So I suck at starting on a hill. Particularly at an intersection/in traffic. Say I don't have the luxury of making a downhill start with a u-turn. Any tips for getting going on a steep start? I'm determined to master this because it's really just embarrassing.
I’ll add my two-cents- I find it hard to start if I’m in too “low’ a gear. I think being in a slightly higher gear makes it easier to start because you move the bike farther (more gear inches) with your first push of the pedals. Since you move farther you end up having more momentum, thus more balance. Of course you don’t want to be in too high a gear either which most people avoid, but most people don’t think of the too low scenario.
My usual technique is A) geared slightly higher than I should be as Marko mentioned, 
pedal positioned at start of power stroke, and C) holding brake while actively pushing on pedal. I release brake while lifting my off foot, so power is already being applied whilst I get the rest of my limbs sorted out.
[edited to add:] I use this technique on my Bianchi, too...it's not just a 'bent thing, although that's where I learned it.
I never thought of the too low of a gear scenario. Interesting! I am always in my lowest of low gears on a hill thinking that's what's best.
Also Dan, using the brake is a good idea. I use the e-brake trick sometimes when trying to get started on a steep hill in my car (manual). This makes perfect sense on a bike too.
this is probably not helpful, but I mostly do what Marko said, unless it involves the break like reddan is talking about, then I pull myself out of harms way first (like shoulder or sidewalk or something), then monkey about with getting going. But I'm not so great at it either.
One thing that helped me when I was even worse at it was reading sheldon brown's advice on starting (not hill specific, but it made hill starts much easier for me). he had some pointers on which foot to start with that were interesting. http://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html
He seems a bit negative about the techniques he doesn't recommend, but I do like his recommendation. (I don't start with the pedal at 45 degrees, though, I start with it as high up as it will nicely move forward, which is around 70 degrees)
As Dan said, the "power position" is about 10:30 o'clock. If you're using pedal bindings, you want to be able to pedal without clipping in, or to be bang-on in your ability to clip in immediately.
Gear selection is critical. Knowing which gear is right is something that comes with experience. Of course, if after half a stroke you realize that you're in the wrong gear, you can just coast to a stop and choose a better one. If you're in the wrong gear when you've stopped, you can get into the right gear by lifting your seat with one hand and pedaling with one foot until you've got into gear. This is very difficult without pedal bindings or toe clips. If you don't get your bike into the proper gear and you're trying to shift at the same time as you start up the hill, you will make horrible clashing noises, tear the edges off your gears, throw chains or even break them.
Of course, you need to be able to start properly on the flats. If you can only start by doing a "circus mount", you'll be SOL on hills.
The video on Sheldon's page (i think the video came from John Allen, though I'm not positive) shows the model starting with her right foot. I try to teach people to start with the left foot if they possibly can, because it's a tiny bit safer to stop with your right foot down instead of your left. Tiny, but every little bit adds up.
Ejwme, the difference between 45 and 70 (11:20) is that either 45 lets you start out in a slightly higher gear than 70 does, (so you don't have to shift immediately on getting started) or it's easier on your knees. But certainly there's room for individual preference. I think I split the difference, myself.
Starting with the pedal in a lower position is helpful if you don't really want to ride away, you just want to mount into a track stand, or a very slow speed. For instance, after the light turns green but before the car in front of you is really moving.
I've got speedplays on my road bike and spds on my commuter bike.
I always stop with my right foot down because I have an injured left ankle and it hurts to twist it in and out.
What is a "circus mount"?
It's the thing that they do on trick horses - standing in the stirrup with your left foot and swinging the right back and forth over the saddle. Also called a "cowboy start." It's pretty common.
I saw whomever was riding with gimpPAC on B2W day doing that. Don't know if she's on these boards, and not to point fingers -- just an example.
What is a "circus mount"?
Watch Nick mount the tall bike.
Oh man I could never do that. I can't do the flying dismount thing either. So no worries there.
I'd guess that the fit and adjustment of your cleats would make a big difference.
Lyle - I start not so much with the force needed or gear in mind, it's more so I have more "time" (pedal stroke) to get my other foot sorted out. I do not have clips or clipless or whatever, but my pedals have a top and bottom to them (so the white LEDs go in front and the red LEDs go in back, and my foot comes into contact with the grippy bit rather than the rounded slippy bit). I learned that if I started at 45, my eyeballs and other foot were the bottlenecks in the process and I felt as elegant as an ostritch swimming butterfly stroke.
Hmm... I think I just made the "too low" gear argument to myself, now I'll have to go play with it when I get home.
So to put in my 2 cents:
I'm right handed. I start with my left foot clipped in and at the 10:30 position. I then push hard against the ground with my right foot to get the bike moving. Then as I'm bring my right foot up to the pedal, I start pedaling with my left. The cadence here (according my cadence sensor) is on the order of 30 rpm.
I don't clip my right foot in until I'm going at a 'decent' clip and am confident I'm not about to topple... perhaps 3mph. (I usually push with the heel of my right foot instead of near the clips, but I think that is just a bad habit for me.)
Usually I'm in my lowest gear, or if not I'm about 2 down from where I *think* I should be. So I guess I'm opposite everyone else in that for me lower gears are better.
However, as I said in the other thread the key for me was learning to be able to go slowly. And for me, that is all about not over thinking what is going on and trusting my body to not let me fall. But YMMV on that....
Yesterday (Pedal Pgh)I restarted on Beltzhoover once, and once each on the last 2 hills on Virginia with no problem using that technique. I've also used on grades up to 20% ... but in that case there was a little wobbliness (and one fall).
yup. Higher gears give you more time.
Also, you should be able to get your pedals to the proper side without looking, or barring that, pedal weakly on the "wrong" side of the pedal. When riding through an intersection, you don't want to be futzing with pedals. This is the reason I ride double-sided pedals in the city (and why some people reject clips/bindings altogether)
If after practice, you still can't do it without looking, then maybe it's the pedals' fault. Single-sided pedals should have a heavy and a light side, so they naturally hang with the "top" facing backward. If yours don't do that, modify them, or scrap 'em.
(myddrin: try to practice not pushing with your right foot. It's no big deal when you're riding alone, but if you're ever riding in a group it makes a difference. Again, the right gear is probably the critical factor here.)
Marko82's advice is SPOT ON!!!
He couch me on going up the steep hills on Mt Washington yesterday, and yes... start with slightly high-gear and move to lowest then!! Don't start too high because you will lose power-momentum when trying to change at the last minute!
Lyle - mostly they're fine (I can get the right side without looking, they mostly drift to the appropriate side, and I can pedal briefly on the wrong side). Especially when I ride with "normal" shoes, I don't have to worry. But over winter, with steel toed boots on, and in those temperatures/salt/grit/nasty, I had to look to avoid slipping and causing myself extra headaches. Second biggest regret from last winter was not shelling out for neoprene socks or discovering bread bags sooner. Steel toed boots make cycling only slightly more fun than invasive dentistry without good drugs.
I guess I picked up some lousy habits on the new pedals in crap shoes that, in addition to starting in too low a gear, I need to ditch/re-examine. I love how much you guys make me really think about why I do what I do on a bike.
The circus mount is just about the worst way you could mount a bike.
I am happy to show people the flying dismount. It's actually pretty easy.
haha Lyle, who were you? I don't know if we officially met (if we did I apologize - lack of memory). She was my bike pool buddy, pretty sure she can use other methods to start, but it's funny, she can do the circus mount, I can only do the circus "dismount". Together, we can have a show!
Starting from a stop at the bottom of a hill sucks... I guess I generally go into it with a slightly harder/higher gear, based on the grade, since I generally start by standing on my pedals... I have toe cages, and keep the right foot in all the time. Once I get the momentum I try to flip the pedal around to get my left foot in too. I've practiced on the flats so I can do that pedal flip by feel, but I still find myself looking down.
From @Lyle
myddrin: try to practice not pushing with your right foot. It's no big deal when you're riding alone, but if you're ever riding in a group it makes a difference. Again, the right gear is probably the critical factor here.
I can see where that (pushing off, potentially at an angle) would be a problem. I'll work on it next time I have to stop.
From @ejwme:
I love how much you guys make me really think about why I do what I do on a bike.
Double-plus on this. One thing I noticed during yesterday's ride is that I'm a much, much better rider than I was last year. (And that's even though I'm riding less than I was this time last year.)
And that is almost all due to stuff I've picked up from the people here...either on-site on in-person.
