Its probably my lack of technique but I need to blame my bikes so….
what contributes to my inability to keep the front wheel down and steer whilst going up hill?
My legs are pretty good but I end up doing an embarrasing commedy 180 part way up the steep stuff!

Meta 5 and Handsome dog HT 120mm forks,It doesn’t matter which.

if its not your fault then you could always say that the stem is too short

sounds like your weight is too far back – wrists down and weight over the front!

lean over the front of the bike more, elbows in, concentrate.

Kev

try moving the seat forward a bit

Have both bikes got standard forks and stems? What length fork is the HD designed for?

What’s your pedalling technique like?

HD is designed for 100mm. I think. Commi is standard with a 15mm longer stem (it was damned short before).
I have moved the commi saddle forward by 10mm but haven’t tried it yet(Friday I will).

I push and the pedals go round!
Not bad I THINK. I don’t slip the back wheel much.Is that a clue?

grip the tip of the seat with your butthole, tuck your elbows in, put your thumbs on top of the grips and drop your wrists & try to put your chest on the stem. also: focus on pulling your feet up rather than stamping down & finally: buy a steel frame singlespeed. Shortly after that your shoulders will be broader & your knob will be red raw from shagging girls.

HTH

LOL @ crotchrocket – oh so true.

imp999, I was just wondering whether your pedalling technique was a bit too vigorous, causing you to wheelie, whereas a sit and spin technique may work better.

As everyone’s said – It’s all about ‘moments of force’ isn’t it? You’ve got to balance both sides of the pivot (or at least make sure the back end isn’t greater than the front!)

More weight forward, more weight further forward, or less weight back, or not as far back.

Probably file that lot under ‘unhelpful’

😉

You’re not riding fast enough.

Select the big ring and batter your way up..!

120mm forks on a 100mm bike will not help.

As others have said, shuffle everything forwards – bum on saddle nose, chin over stem etc.

I push and the pedals go round

– try pushing circles and not just pressing down. If you ride spd you can try practicing one-footed to find out how complete your pedal circle is.

I’ve got a great visualisation for smoothing out your pedalling, but I’ve got to stop giving stuff away or I won’t have anything left to sell.

I am usually in 22/32 up real steep stuff so legs going pretty slow.
I have toyed with the idea of going up one and standing but on a long one I suspect I will die.
A low gear winching technique whilst sat seems best but is it the right thing to do?

It seems very marginal as the front wheel is not waving in the air it is just not steering me.

i find that ballanceing the front wheel so its just scraping the ground comes with practice. You know youve got it dialled when you try turning and realise it has so little weight on it it just skids sideways!

As others have said, its all about shifting weight forewards, either by shifting the saddle forewards or adopting a different position.

Have you tried it with more air in the shock, or pro pedal? Both will steepen the angles marginaly and keep your weight foreward at the expense of grip.

Low (easy) gear, sit, be patient, look to the top.

imp999, you’re in too high a gear (I think), which is giving too much torque to the back wheel, try chosing a lower ratio.

Kramer, he said he’s using 22/32 up the steep stuff, there’s only one gear lower and that might mean buying a new cassette !

Kev

saddle forward, more pressure in shock.

body position.
drop your wrists, tuck your elbows, shift right to the tip of the saddle

or learn to steer on the rear wheel and just wheelie your way up everything.

Doh! I’m making this stuff up as I go along!

Get right forward on the saddle so it’s almost disappearing up your primary orofice.
Chest down towards the bars.
Drop elbows below bars and pull down with your wrists
Pedal in circles, not mashing the downstroke

22/32 – that’s about an 18 inch gear. Either you’re going up super steep stuff – in which case, preventing the wandering is all technique – or you’re just going to slow. Get it in a higher gear and get some speed up..!