HOW TO LEARN TO RIDE A BIKE FOR ADULTS
You might think that your ship has sailed—or your prime bike-learning years have come and passed you by—however, this is a common misconception when it comes to learning how to get on a bike! Although you might be a full-grown adult, capable of standing on your own two feet (literally and figuratively), learning to ride a bike doesn’t have to be something you could only do in your younger years.
Contrary to what you might have heard or what you may think, the process of learning to ride a bike as an adult is not going to be more complicated than it would be if you were still a child. The only major difference would be that—as an adult, you may have more rational fears, developed over years of experience of pain and getting hurt when falling off of things than you would if you were still a kid! Also—as a child, you most likely had a smaller stature and therefore the distance when you fall to the ground is now much longer, making the pain much more real.
However, the step-by-step approach to the process is going to relatively be the same for a child as it is for an adult—all you need is a size-appropriate bike and an open, safe place to practice.
In this article, we’re going to go over the safe and easy way to learn to ride a bike. If you have any questions about what to wear, where to learn, and even want to know the quickest way to learn to ride a bike, we have the answers!
Learn to ride a bike as an adult
For starters, you need to familiarize yourself with the equipment. To get yourself the most prepared to learn how to ride a bike quickly, first, get everything you need for you to do so successfully and safely.
You’ll want access to:
- A safe bike
- Safety helmet (you can also wear elbow or knee pads if you feel comfortable with that)
- Comfortable clothes that are preferably waterproof
- A safe, open area to practice
Once you’ve got your helmet, clothes, bike, and located your training area, you’re ready to hop on—almost!
As a child, you might’ve been pushed by your parents (literally) to start on a balance bike, with stabilizers and training wheels. However, all these kid-friendly aspects of this process may not be the most accessible anymore. You need to be aware that you’re going to be most likely learning on an adult bike that doesn’t have training wheels or extra precautions. But you can do it!
After getting your checklist setup, here are the next steps to take as you push—or pedal—forward:
Check bike setup
Not only do you need to make sure that your bike is the right size, but you should also make sure that it is set up adequately for you to take on the challenge in the safest way possible.
To help you check whether or not it’s set at the right height, make sure you can stand over your bike without that crossbar/top tube (the highest horizontal bar of the frame running down the center of the bike) impeding you or hitting you in any way.
Once you’ve established that, you can now adjust the seat according to your height. It should be near or at your hip height, where you are able to sit on the saddle with your feet reaching the ground and pedals Your hands should also be able to reach the handlebars and handbrakes comfortably.
You should be able to sit comfortably and as you straighten your legs, your feet should be able to stand flat on the floor. If you’re on your tip-toes, this can make it hard for you to find your balance. If, on the other hand, the bike seems to be too short, this can make it difficult when pedaling.
You can choose to buy your bike right off the bat or rent one. Whatever you choose, just make sure that it is properly sized to your height and stature. If you’re just borrowing one at first, this might be out of your control, but try and get it as close to your height as possible—you can still adjust the height of the seat.
Get on your bike!
Learning and practicing how to get on and off is important for you to get comfortable with getting back on when you fall off—because you might be doing that a time or two! Properly mounting a bike means also leaning it toward you when you’re braking and figuring out how to coordinate between braking and getting off the bike, as well.
Getting used to braking is extremely important since it’s essential to your safety! You can even practice pumping the brakes while walking alongside your bike and not even sitting on it!
The most important thing to remember here? Get comfortable with being on your bike—don’t be afraid of it.
Learn how to glide
To be able to adequately get into your stride, you’ll first have to learn how to glide.
Once you’re comfortable with being on the bike, working the brakes, and learning about the setup of your bike, let’s get you moving!
Before you learned how to run, you had to learn how to walk, and before that—crawl—and before even that, some babies learned how to scoot. So, with learning how to ride a bike, let’s start with that first. Also known as the “balance method”, adults are encouraged to first start scooting along on the bike by pushing the bike forward with your feet on the ground and not on the pedals.
This helps you get used to the feeling of balancing on two wheels. The goal here is to try and keep your feet off the ground and glide for as long as possible. This can help you work on your balance.
Also known as coasting, this first step in movement is going to be most effective and safest when done in a wide, open, flat paved surface that has no bumps to first start. You also will need to avoid dropping your feet and skidding them on the ground. This can be tempting since you may feel like you need it for your balance or to stop your fear from creeping up on you! You also might be putting your feet down to actually stop the bike itself. This is a bad habit—you need to get used to using your handbrakes to stop the bike—since your bike speed will only be getting faster and faster. This instinct is important to have to keep you safe on your bike.
Work on your balance
If you’re having trouble with learning how to stay on the bike while your feet are up, then having a point of reference to focus on can help improve your balance. Instead of looking down at your feet or focusing too much on balancing yourself, you should try and keep your eyes up, looking ahead and even centralizing your focus on a certain point. This can help you be aware of your surroundings and keep yourself up while still in motion.
Get pedaling!
Once you’ve gotten all your coordination going—from where you’re looking (whether in a focal point or visualizing something) to staying on your bike while gliding—it’s now time to pedal and get to work! Begin with one foot on the ground (it doesn’t matter which foot it is) and the other on the opposite pedal.
The foot that is settled on the pedal should be paused at a 2 or 3 ’o clock position so you’re able to push forward and move continuously into a circle so that the other pedal comes around for optimal timing.
Once you’ve pushed down on the pedal, you can then lift your other foot off the ground and place it on the empty pedal. Although the beginning might be scary, your original question, “Is learning to bike hard?” seems irrelevant—you’re doing it now!
The faster you pedal, the easier it’ll become to maintain your balance and keep moving forward. Like the famous Albert Einstein quote, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Once you have some momentum—which you’ll get by continuously pedaling—then you can figure out how to steer with the handlebars. Although this might seem a bit self-explanatory, it does take some getting used to!
Can I learn to ride a bike on my own?
If you want to be able to learn to ride a bike as an adult, it definitely is possible for you to be able to do so on your own! We hope that these tips and this step-by-step guide have helped you navigate through learning how to ride a bike as an adult!