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Or if you're not born with good balance are you stuffed?
I've always found it a problem to trackstand, ride very slowly etc. without teetering over, even on 2"+ tyres.
Are there drills/exercises for numpties like me to improve, or am I doomed to be rubbish forever?
You can learn balance. It took me six months of irregular practice to learn to trackstand, but now I can do it and I know what it feels like when I'm doing it 'right'. However, I can barely wheelie because I've never spent the time dicking around in car parks on my back wheel. If I spent more time doing it, I'd be better...
Some people have better balance from the get-go, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are doomed.
Now singing, on the other hand... I'll never be able to do 🙂
Yes.
Look at a fixed spot quite a way away.
Point the bike slightly uphill and off camber so you can pedal forward an inch then roll back.
Bend zee knees.
Practise.
My balance off the bike is awful but i can track stand etc ok, it's probably a practice thing i reckon
My particular frustration is the simple-looking switchbacks on the the climbs at Cannock.
Turning in a bike length? I'll maybe clear 1 in every 5. 🙁
Get a slackline, it'll work wonders for your balance
surely some core exercises regurlarly will help aswell, I used to work with an amatuer boxer and he told me to kneel on one of them exercise balls and when I got good try to stand on it, he said all the boxers at the gym did it and it worked wonders for them
Its one of them things I keep meaning to do next week, and 4 years later.......still not tried it
Get a wobble board
+1 for the slackline. I didn't start with the aim of getting better at general balance - it's just fun. But now that I'm reasonably proficient at it I definitely notice myself being better balanced both on and off the bike. However I sometimes find myself sticking a leg or two out when riding skinnies - surely a bad habit picked up from slacklining!
Yup, I started 'cos it's fun too, ace in summer with a barbecue... Pretty cheap for a reasonable set up too.
What do you use Mowgli?
These days just 20m 1" tape, half a dozen snapgates and some tree slings. 3 mins to set up, 1 min to take down. I have a ton of static rope, pulleys, rigging equipment etc. too but I can't be bothered with that stuff any more, was taking longer to set up than I spent using it.
Sounds similar to mine. I started on a ratchet one till I got sick of having a big lump of metal throwing me off balance!
Ride along the curb..... then once you've conquered that width, move onto the parking lines in a car park.
Put your seat down, bend your knees slightly (lower CoG), and 'kick' the pedals to move forward. Don't fully rotate the cranks just yet, that will come in time.
Get a wobble board
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yoga can help
improve core body strength and help you get relaxed and focused when balancing
Get a pillow, stand on it on one leg, close your eyes, try not to fall over.
Yes. Learning to ride horses really helped mine. Standing on one leg whilst brushing your teeth is a good exercise!
My sense of balance was completely screwed after I broke my hip, all the muscle memory was gone so I didn't have any of the correct reflexes to rebalance. Ended up doing a bit of tai chi chuan which worked a charm.
Quite a few pro horse riders apparently use unicycles to learn balance, or so some article in a horsey magazine I once read said.
Cheap, fun, and my balance is way better - I can happily do tight ropes etc, and I land falls much more safely also
Find a wall. Place front wheel against it at 90 degrees. Get on bike and stand up, using your leading foot to maintain pedal pressure and keep you against the wall. Switch leading foot or wear a heavy backpack to make it harder. Great fun, still can't do it without the wall though!
We all learn balance, every single human on the planet. Its how babies become toddlers.