Learning to ride a bike: tips for staying balanced?

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I've been looking through threads here, and did come across a year-old thread on the topic, but I was wondering if anyone else had any input on this...

Anyway... I really want to learn to ride a bike. I've figured out that driving is probably not the preferred mode of transportation for me, given that my spatial perception is horrible and I have a tendency to space out behind the wheel because of all the visual overload... anyway, yeah, I have no plans to bike on busy roads, but getting around UGA's campus (which is a mile and a half from one end to the other!) would be a lot easier, for instance.

Only problem: my sense of balance is awful. I've actually tried to practice biking, having someone hold the bike upright from behind and then letting go and letting it coast... and I always managed to fall down as soon as they let go. I had marginally better success when I allowed myself to put a foot on the ground and 'kick-start' the bike like a scooter, staying upright for a couple seconds... but still, I couldn't get it up to speed enough that it automatically stayed balanced like people say it should.

So that's why I'm asking. Does anybody have any good tips for learning to stay balanced on a bike? My biggest problem is that I don't know what it feels like to be balanced; indeed, I don't realize I'm starting to fall over until I'm already well into the fall. This, needless to say, is a bit of a problem!

Not sure there is any way to explain it.
Have you ever seen a gyroscope? It's the same principle, conservation of angular momentum.
It doesn't take much speed to keep the bike upright. Once you believe that, it will be very easy.
Probably the best thing is to just work on your sense of balance. Moving only slightly and learning to compensate as soon as the bike starts to lean. Having someone hold the bike is probably not good, because you need to be able to feel its movement.

Goodluck
After looking at your website, I pray there are no typos in the above.
Where is UGA?
I'm moving to the Atlanta area.

I can't ride a bike to this day. The concept of a person balancing on two thin rubber tires just baffles me. I prefer driving or riding a bus.

Ride faster. If you go too slow, you will fall off. It is a matter of physics. Seen those racing motorbikes going around corners with the motorbike at a ridiculous angle to the road? The only reason they can do that is because they have sufficient velocity. If they tried to do it too slow, they would fall over.

Two tips: One, take the pedals off and lower the saddle until both feet can reach the ground easily, and you use a bike like a Draisine (the precursor to the bicycle, named after its inventor, von Drais). Purpose built draisines are now being built for kids to learn. See http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/like-a-bike.shtml. The idea is that you (or the kid) can first just walk, then take longer steps with both feet off the ground between steps, and so on. You can easily put one or both feet down at any time, and so long as you don't go faster than you can run, you should never have any problem. Kids who have serious trouble learning with either assitance wheels or with someone holding them up can use a draisine to learn balancing in a day or so (kids are fast at that sort of thing, count on taking a bit longer). I am not aware of any such machine being built for adults, but taking the pedals of a bike with a low enough top tube (most moutnain bikes will do just fine) should do the job, be cheaper, and you can turn the thing into a bicycle once you have learned to balance.

Oh, and you will need a chain tool, to take the chain off as well, because the front chain ring will come off with the right pedal. If you are unfamiliar with bikes, there are several bike maintenance books. I learned that sort of stuff as a kid, so I haven't used a book, but I once saw a copy of Richard Ballantine's book, which looked pretty good. Or just get it all done at a bike shop. Taking pedals and chain off should take somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes. If you want the bottom bracket spindle (the bit to which the pedals are attached) out as well, to protect your ankles, that should be another 15 minutes job.

Alternatively, just give up on balancing. If you look elsewhere on the Kinetics site, you can find recumbent tricycles (http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/scorpion.shtml and http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/kettwiesel_ride.shtml). There are other brands as well, Greenspeed and Trice both have very good reputations, but are not cheap. Upright tricycles exist as well. They tend to be cheaper, but you need to be more careful when cornering because of the higher centre of gravity.

i learnt to ride a bike when i was 6. my brother taught me.
becfore this age i used a red and yellow tricycle.
my then 10 year old brother put some stabalizers on a bike that my mum had bought for me but id never much been interested in.. it was pink one witha basket on the front.
i did get on it and i did ride it. because it had the stabalizers on it was easy to ride it. (just in case - stabalizers are 2 wheels, each with a metal rod that fit on either side the back tyre to keep you upright.

i rode the bike wth stabalizers till i was about 8, then my brother took them off and wanted me to learn without them.
i fell off a few times when i started, because i didnt start right and i rode too slowly.

i learnt to put m foot on one pedal first, then push forward and set off and then put the other foot on the other pedal, then keep pushing one foot down then the other foot down.
i stil fell off occasionally after this but not often. i remember once riding over a drain cover and falling off and it really hurt. to this day i avoid riding over drain covers, even though i know they'll be ok to ride on lol

agree, pedals off. lower seat and push around with feet until comfortable with balance point. you'll be fine. sensory overload? look where you want to go (not where you don't! sounds obvious i know!) good luck

I once knew a girl who couldn't ride a bike at age 20+, still the thought stumps me.
You need speed. The better you are, the less speed is needed to maintain balance.
It's only really difficult to balance on a bike if it's standing still. I can pull that off for almost half a minute without putting down a foot.
The idea is, as with everything else, to be dynamic.
You can take a bike and just roll it along, and it will keep itself upright, until it bumps into something or loses speed.
When you sit on it, it'e exactly the same thing, but you must make sure that it doesn't bump in to anything or loses speed.
You shouldn't try to rigidly balance it perfectly, because no one can do that.
Instead, when you're pushing down the right pedal, the bike will lean to the left and you will lean to the right, and vice versa.
Constant correction with the handlebar is required, and this is where I'm guessing you have a problem, because you need to be able to constantly make minor adjustments, turning a bit too the side that you're leaning too much toward.

To practice your balance, I suggest taking TaiJi maybe?
When I started doing it, my balance became a whole lot better.

When I achieve speed, and the road isn't too complicated, I usually let go of the handlebar and lean back a bit.
It's more comfortable for my back, and if I'm careful, I can use my hands for other things.
This is not recommended, though, not even if you're adept.
The secret is as I said before. Give the bike speed, and it'll cruise along on it's own.
And if you want to turn, you just lean over to one side and the front wheel will automagically turn that direction.

This is something you must learn as well. Lean IN to the curve, since the centrifugal force wants yo drag you OUT, so you have got to compensate.
If you sit straight up, it's almost imporrible to turn.
Leaning is, as mentioned before, a very important part of biking.

As for sensory overload, I never had any problem with it, just looking around anywhere, but mostly on the ground a few yards ahead of me and checking out further ahead for obstacles.

Im 20 and still cant ride a bike, maybe Ill learn someday but it was the same for me as it is for you that I just fall down right away. Granted the last time I tried to learn i was like 11.

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I do not remember how I learned but it took many trys and jumping off and or falling off before I got a sense of balance. I still do not like riding down hills. A one speed bike no hand brakes only back pedal to stop brakes was not as hard as a muti-speed bike to learn and that that might help you maybe.

It'll also be easier for you if you put on weight. Large people only need to shift slightly from side to side to remain balanced. Skinny people need to make much more drastic movements to accomplish the same weight-redistribution effect.