STW wheelie school

I read this yesterday and I suddenly found it really easy to wheelie and manual

The last part of that sentence was sadly something I dreamt 🙁

learning to wheelie tips:
1 short stem
2 flat pedals
3 good back brake
4 drop seatpost around 2ins
5 LEARN TO FLIP OFF THE BACK of your bike SAFELY AND CONTROLLED on a flat field ideally.
6 learn where your weight should be (arse n hips)
7 look ahead and be proactive on the bike!
8 practice practice practice then practice practice practice some more and you Will get it eventually.

if anyone is localish to Wigan (Lancashire) I would happily spend a few hours helping you learn (or at least give you the tools to get there)
cheers, Lawman

I can get to the balance point, staying there and not veering off to one side is the hard bit. What I can do covers pretty much all* real world applications so never seriously taken it further.

After reading this and the other thread I had a go on the way home last night on my 29er and did the longest wheelie I’ve ever done**, anyone know if bigger wheels give a larger balance point?

*besides showboating and wheelying loooong puddles.
**was a bit gatsby zone 1 tho.

try steering with your bum and hips

Anyone else done any practicing/made any progress? Had a chat with offspring last night on the subject of not giving up too easily. He found it comforting that even the grownups had to practice to achieve something like this. Hoping he does not get too frustrated tomorrow.
Plan as it stands is ride across the village to the park and do thirty minutes of getting the idea of moving body weight back and then introducing a couple of pedal strokes. Pretty sure if he can just get even half a pedal stroke in I will be able to use a marker for his best effort and he will be motivated to beat that. Fingers crossed.

Hi, if you want here are my patronizing tips for wheelies. Most has been said but I’d add a few points:

Pump your tyres up. Especially rear. Flatter tyre means squirmy side to side balance.

Learn up a slight hill, ideally grassy

Side balance is done in three main ways: knees and feet, turning the bars , and leaning over from your torso. practise each of these three separately

If it’s windy , give it a miss.

Good luck!

I’m in if it’s not too lat?

It’s all witchcraft

Had an hour out in the street this afternoon with the smallest cursing on his Bein 20.Slightly larger Cursing was in a huff and would not play out. Picked a line in the road to be our trigger point and off we went. He got the idea of using his (rather negligible) weight transferred back quite quickly and keeping the arms/bars straight by not trying to lift the bars. Managing to lift the wheel a couple of inches whilst standing on the pedals. Sitting down was a bit more difficult but again within another five minutes and a drop of his saddle we were in business. Sadly getting the timing to introduce peddling. Different matter altogether. He got a bit annoyed as he could get higher just with weight transfer alone. Tried persuading him that it would get better but he is at an age where it was most likely best to go and do something else. So he helped me finish my retaining wall. Will continue tomorrow. Have photos and video but not worth putting it up really.

Anyone else made any progress?

Just picked up on this post. Have been trying to learn on & off all my adult life, I’m 53 now, but never put in the time to practice. I’m really going to give it a go with you guys support. Can sometimes manage about 4 or 5 pedal strokes, but often drop forwards or sideways sooner. Out riding this morning & will give it a go.

I can wheelie but I’m a scally from Wythenshawe – it’s in our DNA.

learning to wheelie tips:
1 short stem
3 good back brake

I wouldn’t rush out and buy a new stem, I mastered the wheelie in the 90s when stems were 100mm+! Also on canti’s, but then a non-snatchy brake is useful tbh.

I wouldn’t rush out and buy a new stem

Agreed, a complete new bike with the correct stem length, optimum seat angle and modern TT measurement. Right tool for the job and all that 😉

Good luck to all those learning.

I thought it was about manuals, not wheelies

Uphill, sounds like good progress. I wouldn’t worry about him only getting the wheel a little off the ground, you’ve now planted the seed in his head that it’s weight shift and pedal power that lifts the wheel. It’s a big leap to transfer that understanding into practice, and it might be better to do 10 minutes Wheelie School at the beginning of a ride rather than intensive blocks which can become frustrating.

And I wouldn’t worry if you have the occasional set back before he/you crack it – I have the occasional day where the Wheelie Mojo seems to escape me, and other days where I can’t keep my front wheel on the floor!

I also have dreams where I ride around really complicated paths or streets on my back wheel. I can come to a complete stop, turn the tightest of corners and even ride up steps, and crowds of people cheer me on. Is that a bit weird?

I also have dreams where I ride around really complicated paths or streets on my back wheel. I can come to a complete stop, turn the tightest of corners and even ride up steps, and crowds of people cheer me on. Is that a bit weird?

If it is, then I’m weird too! I often dream of manualling for ages, and also doing endo stoppie 180’s. I don’t get people cheering sadly.

Cheers Gatsby. That is exactly what I figured this morning, little and often and before long he will be a ninja.
On the dream front, I don’t think you are weird. When I was learning to pedal kick I used to dream about it. Not massive gaps or great heights, just making them and they would be in slow motion too. I think we might not be weird but I am sure a Physiologist would have a field day.

I seem to remember reading that your brain continues to practice skills subconsciously while we sleep, hence dreams like this, especially when we’re learning a new skill.

Little and often is definitely the key. I get mocked for dicking around pulling wheelies, stoppies, track-standing etc in car parks before rides – especially when I’ve fallen off!! But this is when you hone those skills that get you out of trouble on rides.

One of the guys that always called me a big kid asked me how I could stop during a really techie section, have a look round, and then endo, hop or wheelie out of trouble. Now he joins me mucking about before rides and his riding is improving exponentially!

the comments I made earlier about the short stem was only to make the learning of wheelies easier! its not essential but it will help 🙂

i find it’s easier with a bit of a gradient, (Uphill rather than down), i usually mess around attempting wheelies when riding with friends but when i’m on my own i tend to just get my head down and ride.

I run a 34T on the front and 42T on the rear but quite often find myself changing down the gears as that is simply too easy a gear and hard to keep going.

Controlling speed takes a fair bit of confidence. Most people find they just get faster and faster – this is because they tend to pedal harder to stop the front end from dropping, hence it’s far easier on an uphill gradient where you can use the gradient to moderate your speed.

When you get used to feathering the brake, you’ll learn to control speed by leaning it back *just* past the balance point and then using the brake. Learn to wheelie uphill first though!

I find the ht easier as the balance point doesn’t alter but the fs isn’t too hard. I leave the saddle alone and rely on pedal and weight transfer to lift it up.

Also I lead with my left foot if I try my right I’m just never in the same zone.

I love coasting down hill on one wheel feathering the brake makes me feel all rad n stuff…

How did the Wheelie Schoolers get on over the weekend? Anyone cracked it?

Smallest cursing tried again on Sunday morning. Still trying to get the timing of the weight shift and the pedal stroke sorted. For want of something better to try we binned the weight shift and tried just the peddle stroke. Seems to work about as well as the weight shift on its own. Just got to get him to marry the two together and I think we might be in business.
Come on gents, don’t keep us in suspense.

All useful stuff Cursing, I reckon he’ll be a far better wheelier for spending a bit of time learning the various components of a good wheelie! I’m looking forward to the first vid of him hooning round on his back wheel…

Should have it nailed over the bank holiday,

Oh I also though don’t be scared of over doing it. You need to go too far t find your balance point

Thought I’d resurrect this one as I seem to have finally cracked the basics. After last year being a bit limited with a knackered wrist I started practising again in the last couple of months. I’m now at the point where I can speed up and slow down, change gear and steer with my hips and knees, starting to be able to wheelie round corners. I also wheelied the length of my road last night and ran out of room which was a first.

Quite pleased with myself as I thought I’d never crack it but I’ve got to be honest, it’s not as life changing as I’d hoped.

Anyone else been persevering?

, it’s not as life changing as I’d hoped.

Yeah but, you get all the girls now right?
Still practising, mainly because it’s fun, but still sh1t.

I haven’t pulled any sweet wheelies in front of the ladies as yet although I’m confident that a grey haired 42 year old doing kid’s stunts on a pushbike will have them fizzing.

Although my wife doesn’t seem particularly impressed.

I guess it’s all about the motivation and practice time, like anything else. I bought the Ryan Leech wheelie challenge and it’s been great -I’m popping wheelies everywhere. Worth paying money for the motivation imo.

I was considering it last year but managed to forget about it. I’m sure it would have sped up the process because it certainly didn’t come easily

davosaurusrex – Member

Anyone else been persevering?

only for about 34 years.

the forward-backward balance has never been a problem. i fall off to one side before fore-aft becomes an issue.

on a really good day, i can wheelie for around 10metres, that was a few years ago though.

Go to an empty carpark and use the parking spaces as markers – build up slowly – first few minutes just try to clear 1 space and build up over time – I found saying to myself I’m not dabbing my front wheel for 10 spaces really helped – if your wheeling into the abyss with no end in sight your loosing a psychological advantage over a clearly defined goal.. Also make sure your rear brake modulates well ..

ahwhiles – I always had the same problem. I find seat down a couple of inches and using a higher gear helps as it gives you more forwards stability. Other than that though it has just been practising regularly as the knee and hip weight shifts needed are quite subtle, took a lot of learning through overcompensating to get it.

Also I tell myself I’m a chav, this seems to help me relax into it as the little shits always look so casual on the back wheel. Being relaxed really helps.

I also had to break my habit of constantly “comfort” dabbing the back brake, it just mucks up the flow.