One little tip for looking over your shoulder without deviating from your line is to try to touch your chin on your shoulder, or even the top of your collar bone when looking back. It prevents your opposite arm from moving, which is what causes you to swerve. I learned that from riding on the track, and it makes all the difference.
Being able to hold a good track stand is also a skill that pays dividends down the line and impresses. Taking your road bike to the pump track is a skill builder. And a last bit of unsolicited advice, ride single track on you gravel bike. Brilliant video Si!
Love this, I can kinda do all these (except the bunny hop effectively) things but the tips just make complete sense and I’m gonna go back to start developing the skills as it really will help as a 60 year old veteran - who learned all these things as intuitively as a kid in England - to my Thai friends who have never cycled as a child and start in their 20’s to 40’s Cheers 👍🏽😃💖
No-handing depends on the bike as well. I can do it confidently on my cross bike, but my road bike does not want to go in a straight line that much. It has to do with the geometry ofbthe bikes.
Any bike should be able to be ridden no hands. Your bike fit plays a key role in this. If you are having trouble, could be the bike is not set up correctly or is the wrong size for you. Also, too loose or too tight headset preload will cause you grief.
@@larrymcgoldrick3471 Not true. Though perhaps true on modern bikes. Geometry, but more importantly fork wheel flop can make some bikes unridable no-handed. But true on the other points you mentioned including worn headsets creating a detent in the cup or cone.
I have been cycling since I was five. All of these skills I had once upon a time.I cannot do a bunny hop anymore but I can for some reason jump kerbs. I still practice riding in a straight line and cycling slowly. I always look behind to see a break in traffic for right turns. but no longer have the confidence to ride with no hands. Can still track stand though. I feel I have lost some bike skills as I have gotten older suppose I can no longer do cartwheels or handstands either. This video makes me nostalgic for my BMX
A track stand at lights/roundabouts is always handy. I’m pretty good nine times out of ten, but there’s always that one time I make an absolute pig’s ear of it. Normally with a dozen giggling motorists waiting behind.
Depending in what part of the world your in and how your brakes are set up. In the USA our front brake is our left hand and most people are right handed so that means they grab the bottle or eat with the right hand so I teach them how to brake with just front brake only because when something goes south you don't have time for anything else.
Help please. Anyone know which video inluded a tuna nicoise recipe. It as a while back and a Pro P.T. or nutritionist showed one of the presenters. I loved it but cant find it now.
Learning to cab whistle is extremely useful when you want to tell someone on the sidewalk you’re coming while you’re still far away so you don’t jumpscare them saying “on your left”
It's summer and I came to a crossing of pedestrians... slowed, paused, did a track stand then started forward. The looks on people's faces are worth every single minute of practice
Good video. As a former motorcycle rider (started as a 16 year old and sold the last bike when approaching 70), all the same skills apply except the bunny hop. Started serious bicycling 6 years ago at 72. So now, at 78, I’ll set out to master the bunnyhop 😁😁 thank you, Si!
Yes, or even use both brakes and keep pedaling through them. Makes you very stable, also works against skidding and against tipping sideways (in a group ride eg)
Did I miss the bit about lifting the rear wheel if you DON'T have clip in pedals?? Maybe in GCN-world, everyone wears them all the time, but I mostly wear normal shoes on a bike, and dress normally too...
I teach track riding to school and adults from zero riding to full laps on an Olympic standard track, the first 5 skills are super important and I teach all of them. Not much cause for the bunny hop on the track (hard to do on a Fixie too!) so add starting and stopping without putting a foot down.
I can't take both hands off the bars for more than .5 seconds without crashing, so I should start there. Also...being able to descend a big hill without clutching my brakes and getting passed by childre 2:12 n and seniors.
During school when I had no car, I carried two big paper bags of groceries on my bike, by going hands free..(don't necessarily try this 'at home', people) :)
I'm one of those people who didn't learn to ride a bike until I was an adult and never really practiced things like bunny hops. Being able to get up onto a kerb smoothly is definitely something I need to practice.
After years and years on Zwift (smart trainer) I went back to rollers this year ... skills levels uplift ... proper riding !!!! Track standing - slow riding level 11 !!
I could brag about being able to bunny hop, but the one time I actually got surprised by a snake on a single track, I panicked and flew over the snake... but upside down due to front breaking too much. It was not even a dangerous one.
For some of the items (slow speed in particular), if you use clipless pedals, consider switching to flats until you're pretty comfortable in case you have to put a foot down. After that, continue the practice with your cleats so you know how to unclip quickly and are still comfortable. Riding the line on the side of the road is a partial substitute (and good staring practice) for riding the curb, but be sure to ride slowly while doing it.
Don't bunnyhop actual rattlesnakes folks. Bad idea. 👀 🐍 Fun episode. 😁👍These were all considered must learn skills when I was a teenager, along with the trackstand.
One thing I like to do is ride hands free up an incline where I'm in low gear and having to use some exertion on the pedals. I may only be going 7 mph but I find it great for enhancing my balance.
It's amazing to me how quickly most of these have come back to me, having not ridden much since my teens until now (I'm older than Si, but not by much!) Never been good at the no hands riding though. The bunny hop is a very useful one, much of my local NCR is tree lined and there are roots under the path that are like very big speed bumps to a bike.
@@relicbane you raise the front wheel way higher than you think. You'll pretty much be jumping upright. When you push the handlebar forward, the rear wheel will come up as well.
@@DMurdock thanks! I’ll try some more. Ive been able to jump the entire bike like how the TDF riders sometimes do to jump on kerbs at high speed, but i think thats a little different from bunny hops which can be done at lower speeds… right?
Peter Sagan bunny hopped onto a piece of "road furniture," then off again to get into a better flow of riders once during a Tour de France stage, 6 years or so ago. After that, the UCI banned the move. Darn. It was a good move. Kinda like the time Lance Armstrong cut across that field to make up time in a stage. That was probably banned, too. The UCI takes all the fun out!!
When you want to look back and someone is riding next to you, touch his/her shoulder while looking back. This makes sure that you keep riding parallel and not ride into each other.
Finding a spot to practice skills or "session" as the cool kids call it definitely translates to better bike handling skills! It's also good old fashioned fun... I'm 41 and still practice wheelies, bunny hops and trying to ride on lines constantly!
I also mountain bike, which naturally helps for most of these. I casually bunny hopped a pothole on my road bike once, not knowing a constructiom signaller was looking my way. He made me stop and gave me a fist bump 😂
I wish I learned the bunny hop before. Yesterday I fell while riding over a cat running through my weels. Bruisend ribs and broken collar bone as a result. :)
No hands is really good. I feel it's most useful when I'm out on a really long ride and need to change my clothing in some way, zip or unzip a jacket for instance. and also, if you are on a many hours ride, it's a really good way to change your position, it feels very good when you've been hunched over the bars for a few hours.
Another skill covered on a previous GCN video is standing still on your bike. Helpful at traffic lights when you don’t want to unclip because you can see it’s about to turn green.
I don't know how to hop for some reason but I can do most of the rest. For some reason when I try to hop, the front goes up and the back just stays. I am hoping like the other bits I just figure it out as I go along.
I just figure it out the other day while putsing around after a couple beers. The best way I could describe it is by trying to scoop your feet out from under yourself. Imagine jumping in the air and your toes flinging dirt behind you as you do it. Basically you’re just trying to apply a rotational force in the direction you want the real wheel to go. You’re not going to actually move your feet, but that’s essentially what the motion feels like.
@@tomahoks Sorry, but it does not mean that the frame is too small. Actually, most of the steep head tube road frames will have toe overlap even if the bigger frame sizes. @mikefisher9895 You just have to learn how to avoid catching the front wheel with a foot. Look carefully how Si did that - in a turn he only pedaled with his inside foot, backing it at the bottom of the stroke and repeating again, instead of moving the outside foot forward.
What one skill improved your cycling? Maybe it's not on Si's list? Let us know 🙌
How to proper ride corners. That was game changer for me.
What's the 6th skill?
@@jiriweiss4887 We bet you don't do it like this 👉ruclips.net/video/b6MZMENPXS8/видео.html
@@gcnno i didn't do it like this but in a next ride i will try to use it. Thanks
@@tobiasbouma4071😂
One little tip for looking over your shoulder without deviating from your line is to try to touch your chin on your shoulder, or even the top of your collar bone when looking back. It prevents your opposite arm from moving, which is what causes you to swerve. I learned that from riding on the track, and it makes all the difference.
Top tip that! 👌
Thanks legend!
Just tried this. Works really well. Good tip.
Great tip! Great too people sharing tips in the comments 🙌
Will try next ride !! Thanks
Being able to hold a good track stand is also a skill that pays dividends down the line and impresses. Taking your road bike to the pump track is a skill builder. And a last bit of unsolicited advice, ride single track on you gravel bike.
Brilliant video Si!
Pump tracks and road bikes are a great mix! Keep it steady and watch those skills grow 🙌
Love this, I can kinda do all these (except the bunny hop effectively) things but the tips just make complete sense and I’m gonna go back to start developing the skills as it really will help as a 60 year old veteran - who learned all these things as intuitively as a kid in England - to my Thai friends who have never cycled as a child and start in their 20’s to 40’s
Cheers 👍🏽😃💖
Oh, and by the way, we actually do have venomous snakes in Thailand?😮
How to ride over a car that is parked in a cycle lane would be a useful skill to learn.
Good tips! I need to learn these asap as a new bike riding I need to go practice
No-handing depends on the bike as well. I can do it confidently on my cross bike, but my road bike does not want to go in a straight line that much. It has to do with the geometry ofbthe bikes.
Any bike should be able to be ridden no hands. Your bike fit plays a key role in this. If you are having trouble, could be the bike is not set up correctly or is the wrong size for you. Also, too loose or too tight headset preload will cause you grief.
@@larrymcgoldrick3471 Not true. Though perhaps true on modern bikes. Geometry, but more importantly fork wheel flop can make some bikes unridable no-handed. But true on the other points you mentioned including worn headsets creating a detent in the cup or cone.
I have been cycling since I was five. All of these skills I had once upon a time.I cannot do a bunny hop anymore but I can for some reason jump kerbs. I still practice riding in a straight line and cycling slowly. I always look behind to see a break in traffic for right turns. but no longer have the confidence to ride with no hands. Can still track stand though. I feel I have lost some bike skills as I have gotten older suppose I can no longer do cartwheels or handstands either. This video makes me nostalgic for my BMX
I am glad I rode BMX in the 80s, as that was the best learning ground for bike handling skills.
You can always spot and ex BMXer! 👀 Do you ever get back in the small wheels?
@@gcn Not as often as I did, but do ride my 24 cruiser more now. I stopped racing in 2013/14
Bunny hop is my most absent skill and hands free is only sorta there. BTW a great video
I like to pre-hop speedhumps, means you can land on the downside and pump for even more speed 🤘
I love this type of videos
I can’t un-see this video!
A track stand at lights/roundabouts is always handy. I’m pretty good nine times out of ten, but there’s always that one time I make an absolute pig’s ear of it. Normally with a dozen giggling motorists waiting behind.
Very helpful 😊
Depending in what part of the world your in and how your brakes are set up. In the USA our front brake is our left hand and most people are right handed so that means they grab the bottle or eat with the right hand so I teach them how to brake with just front brake only because when something goes south you don't have time for anything else.
Help please. Anyone know which video inluded a tuna nicoise recipe. It as a while back and a Pro P.T. or nutritionist showed one of the presenters. I loved it but cant find it now.
Learning to cab whistle is extremely useful when you want to tell someone on the sidewalk you’re coming while you’re still far away so you don’t jumpscare them saying “on your left”
The whistle is good but how about fitting a bell? 🔔
@GCN nah, bell isn’t aero
Hmmm...
I see growth 😊
in learning ALL these skills, even sitting on that saddle eating & drinking 😅
How about a wheliiiiiee?:)
Maybe practice riding slowly away from a 3 way junction 🤔🤔🤔
I thought you were going to go into wheelie techniques. Maybe next time 😉
Being able to drink and eat whilst riding
Great skills to have! Once you master riding no handed these things are the next steps! 🍟
Why does this guy keep a banana in his pants
Apparently I cannot ride "no hands" anymore. I'm 55.
If you are Dutch 🇳🇱 and you can't do these six. Emigrate 🛫
I can jump, but I can’t bunny hop…
First
Nice one! That means you'll be the first to learn some new skills! 🙌
@@gcn yup, great video as always. Thanks 👍
I don’t ever intend to bunny hop on a road bike.
It's summer and I came to a crossing of pedestrians... slowed, paused, did a track stand then started forward. The looks on people's faces are worth every single minute of practice
Nothing looks cooler than a track stand! 😎
I commute 31km most days to work and 31km back. My feet don’t unclip until I reach my destination.
Good video. As a former motorcycle rider (started as a 16 year old and sold the last bike when approaching 70), all the same skills apply except the bunny hop. Started serious bicycling 6 years ago at 72. So now, at 78, I’ll set out to master the bunnyhop 😁😁 thank you, Si!
Used to ride with no hands all the time as a teenager now I'm scared of crashing lol and lost that skill :(
A good tip for riding slowly is to drag the rear brake. This gives you resistance to ride against and makes it much easier. I think Si was doing this
Yes, or even use both brakes and keep pedaling through them. Makes you very stable, also works against skidding and against tipping sideways (in a group ride eg)
Great tip Paul! Is this a skill you spend time practicing? 🚴
Did I miss the bit about lifting the rear wheel if you DON'T have clip in pedals??
Maybe in GCN-world, everyone wears them all the time, but I mostly wear normal shoes on a bike, and dress normally too...
To bunny hop an obstacle riding with flat pedals, you can still lift the front wheel, and shift weight to minimize how hard the rear wheel hits.
Looking behind me without veering in to traffic was pretty helpful :)
It's such an important skill! 🙌
I teach track riding to school and adults from zero riding to full laps on an Olympic standard track, the first 5 skills are super important and I teach all of them. Not much cause for the bunny hop on the track (hard to do on a Fixie too!) so add starting and stopping without putting a foot down.
Super cool that you teach track skills! 🙌 It must be rewarding to see riders go from zero to enjoying themselves!
One skill many roadie’s struggle with…acknowledging other riders. Don’t worry, if you wave they won’t think you’re soft.
Would love to ride no hands but the few times i tried i nearly crashed. Scared the crap out me.
I can't take both hands off the bars for more than .5 seconds without crashing, so I should start there. Also...being able to descend a big hill without clutching my brakes and getting passed by childre 2:12 n and seniors.
Be able to wear and remove my windproof jackets without stopping the bike is the one thing that gives me the sense of being a pro 😂
During school when I had no car, I carried two big paper bags of groceries on my bike, by going hands free..(don't necessarily try this 'at home', people) :)
I'm one of those people who didn't learn to ride a bike until I was an adult and never really practiced things like bunny hops. Being able to get up onto a kerb smoothly is definitely something I need to practice.
After years and years on Zwift (smart trainer) I went back to rollers this year ... skills levels uplift ... proper riding !!!! Track standing - slow riding level 11 !!
Me too. Rollers just feel so much more natural.
I could brag about being able to bunny hop, but the one time I actually got surprised by a snake on a single track, I panicked and flew over the snake... but upside down due to front breaking too much. It was not even a dangerous one.
A warning for shorter riders (or those with ocean liners for feet) when doing low speed turns/figure 8's: TOE CROSS IS A THING!!
Tell me about it, I still catch my foot on the front tire all the time and then I have to point down to free myself
As a dutchie, it is a standard to do these thing
For some of the items (slow speed in particular), if you use clipless pedals, consider switching to flats until you're pretty comfortable in case you have to put a foot down. After that, continue the practice with your cleats so you know how to unclip quickly and are still comfortable.
Riding the line on the side of the road is a partial substitute (and good staring practice) for riding the curb, but be sure to ride slowly while doing it.
Don't bunnyhop actual rattlesnakes folks. Bad idea. 👀 🐍 Fun episode. 😁👍These were all considered must learn skills when I was a teenager, along with the trackstand.
THIS! No real snakes were bunny hopped in the making of this video 👀
One thing I like to do is ride hands free up an incline where I'm in low gear and having to use some exertion on the pedals. I may only be going 7 mph but I find it great for enhancing my balance.
It's amazing to me how quickly most of these have come back to me, having not ridden much since my teens until now (I'm older than Si, but not by much!) Never been good at the no hands riding though. The bunny hop is a very useful one, much of my local NCR is tree lined and there are roots under the path that are like very big speed bumps to a bike.
Si's mountain biking skills are showing from the bunny hop
Any excuse to show off his skill! 😁
I also think it’s important to learn how to bunny hop on flat pedals.
Do you have any tips for this? I am a flat pedal rider (on a roadie) and i cant figure it out..
@@relicbane you raise the front wheel way higher than you think. You'll pretty much be jumping upright. When you push the handlebar forward, the rear wheel will come up as well.
@@DMurdock thanks! I’ll try some more. Ive been able to jump the entire bike like how the TDF riders sometimes do to jump on kerbs at high speed, but i think thats a little different from bunny hops which can be done at lower speeds… right?
Very good video. All very necessary skills. Too many people lack a lot of those. The looking back and steering away is a thing I encounter too often.
Peter Sagan bunny hopped onto a piece of "road furniture," then off again to get into a better flow of riders once during a Tour de France stage, 6 years or so ago. After that, the UCI banned the move. Darn. It was a good move. Kinda like the time Lance Armstrong cut across that field to make up time in a stage. That was probably banned, too. The UCI takes all the fun out!!
You forgot wheelies, track standing and stoppies!
This could work as a game of B.I.K.E. Already some Gmbn and gcn CX videos. Let's do one for roadies please.
When you want to look back and someone is riding next to you, touch his/her shoulder while looking back. This makes sure that you keep riding parallel and not ride into each other.
*go on then KING..... GO THEN AND THRIVE KING RICHYRICHERDSON THE III*
Riding gravel will get you real comfortable at bunny hopping.
Simon Richardson's road bike party? 😂
And I was very proud of myself when I didn’t fall awkwardly on my side, because I forgot to click out 😅
Am I the only one annoyed he didn't cover bunny hopping without clipless pedals?
Whenever I bunnyhop (on a road bike) people say I’m damaging the fancy carbon frame and rims, is that true?
Ok now combine it: on a straight line, go hands free, look behind, then bunny hop. 😂😂😂
We had a junior on our team that could bunny hop railroad tracks, to clear both rails. To show off, he would do a BMX style "kickout", while doing it.
Finding a spot to practice skills or "session" as the cool kids call it definitely translates to better bike handling skills! It's also good old fashioned fun... I'm 41 and still practice wheelies, bunny hops and trying to ride on lines constantly!
Never too old for a wheelie! 🙌
If you can't do these things and you aren't trying to learn them, you should quit cycling and take up speed walking.
I also mountain bike, which naturally helps for most of these.
I casually bunny hopped a pothole on my road bike once, not knowing a constructiom signaller was looking my way. He made me stop and gave me a fist bump 😂
I wish I learned the bunny hop before. Yesterday I fell while riding over a cat running through my weels. Bruisend ribs and broken collar bone as a result. :)
Cycling home from the pub when pissed.
Scoffing a ring doughnut on the bike without biting fingers- sounds esay right… Try it on gnarly gravel
Hahaha well now, you bring that bike on down here to the bike park we'll show what tricks are hahaha
Keepemcoming
Don't tempt him! Si can do some pretty sick skids 😎
As someone who has fallen badly and doesn't want to again, trying to ride on the curb seems supremely foolish.
Venomous snakes 😂 you need to visit us here in Australia Si!!!!
How would you bunny hop without the clip-ins/clipless?
Ride gravel. It really teaches great skills. Number one - look ahead at where you want to go
Or when you're an adult teaching kids to ride longer trips and you end up going in circles waiting on "another" break!
is feather going to climb the pozza san glisente? i have tried it and it was atrocious😂.
No hands is really good. I feel it's most useful when I'm out on a really long ride and need to change my clothing in some way, zip or unzip a jacket for instance. and also, if you are on a many hours ride, it's a really good way to change your position, it feels very good when you've been hunched over the bars for a few hours.
Nothing feels better than that mid ride stretch 🧘
Essential for riding along our wonderful NYC infrastructure - hopping over every crack, every pothole, every curb, my SS frame can take it.
Must look cool too 😎
How is it possible to get the back wheel off the ground if you ride flat pedals?
Another skill covered on a previous GCN video is standing still on your bike. Helpful at traffic lights when you don’t want to unclip because you can see it’s about to turn green.
You look incredibly young, not like 40 years old at all!
good thing I knew the 1,2 and 4th, but there were only 5 what??
That looks like a really venomous snake! I would not want to encounter that in one of my rides!
I'm pretty new to road cycling, so pretty much all of them 😅
Swerving to the left I see..... the skills were impressive too
When can we buy the snake in the GCN merch shop?
😂 i am Dutch so these skills i owned at the age of 5 be honest not the bunny hop😅
I already ride really slowly, I have the race results to prove it.
Damn! I can’t do any one of these skills😢
I don't know how to hop for some reason but I can do most of the rest. For some reason when I try to hop, the front goes up and the back just stays. I am hoping like the other bits I just figure it out as I go along.
Bunny hops can be tricky! Let a young Dan show you the way 👉 ruclips.net/video/-nOu5TYGvoU/видео.html
I just figure it out the other day while putsing around after a couple beers. The best way I could describe it is by trying to scoop your feet out from under yourself. Imagine jumping in the air and your toes flinging dirt behind you as you do it. Basically you’re just trying to apply a rotational force in the direction you want the real wheel to go. You’re not going to actually move your feet, but that’s essentially what the motion feels like.
Practice without being clipped in to avoid bad habits
Well the bunny hop would take awhile to learn for me
That's a beautiful Canyon 😅
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
The problem I have with riding slowly my foot catches the front wheel and gets jammed and I fall off I have to really think about it
Sorry, but your frame is too small then.
@@tomahoks Sorry, but it does not mean that the frame is too small. Actually, most of the steep head tube road frames will have toe overlap even if the bigger frame sizes.
@mikefisher9895 You just have to learn how to avoid catching the front wheel with a foot. Look carefully how Si did that - in a turn he only pedaled with his inside foot, backing it at the bottom of the stroke and repeating again, instead of moving the outside foot forward.
I literally ran over a snake last week..
One scary venomous snake 6:19
Top tip: buy a unicycle.
There are two helmets at 2.24
The iconic glasses are gone.