Help a newbie

[colinr]

Not me, a friend has bought himself a bike but has decided he's too scared to ride it. He's a bit shaky and will spend a few minutes on it in an empty car park at best.

Personally, I'd think the ~£600 he's spent would be a big enough motivator but apparently not. Anyone been here, any suggestions on how to motivate him to get on it before it gathers dust?

(Don't really know why he bought it, had just decided he wanted a bike.)

 

[weevil]

I think we need a little more info.

Has your friend never ridden a bike before?
Or is he an adult who's not ridden since childhood?
Or has he lost his nerve after an accident?
Or is he an MTBer stuggling to adjust to a quick-steering road bike?

I'm sure that anyone with an interest in riding can be helped into the saddle. Clearly anyone spending that sort of money on a bike did so with the intention of riding it, so we just need to know what's stopping him.

 

[Arch]

Is he actually wobbly, or just afraid of traffic and roads?

If wobbly, then practice in an empty space is a good idea, lots of turns, braking, weaving in and out of cones (or whatever he can find to put down as markers), takingone hand off the bars, changing gear etc. If he can, start with the saddle a touch low so that he can put a foot down easily.

If it's the traffic, then is there a good traffic free cycle track near him that he could drive to and ride along to get some confidence? After that, he could find a quiet suburb and do some practice on the sort of back roads that don't have much traffic.

If he's the sort to take in stuff from books, then 'Cyclecraft' is the recognised standard for modern traffic riding, and also has some exercises to improve bike handling.

 

[colinr]

He's ridden before but not since he was a child. Never had an accident that I know of, the new bike is a road bike (single speed) but watching him ride it's more balance and confidence than twitchy steering.

Traffic is well out of the question for now, I've never seen anyone so scared on a bike!

Though strangely he went straight for the hoods, it took me about a month to brave them when I moved to drops. I think cones are a great idea though, thanks.

I'll get him riding it if it kills me, mainly because it's too big for me so there's no point letting him give up and buying it cheap

 

[weevil]

the new bike is a road bike (single speed) but watching him ride it's more balance and confidence than twitchy steering.

Is he actually reaching sufficient speed to get stable? I'm picturing the way that even world-class track cyclists wobble at the very start of a race. Does he get past that wobbly start?

I'll get him riding it if it kills me, mainly because it's too big for me so there's no point letting him give up and buying it cheap

Hmm. How big? And how cheap?

 

[colinr]

Is he actually reaching sufficient speed to get stable?

Nope, but he's scared of going faster. Catch-22. It's a Kona Paddy Wagon, geared fairly low so it should be ok.

56cm frame, but I'm not giving up!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Are there any bike hire places near you? He might do better with a few sessions on a hybrid or MTB to get his mojo going before upping to his ambitious purchase.

I'm constantly amazed on my intranet at work the decent bikes that get sold off as new & never used. Theres as many good ones as BSO's.

 

[on the road]

Why did he get a single speed? That could be part of the problem.

 

[colinr]

Someone at his work told him to do it and he listened, but I'd say single speed is fine. Because I ride fixed and that was totally fearsome at first but I kept going until I was good at it. Which is what he needs to do to get over the fear, but the fear is stopping him from riding it.

Vicious circle. Short of stabilisers I can't think of any shortcuts though

I've thought of somewhere quiet and off road and will resume on Wednesday taking on board the idea of a slalom and lowering the seat.

 

[potsy]

Seems a strange choice of bike for someone with little experience/confidence
Would of been better with a hybrid/flat-bar road bike.
Like others have said practice,practice,practice til he gets used to it.

 

[Spinney]

There was a thread on here a few months ago where someone was asking advice about teaching his girlfriend to ride (never been on a bike before). Someone advised to take the pedals off, and just get her to scoot up and down using her feet.

Your pal might be able to get a bit more speed up this way (maybe fast enough to be stable), while feeling more confident because he can keep his feet near the ground at all times...

 

[Midnight]

If it's a question of confidence, has He considered taking a cycle training course?

Never tried them myself but it may give him the confidence to tango with the traffic.

 

[colinr]

I think the scooting without pedals will amuse me if nothing else! I'll have a look at cycle training but doubt he'll be interested (aka too proud to admit he may need it).

Really, I think the actual answer is that he's a 20-something guy that just bought a cool bike and should MTFU, stop worrying about looking stupid, and ride the thing!

Thanks for al your suggestions though, it's given me some ideas.