How can I learn to do a wheelie?
- Thread starter tarczan
- Start date
it's hard to describe..tarczan said:
You have to put your weight enough to the rear of the bike that the front tire is very 'light' or unweighted. then choose a gear where you have a little power.
as you press down on the pedal (the forward foot) pull up slightly. the front tire should easily come up.
after that you have to practice. at first the tire will hop off the ground or you may flip the bike.... after a while you'll be able to string several strokes of the pedal into a wheelie 'ride'
this site has some good articles on how-to http://www.discovermountainbiking.com/index.asp
There are 2 main skills you have to learn to be able to wheelie & then progress to manualing (wheelies without peddling) Mark has picked up on the first one which is to lean back untill you get the front high enough for it too seem light, this is called the balance point.
Firstly though just put it in a nice low gear (3rd or 4th on middle ring) & move off at a nice slow speed, now use your main foot foward peddle stroke to lift the front up.
Once you get that sorted move on to finding the balance point, you will more than likelly find you can do a few metres but to keep it going you have to increase the speed your peddling, this is wrong as when you do that it means the front isnt high enough.
Now is the time to use the 2nd skill you must learn which is feathering the rear brake, this will let you find the balance point without coming off the back of the bike, the trick is to lift the front higher than you think & lean back & as soon as you think you have gone a little to high with the front & its going to tip back dab the rear brake (press it very lightly), this will pull the front down so if it goes down to far lean back & put a short burst of power into half a peddle stroke to lift again, this isnt essential to doing short wheelies but if you want to keep them going you have to learn this (its also a lot safer if you learn it as you will never come off the back again).
Once you suss those 2 things which will take practice (best way I found was to go somewhere quiet like a park or car park so you can practice without being self concious of people looking at you) you will be at the point where you can ride on the back wheel and at points stop peddling to slow down your peddle stroke therefor keeping the wheelie going longer.
Once you do that you should be skilled enough to trust your leaning back & braking skill combined with pushing out with your legs/butt (instead of the quick power stroke) & you will find you can travel on the back wheel for short distances (easier on a slight down slope) without even peddling & this looks way cooler than a wheelie.
Some people learn this quick others it takes longer so practice an little everyday & you should soon find your skills improve.
Firstly though just put it in a nice low gear (3rd or 4th on middle ring) & move off at a nice slow speed, now use your main foot foward peddle stroke to lift the front up.
Once you get that sorted move on to finding the balance point, you will more than likelly find you can do a few metres but to keep it going you have to increase the speed your peddling, this is wrong as when you do that it means the front isnt high enough.
Now is the time to use the 2nd skill you must learn which is feathering the rear brake, this will let you find the balance point without coming off the back of the bike, the trick is to lift the front higher than you think & lean back & as soon as you think you have gone a little to high with the front & its going to tip back dab the rear brake (press it very lightly), this will pull the front down so if it goes down to far lean back & put a short burst of power into half a peddle stroke to lift again, this isnt essential to doing short wheelies but if you want to keep them going you have to learn this (its also a lot safer if you learn it as you will never come off the back again).
Once you suss those 2 things which will take practice (best way I found was to go somewhere quiet like a park or car park so you can practice without being self concious of people looking at you) you will be at the point where you can ride on the back wheel and at points stop peddling to slow down your peddle stroke therefor keeping the wheelie going longer.
Once you do that you should be skilled enough to trust your leaning back & braking skill combined with pushing out with your legs/butt (instead of the quick power stroke) & you will find you can travel on the back wheel for short distances (easier on a slight down slope) without even peddling & this looks way cooler than a wheelie.
Some people learn this quick others it takes longer so practice an little everyday & you should soon find your skills improve.
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