Equilibrio en bicicleta como puedo mejorarlo

Bicycle balance: How can I improve it?

Keeping your balance on a bicycle can be very difficult for some people, especially when you don’t have experience using this vehicle. Balance is something that depends on several factors and that, fortunately, can be worked on. In this article, in particular, we want to give you some tips on how to keep your balance on a bicycle so that you can use it correctly.

What is involved in balance?

As we indicated in the introduction, there are several aspects that are involved in the balance system of the human being. The most important are the following:

  • The correct information we receive through the eyes (sense of sight).
  • The brain’s ability to know the exact position of all parts of our body, especially muscles, tendons and joints (sense of proprioception).
  • The organs of balance in the inner ear (vestibular sense).

Based on this, the balance system composed of the brainstem processes the sensory information and makes sense of it, in conjunction with other parts of the brain. After deciphering the information the brainstem sends the information to the eyes and other parts of the body to move while maintaining balance and allows us to have a clear view while such movement takes place.

How to learn balance on a bicycle

Although the dynamics of riding a bike is something that is not forgotten, the truth is that after not using it for years it is common to lose confidence and have the feeling of insecurity, which makes us more vulnerable and can affect balance. Fortunately, it is possible to improve it. Apart from what we indicated in the previous point, performance on the bicycle depends on the control that the rider exercises over the center of mass. On a bicycle ride, the center of mass is maintained on the two wheels and the base of support is the ground. Steering and body movement serve as a balancing strategy, to find the base of support under the center of mass. The movement, on the other hand, plays an important role because, if the bike leans to one side, our body will do it in the opposite position automatically to compensate. Now, how and how to improve balance on a bike, let’s see!

Work on your balance technique on the bike

Technique is very important to be able to achieve a good balance on a bicycle. Of course, when you are going to use it, equip yourself properly to protect yourself, wear a helmet and knee pads. Keep in mind that the basis of good cycling skills is balance, hence the importance of mastering technique. If you are just starting out, we recommend the following:

  1. Remove the pedals.
  2. Lower the saddle so that your feet are fully supported.
  3. Choose a terrain with few obstacles and no traffic of people or vehicles.
  4. Start the movement by pushing your feet against the ground with short and then larger steps.
  5. Repeat the previous exercise again, but zigzagging.
  6. Start using the brake progressively.
  7. When you have mastered the above, install the pedals without moving the seat and start rolling.
  8. Focus on the control and balance of the pedal stroke.
  9. Raise the seat.

Use a rolling pin

There are more ways to work on stability on a bicycle, and one of the most recommended by experts is to make use of a special cycling roller, such as the ZRoller roller or the RooDol by ZYCLE roller. This gives us the possibility to make use of the bicycle in a fixed place, without the need to go outside. This means that there will be no obstacles in our way, as well as no irregularities in the terrain. You will avoid any surprises! Moreover, you can make use of it regardless of weather conditions and factors that can affect balance and stability, such as wind or wet asphalt. To improve your balance technique, you will have to stand parallel to a wall and lean against it, so that you can support yourself with one hand and start pedaling little by little. In this way, you will progressively gain more confidence.

In addition, once you have mastered the balance perfectly, the roller roller will be very useful to improve your performance on the bike and be able to use it professionally, since you can train comfortably at home and work on your goals. Without forgetting the main advantage of this type of rollers, which are easily removable and give us the possibility of transporting them comfortably from one place to another, which will allow us to use them to warm up in moments prior to any route and even professional tests.

Some exercises to improve your balance

Although we have already answered the question of how to learn to balance on a bicycle, in this section we propose some exercises that can also help you improve your stability on this vehicle:

  • Small pedals with turns: One of the most recommended exercises to improve balance, especially when you already have a better command of the bike, is to work on making small pedals with turns. It is about making small pedal strokes and turning the direction as the bike moves forward, all this with the aim of staying on it as much as possible and advancing as little as possible.
  • Balance without movement: Similar to the previous one, but without pedaling. In this case it is about standing and mastering the movement in relation to your weight and the direction in which the bike tends to go (i.e., leaning to the opposite side and turning the handlebars slightly if you consider it necessary). Try to hold for about 20 seconds without resting your feet.
  • Do exercises without the bike: For example, draw a line on the floor and follow it. You can also follow the line of the tiles in your house without leaving it, placing one foot on it and then taking a step with the other so that it is aligned.

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