- The ability to track stand will mean that
you've got more balance and therefore
more control over your bike.
You won't be clipping in and out as much at junctions.
And you can also then show off to your mates.
Coming up we show you exactly how to do a
track stand as well as some advanced techniques
including, if I can do it,
no handed.
(rock music)
First up, let's recommend a location.
Unlike me, you don't want to choose asphalt
or tarmac, but instead, something slightly softer
just in case you do lose your balance.
You also want to find a very slight incline,
more on the reasons behind that
a little bit later on.
And in terms of equipment, you want to possibly
swap out your clipless pedals for some flat pedals,
that way at least you'll be able to put your
foot down quickly if things do go wrong.
Once you've chosen your location,
ride slowly towards it and then point
your front wheel one side or the other
but pointing up the gradient.
Now the gradient is important because it's
going to give you some resistance,
that when you push on the pedals, you will move up,
and when you let go, you'll go gradually back down.
So you can get that rocking motion
which gives you your balance.
And this, eventually, should mean that you can
stay reasonably still and on the spot.
Now some people say that you should look in front
of you at a point to give you your balance.
I find it slightly easier to look slightly
in front of the front wheel.
Now as you can see I personally favor
aiming my front wheel to the left
and having my left foot forward.
But you might find that the opposite is true for you.
So just experiment and see what
you feel most comfortable with.
I personally find it easiest being out of the saddle
with my legs slightly bent, arms reasonably
straight but not completely locked out.
And a quietly relaxed grip, with a finger
or two hovering over the front brake.
However if you want to go to the next step
and go no handed which is what we're going to do next.
You're going to need to learn how to do this sat down.
(percussive music)
Now the technique of track standing in the saddle
versus out of the saddle is almost identical,
it's just ever so slightly harder
I find personally, to keep your balance.
But keep that front wheel against the gradient
and roll it forwards and backwards.
And from there, once you're confident in the saddle,
it's simply a case of gradually loosening up
your grip on the hoods or the bars.
Until eventually, you are confident enough
to take it off, just for a few seconds at a time.
That way you will get used to rolling the wheel
forwards and backwards with a very loose grip,
or no grip at all.
Until eventually, you're going no handed.
Now the other alternative is to just take
one hand off at a time, controlling
it with the other one, then lifting that one off.
Then, the ultimate and the hardest
track stand to do in my book at least,
is the out of the saddle, no hander.
You want to rest the top tube against the inside
of your thigh, just above the knee
to give you a bit of stability.
Again, on the same gradient.
This, as you can see, is very difficult indeed.
Aw I'm just holding it.
I'm sure there's loads of you out there
who can do this better than me.
That's all I've got.
Now you're probably thinking to yourself,
I haven't got many junctions near my house
where there's a gradient for me to push
my wheel against and that is where
this next advanced technique comes into play.
So I'm now facing in the other direction
on a downhill gradient and what I'm doing
is rolling forward, putting my brake on,
moving my body weight slightly back and that's
enough to roll the wheel then backwards.
And again this, then allows you to balance.
And as you get more used to it,
you should be able to do that less and less.
Until eventually, even on flat or slightly
downhill ground, you're keeping quite still.
And there's really not much more to it than that.
As ever, practice will hopefully make perfect
but if you're having any specific problems,
let us know in the comment section down below
and either we or one of our very helpful and
knowledgeable viewers should be able to help you out.
Now if you've enjoyed this video,
please give it the thumbs up down below.
If you'd like to subscribe to the Global Cycling Network
just click on the globe.
And if you really want to show off,
we've got how to wheelie and how to bunny hop
down here and down here respectively.