How can you tell.....

[OakLeaf]

Mostly when their bike AND all their gear is shiny new. When a rider's been riding for years, bikes get replaced, refurbished or added to, gear gets replaced, but not all at once.

Poor skills is a good sign, and it's a charitable assumption that someone's new, but lots of people go years and never improve their skills.

Speed has very little to do with it. Some of the most experienced riders I know are also some of the slowest, just because they're so old and not as strong or healthy as they were at their peak.

[oxysback]

When their helmet is on backwards I'd guess they were new. Yes, I've seen this on a supported ride. :/

[Zen]

Crankin, we would be good riding partners

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I figure someone is a new rider when they are:
--riding on the sidewalk when there's no compelling reason to,
--riding in the 'door zone',
--hugging the curb while riding.
--remaining on the right side of their lane in an intersection even when they are about to make a left turn.
--locking only a wheel with their cable lock. Sadly, I saw a lonely front bike wheel nicely locked to a metal fence on Main St in our little rural town last week.
--Both wheels are fairly flat while they are riding.
--saddle is set way low and their knees are bent at 90 degree angles on the upstroke. (does not apply to teenagers on teeny circus bikes, who do this normally) lol
--gigantic poofy foam saddle

[Crankin]

Ha, Lisa, I think those are the things I look at, too. Your list made me laugh, especially the hugging the right curb to turn left. Somehow, that stuff seems natural to me.
Zen, I will ride with you anytime. But, you or I would have to take a trip to do that. I am seriously thinking of finding a sports psychologist, or, I can just blame my fears on my neurotic Jewish family of origin.

[sundial]

...I can just blame my fears on my neurotic Jewish family of origin.

You do know that Jews have been awarded the highest number of Nobel prizes, right? Look, Julia Child admitted she couldn't boil water before she figured it all out. Einstein was bored with math and performed poorly in school. I think there will come a time when you will have an epiphany and your life will never be the same again. Each day you add another page in your life. Perhaps soon you will turn a page and begin a new chapter in your life.

[Crankin]

Geez, I was sort of kidding. My family (at least my mom and dad) were very normal. And my mom was far more athletic than I ever was, at least when she was young.
Don't think I'll ever win a Nobel Prize, however. I might learn to hold a line while descending down a curvy, steep hill at some point, but when, I am not sure. I did hit 33 mph yesterday, on a downhill though. Thought my head was going to fly off . I am just not sure why I find this so difficult, when the other parts of cycling have come fairly easy to me.

[snapdragen]

When their helmet is on backwards I'd guess they were new. Yes, I've seen this on a supported ride. :/

^^^This^^^ I've seen it too.

[lisathew8lifter]

When their helmet is on backwards I'd guess they were new. Yes, I've seen this on a supported ride. :/

THAT is the best thing i've heard in a long time!!! i wonder if the helmet is more protective that way?

[tulip]

I can usually tell a newbie if they seem uncomfortable--either on their bike (it doesn't fit and/or they don't have a good position or core strength) or on the road (nervous riding in traffic). An experienced rider will generally seem confident and at ease, have a good position on the bike (although not always), and be drinking from the water bottle while riding.

[zoom-zoom]

I've only been riding since Nov. and have had several people express shock at how comfortable I seem on my bike and my ability to keep up at a pretty decent clip for many miles (my hubby says I took to cycling "like a duck to water"). Of course, the fitness/endurance thing has more to do with years of running.

My MIL has been biking for decades. Yet I suspect she doesn't know how to pump her own tires (I pumped hers for her one time and she hovered so closely that I had to ask her to back up when I was preparing to pull the nozzle off of the stem) or know how to remove/reattach her quick-release front wheel (as we have had issues with her refusing to take it off so that she can fit her bike in the back of her Rav 4 and not have our 9 year old in the front seat where he's at risk from airbag. Repeatedly she has been told that he cannot be in the front seat and there is no reason for her to have him up there when we can fit 2 bikes and 3 people in my tiny Mazda 3 hatchback). She also has fairly regular falls with her clipless pedals.

[schnitzle]

I figure everyone knows I'm new because when they say "On your left" to pass me I oversteer in response and get all "squirrely" XD Also the grip of death on the handlebars!

[zoom-zoom]

I figure everyone knows I'm new because when they say "On your left" to pass me I oversteer in response and get all "squirrely" XD Also the grip of death on the handlebars!

Ha, that was me just a few months ago. The bike-handling comfort comes pretty fast when a person keeps riding on a regular basis. Now I look back and can't believe how un-natural my bike felt at first (I had a really tough time on group rides taking my hands off of the handlebars to signal or take a drink from my water bottle). Now it feels like an extension of me. It's kind of like when I first learned to drive stick. It took all of my concentration and coordination to do it. Now it's just second-nature.

[Crankin]

Well, I guess I must appear to be new... sigh, ten years later.
I don't think I'm squirrelly, but I can barely drink from a water bottle, my (right turn) cornering sucks, and I am a downhill weenie. I know how to do the quick release, though, but I don't want to have to do it. That, or any other mechanical thing. I *know* what to do, but have never been tested on the road. I have serious mechanical anxiety when I ride, although nothing bad has ever happened. Yes, I have taken more than one class and nothing changes. I am fine in the class, but when I practice at home, I end up with my bike in pieces on the ground and a lot of tears. So, then I stop practicing.
I generally hide this very well when I ride. I ride with one group who actually think I am a "strong" rider or a couple of close friends who know they have to wait for me on the downhills.
But, I can climb.

[FlyingScot]

An experienced rider will generally seem confident and at ease, have a good position on the bike (although not always), and be drinking from the water bottle while riding.

Yeah, so I got all cocky on my last ride and grabbed my water bottle while riding. I tried to pull the spout up with my teeth but instead pulled the entire lid off with a pop...splashed water all over the front of me. I'm too sexy for my bike...