Confession to make

[Catrin]

I have a confession to make...ahem, ummmm...errrrrrr

I start my bike with my butt in the saddle. Full in the saddle, with just the tippy-toes of one foot on the ground. This actually works, but it makes me unbalanced and it slows down my starting stroke.

The problem is that my body just does not seem to want to start properly. I understand the concept well enough - stand over the bars, bring one pedal up to about 10:00 or so, stand on that pedal with a foot to get things rolling while raising myself into the saddle and finding the other pedal. I see people doing this all of the time....but I just can't seem to trust myself to that pedal stroke.

Is this just weird, or have others had this problem? If you have, how did you solve it? Now I am getting out and playing in traffic I really need to have a more controlled start-up and this is certainly a large part of that.

[PamNY]

One word: practice. Off, on, start, stop, back off, back on, start again, etc. I did this in a park because traffic isn't the place to learn a new skill.

Took me a while to feel really confident, and until that time I did whatever I needed to do to feel safe and comfortable (in my case, this included having the saddle lower than it was supposed to be).

[Catrin]

One word: practice. Off, on, start, stop, back off, back on, start again, etc. I did this in a park because traffic isn't the place to learn a new skill.

Took me a while to feel really confident, and until that time I did whatever I needed to do to feel safe and comfortable (in my case, this included having the saddle lower than it was supposed to be).

For some reason I thought that as I raised my seat post that this would take care of itself....nope Starting the way I do is easy, but it does take a few strokes to get any real power in my strokes and sometimes a little wobbly - though not often.

[DebW]

How do you stop the bike? In the saddle? Maybe if you practice standing briefly as you pedal, the starting and stopping out of the saddle will feel more natural. Remember, the bike will be more stable the more weight you put on the pedals rather than on the saddle. Try putting one foot on the pedal as you straddle the bike and pushing on the ground with the other foot like you're riding a scooter. That's the starting motion.

[XMcShiftersonX]

Catrin - I start the same way and know exactly how you feel, I cant seem to feel comfortable any other way. I do it this way, because starting off the seat actually feels less stable than on my tip toes. I also unclip the same way.

[Catrin]

How do you stop the bike? In the saddle? Maybe if you practice standing briefly as you pedal, the starting and stopping out of the saddle will feel more natural. Remember, the bike will be more stable the more weight you put on the pedals rather than on the saddle. Try putting one foot on the pedal as you straddle the bike and pushing on the ground with the other foot like you're riding a scooter. That's the starting motion.

I stop properly, more or less. I start braking, and as the bike slows down to a stop I stand for the briefest of seconds before my feet hits the ground. This happens fast, but I think that this is more or less correct - my trainer would have told me the other day as he isn't shy

Catrin - I start the same way and know exactly how you feel, I cant seem to feel comfortable any other way. I do it this way, because starting off the seat actually feels less stable than on my tip toes. I also unclip the same way.

Thank you! It is good to know that I am not the only one. The problem I found on the road Sunday was that there were several intersections where it took me too long to get started, and there were a couple of 'false starts' due to being a little unstable because of my starting position. With my knees I am afraid to leave the saddle too low for much longer since I am getting more mileage....

[XMcShiftersonX]

Right now my saddle is at the right height, but I still manage to touch my tip toes when clipping/unclipping. We just adjusted my seat up to the correct position a couple days ago though, and I definitely notice the increase in difficulty of clipping and unclipping in this manner. But, I think I'll get used to it. I'm almost positive that if I don't do it the way I do, and I stand up, I'll put too much weight to the wrong side and fall, or be unable to unclip in time. We'll see, I'll work on doing it "correctly."

[lph]

I second Deb's suggestion, scooting on the bike with one foot on a pedal, leg vertical, should be a good way to safely get a feel for the balance you need. Since you have weight only on one foot and not on the saddle, you'll probably feel a bit wobbly to begin with until you get used to steering with a little weight on your hands.

Next could be starting with one pedal horisontal, clipping in and starting with a downward push before just rolling a bit and stopping. The bike will feel more stable when you start with a push and a bent knee rather than just scooting.

I usually start with the right pedal just past the top, click in and push down as I kick off from the ground with my left foot. That gives me enough momentum to sit on the saddle and roll until I can clip in the other foot. Only place I have trouble doing this is up steep hills. I would feel very unstable trying to balance on the saddle before starting!

[Pedal Wench]

Try putting one foot on the pedal as you straddle the bike and pushing on the ground with the other foot like you're riding a scooter. That's the starting motion.

For some reason lately, i'm reverting back to needing a few "pushes" before I get going. I can't figure out why I'm doing this now - I think I'm not getting into a gear that gives me enough power to push off with my initial standing stroke.

[nscrbug]

Could it also be that you're in too high of a gear when starting off from a stop? I tend to do this all the time....grrrrrrrrr! As I approach a stop, I forget to shift into a lower gear to make starting up again easier. BTW, I also start from a stop with my butt on the seat and tippy-toe (right foot only, left foot clipped in) on the ground. But as long as I'm in a lower (easier) gear, I can generally get moving pretty quickly. Just a thought...since I didn't see anyone else mention it.

[Catrin]

Could it also be that you're in too high of a gear when starting off from a stop? I tend to do this all the time....grrrrrrrrr! As I approach a stop, I forget to shift into a lower gear to make starting up again easier. BTW, I also start from a stop with my butt on the seat and tippy-toe (right foot only, left foot clipped in) on the ground. But as long as I'm in a lower (easier) gear, I can generally get moving pretty quickly. Just a thought...since I didn't see anyone else mention it.

I don't think this is it, I have even had problems making myself TRY it...somewhere in my head I think there is an image that as soon as I start trying to pedal standing up that I am going to fall over. Of course, I've done THAT a lot and I am still here So I am going to work with this, though I do not know when I will next get to ride...

[PamNY]

Learning to pedal standing up helped me feel more confident about starting to pedal from a stop. I don't know why I found it standing up so hard, but I did. It's second nature now, though. Practicing it is certainly worth a try. Make sure you are in a high enough gear.

[tharley]

I sit too, but my bike only goes up to 7 gears, so I don't really have enough power to stand. I never even really thought about it before this post though.

[Catrin]

I sit too, but my bike only goes up to 7 gears, so I don't really have enough power to stand. I never even really thought about it before this post though.

I am certainly not brave, or skilled enough, to try really standing in the saddle when riding. I need to get stronger and ramp up my bike skills before I try that - however I would like to start properly because I see how much more secure and strong those first few strokes appear to be for those who do... I want that

[ny biker]

I understand the concept well enough - stand over the bars, bring one pedal up to about 10:00 or so, stand on that pedal with a foot to get things rolling while raising myself into the saddle and finding the other pedal. I see people doing this all of the time....but I just can't seem to trust myself to that pedal stroke.

Actually, I do not recommend this. Do not start while standing over the bars.

I start with my butt leaning back on the nose of the saddle and my left foot on the pedal (actually, clipped in) at 2:00. As I push the left pedal forward and down, I slide back so I'm sitting on the saddle. That way I'm more stable and able to balance while I get my right foot on the pedal (and clipped in). And if I have any trouble getting clipped in with my right foot, I'm able to keep pedaling with my left foot in order to maintain forward motion and therefore, my balance.

I've linked to this in a bunch of threads on clipless pedals -- this article helped me a lot:

http://outside.away.com/outside/body...-20070330.html

However I don't get fully on the saddle before I start to pedal, which is what Chris Carmichael is recommending. But I get close to it and I get fully seated ASAP.

Try it.