Learning to ride a bike as an adult

[Frimley111R]

Has anyone on here done this? Mrs 111R can't ride a bike but we have borrowed one for her to try. It's not like teaching a child where you can have stabilisers or hold the back of the bike so I am looking for tips on how to do this.

[sc0tt]

[ph]Insert crude joke about your missus and riding[/ph]

[bobbo89]

Awww, go on! Get her some big stabilisers made up

[bearman68]

Modern way for kids to learn to ride, is not to use stabilisers anyway - Balance bike is the way to go - an old bike with no pedals.

[bobbo89]

Orrrr, slightly less embarrasing than an adult on stabilisers but it'll still make you look a pair of tts...get a tandem!!

[227bhp]

Frimley111R said:

It's not like teaching a child where you can have stabilisers or hold the back of the bike so I am looking for tips on how to do this.

Why not? I bet you can.
Buy her a trike.

[Gary29]

Lower the seat so she can put both feet flat on the floor, and just scoot around until she finds out how to balance.

Maybe take the pedals off for the first few sessions, then once she gets a bit of confidence, put the pedals on and away you go.

I can't imagine it being that difficult to learn as an adult?

[red_slr]

Start with a unicycle, whilst juggling knives.

[Hoofy]

You could probably scoot along with the pedals still in place.

[captain_cynic]

Gary29 said:

Lower the seat so she can put both feet flat on the floor, and just scoot around until she finds out how to balance.

Or use a BMX bike, which is already lower and far simpler in operation. Most kids in Oz will learn to ride on a BMX.

Gary29 said:

I can't imagine it being that difficult to learn as an adult?

Actually I imagine it would be harder. One thing about learning to ride a bike is accepting you will fall off. Kids will happily do this but adults have a self preservation instinct that makes us want to avoid activities we know will hurt.

[Sparkov]

Gary29 said:

Lower the seat so she can put both feet flat on the floor, and just scoot around until she finds out how to balance.

This. I taught my wife a few years ago, and my sister's boyfriend only a couple of weeks ago (both in their 30s and never having ridden before). Being able to have both feet firmly on the ground gave them a lot of confidence. I didn't remove the pedals, and glad I didn't bother because both were pedaling about within half an hour of starting - it really didn't take long to click with either of them. Finding a gentle slope helped to keep momentum up once they started to get the hang of balancing before starting to pedal.

[99dndd]

red_slr said:

Start with a unicycle, whilst juggling knives.

No blindfold? Sounds a bit basic.

Good luck OP!

[syko89]

captain_cynic said:

Or use a BMX bike, which is already lower and far simpler in operation. Most kids in Oz will learn to ride on a BMX.

A 20" wheeled BMX may be good for kids to learn on but the small wheels make them fairly unstable for an adult.
Just find a small framed MTB/town bike and maybe remove the cranks so she can use it as a balance bike.

[cbmotorsport]

I feel sorry for anyone who didn't ride a bike as a kid. All those adventures they missed out on....

[creampuff]

Yes, I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 19.

Find a long, low wall you can hang on to for stabilisation and push with your feet, rather than pedals at first. Then put feet in pedals but still use wall for stability. After a while you will be able to balance with feet off pedals. Then with feet in pedals but not actually peddling. Then you will be able to pedal and balance.

After you can pedal and balance, go somewhere quiet to practice steering.

[captain_cynic]

syko89 said:

A 20" wheeled BMX may be good for kids to learn on but the small wheels make them fairly unstable for an adult.
Just find a small framed MTB/town bike and maybe remove the cranks so she can use it as a balance bike.

You can get BMX bikes made for adults.

Your bigger issue is getting someone to do something they know will hurt. Kids are fine with it, but adults aren't.

[syko89]

captain_cynic said:

You can get BMX bikes made for adults.

Your bigger issue is getting someone to do something they know will hurt. Kids are fine with it, but adults aren't.

You can get 26" cruisers but they aren't that common and would be pointless buying one just so someone can learn to ride when cheap MTB's are everywhere.

[captain_cynic]

syko89 said:

You can get 26" cruisers but they aren't that common and would be pointless buying one just so someone can learn to ride when cheap MTB's are everywhere.

You can also get someone refusing to learn to ride because they've fallen off a bike not designed for road use.

There's a reason MTB's aren't the preferred bike of learners.

[Dannbodge]

Whatever you do get her to start on grass, at least it won't hurt as much as falling on pavement etc.

Adults should be fairly easy to teach as the concept of moving keeps you upright and stopping makes you fall over should be easier to understand.

[fourfoldroot]

Mrs Ffr first time on a bike for 40 years. Didn't want a cross bar so bike is a specialized alibi step through. If you can ride in tight circles on the grass you are ready for the next stage which was out round the local pond on a gravel path. Got up to 8mph Going to learn gears next trip out.