I've been out of my gravel bike recently and I realized that if I try and treat it like a mountain bike because of the different position it's really challenging. One of the things that I just can't do on my gravel bike is to manual. My weight just seems to be much too far forwards.
Does it really have any suggestions? Is there a special technique to get your weight further back so that you can bring the front wheel up? Even bunny hopping off a curb feels awkward as I'm much too far forwards and land quite heavily.
Is it just a case of giving it time and the skills will develop?
Not sure. I can get up and down kerbs and over small obstacles fine on mine. But then I don't really ride it in many places I'd ride an MTB. A proper manual or full on wheelie I'd struggle with, but I'm pretty crap at them on the MTB too 🤣
The process I'd use is the same as an MTB I guess.
Is yours extra long, or low on the front end? I have my stem flipped with the bars a bit higher and my gravel is a medium whereas any other bike I've had would be what you'd class as a large
Do you have a dropper to get the saddle out the way?
Do you have a dropper to get the saddle out the way?
Sadly it's an aero seat post so I can't easily fit one
Is yours extra long, or low on the front end? I have my stem flipped with the bars a bit higher and my gravel is a medium whereas any other bike I've had would be what you'd class as a large
It's a 54 and the front is fairly low compared to yours, do i just need to try to get my weight back ?
It's a 54 and the front is fairly low compared to yours, do i just need to try to get my weight back ?
I don't know your physical dimensions, but I'd be horribly stretched out on your bike. It looks like a roadie position to me, but I'm 5'11 and all legs. Your weight looks far enough back though with the saddle position tbh. I'm guessing you may well be a bit stretched out, but obviously you'd be able to answer that
I know they’re supposed to be tested to MTB standards, but I still think I’d be quite wary of repeatedly dropping my full weight onto the fork from a height of over a metre.
dropping my full weight onto the fork from a height of over a metre.
that sounds like a combination of awesome skills and bad technique 🤪
That Pinarello bike looks more like a bike for a warm evening ride to Cap de Formentor just take off the wee knobbly tyres and definitely not for UK at this time of year
Like taking a new first date out for a walk up a hill through a stubble field and she turns up wearing a white dress and 👠👠
I don't mind my Black Orbea Gain getting splattered only able to take 1/2 mudguards but wheels and chain etc getting real dirty
It's a 54 and the front is fairly low compared to yours, do i just need to try to get my weight back ?
I don't know your physical dimensions, but I'd be horribly stretched out on your bike. It looks like a roadie position to me, but I'm 5'11 and all legs. Your weight looks far enough back though with the saddle position tbh. I'm guessing you may well be a bit stretched out, but obviously you'd be able to answer that
To be honest I am a little stretched - even a little more or the same as my road bike (which has enduro geometry) but according to my bike fit this is the correct size. If feels perfect to ride but I am a bit wary of going too far off piste just in case I go wrong. I took it down a steep off road slope the other day and it was not as fun as my orange stage Evo. I just need to work out how to get the front unloaded
This thread has to be a piss take
It's a 54 and the front is fairly low compared to yours, do i just need to try to get my weight back ?
It's not just about getting your weight back, you're going to have to work on your hip action. Having looked at the picture of the bike I think you need an intensive course of hip thrust exercises at the gym. Not only will it help your manuals but your booty is going to look so hot in all that lycra
Have you tried this?
Image fail as I'm trying to link to a Reddit preview image!
Anyway, undo stem bolts on handlebar and rotate bars 180 degrees backwards, redo stem bolts and try that.
Every rider in the 80s and 90s who had a road bike and did that with their handlebars ended up doing awesome wheelies...
Wrong tool for the job. /endthread 😉
This thread has to be a piss take
Definitely another case of trying to turn a gravel bike into an MTB. Set it up for manuals and it will probably be terrible as a gravel bike, so why bother, especially a lovely fast bike like that Cervelo!
Definitely another case of trying to turn a gravel bike into an MTB. Set it up for manuals and it will probably be terrible as a gravel bike, so why bother, especially a lovely fast bike like that Cervelo!
I think there's a bit of a difference between trying to set up a gravel bike so you can deal with minor trail obstacles and trying to make it into an MTB.
The comment about the Orange Stage Evo was a bit odd though 🤣
Definitely another case of trying to turn a gravel bike into an MTB. Set it up for manuals and it will probably be terrible as a gravel bike, so why bother, especially a lovely fast bike like that Cervelo!
I think there's a bit of a difference between trying to set up a gravel bike so you can deal with minor trail obstacles and trying to make it into an MTB.
The comment about the Orange Stage Evo was a bit odd though 🤣
Sorry my stage Evo is my only other point of reference for off road riding - most of the time for the trails that I ride I feel massively overbiked - hence using my gravel point a lot more. I'm not trying to do full downhill on my gravel bike, I'm just trying to get to the point where I could do minor flow trails on it and feel confident jumping on and off curbs. Plus the gravel bike is new - I want to see everything I can do with it! It reminds me of a 1990s rigid mountain bike but with drop bars
I'm just trying to get to the point where I could do minor flow trails on it and feel confident jumping on and off curbs.
Ah OK, apologies, my comment was more about big showy bum off the back, front wheel higher than the saddle sort of manuals, not practical everyday manuals 😎
I think I do it just by changing the timing of the movements e.g. a very quick little jab/ bounce down the way to use what little rebound there is from the tyre to lift the front wheel. That said I've always suspected I bunny hop 'wrong' but it's enough to get me up and down kerbs at least.
This is one of those "grubby roadie gravel bike" -vs- "shit 90s mtbing gravel bike" type questions. Your bike looks like its set up for the former - if you want to ride like the latter, maybe not the best choice.
I can't properly manual mine, (but then I can't do that on an mtb either). I can do it well enough to coast through a smallish pair of rollers on the back wheel though and can bunny hop it and jump/drop it well enough for the riding I want to do on it (local Peaks stuff and a bit of blue & red trail centre). For me that's a dropper post plus bars set up to allow me to do that - 44cm Ritchey Beacons here - normal hoods position, loadsa flare and minimal drop and reach when in the hooks - tops are about level with the saddle. It needs a good tug to get it up (matron!) and if I've not been on that bike in a while needs a bit of a mental reset before I can ride it properly.
It reminds me of a 1990s rigid mountain bike but with drop bars
🤦
Ah... So. You're not asking how to manual it at all then?
Simply how to pop the front wheel up. An easily do able fairly basic skill to learn.itll just take a bit of practice (or a lot depending on your current skill level)
Appologies for thinking you were taking the piss.
Ive been able to manual, wheely, bunny hop and jump road and gravel bikes proficiently forever so let me try and help you out a little.
I'm guessing by not knowing the correct terminology you probably can't manual a bike at all. (popping the front end using the manual technique isn't actually a manual). But. Similarly to a proper manual It's still all about weight shift from front to rear. Your biggest hurdle is having a fixed seatpost at full extension. Limiting your rearwards body movement. But don't worry about this. Both my gravel and roadbike also have fixed seatpost. What this means is you will have to put a lot more force/effort into the initial preload of your front wheel before you dynamically shift your weight back to raise it up from the ground.
Position and set up on the bike you've posted a pic of is fine (it's nowhere near as aggressive as mine) so don't worry about changing anything. Also. Don't listen to anyone who tells you you'll have more control on the drops. You absolutely don't. Just a more powerful finger position when braking, slightly lower COG, but far worse agility, movement range and weight distribution. When popping the front the most efficient hand position is on the tops. But then you have no braking. Making the hoods your next best safe position so get used to riding on the hoods and proficiently braking from above the lever. Take your bike somewhere quiet, flat and safe to practice and once you feel you've mastered popping the front to a decent height. It's time to move on to the full bunny hop. Which is simply a case of adding in the next step of a flat pedal bunny hop. The higher you get the front the higher you'll be able to get the rear as you push forwards levelling the bike out in the air. Timing is also key here. Use a log, stick, stone or brick to practice your bunny hop timing before taking it to kerbs and the like.
Good luck.. And try to enjoy the learning process. And take a break from it if/when frustrated.
Believe it or not. Wheelies, manuals and bunny hops are generally easier to perform on a road bike than gravel bikes. Partly as roadbikes are generally a lot lighter and slightly shorter. But also because they don't have flaired bars and levers sitting wider apart and at an awkward slanted angle. STI levers on a traditional road bar give a far nicer, more comfortable position with far better ergonomics for wheelying or manualling. Especially while covering the brakes.
Ps.
Don't "Tug" on the bars at all ... "Tugging" is terrible advice. Fluid controlled movements are the one. 😉
To be honest I am a little stretched - even a little more or the same as my road bike (which has enduro geometry) but according to my bike fit this is the correct size.
Is that the bike fit you had for a road bike or a specific gravel bike one?
Problem is with that bike specific seat post and stem, it's going to cost a bloody fortune to do much about the fit later.
thank you @gaah - i will give it a go. The sea post definitely gets in the way 🙂
To be honest I am a little stretched - even a little more or the same as my road bike (which has enduro geometry) but according to my bike fit this is the correct size.
Is that the bike fit you had for a road bike or a specific gravel bike one?
Problem is with that bike specific seat post and stem, it's going to cost a bloody fortune to do much about the fit later.
if i am honest it was a roadbike fit - i didnt know that there was such a thing as a gravel bike fit ?
There isn't. A good bike fitter will ask what type of riding you do and go from there. For example when I got my Diverge bout 8 years ago the bike fitter said I had the flexibility to drop the bars a bit for more road speed I said I didn't care about that so we didn't bother. You bikes fine, just ride it. To hope front over things you probably just need to weight the front end more before the lift than on a MTB. I find I need to be slower in approach speed, more deliberate and heavier in preloading the front wheel. It's all more fluid on a MTB but seems more mechanical with more clear phases on gravel bike.....or just find easier trails for a while and do them for a bit first.
Back to the original question of
Is there a special technique to get your weight further back so that you can bring the front wheel up?
the balance point will feel much further back due to the longer wheelbase and the geometry. Suggest to get a pal to help, they stand at front of bike facing you, they lift front wheel while you pivot backwards with straight arms and legs until it reaches the balance point, and they are keeping you steady and holding bike from going right over. You will be surprised how far back that point is, and that’s what you need to be replicating for a proper manual. Used to do this all the time while coaching.
My technique is:
- bum off saddle, bent knees
- shift weight backwards, pulling on bars while pushing through with legs to get the bike to rotate. Most of the action is through the legs but you might need a bit more yank on the bars with the geometry of that bike.
Using this technique, I can seamlessly smash my front tyre into a kerb while also jarring my shoulders & back. I've been perfecting it for years. 👍😁
On my mtb i manual and bunny hop properly
On my gravel bike i do the old jump up and pull the bike up technique. Maybe with the front wheel up first a bit though. Im not clipped in.
No idea why i do it differently but it feels correct and works. Its also what a lot of CX racers seem to do. I suspect that to properly manual a gravel or road bike would require me to make such an exaggerated movement off the back my balance would be all over the shop.
Not Really something that's ever worried me much TBH, I can pop the front wheel for a second or two and bunny hop well enough to ride on trails and singletrack to get over the odd obstacle or fallen branch, I don't really need/want to do much more..
If I'm riding anything more exciting I'd tend to chose an MTB (with a Dropper), but my Gravel bike is more like a Road bike with chunkier tyres than a curly-barred MTB...