Back twinges aside I have this ridiculous urge to learn how to manual a bike – I’ve watched the You tube and the Fundmentals videos but can anyone give me some inspirational advice on ‘getting started’?

learn on the grass and don’t be afraid to go past the balance point to enable you to learn where it is. use the back brake. roll your body weight forwards, up then back. that’s it.

Practice 😀 Took me a looooooong time to get good at it, but can manual a very long way now. Nothing feels better than manualling (ok, nothing bike related) handy for getting through puddles, manualling through pumps, manualling over tabletops etc etc.

Also good for showing off. Its ALL about the balance point.

I “accidently” found that magic point for a moment or two but panicked and fell off the back. At least now I know what the balance point feels like and it was a lot further back than I was expecting.

Its got nothing to do with “point of balance”..

..It is Voodoo simple as that.

I knew PJ266 would be posting in this somewhere but, he’s right, he is very good at it!

it was a lot further back than I was expecting.

Yep, the point is further back than you want to believe it is!

Sorry, dumb question, but when did it stop being called a wheelie?

Darcy, a wheelie is the pedalling variety. Manuals are the rolling, freewheeling version.

wheelie is sitting down and pedalling, manual is standing up and coasting

edit – curse your quick fingers, flapped in cash hard

Ah right, I see.

darn, I didn’t know I had to stand up for it to be a manual 😕

Yarp, theres the coaster wheelie, which is a wheelie (surprisingly) but not pedalling. Manualling you need to be standing to shift your weight around on the bike. Pull up on the bars, lean back and keep your legs slightly bent, if the front end drops straighten your legs out quickly, this will prop the front end up (You’ll panic the first time you manage this and grab a handful of back brake 😉 ) and if you feel yourself looping out do the opposite and suck yourself into the bike. practicepracticepractice.

HAve been working on this its the one trick type skill I really want to be able to do. so far have ended up on my a*se a few times and now am grabbing too much brake but its coming on!! Tips so far….learn on grass!!! and the balance is about where your rear hub is.. ie further back than you would think!!!

and wear a helmet when practising.

bend your knees, get your ass back over the back wheels pull up and cover the back brake, 1/4 pedal stroke helps just to give it a kick, oh and get your saddle down to start with, get it at knee height and use your knees, also helps to practise on a raised curb, use the slight up side to help with the lift! easy! 😀

haven’t managed it yet but is something we are trying to master.

have a (good) mate help you find the balance point. sit on the bike and lean back. matey helps, lifting you backwards and holding you when the balance point is reached.

don’t if this helps in the slightest, but I managed to get my hands on a turbo trainer. Stick the bike in normally, rock forwards and straighten back/legs, and the front flies up. Although it’s nothing like the real thing, at least it gives you an idea what the balance point feels like.

I guess the fact I haven’t managed to reproduce it for real is an indicator it’s not really working ….

olaf – that must be pretty comical when you come of the turbo trainer

Bit hard to explain when your lying on your back 😀

For those who can’t visualise it: manualing on a bmx track

It’s worth learning how to pump as well to add to your skills repertoire. You’ll know when you’ve got it ss you’ll actually increase speed through the bumps (without pedalling)- again good to practice on a BMX or pump track.

Olaf – make sure you get that on film 🙂

Manualling Video

Cheers crell – The above is the vid I watch

should i switch to flats to get me started or work with spd’s?

cheers

use flats

other wise it hurts

Mate flats every time!!!! (I’m a confirmed SPD addict as well!)

I’m going to make a possibly different suggestion to learning it. Start by learning to hop on the back wheel with the back brake locked. This teaches you where the balance point is and after a while you should be able to stand around on the rear wheel stationary for a good few seconds without hopping much. From there you are aware of the location of the balance point and adding motion to it is less likely to end in scrapes, but you will still need to train yourself not to grab handfuls of rear brake! Definitely flats for learning or trials stuff of any kind, but once you’re practiced you can transfer it to spds fairly easily.

‘Nothing feels better than manualling’

Agreed.

If your good at wheelies you might get there.

Sorry Tankslapper I missed this – Absolutely learn on flats. You will come off the back of the bike a lot.

Coffeking, that’s a really good suggestion. In my yoof on a BMX, doing backhops / balancing on the back wheel was a good way to learn how to balance the centre of gravity on the bike.

I’ve only ever pulled a manual by accident, but as Bumhands says it’s probably easier if you start with wheelies first so you can figure out where the balance point is.

‘Nothing feels better than manualling’

I prefer it when she does it for me, actually 😉

/IGMC

I prefer it when she does it for me, actually

/IGMC

PMSL! 😆

Actually I prefer it when her sister does it for me!

O.K. Guys thanks for the terrific advice. I’ll stick on some flats and get busy!

cheers
TS