How to learn to get out of the saddle

[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.