Hi i'm a 17 year old male, who needs to learn to ride a bike (A bit embarrassing amount of times I've been laughed at as well) I have no idea how to ride a bike and have got no family who can teach me, I live in a town called Keighley and was wondering if anybody knew anyone I could go to for help. I haven't got a bike yet, because I don't want to purchase one if i'm not going to be able to ride it. But if someone would be willing to point me where to go that'd be great!
Need to learn to ride a bike.
- Thread starter KevinKing
- Start date
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young Ed
Veteran
shame i'm not closer (Kent) else i would come out and give you a hand 
try getting to the gym a few times on just a pay and use basis rather than a costly membership and they have the fixed exercise bikes so try these and just get into the rhythm of pedaling and the feel of a bike as they do feel some what different to anything else. you can pick up a cheap bike from a boot fair or off ebay or so for max £50 i would say, when riding along i often see at the side of the road a cheap mountain bike with £10 or so written on it so keep an eye open
then find yourself a nice soft public green or friendly farmers field or so and whilst wearing a helmet (please, it will help when at least learning! oh and please no one start the war here!) then simply try getting on and pedalling you will probably get a few meters feel un-steady and fall off, this is why you are in a soft grass field with a helmet
just keep trying and you eventually get the hang of it
i learnt when i was maybe 3 or 4 years old by my child minder taking me and my bike up to the local playing field and i did fall off and it did hurt but i now love whizzing down country lanes at 20 or 20 mph on a good day!
Cheers Ed
try getting to the gym a few times on just a pay and use basis rather than a costly membership and they have the fixed exercise bikes so try these and just get into the rhythm of pedaling and the feel of a bike as they do feel some what different to anything else. you can pick up a cheap bike from a boot fair or off ebay or so for max £50 i would say, when riding along i often see at the side of the road a cheap mountain bike with £10 or so written on it so keep an eye open
then find yourself a nice soft public green or friendly farmers field or so and whilst wearing a helmet (please, it will help when at least learning! oh and please no one start the war here!
) then simply try getting on and pedalling you will probably get a few meters feel un-steady and fall off, this is why you are in a soft grass field with a helmetjust keep trying and you eventually get the hang of it
i learnt when i was maybe 3 or 4 years old by my child minder taking me and my bike up to the local playing field and i did fall off and it did hurt but i now love whizzing down country lanes at 20 or 20 mph on a good day!
Cheers Ed
Profpointy
Legendary Member
Good for you !
a mate of mine confessed in his forties that he couldn't ride a bike. We taught him in an afternoon.
Obviously off road to start with - ideally grass.
a mate of mine confessed in his forties that he couldn't ride a bike. We taught him in an afternoon.
Obviously off road to start with - ideally grass.
guitarpete247
Just about surviving
- Location
- Leicestershire
Here in Leicestershire they have adult cycling courses. You can even hire the bike. GF went on the course as, being brought up in central London, she was'nt allowed a bike as a child. There may be similar courses up your way.
Just had a bit of a deeper look and found a council run scheme that was buried away so going to give that a try but thanks for all your help 
- Location
- Glasgow
Good luck @KevinKing!
Post about your progress after a few lessons.
Post about your progress after a few lessons.
Eribiste
Careful with that axle Eugene
- Location
- Eckington, Worcestershire
All the best with your bike training KevinKing. Like Pat says, let's hear how you get on.
guitarpete247
Just about surviving
- Location
- Leicestershire
Good luck. And as others have said, keep us posted.
David Higson
Active Member
- Location
- Bury Lancashire
Thinking back many years, I learned to ride by sitting on the saddle and "walking" the bike until I achieved balance. Once I had that, I moved on to using the pedals a bit later.
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Hi and 
@KevinKing
Best of luck with the lessons. As you've already gathered, we'd be quite interested in hearing about your progress and I'm sure a bit of a write up about the experience would be very useful to anyone else who might be in a similar position to you.
@KevinKing Best of luck with the lessons. As you've already gathered, we'd be quite interested in hearing about your progress and I'm sure a bit of a write up about the experience would be very useful to anyone else who might be in a similar position to you.
See if you can borrow a bike from a family member/friend. Either a kids' bike or an adult size bike with the saddle lowered so you can easily touch the ground will do. If possible take the pedals off (requires a big wrench, can be a bit stubborn if they are on tight and the left pedal tightens/loosens the opposite way to the way you would expect).
Practise scooting around, preferably on soft ground. Try to lift your feet off the ground and get the feeling of how to balance. Then once you have a bit of confidence, find a gentle slope (make sure the brakes work first) and try to keep going without putting your feet down. After that it's just a case of putting the pedals back on and raising the saddle a bit. Give the bike a bit of a push and try to catch the pedals with your feet. You'll find that it's much easier to balance when you have a bit of momentum, the hardest bit is getting going.
Don't worry about falling off, it's unlikely you'll hurt yourself and it's pretty easy to jump off if you fell yourself falling.
Practise scooting around, preferably on soft ground. Try to lift your feet off the ground and get the feeling of how to balance. Then once you have a bit of confidence, find a gentle slope (make sure the brakes work first) and try to keep going without putting your feet down. After that it's just a case of putting the pedals back on and raising the saddle a bit. Give the bike a bit of a push and try to catch the pedals with your feet. You'll find that it's much easier to balance when you have a bit of momentum, the hardest bit is getting going.
Don't worry about falling off, it's unlikely you'll hurt yourself and it's pretty easy to jump off if you fell yourself falling.
Bryony
Veteran
- Location
- Ramsgate, Kent
Good luck! Keep us posted!
If the council scheme doesnt come to anything, I don't live too far away, about 15 miles. If you want to PM me and send me some dates you are free I am sure we can sort something out. How tall are you I have a MTB or a folder you can practice on. Maybe you could get the bus / train to Skipton and I could meet you there. I am sure we could get you going without much problem.
Not that its particularly relevant to what you need but I am a NSI . Good luck whichever way you choose.
Not that its particularly relevant to what you need but I am a NSI . Good luck whichever way you choose.