STW wheelie school

As seen an another thread. $30 for pointers on how to wheelie? Well STW, i think we can do better than that.
For a donation of your choosing to a charity I propose that we run the STW wheelie program. I am sure there are plenty of people on here who can wheelie and give advice. I am offering to put some time into this putting up photo,video and a offering advice where I can. I think in ten minutes three times a week over a month most people could wheelie up their road go round the roundabout and back again.
Anyone else in?

Uphill- Donation to Nepal charity (when I look and see which one I like)

I’m up for this, charity thing a great idea too.

am sure there are plenty of people on here who can wheelie and give advice

Not since GW got banned (again and again and again)

So far there is Nobeer and myself in. I propose we start this weekend as I need a bit of time to get some pictures and words sorted out.

…or spend 30$ on a proven wheelie programme which took hundreds of hours to setup, support an entrepreneur in the mtb community and then celebrate your wheelie prowess with a donation to a Nepal earthquake charity?

Nice idea , but with my bad maths I make it that you’ll spend 2hrs trying to learn to wheelie over a month ? The chances of being able to successfully wheelie in that length of time are wheelie wheelie small .

I think you may be missing the point. It is not hard to learn to wheelie. Some might not get it in an afternoon but regular practicing over a few weeks I think I could get SWMBO on the rear wheel.
So if our little (so far 2) self help group does not work don’t donate. Save your donation till your happy.
Line the pockets of some “Dude” if you must but really, it is not difficult. The only bit that is hard might be setting aside a bit of time a few times a week.

So if our little (so far 2) self help group

So far 3 – I’m in to have a go at it. As you said its probably harder setting the time aside.

Thanks.

Don’t agree. Learning to wheelie is hard and takes time. It’s a difficult skill and this ‘dude’ is a pro mountain biker with a decent idea trying to make some cash. My guess is that the point of the course is that by paying you commit time, and that is what is required to learn . Sorry to sound like a pessimist !

Hows…. That is exactly what your $30 is buying. It is buying, well, buy in from you to commit a bit of time. Nothing more than that and a few pointers that your mates OR YOUTUBE could give you.

Here is a statement of intent. Off to the shed to throw together a bitsa hardtail, wheelies the use thereof.

I know how to to wheelie, I just can’t. I should pay £1/hour of practise that it takes me to master it and Nepal would be fixed.

Never learnt to wheelie all that well
I am happy to give this a go

Serious question
I only have FS , road or a SS

Is a FS suitable?

i think i can put a 32 :18 on the SS is that better?

I know how to to wheelie, I just can’t.

This goes for me too. I reckon i’m too old and fearful to learn now, but I’ll join in 🙂

Yunkyard,
FS makes it a little more difficult to get the balance point nailed but not insurmountable. 32:18 (29er?) might make it a bit tricky. Last person I taughthelped learn ended up in the granny ring to get the power transfer smooth and not upsetting the lateral balance with the pedal stroke. Once he cracked it in the granny there was no issue in bigger gears.

Welcome one and all. I am going to start putting a few thoughts down now and at the weekend If we all could spend 30 mins giving things a go and reporting back for constructive criticism.
Things to think about before then:
Try to make it easy on yourself, if you have access to a HT I think it is easier then a FS but not massively.
Flat pedals. You may be quick on the unclip but really, you do not want to see how fast you are.
Seatpost. Another thing droppers are going to be the best thing ever for. Getting you CoG further back and lower down is going to make getting up to the balance point much easier and once you start to get up towards the balance point easier to stay there. You may find that you might want the seat even lower than the drop on your dropper to begin with. I will have a go and measure how much I take mine down on Saturday morning.
Rear brake lever. Sounds silly but you are going to want to be able to cover this and apply it with ease and speed.
Other than that “run what you brung” Looking in the shed some of my bikes would make it easier, some much harder. Old Klein would be a bugger with long stem, head down arse up geo. The shopper that SWMBO uses would not be much good either but thousands of Ned/Scallies/Chavs seem to have no issues on really bad bikes up and down the country. What they do have is time. Because that is really all it takes.

32:18 (29er?)

Nope I dont own one you trendy bastard 😉

I may be able to make it geared with some effort – SS specific frame with no hanger

Wont get to the granny though as the tabs are gone from the crank

Yunkyard. I would use the FS to begin with as I reckon the lower the gearing (within reason) makes the front wheel lift smoother and less liable to left/right issues. All that going left and right is either yanking on the bars or too much power in that first pedal stroke.

More to follow.

as a (extremely) rough gearing guide: something around 1:1 would be better than 2:1.

a little saddle-drop helps, too much and it gets harder again – you need to be able to pedal smoothly with your knees out a bit.

side-to-side balance is much easier when you’re near the for-aft sweet spot.

here’s me, giving wheelie advice, that’s just laughable.

I have roped offspring #2 in as my control subject. I intend to do this the same way for #2 as I did for #1. If anyone on here wants to join in or even offer advice please feel free. It is after all a collaborative effort.

Thinking about how I did this with Offspring #1 has led to me getting distracted and looking at a few youtube videos on the subject.

Quite liked this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSqkKtnMM_U as the first two parts are what I shall be doing with the offspring on Saturday morning and it surely saves me typing all that out on here. There will be a slight difference and I think it is fairly important. I would advocate using a marker on the ground to be the trigger point for the move. Could be a crack in the pavement, a leaf or whatever. I just think it focuses the mind and as you come back round to repeat you can think about what was good and what could be better.
The boy and I will try and do at least thirty mins of this on Saturday. Will report back then and may have some pics too.

Learn to wheelie?? Have a word with yerselves… Don’t you know it’s genetic? You either have the wheelie gene or you don’t.

It’s like being a gay, or a socialist… You’re just born that way.

(I’m wheelie+)

So, people who wheelie are gay socialists?. 😀

Are you qualified to be handing out wheelie advice? How far can you wheelie?

On a slight uphill, with no crosswind, I can wheelie til I get bored/thigh-burn/run-out-of-road… I can go round corners as long as it’s level or uphill… I was born with the gene.

Here we go!

I’ve tried to teach loads of people to wheelie, and I can’t think of a single one that’s mastered it. I think it’s one of those things that if you can’t do it by the time you hit puberty, you’re never going to do it… 😉

I’ve been trying to wheelie for ages, I can get the wheel up for a couple of revolutions at best, but it’s awkward and ugly!

@Andysredmini. What would you say would qualify me to offer advice? A podium at a national championship? A guiding qualification? Tufty club membership or a Blue Peter badge?
The idea is to encourage those who are willing to put a bit of time in to learning or improving.
I believe there are other forums/threads for willywaving or being a smartarse.

The biggest mistake I see people making is trying to “pull” the bars up. All that does is lift the wheel temporarily… You have to set the balance point and move the back wheel beneath it – then you have a stable platform to pedal.

If I were to try and describe it, the knack is to lean back (straight arms and monkey fingers) and use just enough power to get the back wheel under the balance point but leaving ‘just enough’ to give forward motion. Be ready with the back brake if you over rotate, but I generally don’t need to brake when I first pop the wheelie.

You shouldn’t have to wrestle with the bars, or stomp on the pedals – both these things will make you topple to one side.

A good pedaling technique helps, a slight uphill does too, because you don’t have to rely on the back brake as much to control your speed.

Practice *really* gentle feathering of the back brake, and remember, you can lean an awful long way back before you’ll topple backwards.

Start really slowly, practice getting the back wheel underneath and braking (so you don’t go over) until you get a feel for where you need to be. I prefer a slightly higher gear because you’ll generally pick up speed once you’re away, and whilst changing gear is fairly easy, you have to lean it further back during the shift or the front will drop… Perhaps leave gear changing until you’ve got the hang of it!

I’m in. Put in a bit of effort to learn a couple of years ago, but landing on my ass too many times knocked my confidence a bit. I did find that ‘pushing’ my weight back from the handlebars at the same time as the power stroke helped a lot. I can only manage about 3-4 pedal strokes now before the front wheen comes down and get a bit too nervous as I get near the balance point.

Sounds like a great idea – I’m in time permitting 🙂

I’m going to suggest that there are 3 distinct zones to the wheelie:

1. Below balance point (you need to keep upping the pedaling to maintain)
2. On balance point (you can practically freewheel – minimal pedal input needed)
3. Past balance point (you need rear brake to maintain)

Just be aware of all three and adjust accordingly. If you want to go up a long hill on your back wheel, you’re better in Wheelie Zone 1.

For dicking about really slowly, showboating in the car park, you’re better at WZ3 and using a lot of back brake.

Good stuff Gatsby and UHC.

I’ve tried to teach loads of people to wheelie, and I can’t think of a single one that’s mastered it.

Hmm, I’m thinking the pupils may not be at fault!

repeat: I know how to to wheelie, I just can’t.

Reading words is not the idea of the pro one, or this one…

Not doubting you I just see too many people in all walks of like who cant practice what they preach.
Makes no odds to me as I can wheelie as far as I want before I get bored.

Also Gatsby has written everything you need to know about wheelies in his post above.

i’m in…although at 48 I think i’m a bit too far out of puberty to find the gene. Just need to sort out brakes on wifes steed and i’ll give it a go. I’d be happy with 4 or 5 confident revolutions rather than the frantic rush of flailing arms , legs and front wheel!!.

I’ve wanted to wheelie all my adult life but never really put the time in. 40 now so I decided this would be the summer I would learn and was heading out for 20 mins 4 or 5 times a week. And I was on my way to getting the hang of it, able to get it on the balance point pretty consistently and pulling quite a few 20-30m wheelies. And it felt good. But then I broke my wrist (on the bike but not doing wheelies). I was considering paying for Ryan’s course when I’m out of plaster, could be the best $30 I ever spent. Watching this thread with interest, will be good to see if others on here master it as a result!

Update, I’ve just been outside and popped a couple of wheelies trying to analyse what I do.

I use 2 pedal strokes to get up to height, a right then a left, and the front comes up in a pronounced 2-step motion.

If I try to get up in one pedal stroke, it’s far more likely to over-rotate, and the pedal force needed makes me veer off to one side.

So I’m not sure if that will help budding wheelie students, but it might be worth bearing in mind. It might just be the way I do it, but it does seem to result in a safer and more stable wheelie.

The only other tip I can think of is to round your lower back to shift your weight as low and as far back as possible *before* you start your pedal strokes. Then, as the front comes up, you straighten back/push hips forward slightly to get the rear wheel under the balance point.

Hope this helps!

Not a bit! (But then I am sat at my desk) 😆