vol

HERE (click this link) three bike-mounting methods are mentioned--ready mount, side mount, cyclocross mount. I'll add another one, which I'll call "Seat mount", which means you are seated on the saddle already, feet on the ground, then lift one foot, put it on the pedal and start off. So:
Seat Mount
Ready Mount
Side Mount
Cyclocross Mount
......Any other methods?

Please take the poll--it will be interesting. I'd like to know the pros and cons of each method, especially the impact to your safety and to reducing damage to your bike.

The reverse of each mounting method is naturally how to dismount a bike (except that the side mount and cyclocross mount probably give the same dismount method). I suppose most people mount and dismount the same way?

Discussions on both mounting and dismounting will be welcome!

StephenH

vol

What about dismounting the same way back?

Nightshade

I mount ,and push off, VERY carefully. My knees will not allow otherwise............

BarracksSi

What's a "ready mount"?

mcgreivey

+1

cruisintx

from the link provided:
Ready Mount Method

• 1
  Throw your leg over the middle bar and stand flat-footed with one foot on each side of the bike. You should be standing just in front of the bike seat, and not fully seated yet.
• 2
  Position one pedal at 10:00 and place your foot on the pedal while leaning a little to the other side. Your other foot which is still flat on the ground will help you keep your balance.
• 3
  Push down with the foot on the pedal, and stand up on it at the same time. This will raise you up and allow you to sit on the seat.
• 4
  Place your other foot on the pedal, push forward and you are riding!

vol

Did you read that web page I linked? It's there. I'm copying them in different order to fit my poll order, and add my "seat mount" definition:

Seat Mount Method
(Applies only if your foot can touch the ground while seated on the bike)

• 1
  Get on the saddle with one foot (usually the left) on the ground, the other (righ) foot on the pedal. You are solidly seated on the bike now.
• 2
  Push the pedal with the ungrounded foot, and the other foot leaves the ground.

Ready Mount Method

• 1
  Throw your leg over the middle bar and stand flat-footed with one foot on each side of the bike. You should be standing just in front of the bike seat, and not fully seated yet.
• 2
  Position one pedal at 10:00 and place your foot on the pedal while leaning a little to the other side. Your other foot which is still flat on the ground will help you keep your balance.
• 3
  Push down with the foot on the pedal, and stand up on it at the same time. This will raise you up and allow you to sit on the seat.
• 4
  Place your other foot on the pedal, push forward and you are riding!

Side Mount Method

• 1
  Stand on the left side of your bicycle.
• 2
  Position the left pedal at the 10:00 position (as on a clock).
• 3
  Put your left foot on the left pedal.
• 4
  Push off twice on the ground with your right foot,as this will give you enough momentum to swing your right leg over the seat without falling off.
• 5
  As your bicycle begins to move, swing your right leg over.
• 6
  Sit down on the bicycle seat and pedal away.

Note: If you feel comfortable starting on the right side of the bicycle and pedaling first with the right foot, that's fine too.

Cyclocross Mount Method

• 1
  Wear a helmet. This method is not easy.
• 2
  Start with the left pedal at ten o'clock and stand on the left side of the bike, holding the handlebars.
• 3
  Run alongside the bike, pushing the bike by the handlebars until you get up to speed.
• 4
  When you're ready to mount, jump off the left foot and swing your right leg over the bike. You should land with your right thigh on the seat.
• 5
  Push down on the left pedal and catch the right pedal on its way up.

fietsbob

My Folding bike is as if a step thru, so I use one of those other types, or
more than one..

Rt. pedal ahead of TDC, swing Leg over, push down pedal then rise to the saddle

BF, PL, It's got a Higher BB, so if I have to stop and put a toe down, I have to slide off the saddle.

the Scooter method,
foot on left pedal, push off to get some Momentum.. swing the right over saddle

or being a low top tube, in front of the seatpost.

to get off, I can swing my leg over the top tube, in front, because it's low.

Decades ago did learn the Cross Dismount , Re-mount, but as Races were far away I never tested that .

now I'm old, it doesn't matter..

BarracksSi

Make the link a little more obvious next time.

All that effort for someone to write down all those mounting styles, and I do none of them.

Is it really that difficult? Cripes, is it even necessary for someone to describe all of them step-by-step?

Okay, I'll give mine:

1. Swing one leg over the bike.
2. Bring a pedal to 9 or higher.
3. Stand up on that pedal, which gets the bike rolling and lifts my butt above the saddle at the same time.

Maybe that's like the "ready mount", but why the fourth step?

Funny enough, I was six years younger than the girl in the video here when I started riding like that:
https://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html

The "seat mount" doesn't make much sense unless you're on a cruiser with a really slack seat tube angle.

BarracksSi

Now that I think about it, maybe it really is necessary to teach grownups these days. Sometime after my youth, kids must have stopped riding bikes. I've seen riders hop along one-footed for 10-15 yards before trying to mount the bike. Just a lot of wasted effort, IMO.

Doohickie

I checked other because I frankly don't even pay attention to how I get on.

vol

After step 1, swing one leg over the bike, is your butt resting on the seat, or slightly above the seat? If so, that's "Seat mount". In "Ready mount", your butt is not on or above the seat, but above the tubes (in front of the seat).

mcgreivey

I just get on. Depends on which bike I'm riding, what sort of foot retention I'm using, whether there's traffic around, what kind of surface I'm on, whether I'm carrying a bag over my shoulders or on a rear rack or on the handlebars, how much in a rush I am, baddaddabyaddayadda

And whenever I mount off a swing after a full flip, I wear a cup. Ouch.

BarracksSi

In front of the seat. It's too high to put my butt on it.

I can't imagine doing a "seat mount" unless it's an Electra cruiser or one of those Rans bikes:
https://www.ransbikes.com/Cruz10.htm

vol

It seems to me that if you dismount the bike in the reverse way as the "Ready mount" (the "correct" way shown in Sheldenbrown's video), you have to hit the brake first to stop the bike before dismounting. OTOH, if you do a "Side dismount" (reverse to the "Side mount"), you don't need to stop the bike first. I prefer the latter because that reduces the brake pad wear. Does this sound reasonable or not?

BarracksSi

Define "dismounting", then.

I'm usually standing on one pedal, other foot free, and butt off the saddle before coming to a stop. I wouldn't say that I've "dismounted" yet, though.

StephenH

I checked "ready mount" but I also do the "seat mount", just sort of depends.

I've seen quite a few old pictures where people were riding frames that are huge for them by modern day standards. In some cases, it's kids riding what are either adult or bigger-kid bikes, in other cases adults riding them. I think that is the only reason to do the "side mount", because I'll bet some of those guys couldn't stop and straddle the top bar. And that was all probably a carry-over from the high-wheeler days, for that matter.

Don in Austin

OTHER

I position the right pedal at 6:00 o'clock Place right foot on pedal and push off once or twice with left foot. Swing left leg over and go, commence pedaling with left foot.

Not always, but most often that is how I do it.

Don in Austin

vol

Don, do you mean you are doing the "side mount" from the right (uncommon) side of the bike? It sounds like so--"Swing left leg over".

Neil_B

Or the grownups can teach themselves. That's what I did.

In answer to the OP's question, I use the seat mount. I put my posterior on the saddle, steady myself with my functionally longer right leg, put the left pedal in the 1 o'clock position, and press down with the left foot, raising my right to the pedal as I move forward.

Like 90 per cent of anything I do on a bike, I'm told it's 'wrong', but I've not been able to manage to mount the 'right' way since I learned to ride four years ago. Or at least the way Sheldon Brown said was correct.

va_cyclist

Side mount anytime there's enough room to do it, ready mount in tight or unstable circumstances.

vol

Could anyone respond to my #16 above? If you do the dismount in reverse of "Ready mount" (what Sheldon Brown calls "correct way"), you'd have to brake first to stop the bike? Repeat this each time you dismount and it will increase the wear to the brake pads, unlike side mount, so it's a con?

slowandsteady

Yes, I stop the bike before getting off. I do the ready mount and dismount. Why in the world would you want to get off the bike yet keep it moving unless you are in a circus or a triathlon?

I dismount when I am A. done riding B. stopping for a snack or break C. Stopping to make a repair. All of these things require that I and the bike stop moving, preferably in the same location. None of these things happen very often on a ride so worrying about brake wear is silly. Brakes are there to stop the bike. Saving a couple of bucks every 5 years or so, to increase the risk of injury is also silly.

xizangstan

I dismounted an interesting way day before yesterday... Yup. My front wheel ran over a steel cable about 8 inches off the ground, pressed it down and cleared it fine. But the cable recoiled back up in time to snag my chainring, bringing my bike to a really quick stop. I dismounted head first over the handlebars and face down in the soft mud. But my bike was fine. She flipped up, over and landed on top of me. Now, that's a really novel way of dismounting! You might want to try it some time.