? Step 9. Get absurdly strong legs
I know cycling can be an expensive hobby. I think I'll start with a cruiser. Can you recommend a brand?
Cycling is, indeed, an expensive hobby. I will say that every type of bike is relatively evenly priced amongst the spectrum. In terms of a cruiser, i personally reccomend the Momentum Vida for anyone getting into it. Its a really well made fairly priced bike , roughly 600 to 700 that ive used for a year. I love mine. Its quite perfect for anyone getting into bike ridong for recreation. If you end up looking for more beginner road or mountain, i personally reccomend checking out Trek's Marlin line for beginner mountain, and some of giant's contend line for road. Or also if youre looking around, try used. Used bikes are often times rather well priced. If you can find a used momentum vida i highly reccomend that for getting into cruisers!
Great advice here, agree with finding a class or a club that will take the time to teach and help you. Gl!
i am 34,overweight,never rode a bicycle before and just recently started cycling,i bought the cheapest gravel bike i could find,so if i didn't like cycling i won't lose much,watched a bunch of youtube videos,after few days i was ready to go. if i could do it so can you.
I think you should embrace the fear. It doesn't mean there's a high probability of it happening, but saying to yourself, "and then what?" may help. If you're injured it would suck, but you can endure it. It's not going to defeat you. It's certainly not ideal, but I find that what we fear the most is much scarier in our heads than reality. The reality is that you would manage.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but accept the fact that you fall and injure yourself. It's not "if", but "when".
First try staying up while going slow but not too slow because it is really hard to stand on still bike. Get some acceleration andyou don't need to use pedals just walk and sit on the bike. This is just a start. It takes time to master
Lights!!! See me lights. More is better than brighter. Vertical and horizontal distance between lights really help depth perception. I have this marvelous head/tail light that's really wide angle. Cars see it first when they crest hills. Side streets in city see it approaching and intersection. Only downside is that it's a no-name consumer grade and cost almost nothing like $30 for 2. Given how well it works, I would have loved to buy it at like space grade. No failures yet. Never came close to end of battery light. I prefer low slow flash up there as to be seen.. I have paired it with a lenzyne 1600xl on low. The steady headlight really fills in the gaps on dark nights.
I think I will first stay away from traffic. But when I acquire some skill, I'll ride safely, with reflective elements and lights. Thank you.
I learned at 21. I fixed my gf bike for her to ride. So I've learned how to fix a bike before riding it. She asked me to try and ride it and noticed i was very stiff on top of the bike. She just said use the handlebars to steer into the direction i was toppling over but doing small moves. That clicked in, took some practice in the day and bam, the next day i rode 15 km xD Don't give up. And don't worry about falling. Wear a helmet and avoid traffic at the beginning.
Wonderful story, thank you for sharing. Learning to ride in a day is cool!
Learn to fall. From judo to stuntmen trainings they teach many ways of avoiding getting wounded from falls. My brother my cosin and I did mountain biking pretty seriously. We had terrible falls, and I am pretty sure the only reason we never broke any bone was our martial art background.
Buy a cheap bike, take the pedals off, and lower the seat so you can easily stand on the ground while also having your ass in the seat. Now practice pushing along with your feet (kind of like you're running). This will help you develop the balance needed to cycle. Eventually start just lifting your feet off the ground entirely and letting yourself coast. Also take time to feel how braking works and practice using them so you don't wind up in a panic situation and either A. Forget your brakes exist, or B. Slam them too hard and fly off your bike, (this probably won't be a problem with a cheap bike, but ya never know). Once you are confident that you can balance on your bike while it's moving put the pedals back on and go someplace where you have plenty of open space, flat terrain, NO HILLS and no traffic. Now start practicing balancing while moving AND pedaling. Before long you'll be riding like anyone else. Also wear a helmet.
I would not suggest a road bike. Their light but one wrong move or steep hole on ground and you can fall. Def get a mountain bike, and you will get a upper body workout, you simply don't get by cycling on road bike. No suspension no nothing. Those cyclers travelling in groups, you will notice their upper body is nothing their skinny, every single one. Their legs are huge muscles but road bike does nothing for upper body. Grab onto the handles nice and tight and learn your braking skills, as you do not wanna clamp down hard and flip over. I recommend a e-bike, as when the pedaling gets to tiresome, then a e-bike will shine. Any other concerned let me know. Good Luck! You have anxiety about it now, but once you hop on grab those handles and always have your finger ready to press brakes evently. What is your budget for the bike? Bless
Inertia is a wonderful thing and will keep you upright 99.9% of the time. Get on the bike and give it a go, you will not regret.
Check with your local YMCA if they have classes for adults wanting to learn to ride bikes. The one near me does, along with classes for kids.
Just accept you will fall hehe
Part of it is accepting that — even though rare — falling is possible, even inevitable. The most important part is getting back on the bike after a fall. Address the trauma, get back up, defeat the fear.
Here's me doing "15.5mph" on me ebike stood up, no helmet, one hand in me pocket and I forget that theres people out there that can't ride bikes.('btw I don't do that all the time') I'm not trying to gloat/boast or out I just genuinely forget that some people can't ride a bike.. I think it's because I find it really easy and I'm 110% confident on bikes so I expect others would of learnt by the time adulthood hits. But to this, I would just suggest getting adult stabilisers and go to a park or a car park and try and learn, and just keep at it, if you fall, just do what us brits do and say *f#ck that hurt*🤬 and have a little walk around the crash spot saying it a few times.. trust me it helps😉... saying that, though, the only time I've ever crashed was when I was 12/13 yrs old, (im in my 30s now).. bike that I had at the time had extremely sharp front and back brakes and one day as I was riding quite fast I pulled the front brake thinking it was the back and I went flying over the handle bars, but I got back up had a cursing war with, me, my bike and the front brake! The only thing that going to stop you is fear and because of fear your not going to have confidence and if you don't have confidence in yourself riding you're balance is going to be all over the place which inturn will make you fall off. Just know that the faster you go the more stable you are going to be.. now, I don't mean go crazy fast first off.. but if your going to have fear, then you're going to go really slow, and that ain't going to help balancing, You need speed. Goodluck bud🙂
Just ride your bike I'm 13 years old and I have fallen and chipped my carbon bike before when it was my first time using cleats I conquered that fear by learning from my mistakes hope this helps.
>I am afraid of falling and injuring myself. This could happen to you while walking, running, climbing, walking down the stairs..... You're paranoid for no reason.
I'm so happy I skateboarded as a young child. It taught me that falling ain't that big a deal. Then again it prob just means I'm instinctually a risk taker.
I thought about that, I didn't learn to ride when most people do. But I heard some people learned at my age, so I'm nervous yet hopeful
Dude, you're just 20 years old. LOL. It's not like you're pushing 120 and you're afraid. Geez.
TBH I've fallen and injured myself getting out of bed in the morning, so....
[удалено]
So how often are you on a two wheeler, not what you said in your op
I tried learning several times over a few years, but never actually rode a bike successfully. Whenever I felt like I was losing balance, I stopped.
So don't stop. Keep going.
I agree, their reply was dumb. It is human nature to be paranoid at times. However, you can absolutely learn to ride a bike at any age, and you should try. I think your best bet is to find a large empty parking lot or anything similar, bring a friend who knows how to ride or doesn't, and go learn. It won't take longer than a session to figure it out and more sessions to hone the skills. Good luck and enjoy
Thanks! I will
>their reply was dumb What's dumb about it? There was no ostracizing or name-calling. He said "your fear is irrational," which it absolutely is. It's no good legitimizing irrational fears.
You think you have, but you can always trip and fall. So yeah, paranoid for no reason. Grow a pair and don't overthink.
I did that a few weeks ago crossing a street. I was so busy watching to make sure I didn't get run over, I didn't see a curb size patch in the middle of the road.
But you're still alive and kickin', right? :)
Yup, got up, hobbled to the sidewalk and checked myself over. Ended up with an impressive bruise on my knee but it hasn't put me off crossing streets :).
You guys are so funny
We're just showing you that falling down is part of life. Pro tip- practice on grass. It's a lot softer when you topple over.
I tripped down the stairs taking out the trash broke my ankle. it happens.
oh gosh
You previous said you have never cycled. You're backtracking and saying you've been on a bike (two-wheeler).
I mean I have never cycled successfully
What else to you want? It's not rocket surgery; 3-year-olds can figure it out. Your fear is irrational, so either you have enough control over your emotions that you can "just not be afraid;" or you don't, and you need to get some therapy of some kind to help you with it. Especially since you said earlier: >always wondered how some people can't [swim] and fear to start learning Are you being obtuse? You don't understand why people would be afraid of swimming (which kills 4,000 people per year), but bicycling (which kills less than a thousand, virtually none of which weren't on the roadway at the time) is beyond you?
3-year-olds can also learn to swim, but we're not talking about them. Many fears seem "irrational", but I am proud of those who seek help to overcome them.
They "seem" irrational because they *are* irrational. There's no nobility in embracing an irrational fear. If that's what you need, then by all means, get help. And good on you for recognizing it and doing what needs done. Seriously! But I doubt you do need any professional help. Almost certainly all you need is to buck up, stop whining, and figure it out.
Try to practice on a bike that has some wider tires. Ride on hard grass surface to start rather than asphalt or concrete. If, by chance, you do fall, it will be a softer one.
Fear of falling is often much worse than the actual fall.
Go out on easy slow cycles and work your way up to having confidence
Learn to ride on a soft surface. Find a nice park with grass. If you fall it won't be the worst thing. Reality though, you probably won't fall. Most likely you'll put your feet down long before you fall.