How to learn to get out of the saddle

[srao]

I am new to cycling and got on to a cycle for the first time in my life in Jan. I have built fair amount of stamina and can manage 100 km rides easily (genuine- not BF stats:innocent:].

However my bike handling skills are poor.

I need to learn:

1. Making tight u turns
2. Getting out of the saddle for climbs

Any suggestions for the above? Was thinking of a trainer/rollers to help learn to get out of the saddle. Do you guys think it will help?

[Pedal Wench]

One tip for getting out of the saddle is to make sure you have plenty of resistance on the pedals. I click up two or three gears to have enough to push against as I stand up. Another good way to get used to it is to stay standing as you start from a stop.

[velogirl]

+1 on Pedal Wench's suggestion to have resistance.

To learn to get out of the saddle, I recommend starting on a flat road (somewhere quiet and safe).

Add resistance (shift to a harder gear). How many gears you shift will depend on the grade of the road.

Place your hands on the hoods.

Push the bike forward as you continue pedaling.

Stand, and balance your weight on the bike based on the grade of the road.

When you want to sit again, push the bike forward as you continue pedaling and allow the saddle to just move under you.

Hope this helps!

Lorri

[staceysue]

I'm still kind of a newb so I might be doing it wrong, but I've never had a problem. I just slow down and stand up on my bottom pedal and lean the other way to put the other foot on the ground.

[RolliePollie]

I've been riding for three seasons and probably have 10,000-ish miles under my belt and I STILL CAN'T STAND UP! My friends think I'm an idiot. However, I ride very hilly terrain with some hills around 15-20% grades, and I don't have any problems getting to the top. So IMHO, it's not absolutely necessary to be able to stand up. It makes me feel better to imagine that I have extra super strong legs because I can climb hills withouth standing. I have no idea why I can't do it...it just feels un-natural to me and I have poor balance, although I could easily do it as a kid. At this point I've pretty much given up on it.

[Crankin]

It took me a long time to learn to stand. I couldn't even do it on a spin bike at the gym!
Now that I can do it, I rarely do. It hurts my knees and since I have no trouble getting up most grades up to 15% or so, I would rather sit and spin in the granniest of granny. I might have wanted to stand on the two 20+% grades that have defeated me, but at that point, I couldn't move, let alone stand!

[zoom-zoom]

I have no idea why I can't do it...it just feels un-natural to me and I have poor balance, although I could easily do it as a kid. At this point I've pretty much given up on it.

I tried to stand the other day and made it maybe 3-4 pedals before I said screw it. My knees were angry.

I don't get it, though...like you, I could do it as a kid, no prob.

[Eden]

One reason you can have trouble standing is too long a reach on your bike. If you have to reach too far, when you stand you will pretty much always feel like you are falling forward. It will feel awkward and difficult and it won't give you too much mechanical advantage.

[OakLeaf]

If your cleats are misaligned, the forces involved in standing will magnify the torque on your knees. Same with weakness in the hip stabilizers that don't necessarily get a lot of use when you're in the saddle. Something to think about.

Related to what Eden said about reach, try to keep your weight over your bottom bracket. That'll both help keep your weight over the rear wheel (to give you traction so the tire doesn't slip) and help you fully extend your knees. Don't be shy about fully extending your legs.

To me, climbing and sprinting out of the saddle pretty much feels like doing step-ups. Which, again, use a lot of hip stabilizer muscle to keep the knees in alignment.


ETA: the OP asked about tight turns, too. It's not really one of my strengths but the general principle is to look where you want to go. Scan the ground for obstacles and loose stuff, then pick your eyes up and look over your shoulder. Looking at the ground is a sure way to wind up on it. Unlike a high-speed turn, don't lean into the turn, but keep your weight centered or even slightly to the outside. And commit, don't hesitate, once you're in the turn.

[jodz1984]

if you are doing a sharp turn without pedalling also have your inside legs bent, this allows for better control of centre of gravity with you other leg. also as previously mentioned look where you are going and make sure you have enough speed if you are doing the turn. best thing to do is get some witches hats and go to an empty car park near you and put the hats out or any sort of marker and just practise.

i cannot give any advice on standing tho, that is just a natural thing to me, although my coach is getting me to stand and sprint while hands in the drops, that is a weird feelings, and man my butt was sore becuase of the way he told us to ride. maybe you could get speed up on flat ground and stand up without pedalling just to get a feeling on it.

[Owlie]

I can stand and get back in the saddle, no problem. I hate doing it, though, because I feel horribly unstable, like I'm going to fall to one side or the other with each pedal stroke. I get to about ten and call it quits. I'm another one who could do it until the cows came home as a kid, too... No advice here, just commiseration.

[sarahspins]

I can't stand and pedal for long.. it just puts way too much stress on my knees and that was even without clipless pedals, so I doubt it's a cleat alignment issue.. and it isn't that it feels unstable, I just plain don't like it, so that's incentive enough to not do it more I do stand up and stretch every 10 minutes or so, but that's different - I'm not pedaling, except to switch legs.

I could do it non-stop as a kid and my 8yo almost never has his butt in the saddle.. but now, nope, no way.

[marni]

I STILL CAN'T STAND UP! My friends think I'm an idiot. However, I ride very hilly terrain with some hills around 15-20% grades, and I don't have any problems getting to the top. So IMHO, it's not absolutely necessary to be able to stand up. It makes me feel better to imagine that I have extra super strong legs because I can climb hills withouth standing.

I am like you, I never stand up hills or flat- I consider it a waste of energy. I do occasionally stand to stretch out my hip flexors but am coasting at the time. About the only time I will stand on a regular basis is in a spin class. As for hills, that is why I have all those granny gears on my bike and why I do spin classes and work on my quuads and do lots of jump squats and jump lunges. I may not go up the hill fast, but I do get up on the bike not next to the bike. The top will be there when I get there and frankly as a beginner I never met a hill I couldn't walk up, but I am so beyond that now that I will herniate myself peddaling before I stand up or get off.

I did find that required standing in a spin class did wonders for my old lady balance on the road bike so I would suggest it as a good way to go for beginners to learn the basics.

marni

[zoom-zoom]

I tried to stand the other day and made it maybe 3-4 pedals before I said screw it. My knees were angry.

I don't get it, though...like you, I could do it as a kid, no prob.

I'm chuckling reading this now. Standing is no biggie for me at this point. I think becoming more comfortable with my bike-handling skills after the Winter really helped. I practiced a lot of standing drills this past Winter on the trainer. Come Spring it really wasn't too tough to do it on the roads.

[OakLeaf]

That's a great thought, Muirenn. Just thinking about it - and not having been on an elliptical in a while - the posture is pretty similar to standing on the pedals.