When you ride solo, wavering puts you at risk in traffic. With a companion, you can’t ride side-by-side if you aren’t steady and comfortable. And the fastest way to draw unwanted attention from experienced roadies is to wobble in the middle of a group.
You can quickly improve your ability to ride a steady line. These tips will put you on the straight and narrow.
Relax. You need a loose, supple upper body. Be aware of tension in your neck, jaw and shoulders. If you’re rigid, the bike will move in jerks and twitches.
Flex your elbows. By keeping them slightly bent and loose, upper-body movements won’t automatically be transferred to the handlebar. The road’s bumps and jolts will be absorbed, helping the bike float over irregularities rather than flinch and dart.
Of course, staying relaxed is easy to say and hard to do – like when you’re riding between traffic and a ragged road edge. Concentrate on steady breathing to reduce the upper-body tension that pins your shoulders to your ears. By staying aware, you can make relaxation a habit.
Look up the road. Staring at the pavement ahead of your front wheel guarantees you’ll ride like a kid on his first solo voyage. The farther up the road you look, the steadier your bike will be.
You’ll soon learn the technique of “split vision.” This allows your lower peripheral vision to monitor things like potholes and cracks as you pass them, while you focus on a swath 30 to 100 feet ahead.
Watch the line you want your bike to take and your wheels will go there almost magically. Look directly at bad things and you’re likely to hit them.
Practice. Try these techniques by riding along the white line that separates the traffic lane from the shoulder. Relax, keep your eyes up, and see how long you can stay on that thin stripe. It’ll feel smooth under your tires to let you know how you’re doing.
To prove a point, also try to ride the line while looking down in front of your wheel. Wobble city!
Excellent article, and full of cycling wisdom. When mentioning “When you ride solo, wavering puts you at risk in traffic”, it’s also worth mentioning that wavering causes drivers to be significantly more concerned with the possibility of running you over than they normally would, had if you been riding a nice predictable straight line . . . . And of course we as cyclists should aspire to make vehicle drivers’ lives less stressful about our presence on the road rather than more stressful.
Best way to master riding a straight line? Learn to ride rollers! This oldest of old-school indoor training methods has multiple benefits: it will even out your pedal stroke, relax your upper body, and improve your balance. Riding rollers has a bit of a learning curve. You may find yourself on the living room rug a couple times on the first try. Best to start set up in a doorway or between two high-back chairs where you can catch yourself as you waver. Once you’ve mastered the rollers, riding a straight line on the road will seem like second nature. For truly expert points, learn to ride rollers no handed!
GOOD ADVICE..BUT looking 30/100′ ahead is way too close for a straight line or road safety. You will see close when you look far but not the reverse and you can glance down momentarily at any big road hazards. Besides helping with your line you will be able to see and avoid or take advantage of situations rather than reacting to them at the last second. lots of people drive cars that way, you can see them as they react and they never seem to learn the easier and safer way,
Great comments but can someone help me understand why on my new bike I seem unable to control my front wheels. I have barely missed striking a parked car. Our streets often have bike lanes and I wobble around in them
This is new. I have ridden bikers for years-drill feelamatreurish. But never had this problem in4 + years.
New Bianchi step thru bike. Flat handlebars with ends uptiurned. Steel & alloy bike circa 28 lbs
Very wide wobbles. Bike shop supposedl tightened handlebars. No help
Is it me? I
Am now very slightly but not visible tremulous. Is it me or possibly a bike problem?@)
Off the top of my head, I’d look into these things:
1) Make sure both wheels are centered in their mountings (fork, rear triangle.
2) Confirm that the rear wheel tracks *exactly* behind the front wheel.
3) Confirm that the fork and frame are not bent
4) Check spoke tension for (probably multiple) loose spokes (this is a long shot).
5) Ride another bike to make sure it *is* the bike.
This is a significant safety issue… your shop should be willing to help you with the more technical operations. Fingers crossed for you!
I would almost guarantee that the cause is overtight stem bearings,
Lift the front wheel off the ground, hen, whilst holding the front up by the frame (not stem or handlebars), turn the front handlebars left/right. if the handlebars ‘flop around’ and don’t stay pointed in the direction you’ve moved them to, that is Good.
If the handlebars stay pointed toward wherever you left them, then they are too tight (stem bearings).
Loosen the stem clamp bolts and the Ahead cap bolt, swivel the stem around on the front fork stem until there is free movement of the front end.
https://www.bike-components.de/blog/en/2017/04/how-to-adjust-headset-play/
Your new bike should not wobble like that. As a first step, let someone else who is experienced ride the bike. If it does not wobble for them, then it is you. I suspect that it will wobble also for them (since you did not wobble on your former bike). If so, take it back to your dealer and insist that they ride it and fix it.
One of the things that tends to make me deviate from a straight line is looking over my shoulder to see behind me. I minimize (but not eliminate!) the need to do this by using a good rear-view mirror.
I agree with all your suggestions, and I practice them as well!
Good advice but also you can never depend on the rider in front holding their line..
For your safety and the safety of others don’t overlap the wheel in front, Don’t try passing underneath in corners.
I took the motorcycle license training course with decades of muscle-powered two wheel riding. (I needed a motor scooter for commuting on US 1 here on the east coast, and the license-free 49cc scooters just won’t do the trick.)
The instructor hammered some safety tips into us wannabe “bikers”. An important one:
If you’re swerving to avoid an obstacle, DO NOT LOOK AT THE OBSTACLE. Look where you want to go instead. This is perfectly aligned with the advice to look out ahead to keep our lines straight when bicycling.
That training is useful for road bicyclists. I learned lots of good concepts like countersteering.
And, it has to be said, the subculture of wannabe motorbikers is very entertaining to be part of for the 16 hours of training.