Help with cycling!

I used to work in bike shops and actually taught several adults how to ride. Some people never had bikes as kids so they never learned. In general it is easier for kids to learn but it isn’t that difficult for adults. I managed to get most adults riding in 1 day.

The way I taught adults to ride was to remove the pedals (remember that the left pedal has left hand threads so you turn it clockwise to loosen and anti-clockwise to tighten) and lowered the seat enough so they could touch the ground. After they scooted around a bit I challenged them to lift their feet while moving to see that they didn’t fall over. Then I showed them how to use the hand brakes. Once they were comfortable lifting their feet while coasting and using the brakes I took them to the top of a downgrade where they could coast a bit. When they were comfortable coasting I’d put the pedals (remember there are different threads on the L and are pedals so don’t mix them up or you will ruin your crank) but not raise their seat and get them to pedal. Once they could pedal I’d raise the seat a bit and teach them how to get on and off of the seat properly.

Steering on a bicycle is usually accomplished by leaning rather than turning the handlebars. Think of the handlbars as someplace to rest your hands and think of your hand’s job as stabilizing the handlebars rather than steering. The exception to this is when you are traveling slowly, when going slowly you will need to steer with the handlebars rather than solely by leaning.

Hope I helped.