Bicycling: Tips and Techniques

How to Balance on a Bicycle

There is a center point between you and the bicycle. It is determined by three factors: your frame size, your body shape and the grade of the trail or road.

The Platform
Before finding your center, you first need to know how to position yourself on the bike. The base of any position is the platform. Your pedals should be at 3 and 9 o'clock; your feet should be level. This is the best position for your feet unless you're cutting tight corners.

From this position:

You are centered on your bike and well-balanced.
Reacting is a simple process of shifting your weight forward, back, or side to side.
You have maximum pedal clearance to avoid rocks and roots.
Instead of abusing your rear end, spine, neck, and shoulders, your legs can absorb shocks the terrain presents.

Angling You Body for Maximum Comfort and Performance
With your platform established, place your hands on the handlebar grips. Assuming you've got your bike fitted properly, from the sitting position you should have a 45-degree bend in your back. (This is true for mountain and road bikes—this angle becomes more pronounced when you lower your hands to the drops on a road bike and more relaxed if you're riding a town-and-trail type bike.) Your elbows should be bent at a 90-degree angle and knees from 30 to 50 degrees. And—like a batter staring down a pitcher—your chin should be roughly parallel with the top tube and your eyes level and looking straight ahead. You should be seated unless going over rough terrain. From the platform position it is a simple matter to move from sitting to a raised position (floating a few inches above the saddle) with your legs acting as shock absorbers. top of page

The Importance of a Good Grip
Drum your fingers on the grips. Feel how relaxed you are? This is how loose your hands should be while riding. This is true while climbing, descending or clearing obstacles. A proper grip will automatically inform the rest of your body and keep you fluid and ready for anything that comes your way.

The Center
Now that you have got your feet in the proper platform position and your body loose and ready, it is time to find your center. But first, find a slight incline, preferably paved, and begin coasting down it.

Stand up on the pedals and shift your weight forward. Feel the shift in your balance? Shift your weight back. Again, you should feel a difference in your center of balance. Do this back-and-forth shift in smaller and smaller increments and then do the same thing from side to side. This will help you find your center. Slowly brake to a halt.

You can find your center more easily while standing on the pedals than while sitting. This is because your center of gravity is higher while standing and you have more leverage. Now try the same steps as above, this time while sitting. Are you centered? You should be able to maintain it for roughly a second.

A second is all you will get because your center is more a region than a specific point. That region changes as you go up or down a hill or if the wind is blowing or if you have an empty or full stomach. There are thousands of variables. But with practice you will learn to find your center region and make adjustments to stay in it. Once you have mastered centering, it is time to perfect pedaling.

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Adapted from an article by our affiliate partner, REI.