What do you do at a stop? Poll...

[kingrollo]

I breathe heavily and try to look like a pro.

it all goes pete tong , when I pull away very slowly and fail to click in properly!

 

[ADarkDraconis]

You forgot to add " ... in pursuit of those superior Brompton riders with their effortless acceleration and flat pedals"

Or those of us on glamorous hybrids with flat pedals, even more shameful!

 

[Katherine]

Inspired by another thread in which people are discussing how you position yourself on your bike at a stop, I thought I'd get others' opinions!

Some riders lean their bike and keep on the saddle with one foot on a pedal and one on the ground. Some riders dismount the saddle and straddle the top tube with one or both feet on the ground. Yet others are masters of their craft and can balance without touching the ground at all as if by magic! What's your preference? Any pros or cons for you? Are you open to trying something different to see if it might work better for you? Is it weird that this is even a poll? Inquiring minds want to know!

All / any of them, depending on the length of stop.
I keep the right foot on the pedal and put the left foot down, ready to push off.
If there's a kerb, I'll put my foot on that and stay in the saddle, otherwise I will come off the saddle and tilt the bike slightly. Unless it's raining, in which case I will do everything I can to stay on the saddle to keep the seat dry!
I will try and do a sort of wobbly track stand if I think the traffic lights are about to change or I judge a gap in the traffic coming up or on a roundabout etc.

 

[classic33]

When I am riding this beast, I don't seem to have a problem:-


View attachment 399762

Stoker doesn't appear to be doing much.

 

[Sharky]

Stoker doesn't appear to be doing much.

That's my autistic daughter taken about 10 years ago. When I first got it she didn't really understand what she had to do and would apply pressure to both pedals at the same time, making it quite difficult to move forward. She did grasp it after a short time and she loved it and we even managed a 35 mile sponsored ride. Unfortunately as she got older, her anxieties got worse and worse and hasn't wanted to go out on the tandem for the last 5 years or so. Still keep the tandem in the garage in hope and also for when one of our other daughters visits as she likes going out on it as well.

 

[classic33]

That's my autistic daughter taken about 10 years ago. When I first got it she didn't really understand what she had to do and would apply pressure to both pedals at the same time, making it quite difficult to move forward. She did grasp it after a short time and she loved it and we even managed a 35 mile sponsored ride. Unfortunately as she got older, her anxieties got worse and worse and hasn't wanted to go out on the tandem for the last 5 years or so. Still keep the tandem in the garage in hope and also for when one of our other daughters visits as she likes going out on it as well.

I apologise, I thought it was just the stoker taking it easy.

Maybe the "bug" will bite again though.

 

[Welsh wheels]

Trackstand, while rolling a cigarette, doing the Telegraph crossword, and biting a juicy virgins neck.

Most of that's funny, except the biting the juicy virgins neck part.

 

[mjr]

If I can't keep rolling up slowly until it goes green, I tend to grab the traffic light or a nearby fence, or there's a couple of lights with low rails you can rest your left foot on. If none of those are possible (carriageway lights, for example), I tend to stand straddling the bike - there's something strangely nice about standing in lane 5 of an A road and no one complaining about it...

 

[mjr]

Said no-one ever.

Don't knock it: 90+% efficiency and 33% gear steps make for astonishing acceleration as long as the rider can push first gear up to an efficient cadence quickly. Once upon a time... oh and it all goes wrong when you spin out top gear and the derailleur rider still has three or four higher gears to go (or probably ten higher if the hubbie rider is on a very low geared London hire cycle).

 

[MontyVeda]

Other... it depends. Stops on the road I'll hop off the saddle. Stops at a toucan crossing, I'll stay on the saddle and steady myself on the post with the button thingy on.