Stoopid question from Noob

[bikegrrl]

Okay, I am really new rider (guess 2 years or so) but LOVE it. I lurk here a lot (post seldom) but this place gives such awesome advice so here we go. I had a bad spill about a year ago, but got back on. My first real bike was a Trek 7000 WSD (aka Bertha). Heavy, durable, step through design and a tad too small. oh and heavy! Well when hubby got new bike, I got his bike Trek 7.3 FX because it fit well (we went to lbs and checked). They reconfigured it for me and I like, no love, how it rides. No pain. Here is the problem. Dismounting -- I just get tangled up in it. I fell over yesterday and ended up in the dirt laughing. Still it ruined the ride. I just keep getting tangled up and it is a pain in the rear! Help? Hubby thinks I need a new bike with a step through but I just think that's odd. Why the issue -- any advice?

[tealtreak]

Okay, I am really new rider (guess 2 years or so) but LOVE it. I lurk here a lot (post seldom) but this place gives such awesome advice so here we go. I had a bad spill about a year ago, but got back on. My first real bike was a Trek 7000 WSD (aka Bertha). Heavy, durable, step through design and a tad too small. oh and heavy! Well when hubby got new bike, I got his bike Trek 7.3 FX because it fit well (we went to lbs and checked). They reconfigured it for me and I like, no love, how it rides. No pain. Here is the problem. Dismounting -- I just get tangled up in it. I fell over yesterday and ended up in the dirt laughing. Still it ruined the ride. I just keep getting tangled up and it is a pain in the rear! Help? Hubby thinks I need a new bike with a step through but I just think that's odd. Why the issue -- any advice?

1) No question is stupid! That is what this forum is for- help and support (:

2) I have a guys road bike, girls Mt bike- I keep my seat slightly lower on Mt Bike (also helps on technical stuff cuz I am not super skilled....) I usually have to remind myself to kinda lean way over and make a point of clearing the bar. I also do the stay seated and lean on stuff if I am not actually dismounting to avoid dealing with it (:

3) Give yourself time! Anytime you switch gear there is learning curve- when I switched to SPDs I gave many good laughs to (of course) large crowds of teenage boys! hahaha Luckily- they were polite enough to wait till I waved that I was still alive till they cracked up (:

[Biciclista]

I vote for a step through.

[ny biker]

How are you dismounting?

After I stop and unclip both pedals so both feet are on the ground, I put my weight on the left foot and swing the right leg back and over the back of the bike. I guess I tilt the bike as I do this; I really never think about it.

Are you trying to get your leg over the top tube, toward the handlebars? Any problems with flexibility that make it hard to move your leg high enough to get it over the bike? Are you trying to stop and dismount all in one motion?

[bikegrrl]

I may be trying to do stop and dismount in one motion. It just seemed easier before, but it may just take practice. I am not a naturally athletic person but its annoying, nevermind embarrasing, get tangled up in your own bike. Starting is actually easier on this bike.

[Crankin]

It is hard to stop and dismount at the same time. You need to slow, lean your bike slightly to one side, and then put your foot down. You should be putting your foot down as you are at the point where you are almost stopped. Then, when one foot is firmly on the ground and you are stopped, you can swing your leg back and over to dismount.
This will become more like one action , but it's not.

[PamNY]

You might just need practice. I practiced getting off and on the bike so much it was ridiculous.

Are you losing your balance when you try to raise your leg to come off the bike?
That happened to me at first, and I just kept trying. I get off the seat and have both feet firmly on the ground before actually moving off the bike.

I agree with Oak that trying to step through a step through would make me more tangled, though I doubt that's true for everyone.

Good luck, and it is not a stupid question at all. Making sure you are confident and safe on your bike is the opposite of stupid.

[Koronin]

I also dismount with one foot firmly on the ground, bike tipped slightly to that side and swing the other leg over the back of the bike. For me it's my right foot on the ground and left foot that I swing over the back of the bike, but I also realize this is from horseback riding that you mount and dismount a horse to the right side, so for me doing it this way is ingrained even though it's a bike and not a horse.

[Seajay]

OK this might be a "stoopid" reply.
I had a road bike client once upon a time that fell over EVERY time he tried to get off the bike. I had started him with regular "open" pedals just to be safe because he was a bit tentative on the bike.
He literally came back with all his knees and elbows bleeding after owning the bike for a day and asked us what was wrong with the bike.
I walked outside with him and asked him to ride/stop and dismount. As his baggy running shorts over his tights snagged the saddle....he went down again. "See?"....he exclaimed, "it happens every time!"

[tealtreak]

OK this might be a "stoopid" reply.
I had a road bike client once upon a time that fell over EVERY time he tried to get off the bike. I had started him with regular "open" pedals just to be safe because he was a bit tentative on the bike.
He literally came back with all his knees and elbows bleeding after owning the bike for a day and asked us what was wrong with the bike.
I walked outside with him and asked him to ride/stop and dismount. As his baggy running shorts over his tights snagged the saddle....he went down again. "See?"....he exclaimed, "it happens every time!"

This cracked me up because one of my early wrecks was caused by riding in soccer shorts! I was going down a steep hill (MT biking) and got back so my weight was over the back tire, then when I came up the dip and slid forward to climb some excess fabric caught on the back of the bike seat! It was ugly, painful, and in hindsight hysterically funny!!!!! (:

[Seajay]

Actually, now that I think about it a bit more. One thing we DO see a lot is women who try to step off a "standard" frame as if it were a step thru.
Rather than swinging off "horse style"
So they are straining to get that leg up so their heel clears the top tube. Even on a small bike this can be challenging. Maybe this is the issue?

[marni]

but I also realize this is from horseback riding that you mount and dismount a horse to the right side, so for me doing it this way is ingrained even though it's a bike and not a horse.

I grew up on a ranch in New Mexico riding cow ponies in a western saddle and they were all mounted from the left, each and every time without fail. When did it change? or does it depend on the kind of horse and saddle do you think?

just wondering

Incidentally, when I dismount my road bike (from the left of course) I have to lean it so far over to the left that the peddle touches the ground.

marni

[lph]

I grew up on a ranch in New Mexico riding cow ponies in a western saddle and they were all mounted from the left, each and every time without fail.

Me too, grew up with horses, rode race-horses for a living for four years, left side all the way. Seemed very natural to me, as right-handed I'd be leading the horse (or the bike!) on that side anyway. But my horsy years are twenty years gone, so I'd be interested to hear if there's been a change.

[bmccasland]

For those of us who's traditions trace back to Europe...
Horses are (were?) mounted from the left, because all good Knights fought right handed, therefore your sword hung off your left hip. So it's much easier to mount with that leg staying on the ground and swing your right leg over the hind end of the fine steed.

We're culturally geared to mount and dismount from the left.

I'm not so certain about Asian cultures and horse mounted fighters.


My brain won't let me mount my bike from the right, unless I can step-through. Walk around to the left side, swing my right leg over the back wheel. The only way.