I don’t know how to ride a bike but

9 comments

1. Get your brother to do the [towel method](https://youtube.com/shorts/DU-i0knj1J4?si=XI4Fyuq5I8PRpiTk)if possible. Training wheels don’t work as well as you’d expect especially as an adult.

2. I learned as an adult, best advice is to find a parking lot or some other area with space and few people and cars and just practice. You will want to start with your seat lower than you would normally do so you can start and stop easier. It’s harder on your knees so don’t do it long term but it’s good to get started. Just remember you only fall over when you stop moving forward and don’t put your feet down. When braking back brake first, then front. Don’t slam on the brakes especially the front. When steering gentle movement gets you where you need to go, especially on city roads that don’t have serious curves. Good luck.

3. The big trick with learning to ride a bike is to start out by just getting used to pushing off the ground by kicking against it with your feet, to get yourself used to being on a moving bicycle (which balances itself if it’s moving a certain speed). Then, once you’re comfortable with that, only then do you want to start to bother with the pedals. 

4. In the worst case you could get a three-wheel bicycle. They are really stable.

5. OP I am in my late 30s and have been living in Japan for almost 10 years but couldn’t ride bicycle until like 2 years ago. Then I found [this](https://www.bikemuse.jp/) and participated in the one day training and lo and behold, I can ride from the next day of the training! Even without relying the support wheels at all. The class is full of children and I am the oldest of all but the trainers are all kind and encouraging I didn’t feel shame at all.

   I know its too far from Kyoto and im not answering your main question but I just wanna share my anecdote, who knows you can find similar jitensha kyoshitsu closer to your home. At that time I was living 1 hour away from Nakamozu but I’m so glad with the result I found it worth even if I have to travel far, its just one day anyway. Good luck, riding bicycle is really a life changing skill here🤞

6. You can’t really use training wheels as an adult and cycle normally. Adding two extra wheels at the rear limits your ability to lean which is a key component of turning. So the bicycle essentially turns into a cart, like a horse drawn cart. It can only turn by turning the handlebars and dragging the rest of the vehicle behind it, upright, like a cart is dragged along. This works for kids because they go slow enough that it’s just a preliminary stage to get them used to being on the bike and upright. It’s never meant to be a permanent solution because you can’t cycle at regular speed with them.

   So just take your time and learn. It’s probably taking longer than a kid because your brain is less plastic than a child’s but you’ll get it eventually. Riding a bike is really fun and a liberating experience. And in a city like Kyoto like you said, it is insanely convenient. The safety and infrastructure for cycling in Kyoto makes it the absolute best way to get around. Faster than walking, sometimes faster than a bus for shorter trips or in congested areas, magnitudes cheaper than owning a car in every aspect, cheap, no need to worry about the last train or bus for medium distance journeys anymore, gives you tons more access to parts of the city you might not otherwise visit. It’s is 1000% worth learning.

   Last resort, like another commenter /u/RevealNew7287 mentioned there are tricycle bikes but they have the same fundamental problem with training wheels. Without the ability to lean they are harder to navigate, add more weight and resistance making them more tiring, more expensive and less common, harder to park in parking areas, and probably some more downsides I’m missing which is why they’re mostly used to haul large objects around which makes them pretty niche.

7. training wheels dont help. you just need to figure it out. go get to a flat place where you can bike around. if you can wear protection (helmet, maybe also for knees and gloves). like skateboarders or inline skaters do. then try to go as far as you can go. also remember, going slow is hard as fuck. maybe you are trying to “go slow” because you are insecure. and that makes it harder.

   when you can drive a certain distance straight, then you can start with going slow, making turns, etc…

8. Find yourself somewhere that has a small incline. Like really small. Get on your bike and push off with your foot and try to keep balance as you go down the small incline. If you can make it down all the way, good job!

   Keep on practicing that, and then when you feel comfortable, start adding the peddling.

   I don’t recommend adult training wheels. If you hit the curb the wrong way, you’ll fall the sideways right away. Better to learn how to ride the bicycle.

9. I recently helped a 58-year-old to learn to ride a bike. Short version is to find a bike that you can remove the pedals from and put the seat low enough so that you can easily touch the ground while seated. Find a very mild slope and let the bike roll. Your feet being able to touch the ground makes you feel safe, so you can practice keeping your balance more and more. Eventually put the bike back to proper and you’ll still have the balance.

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