icon said:
Yeah; yawn, I know.
From searching, I know that this is a much-covered topic. However...
I've started trying to shake off the ignominious lamp-post. Going from
advice on RSU, I started with a static mount, pedals at 2 and 8. No
great joy; mostly I was just not able to push forward enough to start
pedalling.
I can do it (occasionally) if I lower the saddle, but I like the
saddle where it is.
You are right, you should leave the saddle at the correct height
(unless you're really desparate). You state that you are "just not
able to push forward enough". That's interesting, because a KEY thing
in the static mount is that you should end the mount slightly ahead of
the wheel in order to be able to ride away. So, what do you mean?
Don't you have enough muscular power or is it a mental thing? If the
former, then 'cheat' by rolling back a bit while one foot is on the
pedal, then roll forward again with some force and use the momentum to
carry you up. If the latter, you must try and 'go for it'. No
halfhearted mounting attempts, but really a determined thing.
Visualise yourself succeeding. As an exercise, try pushing too hard,
i.e. ending up too far forward - this will teach you the sort of range
of 'allowable' force.
Quoted message said:I then tried the roll-forward variant, to give me a bit
more oomph. Over the course of dozens of attempts, I realised I had
started to pull back on the top pedal as I got my weight on the seat.
Hang on a mo' - that's what Charlie Dancey recommends in his book, but
I'd dismissed it as too hard.
I'm not sure if you mean rollback mount, or rolling mount. In the
rollback, you need to pull back on the top pedal. In the rolling
mount, the wheel keeps rolling forward all the time. If it is
something else, please explain.
Quoted message said:So now I'm deliberately starting from a 12 and 6 position, easily able
to get the height to get on the seat and pulling back on the pedal.
This mount is sometimes called the 'beginner' mount. It is not
generally recommendable as you end up in 'dead' position, having
little control. It will take extra time to ride away from dead
position, while in the meantime your 'imbalance' will increase, and
hence become more difficult to correct.
Quoted message said:The
trouble is that 19 times out of 20, I'm ready to go in the front/back
plane, but off balance sideways, invariably (mounting with my right
foot low) to the left. Because my left foot (that I'm pushing off from)
is offset to the left, there's lots of scope for error).
Again, it seems to me that you're not pushing off hard enough. You're
right that if your left feet is still on the ground, you'll tend to
lean to the left. So, your left foot should push off harder,
especially in the lateral direction, i.e. to the right. That should
bring you to the correct position sideways. In the learning process,
try going too far to the right. No bad things will happen, but it will
give you a feel for how much force is right.
Quoted message said:I'm starting
to feel that I would be better learning to idle first - at least that
way I could correct the lean!
It may help. In idling, sideways imbalance is corrected by steering.
Same as in riding. And, same as in riding away after a mount. I
wouldn't entirely give up the freemounting practice if I were you, but
throwing in some idling practice can keep boredom at bay, and be
helpful at the same time.
I've tried to address your specific questions.
General freemounting tips in the pdf document downloadable from
http://www.xs4all.nl/~klaasbil/uni_beginners.htm .
