how did you learn to track stand

[Rab]

Did you actually spend time on it Rab or was it a case of immaculate conception or similar

Spent ages trying it at lights, (unclipped, I hasten to add) balancing for as long as possible and then putting foot down when I over balanced

Then when I brought out the fixie for winter commuting, it all seemed to slot into place over a couple of weeks, took a few hints from forums about pedal positioning etc and hey presto most of the time it works.

Don't know if I can do it on non fixie bike - must try methinks

 

[Joe24]

I found that when i had been practicing on a freewheel bike, to doing it on a fixed, it got harder on the fixed. Then when i had been practicing on the fixed it got garder on the freewheel.
What i find makes it easier on the fixed is you dont use your brakes, but on freewheel you sort of have to, which i always find hard. But when i do it on a slight slope i can be trackstanding the freewheel bike there all day.
Way too much time

 

[bobg]

At last , its stoped raining, I'm off to practice what y'all said.

 

[Joe24]

Have fun.
Didnt go out today so i ended up trackstanding in my shed. One foot on the pedal other on the front wheel no handed, still need some practice but its not too bad.
Too much spare time? yes

 

[bobg]

Have fun.
Didnt go out today so i ended up trackstanding in my shed. One foot on the pedal other on the front wheel no handed, still need some practice but its not too bad.
Too much spare time? yes

Tried it in grass and fell off twice - couldnt be bothered to change out of SPD shoes - big mistake - went for a ride instead!

 

[Joe24]

Nooooooo dont do it on grass. Its harder. Just wear normal shoes on the pedals and do it on your patio. If you start to fall you can put your foot down easy, no problem.
Much much much harder on grass, you cant get your front wheel moving as freely.
Dont use your bike shoes till your confident, and when you do, just go for it and give yourself enough room at the front to move forward till you get confident.

 

[bobg]

Nooooooo dont do it on grass. Its harder. Just wear normal shoes on the pedals and do it on your patio. If you start to fall you can put your foot down easy, no problem.
Much much much harder on grass, you cant get your front wheel moving as freely.
Dont use your bike shoes till your confident, and when you do, just go for it and give yourself enough room at the front to move forward till you get confident.

Yeah, I realise that now Joe Still at least the landing was soft! Couple of other things need some getting used
to-not taking the strain off the back wheel by standing up and freewheeling over bumps and getting round sharp corners at the bottom of steep hills...

 

[Joe24]

Yeah, I realise that now Joe Still at least the landing was soft! Couple of other things need some getting used
to-not taking the strain off the back wheel by standing up and freewheeling over bumps and getting round sharp corners at the bottom of steep hills...

I still wimp out abit on the courners, but im pushing it more. The freewheeling over bumps didnt last long/didnt do it at all. I just stand up and keep pedling(not so easy at fast speeds) or time it right so you sort of come off the seat as you take the bump, or man up and hope it dont hurt that much
I go around courners, and end up lifting my toes up in my shoes because i think that will help make my feet further away from the floor

 

[EasyTom]

I found it quite easy to learn - the main thing I did to help at first was to 'rock' back and forth rather than just try to balance as still as possible. I found that if you get used to moving back and forth it helps and you adjust your balance/compensate in each movement. I learnt in clipless pedals and never fell off - couple of close calls though - but you've just got to be confident.

Now I can stay pretty still or no handed etc it gets pretty easy the more you do it. I impress my wife by track standing in the kitchen while eating toast, oh actually no, she calls me a kn0b

 

[leedslad]

I learned waaaay back in the day, when you had to hope your toestraps weren't too tight in case you fell off! I can still do it now although i find that lighter weight bikes and obscure geometries make it harder. it does have good pose value at traffic lights! the other thing is that it means in inner city areas you do have an added advantage over the car that has decided to park its front bumper right up to your back wheel.

 

[e-rider]

I got the technique perfected as a kid on my BMX - 25 years on and I've never looked back - track stands on 'fixed' are even easier; although I've never needed to do one racing at my local track league! Clipless pedals are a 'No' if you're learning though.

 

[bobg]

Getting better but fwiw I found it really helpful to start off with he front wheel hard up against the garage wall then rocking back and forward onto it.. that bit of help keeping upright when in pushing forward mode is a useful confidence booster for beginners at it like me.