# How long did it take you to learn the wheelie?



## flooger (May 6, 2010)

1 day? 1 month? 1 year? And what bike did you do it on? Think it's harder to learn how to do it on a full susser?


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

I learned so long ago that I cannot remember , probably about a week to become fairly adept at it . It can be more difficult on a squishy bike IMHO .


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## RoyDean (Jul 2, 2007)

after riding a bicycle for almost 30 years, I still can't get more than 4 or 5 cranks in before having to bail... although I have noticed that if I focus on the horizon rather than my front wheel (or the ground), I do better... but it's difficult.


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## Thor29 (May 12, 2005)

Yeah, I learned when I was a kid.
Which was a million years ago.

But if you really want to learn, I suggest putting platform pedals on your bike and practicing in a parking lot or somewhere similar. It's all in the timing. Throw your weight back at the same time that you are pedaling forward and pulling up on the handlebars. Do this all in one motion. And here's the secret to learning fast - go past the balance point. Seriously. You need to know where it is, so go past it and step off the back of the bike. Just try not to hurt yourself. (That's why it's a good idea to learn when you are young.) Once you know where the balance point is you can try to stop the rotation at just the right point. Try to keep a finger over the rear brake to use if you start to over-rotate.

It doesn't matter what type of bike. I used to wheelie road bikes, BMX bikes, whatever. FS bikes add a little bit of a wrinkle to the process, but it's easy to adjust to. I can wheelie my 29er single speed really well, but it's a bit dangerous since I ride clipped in. I actually flipped over once - couldn't get my foot out of the pedal before I landed on my back.


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## motopail (Jul 29, 2008)

Floog....

it's all in the rear brake.....

Master the brake..take up the slack and lean back aginst it.

Coasting down hill...draggin the brake is test.

tootles..


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## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

motopail said:


> Floog....
> 
> *it's all in the rear brake.....*
> 
> ...


BINGO.


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## tjkm (Jun 9, 2007)

I CAN NOT wheelie on my 29er. All other bikes, could ride down the block no problem.


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## Biohazard74 (Jul 16, 2009)

On my FS bike i cannot get more than 4 to 8 cranks out. But give me a bmx bike and its a whole different story. Learned to ride a bike at 4 and learned to wheelie when i was about 7 or 8.


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## Dazed (Feb 7, 2004)

Let me think... I've been on a bike since i was 4, in 1978. That's 32 years and counting.


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## cducati (Apr 23, 2010)

What's a wheelie? Evil kenevil?
https://stupidcelebrities.net/wp-content/evil_knievel.jpg


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

tjkm said:


> I CAN NOT wheelie on my 29er. All other bikes, could ride down the block no problem.


i don't get why every one says that.... i can wheelie my 29r better them my other bikes. care to explain what makes it harder for you?


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## cducati (Apr 23, 2010)

Have you tried juming first?
http://www.hulu.com/watch/8722/napoleon-dynamite-sweet-jumps


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

I don't find my 29er hardtail any harder to wheelie than my 26" hardtail.

It's got to be a geometry thing. The 2 bikes I mentioned are both Gary Fisher G2.


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

insanitylevel9 said:


> i don't get why every one says that.... i can wheelie my 29r better them my other bikes. care to explain what makes it harder for you?


geometry... every bike is different


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

boomn said:


> geometry... every bike is different


ya i get that, but Ive heard a bunch of people say there harder to wheelie in general.


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

insanitylevel9 said:


> ya i get that, but Ive heard a bunch of people say there harder to wheelie in general.


the particulars of the geometry. More bottom bracket drop means your pedals are further below the rear axle, along with longer chainstays putting your weight further in front of the rear wheel, among other factors. Most 29ers tend to have both of these compared to a similar 26" bike. Then again, there are 29ers on the easier side of this spectrum and 26ers that are way on the harder side


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## Dopaminer_09 (Oct 23, 2009)

I vowed at the beginning of 2009 that I would learn to ride a wheelie by the end of the year. Sort of given up now. I can't go more than 15-20 feet on my full suspension Stumpjumper.


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

Still trying for the most part. Wheelies weren't a big thing when I was a kid, at least not any of the kids with bikes I knew, bmx wasn't around yet either. It's something I don't need to do often on trail, but can do it well enough for situations that come up in riding trail. I would like to do better but haven't really concentrated on it, this old dog's body is too old for too much ground contact. Sometimes I get a good few pedals in but that's about it, have gone too far a couple of times (really glad I was wearing a full hydration pack each time). Curious, does anyone find it more difficult while wearing a pack? 

Riding forever on a wheelie like some guys I've ridden with would be very cool, though.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

*I just ride XC*

and never needed to wheelie or track-stand for that matter. My 17 year old son does both effortlessly. He races with his Yeti Arc XTR. He cruises around town on a 24" Sunday of some sort.

Sometimes I wish I was 17 again.


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## Motorep (Jun 20, 2004)

I've been wheelying for as long as I've been on a bike (40 years). It's just a natural thing for me to ride around on one wheel. Same deal on my motorcycles. It's just a talent I've always had. I just wish I had the same luck with my heart, lungs, and legs!


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## steadite (Jan 13, 2007)

Easier on some bikes than others...on my old C'dale F3 hardtail a wheelie was basically impossible. the first time I rode my Motolite I popped the front right up. Think it has to do with slacker angles.


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## Self Motivated (Jan 2, 2003)

*Group therapy*

I thank those of you who have admitted not being able to wheelie more than 4-5 pedal strokes after 30 years or so riding.


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## tjkm (Jun 9, 2007)

insanitylevel9 said:


> i don't get why every one says that.... i can wheelie my 29r better them my other bikes. care to explain what makes it harder for you?


If I knew why it was a problem, then I could address it. At that point, it would no longer be a problem.

I honestly don't know, but it upsets me greatly that I can not do a simple wheele on this bike.:madman:


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## Biohazard74 (Jul 16, 2009)

Self Motivated said:


> I thank those of you who have admitted not being able to wheelie more than 4-5 pedal strokes after 30 years or so riding.


And don't forget even harder if you are clipped in Imo


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## insanitylevel9 (Sep 23, 2009)

Biohazard74 said:


> And don't forget even harder if you are clipped in Imo


:yesnod: big time


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## AndrewTO (Mar 30, 2005)

Wheelie, no, but i've been familiar with the "Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiii ..... " a time or two.


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## Berkeley Mike (Jan 13, 2004)

*I am so obviously out*

What is the deal with the wheelie.?


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## Biohazard74 (Jul 16, 2009)

I had a bet with a kid when I was 14 years old and remember doing a wheelie almost a block long on a Kuwahara bmx bike I built from scratch when I was that age. That has to be the easiest bike to wheelie I have ever used. I lost the bet as the other kid wheelied almost a block and a half on a 24" wheel redline bike. No matter what the outcome was that day I remember being happy as hell with my performance and with the 1st bike I had ever built. I later traded it for a damn go cart. Man do kids make dumb descicions.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

Oddly enough the old 10 speed road bikes with drop bars and 1-1/4" tires were pretty easy to wheelie. I wouldn't want to try it with a real road racer. I expect I'd fold a rim pretty fast.


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## motopail (Jul 29, 2008)

To me....

it's not the bike....it's the brake.

if the brake works well, I can wheelie it.

I've never thought that the 29'r was harder than the 26'r. 

Now, if you want hard....coaster brake wheelies...!!! 

I have done it, not mastered, but I did get the feel. But shortly after I went to a free wheel. Had a friend that could use the coaster brake and do really cool circle wheelies. That was impressive. There was some serious voodoo on mixing the right grease to get the coaster to have the perfect feel, I never went that far with it.


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## Tony777 (Jul 19, 2010)

What gears are "should" you been in when you getting ready to pull a wheelie on flat ground?


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## ProjectDan35 (Jul 19, 2010)

Tony777 said:


> What gears are "should" you been in when you getting ready to pull a wheelie on flat ground?


For a good wheelie, I like to be in the middle gear up front and 6 in the rear. Don't go too far back or you're ****ed. I had that happen, felt like my knees were ready to implode.


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## Bro (Dec 20, 2010)

Trail Ninja said:


> Oddly enough the old 10 speed road bikes with drop bars and 1-1/4" tires were pretty easy to wheelie. I wouldn't want to try it with a real road racer. I expect I'd fold a rim pretty fast.


The other day there was some unexpected road construction along my normal route on the road bike. There were stacks of those big steel plates they use to cover up holes in the road. Well, mtbing habit took over, and I kinda just hopped/dropped over them. No problems with my POS Raleigh. :thumbsup:

I've never been able to wheelie. That was one of my goals, along with bunny-hopping, for these next few weeks of recovery from knee surgery all those months ago. A while back I tried teaching myself to wheelie, but the clipless pedals were holding me back. I didn't want to think about going over the back, while still clipped in, on rough, rocky hardpack.


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

I considered myself a competent "wheelie meister" when I was a kid. I could wheelie my coaster brake "whatever" for blocks. The thing I remember is there was this sweet spot where, if I stopped pedaling it just didn't want to go back over. Start coming back down, pedal the front wheel back up. Same with some ten speed road bikes, mega sweet spot.

I never ever, no matter what brand I was on, felt that "sweet spot" on my mountain bikes. Once it got to the point it wanted to go back over, well, Blam, I was standing behind my bike.

Feather the back brake at the point? Blam! Front wheel slams back to earth.

So I know what it's like to wheelie successfully. And it was never about the back brake. I watched a guy go 'round and 'round in a parking lot in Moab on a friend-of-his' bike, he remarked "hey, this is a great wheelie bike" which leads me to conclude that there are some mountain bikes that wheelie, there are others that don't. None of mine were "wheelie bikes". I'd have loved to have handed him my bike and said "give it a go, is this a non-wheelie bike or what?" Never got that chance.


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## False (Feb 18, 2011)

I learned years ago on a BMX bike. I can wheelie easily, but still have trouble finding the balance point for manuals.


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## lamb (Sep 18, 2008)

I cannot wheelie, I tried for a little while and just never really got it. I have never needed it on the trail or street, so that is probably why I do not practice it.


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## aerius (Nov 20, 2010)

Been working on it on & off for over 20 years with little success, on a good day I can hold a wheelie for maybe 5-10 seconds. It's the one skill which continues to elude me.


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

what's considered a wheelie? what's the distance or amount of pedals?


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## mbrick (Mar 11, 2011)

^ I'd say a true balanced wheelie is long enough that you aren't increasing crank speed to keep the front up. But a short wheelie off the curb still counts, anything that you mean to do?


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## dhbomber (Nov 7, 2006)

I could wheelie my DH bike the whole block!

Now I mostly coaster wheelie (manual) my way through obstacles! It's more fun!

I can still wheelie though...


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

Because I still remembered how I could wheelie easily as a kid, I worked on it for maybe a year. I practiced and practiced and never found the sweet spot on my first mountain bike. Then I read about "it's all about the back brake" and practiced that for a year and never got it.

I just wish I'd had a bike that could have been called a "wheelie bike" to practice on, things might have been different. (OTOH, maybe it's not the bike or the back brake but the rider  )

Check out this guy. I don't see him using his back brake.


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## dhbomber (Nov 7, 2006)

It's not in the back brake...

The stability of a wheelie I think is given by the rotation of the front wheel. I remember the "wheelie man" had a little motor on the front wheel hub of his motorcycle, to keep it rotating.

On a bike, I believe it's all in the crank rotation??? I do use my rear brake when I wheelie, but I could pull one even without brakes...not long enough though.


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## brent878 (Apr 17, 2007)

dhbomber said:


> It's not in the back brake...
> 
> The stability of a wheelie I think is given by the rotation of the front wheel. I remember the "wheelie man" had a little motor on the front wheel hub of his motorcycle, to keep it rotating.
> 
> On a bike, I believe it's all in the crank rotation??? I do use my rear brake when I wheelie, but I could pull one even without brakes...not long enough though.


It is in the back brake. the front wheel moving doesn't help keep the front end up at all. It helps with the leaning. The moving front wheel has a gyrsospopic effect so when you turn the bars the bike will lean alittle that way. It really helps with turns and circles. Does nothing for keeping the front wheel up though.

There are basically 3 stages of a wheelie. These are not offical terms.

1) power wheelie. This is where you are pedaling to keep the front wheel up. Its before the balance point and if you stop pedaling the front wheel will come down.

2) balance point. This is where your weight is even between the front wheel coming down and you going over backwards. At this point you can coast and keep the wheelie.

3) past balacne point. This is where you went too far and are starting to fall backwards. If you hit your rear brake it will bring your front wheel down.

Most people ride power wheelies, if they were to stop pedaling it would end the wheelie. Usually around the balance point is where people's feet come off the pedals and they start running behind the bike. You want to be at this point when your wheeling. If the front wheel starts to come down you just pedal alittle, if you start to fall back you feather the back brake and it will come back. If you want to go faster you drop the front wheel alittle and ride the power wheelie for a bit. If you want to slow down you go past the balance point and ride the back brake.

For people that say you don't need the back brake for wheelies then how do you slow down in a wheelie? How are you riding wheelies down hill? How are you slowing down before you turn?

I am not the best wheelier, but I can ride in a strait line flat or up hill until I get tired. I can slow down and even stop in a wheelie. I can ride down slight downhills and do wide turns. And some bikes are much easier to wheelie on but with enough pratice you can probably wheelie most MTB's.

Oh and to answer how long did it take me to learn how to wheelie? I guess the answer is I am still learning. Until I can coast comfortable downhill in a wheelie or make tight circles I will say I am still learning.


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## pnj (Dec 15, 2008)

why wheelie when you could manual?


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## mykel (Jul 31, 2006)

I used to be able to wheelie a 20" bmx for as long as I wanted. 
As mentioned I also used to be able to cat-walk a drop-bar 10 speed from back in the day with no issues.

now...

I can not hold a wheelie with on my full-squish. Just can't seem to compensate correctly / fast enough for the suspension action. Strange because I remember on the 20" feeling like the "zone" was miles wide and I didn't have to pay full attention.

Maybe time to break-down and try the back-brake cheat method.
Maybe that will be one of my goals this year - work on wheelies and manuals.

michael


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## mbrick (Mar 11, 2011)

dhbomber said:


> I remember the "wheelie man" had a little motor on the front wheel hub of his motorcycle, to keep it rotating..


Few people know that, but yes, he did. Everyone should see him ride up and down Lombard St.


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## kimo (Aug 6, 2006)

I learned on a 20" as a youngster and was pretty good at it, but the funny part is...when I was 25+ I purchased a 26" univega and was able to wheelie that thing in circles, it was crazy and that bike was sweet.
I have a 26" Kona Roast 8-speed with Hookworms and can wheelie it almost as far as I want or until I get tired but that bike is in storage about 1200 miles south of my current location. I have not ridden a bike in 6-months so I purchased a Redline 29er last week, I changed the stem & bars and after three days I can wheelie it just like my 26". I am 47 and still going strong with the WHEELIE !


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## zegeli (Feb 1, 2014)

Its been a month I am trying to learn, I can only go 3-4 Cranks max then loose balance, I see people keep their balances perfect and go a long way (even on trails, hills ext...) They make it look so easy... I am kind a loosing hope since its taking a long time for me to learn the wheelie. Dont try this cliples though since the bike falls back your feet doesnt have the side motion on the cliped pedals so you directly fall down on your back while your feet is cliped, very scary experiance...

what is the deal with the back brake?? Do you need to brake slightly while doing a wheelie to keep your balance or its only for emergencies???


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