Must Start to finish

Blake Murray

Blake Murray

New Member
Have been learning to ride my new V20 since 12/11...coming off a DF onto the Vendetta, it is fair to say that I'm not in Kansas anymore. It was love at first bit yet the grandest surprise has been the VIEW. I did not expect to be in love with riding again, but this transition has given me new life. Yet there is one skill set that keeps eluding me and that is starting from a stand still. Is it possible to start without the 'flintstoning' to gain movement? Even with 'flintstoning' I can not start uphill. I find it necessary to get off the bike and walk to a level spot? Living in Florida, it is usually a short walk but still frustrated that I can not get stared without motion. Any advise will be greatly appreciated!!
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Practice pedaling with on foot clipped in and the other one waving in the air for balance. I find that useful for starting and for slowing down at intersections; Especially if I forget to downshift and need to at the last second.

After about 2-3% I start:

1) foot on the ground
2) other foot clipped in. (I can only do right foot)
3) Both brakes LOCKED so I don't roll backwards
4) Sitting up pulling on bars (at least half way)
5) Full Pressure on right foot against brake
6) Release both brakes; push right foot; PULL right hand to oppose the foot.
7) lean just a little to the left.
8) Before Right foot bottoms out Have Left foot off ground
9) As soon as left pedal is viable; lift left foot to pedal height push pedal and pull handbar with left hand to counter the foot.

It took some practice but I can "burn out" the front tire with that technique on level ground and most incline starts are doable. Sometime I do rock back and forth on the brakes as I get the nerve to go if it's really steep; but so far it works.

That was a lot harder to write than it is todo....

Practice on flat ground.
 
Robert O

Robert O

Well-Known Member
The great thing about clipless pedals is that you can use just one foot to get the bike moving if you miss getting the support foot into play. Also great for those really tight "I'm not sure that I can negotiate this turn" situations where having a free foot to catch you is a comfort!
 
Blake Murray

Blake Murray

New Member
ratz said:
Practice pedaling with on foot clipped in and the other one waving in the air for balance. I find that useful for starting and for slowing down at intersections; Especially if I forget to downshift and need to at the last second.

After about 2-3% I start:

1) foot on the ground
2) other foot clipped in. (I can only do right foot)
3) Both brakes LOCKED so I don't roll backwards
4) Sitting up pulling on bars (at least half way)
5) Full Pressure on right foot against brake
6) Release both brakes; push right foot; PULL right hand to oppose the foot.
7) lean just a little to the left.
8) Before Right foot bottoms out Have Left foot off ground
9) As soon as left pedal is viable; lift left foot to pedal height push pedal and pull handbar with left hand to counter the foot.

It took some practice but I can "burn out" the front tire with that technique on level ground and most incline starts are doable. Sometime I do rock back and forth on the brakes as I get the nerve to go if it's really steep; but so far it works.

That was a lot harder to write than it is todo....

Practice on flat ground.
Click to expand...
Yes I have been unclipping one foot in advance of stopping, but I have not pedaled with one foot clipped in for fear of tipping the apple cart. I am assuming that you want this done at a very slow speed. It became apparent early on that the bike was easier to control as speed increased. Slow pace is still a work in progress. I am not sure what you mean by 'after about 2-3% I start'...are you starting from a complete stop or from a speed of 2-3 MPH? I am looking forward to working on the nine steps outlined above. Greatly appreciate your kind response and thanking you in advance for your future reply.
 
Rick Youngblood

Rick Youngblood

CarbonCraft Master
Blake, it seems that you are on par with your progress. Starting from a dead stop on any two wheeled recumbent takes practice. As always good advice from Ratz. Ratz mentioned rocking back and forth, l call this the Rock n roll. And used this when teaching myself starting from dead stops with new recumbents and also a good technique starting on hills. Practice on flats first or even a slight descent. Right foot clipped in around the 11 - 1 o'clock position. Left foot flat on ground. Use left foot to rock back a little, then forward while simultaneously pushing right foot to get momentum with a smooth controlled stroke. As left pedal rotates into power position use left foot to power forward. After you pick up speed, then clip left foot in. It's important when starting to use a nice even power stroke and follow through with the right. After you have mastered starts on flats progress to slight hills. I feel pretty comfortable starting on hills in 6 - 8 percent using the rock n roll. Good luck and let us know how your progress goes.
 
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1happyreader

1happyreader

zen/child method
Blake,
Are you able to crunch/sit up on your v20 for starting ??
On my more upright bike it makes a world of difference in balance at slow speed.
later,,,,,, bye
 
ratz

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Pretty much what the guys have added clarifies my intent. I cut and pasted the above while I was riding on the trainer last night. It appears tge my sentence with the cross Reference got lost. So let me fix that.

I pulled those step out of this old thread:

http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/l...uphill-downhill-riding.7532/page-2#post-27416

Which is cross referenced from this useful in not infamous post on learning to ride.

http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/vendetta-newbie.7725/#post-27959

When people come here I sit next to them on a bike and talk them thorough these step. I spend most of my time doing two things. (1) Shaming, Teasing and cajoling people to fight the urge to put feet on the pedals too soo sometimes I succeed. (2) Encouraging them to relax their JAW and to lighten their grip on the handlebars when doing these seated 1 leg starts. While I said to learn on a flat; I actually make people learn it on a 1-2% incline going up hill; I tried flat and down hill, but people learned faster facing up hill, albeit with 2-5 spectacular failures; but after that their confidence would soar. Those that learned flat or down hill tend to panic'd more on the ride when they needed that skill. It should be noted that the 7 mile test ride we take is ummmm.... challenging :rolleyes: but rewarding so they have to learn these things before we go out.
 
quickbeam

quickbeam

Well-Known Member
One thing I learned from riding a unicycle, is that starting position is critical - I always start with my stronger foot at the top of the pedal stroke (for right-handed people, the stronger foot is usually the left one). That way you get a good reliable push right at the start.
 
Blake Murray

Blake Murray

New Member
Let me say from the start that I greatly appreciate all of the input. People of the cycling world are the most generous and accommodating in their time which makes a forum such as this very useful. Last Friday after reading the 'list of 9 steps' I could not keep myself from giving them a try. Must be said with tennis shoes not cleated in. From the first attempt it fired right off the line. So I quickly stopped and fired again with a start and over and over again. So I jumped into riding gear with cleats and road 25 miles trying to stop everywhere. Now in my first attempt going uphill just did make a go of it. What I found out the hard way is that there is 10 steps not nine. Number 10 is actually number one which must be done BEFORE you stop. One must shift down to very low tension. This came to me as I was falling over on my only failed attempt which was up a steep slope. So the following two days of riding was geared towards making the 10 steps part of riding as a habit without fore thought. Additionally, I have been able to crunch myself up while riding as I have found the need to center my body after starting when I lay down a little off center. My order of things once started is to get fully clipped in and then adjust my body if not centered. Then find the perfect combination of spin and tension to enjoy all the riding on my new recumbent was meant to be. Life is good...thanks to all!!
 
brokemyback

brokemyback

Well-Known Member
Great tips on the forum. I thought I'd add my learning curve to the thread. Over the last week I practiced every evening for about 15 minutes after work, in the last failing bits of light before sunset.
-Day one was before I had brakes, derailler or chain so it was strictly Fred Flintsone riding. Feet off the pedals was all I could manage.
-Day two I worked at getting both feet on the pedals and making a few shaky turns.
-Day three I got figure eights going, and scared myself trying to power out of too-tight turns.
-Day four I got figure-eights working reliably AFTER recalling that I must shift my weight OUTside the turn. I think the tip was to "drop your outside shoulder". For me it felt more like shifting my head to the outside of the turn. Regardless it made all the difference. Previously I had a lot of trouble transitioning from RH to LH turns - and I was more likely to curve off in the wrong direction! With shifting my head/shoulders outside the turn I can reliably turn the direction I want.
-Day five I got around the block a few times with both cleats on. Practiced one-foot cycling, smoother turns, and trying to ride in a straight line down the street.
Starting in a tall gear does not work at all. It produces too much torque pushing the wheel to the side.
My current frustration is holding any kind of straight line while apply power. I haven't figured that one out yet.
 
1happyreader

1happyreader

zen/child method
brokemyback said:
My current frustration is holding any kind of straight line while apply power
Click to expand...
You are such an experienced cyclist, I wonder if at some level your old DF reflexes, and habits have you trying to force the cruzbike rather than learning something new ?
As kids we didn't think so much we just tried to " go there" and soon our reflexes smoothed out the edges .
Give yourself some extra time to unlearn and see what feels good on your new two wheeled toy.
later,,, bye
 
Robert O

Robert O

Well-Known Member
Once you get some mileage in, you'll start subconsciously countering the pedal steer. For me, it was about 20 miles in.
 
Robert Holler

Robert Holler

Administrator
Staff member
When I started on a Cruzbike (coming off of three years of near exclusive trike riding which will ruin your ability to balance a two wheeler and prior to that 3 years of high racer riding) I NEVER thought I was going to be able to go in a straight line, let alone dead start on a hill. Practice practice practice and now my CB's are the fastest and more stable bikes I have ever been on - hands down.

Straight line - oh yes. This is likely the most boring footage ever filmed but I use it to demonstrate that indeed the MBB Cruzbike can go flat out fast and keep a line even under power.
 
SamP

SamP

Guru
You can see the front wheel 's direction wobbling a bit it's not making the bike move much. A good demonstration that a bicycle's lean is pretty important to turning.
 
B

bladderhead

Zen MBB Master
brokemyback said:
Starting in a tall gear does not work at all
Click to expand...

You put one foot on and push. When the crank is pointing forward, and your leg is fully extended, there is a dead spot, no power. You are now in the process of lifting your other foot, but it has not yet made contact with the pedal. In that time, the bike has to run on momentum. So you have to get a lot of momentum in one half-rotation of the cranks. Which requires a lot of acceleration. Which requires a low gear.

Actually, I found that pushing too hard causes wheel spin. My leg shoots out, and I hit the dead spot without enough momentum. It is a question of getting the force just right.

As for changing down before stopping, I like the Rohloff on my Grasshopper. When I first had my Silvio, at traffic lights I had to get off and hand-crank the cranks and change gear. I learned to do this and get back on before the green light.
 
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