Adult learner needs help

Joe said:

I taught myself to ride a bike 3 years ago at age 49. I have put almost 11K road miles on my bike
since then. But I still cannot get my legs to pedal on downhills.

Quoted message said:

With the (my) off-season approaching, I wonder if riding rollers would help me get over this
problem.

You can still coast on rollers, but not for very long. Rollers will force you to ride a straight
line, though, which is good.

If you want to force yourself to pedal all the time, you might experiment with a fixed gear.

Jay Hill said:

Joe said:

I taught myself to ride a bike 3 years ago at age 49. I have put almost 11K road miles on my bike
since then. But I still cannot get my legs to pedal on downhills.

Quoted message said:

With the (my) off-season approaching, I wonder if riding rollers would help me get over this
problem.

You can still coast on rollers, but not for very long. Rollers will force you to ride a straight
line, though, which is good.

If you want to force yourself to pedal all the time, you might experiment with a fixed gear.

Or simply start riding side by side with a buddy that does pedal downhill and you'd better keep up
with him if you wanna hear the rest of the story he's telling you at the moment ;-) BTW do you have
gears that don't spin you out on a downhill?

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

It is a a road bike, and I have the bars nearly even with the seat. And your description of
"freezing on the slopes" is exactly how I feel. I want my legs to pedal, but they freeze up.

Joe

Quoted message said:

As for the downhill thing, I think it's just possible that you may be riding a bike that's not
properly fitted. You didn't say if this was a road bike, mountain bike, or something else; this
may have a bearing. I know that my ex had the same reaction as you report, and we finally figured
out that her bars were too low. She was freezing on the slopes because she was subliminally afraid
of sliding off the seat. I raised the bars, and the problem was solved. Your results may vary.

Joe said:

It is a a road bike, and I have the bars nearly even with the seat. And your description of
"freezing on the slopes" is exactly how I feel. I want my legs to pedal, but they freeze up.

Maybe if you start out from a standstill on a descent and stand up to pedal.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Joe' may have said:

It is a a road bike, and I have the bars nearly even with the seat. And your description of
"freezing on the slopes" is exactly how I feel. I want my legs to pedal, but they freeze up.

I'd say that it's possible you might have less of a reaction with bars that don't keep you leaned so
far forward, but it also may be a matter of finding some gentle slopes to start off with, and then
working up (or perhaps down) to the more severe ones, as would be done for a novice skier. Also, you
might try tilting the seat back just a tiny bit, if that doesn't make riding on the flat and level
uncomfortable.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

"Joe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

but I cannot get my legs to cooperate.<

Hi, it's not your legs, it's in your head, to put it in unscientific[read: incorrect] terms. I
think that you are going to have to figure out what you fear. Is it falling off, or not being able
to stop, or??? If you can identify what worries you, then you might be able to find a
mechanical/physical solution.

The other option is - Just Do It!!! Start pedaling before the descent and just don't stop pedaling.

To be honest, I don't like overly high speeds, 30mph is fine, beyond that no interest. I much more
enjoy those rare times when I can do 23-25mph on a flat. By the way, I'm 48 years old and although
I rode bicycles when I was a kid and then for a couple years in my early 20s, I only just returned
to riding last year. Now I'm hooked and riding will most likely be a lifetime pursuit. Life is
Good! Jeff

Maybe if you keep light pressure on the brakes you'll feel better about peddling downhill. Ed

"Joe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I taught myself to ride a bike 3 years ago at age 49. I have put almost 11K road miles on my bike
since then. But I still cannot get my legs to pedal on downhills. I mean moderate downhills, where
I coast at maybe 14mph, and I know I should be pedalling and going faster, but I cannot get my
legs to cooperate. Flats and uphills are no problem, I spin at least 80 rpm most of the time. And
I can pedal 18-20 mph on flats or slight downhills.

With the (my) off-season approaching, I wonder if riding rollers would help me get over this
problem. I have been using a fluid trainer in the off-season.

Thanks for your advice.

Joe

Thanks for all the comments.

I seem to be most successful at pedalling through a downhill when I see the next uphill. And least
successful when it's all downhill. I know it's all in my head, and I have been trying to "just do
it" all along.

I also wonder if the high bb is part of the problem. I have a Bianchi San Remo with a 68mm bb drop.
If I had a bike with a 75 or 80 mm drop I might feel closer to the ground and less nervous. Maybe.

Joe

Quoted message said:

Hi, it's not your legs, it's in your head, to put it in unscientific[read: incorrect] terms. I
think that you are going to have to figure out what you fear. Is it falling off, or not being
able to stop, or??? If you can identify what worries you, then you might be able to find a
mechanical/physical solution.

The other option is - Just Do It!!! Start pedaling before the descent and just don't stop
pedaling.

"Joe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for all the comments.

I seem to be most successful at pedalling through a downhill when I see the next uphill. And least
successful when it's all downhill. I know it's all in my head, and I have been trying to "just do
it" all along.

I also wonder if the high bb is part of the problem. I have a Bianchi San Remo with a 68mm bb
drop. If I had a bike with a 75 or 80 mm drop I might feel closer to the ground and less
nervous. Maybe.

Joe

The 68mm is the diameter of the bottom bracket, it has nothing to do with the height of the bike.
Lowering the bike, involves more than lowering the bb. You would need shorter cranks and in reality,
it isn't the answer. Is your bike properly sized for you? By the way 68mm is 2.677 inches and 80mm
is 3.15 inches. I just took a look at your bike [Google search], it is very nice. Do you use
clipless pedals? Maybe you could borrow a smaller bike from someone and try pedaling downhill on
that one. Maybe, first prove to yourself that it can be done. Life is Good! Jeff