On which side do you mount?

RE/

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

Left.

I'd bet it has something to do with left or right-footedness. In surfing, most people stand with the
same foot forward whether they're going left or right on the wave. I think it's the left foot.

Some people ride with the right foot forward, which is (or at least was once...) called
"goofey-foot".

I'd expect goofey-footers to tend to mount from the right side of the bike.

With horses, I'd guess that the horse is a factor too - i.e. the horse might get upset if somebody
mounted from the other side - pure speculation there....
-----------------------
PeteCresswell

Always from left. I've never seen anyone do it from the right, though maybe I just didn't notice.
I'm sure however that George Bush would mount from the right, if he figured out how to do it.

Waldo Hinshaw said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object,
such as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

Generally, if you handle a bike from its left side, you're less likely to get your clothing or legs
soiled by the chain.

Sheldon "Leftist" Brown +-----------------------------------------------+
| I saw a man pursuing the horizon; | Round and round they sped. | I was disturbed at this; |
| I accosted the man. |
| |
| "It is futile," I said, | "You can never--" |
| |
| "You lie," he cried, | And ran on. | --Stephen Crane |
+-----------------------------------------------+ BOB 2/8/95, 12/27/96, 7/28/97, 1/17/99, 8/1/01
manpearl 2/9/95, Tandem
4/11/95, Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗
sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

I ghost-ride my bike then run behind the bike and leap onto the saddle, John Wayne-style!! Yee
haw!!! ;-)

Cheers,

Scott..
--
Scott Anderson

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

Quoted message said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object,
such as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that

I

Quoted message said:

always get off and on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even

sure

Quoted message said:

I could do it from the other side. Is this true for everyone? Like

mounting

Quoted message said:

a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it just random?

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

Quoted message said:

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

To mount, I always stand with the bike to my right, swing and swing my leg over the saddle, put my
foot on the pedal and take off.

To dismount, I most often reverse the above though on rare occasions I choose less desirable routes
like "over the bars", "the old high sided again", or the "at least I didn't high side it."

jon isaacs

Waldo Hinshaw said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object, such
as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

Usually mount from the left, unless I'm already standing on the right. Either way feels fairly
natural. Usually coast left-foot-forward. I'm right-handed. Like most people, I swing my leg over
the rear wheel and saddle; a few people step over the top tube instead. My theory is that people in
the southern hemisphere tend to stand on the right due to the Coriolis force <g>.

Dave Lehnen

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I'm left handed, and I mount on the right side. I *can* mount from the left, not well at all.

george
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[email hidden]
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privon.comprivon.comOpen ↗
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Waldo Hinshaw said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object,
such as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

If I turn left out of the front door, I mount on the right, and vice versa. Dismounting also depends
on the direction from which I arrive back at the house, as I tend to lean the bike against the wall
and get off the opposite side. The same sort of thing happens when I mount and dismount elsewhere,
except for the involuntary dismount over the handlebars. I've just built a fixed wheel bike, and I
haven't learnt the rolling start on that, yet (any tips anybody?), so I mount that while stationary,
rather than push off and throw my leg over, as it were.

JimP

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that

I

Quoted message said:

always get off and on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even

sure

Quoted message said:

I could do it from the other side. Is this true for everyone? Like

mounting

Quoted message said:

a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it just random?

I guess I must be the strange one. I thought about it, and I almost always stand over the bike
first, clip one foot or the other in, pull that pedal up and shove off. I dismount on different
sides, but usually the right since I lean the bikes left side against the wall before I open the
garage door. If/when I stop on the road, I dismount on the left and lay the bike down on it's left
side or lean it against something on it's right side. I'm right handed...

Paul J Pharr

I'm left-handed, and do it from either side, depending where I am at the time. The chain isn't much
of an issue, as I swing my leg over the handlebar to get on, not the top tube.

My guess is that left-handed people are less likely to have a strong preference for one side or the
other, simply because we've had to adapt to a world that is generally biased towards right-handers.
Perhaps that's one of the great things about cycling; it's tough to claim that it favors right or
left-handed people.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreaction.comchainreaction.comOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object,
such as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that

I

Quoted message said:

always get off and on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even

sure

Quoted message said:

I could do it from the other side. Is this true for everyone? Like

mounting

Quoted message said:

a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it just random?

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

Quoted message said:

If I turn left out of the front door, I mount on the right, and vice versa. Dismounting also
depends on the direction from which I arrive back at the house, as I tend to lean the bike against
the wall and get off the opposite side. The same sort of thing happens when I mount and dismount
elsewhere, except for the involuntary dismount over the handlebars. I've just built a fixed wheel
bike, and I haven't learnt the rolling start on that, yet (any tips anybody?), so I mount that
while stationary, rather than push off and throw my leg over, as it were.

JimP

Oops, forgot about the "involuntary" dismount..<g>

Paul J Pharr

In article <[email hidden]>, "Waldo Hinshaw"

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

I mount from both sides but more frequently the left side, and I almost always dismount to the left.
Comes from drilling on mounts and dismounts for cyclo-cross, which I was taught to do from the left
side. Unlike a horse, the bike doesn't care (for all I know, neither do horses).

Waldo Hinshaw said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

Always left for me as well. I used to think it had something to do with the side of the road one
rides on, but as a lot/most Americans seem to get on from the left too, it can't be just that.

There is one big advantage over here, then (in towns at least): We have a handy step to stand on!
...I mean, put bike in road, stand on raised kerb, swing right leg over. And I don't want to hear
anyone tell me that's _not_ how you should mount! :-) It's a great way! Maybe you guys should try it
the other way around to get the convenience from the kerb (or curb).

~PB (UK, right handed & footed)

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

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

I can't speak for other cyclists, but for me, it depends which innocent bystander I'm
aiming to kick.

Yeah I get on from the left too. However, I also unclip my left foot at lights and such. And when
sprinting, I start with the right pedal up. I'm right-handed but left-eyed. Any correlations? If you
ever had a chainring tattoo, at what point did it disappear? Mine just sorta went away after I'd
been riding a couple months. Never really noticed... Matt

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

Quoted message said:

Lurking in this ng is fun, particularly for a pedant like me. It seems the smaller the object,
such as the nut on a presta valve, the longer the thread.

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

I apologize for asking. It is totally unimportant. But I am curious.

"Waldo Hinshaw" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that

I

Quoted message said:

always get off and on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even

sure

Quoted message said:

I could do it from the other side. Is this true for everyone? Like

mounting

Quoted message said:

a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it just random?

You've gotta get on and off on the left side, otherwise you'll frighten your bike.

Regards,

Suzy

--
---
Suzy Jackson [email hidden] suzyj.netsuzyj.netOpen ↗

"Waldo Hinshaw" <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Wed, 19 Feb 2003
21:40:40 UTC

-> My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I -> always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure -> I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting -> a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random? ->

I can and do mount or dismount from either side. preference would seem to be having the bike on the
right but its a slim margin.
--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email hidden]

"Waldo Hinshaw" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

My question relates to TECHnique and not TECHnology. I just realized that I always get off and
on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure I could do it from the other side. Is
this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse? Or do left-handers mount from the right? Or is it
just random?

finally- a topic i'm qualified to respond to!

im right handed, and mount from either side depending on where i am and what's around me. i used to
mount from the same side every time, have no idea which anymore, and then decided to learn to do
both. took me six minutes, and im sure it would be the same for anyone else so inclined.

another poster mentioned fixed rolling starts. if you can trackstand, then you probably have the
slow-rolling balance to pull it off on both sides from any pedal position. however, when i was just
starting, i would put the pedal (on the side i was mounting from) forward before kicking into the
'rolling start'. with clipless pedals, i clip in the foot before i kick off with the other.

cheers

Waldo Hinshaw said:

I just realized that I always get off and on from the left side of the bicycle. I am not even sure
I could do it from the other side. Is this true for everyone? Like mounting a horse?

Always on the left. That's why the kickstand is on that side! ;->

Art Harris