Just checking that I’m not going mad.

I find it easier to do a coasting front wheel lift (AKA manual) on my Solaris than I do on the Five. Despite the Solaris having longer chainstays a bigger BB drop and bigger wheels. All other relevant measurements (e.g. reach etc) are pretty much the same. This is just the suspension on the Five absorbing some of the force when I try to push with my legs, right?

Yes, pretty much.

Its easier for me to pop the front wheel on my Superlight than my 5 Spot for the same reason. But its easier to hold a manual on a full sus as the suspension gives you a bit more of a margin to find the balance point. All in theory of course, I’m crap at manuals

Depends on the suspension design, some are better at sticking to the ground than others. I found single pivot bikes not especially good at manuals or jumping. If you preload slightly before lofting in a sort of “push down on the front then lift whilst pushing down at the rear” motion then it helps.

Interestingly I find it easier on my 26″ wheel Specialized Enduro than on my Solaris. I can feel how far back the rear contact patch is on the Solaris and it makes it harder to get your weight up over it.

Thanks folks. I guess it makes sense. If you are trying to lift the front wheel (at least in part) by pushing with your legs then rear suspension is going to reduce that effect. It’s just all this stuff you read about 29ers being harder to manual. But I guess that’s “all things being equal” which they never are.

Suspension design is an interesting one. I had an old 26″ Trance and I found it much easier to lift the front wheel on that than on my Five, despite both the chainstays and the reach being slightly longer on the Trance. I’ve always put that down to the overall wheelbase being higher on the Five (harder to lift a wheel that is further away), but maybe suspension design plays a part there too.

I think a big part of the problem is that on a Five the BB to rear axle distance gets longer as the suspension compresses, so the more weight you shift back over the rear wheel the more the contact patch runs backward away from you.

find it easy enough to lift the front wheel on my five. too easy sometimes. Much harder on my 29er hardtail

My c456 almost wants to lift the front on its own, whereas my Nomad I find tough to do so.

The c456 however is a long frame and seat angles back more than the Nomad, so I’m weighted back on the hard tail compared to the full sus. Though the full sus has a longer travel fork and slacker generally.

Still, the plush suspension on the Nomad means I can just unweight and ride over things rather than need to lift the front. Well some of the time.

I’m pretty useless at manualling anyway. I can do the body push and hop the front over things, but a wheelie style manual no. As for getting the rear off the ground… only when the trail sends it in the air, not through my own efforts 😀

Geometry makes a huge difference. I had an old head down, bum up Orange Clockwork and it’s a nightmare to even lift the front. My present 29er is also XC orientated, but as it has more modern geometry is dead easy in comparison. However, neither are easy compared to some of the more relaxed bikes out there.

No, you’re not going mad roverpig.

It certainly feels slower to lift the front wheel on my full-suss compared to the HT. On the HT, I lean back a bit and only need to flick the bars up…on the full-suss you sort of have to compensate for the suspension, and this delays things a bit. I actually have the same problem in lifting the rear wheel – it’s quicker and easier on the HT. Net result is that I pinch-flat rear tyres on my full-suss just as much as on the HT as I’m not flicking the rear wheel up quick enough to clear slab drainage channels.

Other difference is that the seat angle is more relaxed on my HT compared to the full-suss – helps you pivot backwards.. I think some full-suss frames have comparatively steeper seat angles than HTs.

I’m also shite at wheelies/manuals….should have practised more as a child on my BMX !

It gets even easier if you lock the forks out.

Try a few with full bounce on your forks.

Then do a manual with it locked out, you’re guaranteed to probably 95% of the time maybe loop out, every time.

Funnily i find it easier on my full sus but it probably because of the 30mm stem putting my weight further back.