Seattle Forrest

A slight uphill makes things much, much easier. Let yourself roll back a few inches, then push forward using the pedal. Don't think of it as pedaling ... more like ratcheting, like in your bike shoes (maybe).

It's harder without a slope, but not impossible. Just takes lots of practice. Instead of practicing in the garage, though, do it at lights and signs.

If you have fenders on, or really just on the front wheel, or if you have a lot of toe overlap, that's going to make things a lot harder.

Just practice at lights. You'll take off sooner, and you'll get the whole range from a few seconds to most of a minute. And don't try to hold the bike perfectly still.

At this point, I can track 'stand' from the saddle.

etw

https://video.bicycling.com/video/Bik...-Skills-Videos

RollCNY

Someone on this very forum made a good point a while back about track standing at stop lights or stop signs: the motorists around you have no idea what you are doing. If you put a foot on the ground, you are stopped, and obeying the traffic laws. If you track stand, it is no different than a rolling stop, which is illegal in many states.

NY has all way stops, and I have gotten into Mexican Standoffs with drivers who start and stop and start and stop, while I am still on the pedals. Even though I am yielding right of way to them, they don't get it until I put a foot down.

Track stands in traffic are the equivalent of smoking your rear tires while stopped at a light on a motorcycle or car. You get a much quicker start.

caloso

I agree with everything in this post except the bolded statement. At least in California, there is no requirement in the Vehicle Code that a cyclist put a foot to the ground. All that is required is a cessation of forward movement. As we have discussed above, a successful trackstand requires rolling backward, if just a few mm, and that by definition is a cessation of forward movement.

I agree with you that it can be confusing to motorists. On the other hand, little kids in boosters seats love it.

Seattle Forrest

Most motorists have no problem when I track stand. They see me stop, and understand. It's maybe one in ten who hesitate more than a split second. (Half the rest would probably run me over if I didn't stop anyway.)

In the rare instance when a driver doesn't seem to understand that I'm stopping because they have the right of way, and waiting for them to go, I nod my head to wave them on. Haven't been able to master the one handed track stand yet. Moving my head from their direction toward where they should go almost always makes it clear. It hasn't been a problem, even if it sounds like it might be one.

Most drivers haven't been on a bike since they were 8 years old, and aren't really concerned with the pedals, just with whether you're moving forward or not.

recursive

Your intentions may not be clear, but it definitely is different from a rolling stop, because you actually stop.

tagaproject6

Uh-oh...here come the interweb lawyers...sic 'em boys!

RollCNY

Ultimately, I am neither for nor against track standing in traffic. I only brought that up as someone had mentioned it in an earlier thread on the topic, and it caused me to reflect on experiences I had had.

Food for thought only. Not interweb lawyer, more internet philosopher. And just like in the famous question, "If a tree falls in the forest and kills a philosopher, does anyone really care?", you get to make your own decision.

cellery

This is exactly why I don't track stand in traffic anymore.

SPlKE 

For a minute there, I thought I died and went to A&S!



Off topic: Hey tagaproject, what's the signifirance of the pic and 28+2 in your sig?

Bob Ross

And that is precisely why, in the Group Cycling Skills series I coach, I discourage trackstands at traffic lights when on group rides. You'll take off sooner...than everybody else in the group!

tagaproject6

Oh, that was a tribute to the team that went down in Afghanistan a few months ago. 30 ops were killed, 2 were personal friends. The flag gif and the "+2" was something of an inside joke.

runningDoc

i have to be honest... in high density traffic situations... like riding around brooklyn and manhattan... track standing is more more harm than good.

you have to move forward/backward about 4-10 inches (basically you have to have a buffer zone around you). so when you start rocking back and forth you could hit the cars that are usually near you.... or worse... the streams of people crossing the street near your bike.

if its not crowded then track standing is awesome and fun... but when you're in chinatown at a red light and people are streaming around both sides of your bike to cross the street you can really peg someone with a wheel.

carpediemracing 

When one track stands without moving noticeably it's very clear you're not moving. If you're rolling more than, say, half an inch forward and backward, and your body or head or bars are moving around, it's less clear.

jsutkeepspining

thats the key, people who are good at track standing make it seems effortless, is more efficient, and very PRO. On the other hand, someone whose just starting rolls back 10 inches and rolls forward 10 inches, which confuses the motorists on the road.

wkg

i do this all the time in my manual transmission car though. just because my clutch is wearing out and it's tough to feather it right.

jsutkeepspining

which one? roll back alot or a little. my dad does that in my car when ever he drives my car (the little movement, but constant pressure on the clutch).

runningDoc

when on really steep hills and bumper to bumper traffic - sometimes you just have to ride the clutch...

the new manual transmissions have that awesome "auto-lock" feature. I was driving a new Mini Cooper in San Francisco as long as you're on a hill and then feather the break the auto lock will kick in preventing rolling backwards.

JamieElenbaas

Ugh - Please don't drive my car then. The hand brake is your friend, my friend.

Seattle Forrest

That's why I always turn the engine off and put the keys on the roadway when I come to a stop sign in my car.

RollCNY

Believe it or not, I was pulled over once for stopping at a stop sign and not having my brake lights come on. Manual transimission, up a mild grade, came to a stop without using the brakes, counted 3, and went, and got pulled over by a cop who was a ways back from me. No ticket, but a lecture about an improper stop.

Seattle Forrest

I was watching The Simpsons once, and Officer Wiggly pulled Homer over because "Your tail light has a short. It started blinking right before you made that turn."

I bought a car once, in Connecticut (where I grew up - a friend found a great deal on a used one), and drove it cross country. I got pulled over in Wyoming because the officer had never seen a CT temporary license plate before. He gave me a ticket that said I did nothing wrong. True story. (The ticket, though, was documentation for him to show that he was doing his job.)

jsutkeepspining

No you just need to learn how to drive a car. Simple as that, i hate when my dad does that in my car, but i would never mention it to him because a) he's my dad and deserves my respect, b) he bought the car so he could ****ing crash it if he wanted and i couldnt say anything and c) i realize its just a car (wow that was painful to type).

runningDoc

hey i'm not proud of myself... but I admitted to doing it. I was driving a really old Nissan Pathfinder with manual transmission and 4 kids (nieces and nephews all under 6 years old) who were hungry, antsy, and squawking at me to hurry my ass up to Safeco Field (we were on our way to a Giants game).

It was a very very steep hill with a stop sign right at the top and there as a cab right on my ass the whole time. I just rode the clutch and lurched onward.

I've been driving manual transmissions all my life around new england, and had a little brainfart in an unfamiliar stressful situation: steep assed hills with lots of traffic in san francisco + lots of precious cargo and a game to get to.

Pete In Az

Ok... Back to track standing...

You say it's easer to do going uphill. Can it be done facing downhill?