Diamond Power Products R30NT, R30ST owner manual Metro

Foot Starting Postition

release the brake, and push forward firmly on the pedal. As you start moving, lift your other foot up and keep ped- dling. At first you probably will wobble a little, but don’t panic and tense up! Just relax and concentrate on making small corrections with the handlebars. The most com- mon beginners' error is to overcontrol the bike, ending up steering a set of “S” curves down the lane. If you relax and let your hands sit lightly on the handlebars, you will find it easier to avoid this syn- drome. Lean back! You are

probably trying to lean forward, to mimic that "other" type bike you've been riding. Another common first time mistake is to stare at your feet — after all, you’ve never seen them before! Look ahead, see the scenery you’ve been missing.

Once you’re riding smoothly in a straight line, it’s time to practice looking around. Now don’t laugh, I’m not being funny nor condescending. Compared to a traditional bike you will find yourself looking at the world from a whole new perspective, a comfortable one. The biggest problem you will face is keeping your mind on the road. Since you are riding in a relaxing reclined position it’s all too easy to forget about everything except the scenery in front of you. Looking behind you is not difficult, but it does take practice. As you ride in a straight line—and are sure you’re not about to take a long ride on a short pier—practice swinging your head to the left and right, taking quick glances behind you. The first time you do this you will inevitably shift your weight and hand position, causing the bike to swerve. Don’t panic, this is why we are practicing in the park instead of a congested street. While many riders like to use a helmet or bicycle mounted mirror—and we sell a beautiful unit that mounts onto the handlebar, see Chapter four of this manual— it’s important to be able to actually look around behind you. This not only gives you options on checking out traffic, but practicing this will increase your skills and confi- dence on the bike.

At this point you should be feeling pretty good about life, zooming along nice and com- fortable, relaxed and thinking about how much fun you are going to have on this thing. Well don’t get too cocky yet. Before you hit the open road there are a some more exer- cises you should do. Practice circling, both to the right and to the left. Start out with gentle curves, and progress to tighter and tighter radius “U” turns. You should really try to master turning slowly in as tight a curve as possible quite a few times, this gets you ready for the real world of poor directions and detours. If you find yourself wobbling or jerking the handlebars around, you are probably too tense. Relax, let your hands grasp

Metro

Brake Lever

Shifter

Stem

Handlebar

	Headtube
MainFrame	Front
	Fork

Idler

(R30NT only)

Crank &

Chainrings

16 5