- If you're wanting to get going on your bike,
and there's a few really basic skills
that you're going to want to cover.
- Today we're going to stick to just the basics,
so if you are starting out in cycling for the first time,
then this is the video for you.
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Let's start right at the beginning.
Setting off the very first time.
We're going to assume your bike is set up to your size
and everything is in good working order.
What you want to do then is stand your bike simply,
30 centimeters away from the curb.
Set your cranks reasonably level.
The three o'clock position for your favored leg
is what we recommend.
Just like this.
Then whilst holding the bars and saddle,
lean the bike towards you, remove your hand from the saddle,
and swing your leg over.
Now, grabbing both brakes, steady your weight over the bike,
place your best foot on the forward pedal,
shift your backside onto the saddle,
look over your shoulder to check for traffic.
You're now ready to set off.
So push down on your forward leg
and maintain a relaxed balance over the bike.
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- Now that we're off and riding,
it's probably a good time to start
thinking about how to stop.
Now this is a really important skill to get dialed in,
especially how to stop with control.
This could also be advanced to timing and modulation.
Braking force is transmitted mostly through the front wheel.
You could test this by walking next to your bike
and putting the back brake on full.
Look what happens to the rear wheel.
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Now repeat this by fully pulling on the front brake.
What happens?
The rear of the bike starts to lift off the ground,
meaning you no longer have the ability
to apply braking force to the rear wheel.
Okay, that's an extreme.
But the same principles apply.
If you want to slow down,
then mastering your front brake is absolutely key.
Now, practice makes perfect with this one.
But being at one with the time
and distance it takes to stop,
is absolutely crucial to fun, fast, and enjoyable cycling.
(bike wheels clicking)
Practice on as many different gradients
and different road surfaces as possible
so you know just how much grip each service allows you.
- And that leads us nicely on
to something that you might want to use your brakes for.
Cornering.
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Cornering is one of my favorite techniques
to master on the bike,
but it is essential that you get it right.
Start by keeping your weight over the tires
as this will afford you the most grip
available from the road.
To do this you want to put your outside leg down,
and put the weight through your outside arm as well.
And this will help you to turn.
Ideally, you would practice this away from traffic
like in a large car park and then you could do
a figure-of-eight like I'm about to show you.
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And what you want to do then,
when you're accelerating out of corner at the time,
you want to stand up for maximum acceleration.
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- [James] To do this, as your leading leg is on the way down
through the two to three o'clock position,
simply slide forward on the saddle,
take a firm but relaxed grip on the bars
as you go to stand up.
- The bike will move beneath you so don't try and fight it.
This technique is best used
when accelerating up a short climb
or maintaining momentum on a really steep climb.
Standing on the pedals allows us to apply disproportionately
more force to the pedals than when staying seated.
This is mostly due to gravity.
Standing could even be a great way to soften the impact
of bumpy roads and make your ride
that little bit more comfortable.
And at certain times, it could even offer you more control.
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As with any skill that you're trying for the first time,
we recommend finding somewhere quiet
and away from the traffic.
- These are really good basic skills to get you going
and they are also good to master them.
- If you enjoyed this video and found it useful
do give us a big thumbs up and for more skills videos,
click down there.