# How to ride a wheelie? I'm going nuts :( :(



## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

Hi!

I've been trying to do a basic wheelie where you pedal on and its killing me 

I've seen a ton of youtube videos, and everything looks so effortless.....but when i try, it just doesn't work 

I can get the front wheel up, i have looped over and jumped off the rear a billion times....but I'm not able to keep the front wheel up and steady while i continue to pedal on.

I can keep the front wheel up just for 2-3 pedal strokes and I have to land it. Also, I need to exert a fair bit of force to loft the wheel up and my arms start to ache like crazy. When I use a really easy gear, it lifts easy....but the pedal spins tooo easy and I cant pedal so quick to continue to keep the wheel up.

Common problems are, I lose side to side balance and I have to end up aborting the wheelie....just not able to nail it  Its starting to get frustrating now.!

1. Any advise on what I could be doing wrong, and what i need to do to get it right?
2. How long did you guys take before you could do wheelies effortlessly?
3. Is my bike screwed up and which is why things are hard? Here's the link of a pic of my bike - https://www.myatlascycle.com/images/enlargeimages/ch_zoom_pic16.jpg

Please please please guys help me here....I so damn badly want to learn this 

Thanks a lot!
Cheers!
San


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## ljsmith (Oct 26, 2007)

1. It is hard to know what you are doing wrong without seeing you.

2. It should not take very long to learn to ride a wheelie. 

3. Your bike looks like a tank. I would imagine that it is much more difficult to ride a wheelie because it is so heavy.

In my opinion I don't know why you are so worked up over riding wheelies anyways unless you want to be a trials rider. When I was a kid riding bmx it was a big deal to show off. But riding a wheelie really doesn't improve your offroading abilities at all. I think you would be better off working on your bunnyhops and track stands.


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## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

wheelies are more about weight shift than about pulling up. use a medium gear and feather the rear brake. otherwise just practice more.


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## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

double post. woo.


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## nhrider90 (Feb 21, 2009)

i agree with ljsmith, but also riding wheelies might be tougher on a FS than a HT but i find the easiest way to learn is up a hill (not too steep) so you can constantly pedal without picking up speed, also heep your hand on your brake and ease it on if your going over. other than that, its all feel.


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## hankthespacecowboy (Jun 10, 2004)

I don't know that agree with the statement "It shouldn't take very long to learn to ride a wheelie." I've been riding for several years now and though I'm comfortable with medium-sized drops and other techy sections, I still can't ride a decent wheelie, or manual very well at all. I think it takes a lot of dedicated practice. I finally got track stands down, but that was mostly because I spent a lot of time on my road bike a couple years ago, practicing at stoplights. I imagine wheelies are the same way. You just have to make yourself go out and practice. I think wheelies, and manuals even more so, would be a handy skill to have for off-road riding.


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## one incredible donkey (Jul 19, 2007)

Practice, practice, practice. You've learned how to get the front wheel off the ground. That's the hard part for most people. Whenever you ride you should practice.

Also, keep in mind that being able to get the front wheel off the ground at a decent height for a second or two are all you'll need for most trail riding. Anything else is just for fun. As long as you can get your front wheel up and over an obstacle you'll do fine.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

तुम असली के लिए है


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## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

Wow! Thanks guys! This is one incredible forum 

@ljsmith
3. Your bike looks like a tank. I would imagine that it is much more difficult to ride a wheelie because it is so heavy.
Just weighed my bike....its a good 22kilos....is that like friggin heavy? Well, here in this country where I live, I cant find any trails and sections to ride on.....I'm probably the only guy here who's interested in this kinda stuff....so that sucks. And besides, I've been seeing videos of Ryan Leech....and hell I want to learn all of those over time  It has turned into an uncontrollable obsession at the moment 

@one incredible donkey
Yea, that took me like 10-15 days of frustrated attempts....to learn how to get my front wheel off....now thats quite easy....I can launch it off all the way so that I loop back and jump off the rear....but I still need to pump my bars to get this to happen. Its not "just" the pedal stroke. I read this article here - http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/fitness/article/skills-qa-how-to-master-the-wheelie-19946 and he talks about just doing a pedal stroke.....my front wheel barely bobs when i try this! I need to synchronize a pull up with the pedal's down stroke to see any levitation!

The biggest problem is....when I pull up on my handle bars, there's usually some form of unbalanced power applied causing the bike to tilt on either side.....else, the power is not hard enough to get it up to that sweet spot......or its too high to loop out....

Its really hard to get consistent here...and thats whats frustrating me :-/

I'm starting to feel its my bike.....either the seat height, the handle bar height....or the friggin bike itself :-s I bought something real quick without doing my research and thats whats bitten me now! Need to upgrade my bike for sure.....need reassertion for that tho!

Thanks a million guys! I'm real glad that I found these forums!

Cheers,
San


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## LeftyKyle (Feb 17, 2009)

dt,

it sounds like you are "mashing" instead of "spinning" once you have your front wheel up. if you are pushing hard on one side or the other you are going to throw yourself off balance. you want to keep centered. Try it in an easier gear with more of the front end lift coming from your upper body and less from rear wheel torque so you can spin more once you are up. May be totally off, but if you are bailing sideways it is a thought.


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## one incredible donkey (Jul 19, 2007)

dreamtheater39 said:


> Wow! Thanks guys! This is one incredible forum
> whats bitten me now! Need to upgrade my bike for sure.....need reassertion for that tho!


If you mean "upgrade" as in buying new parts for your bike, it won't be worth it.

Instead - keep riding, learn the basics, learn about bikes, and figure out what kind of riding you like to do. And while you're learning, start saving money. By the time you have a good amount of money saved you'll be educated enough to buy a new bike which suits your needs.


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## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

one incredible donkey said:


> If you mean "upgrade" as in buying new parts for your bike, it won't be worth it.
> 
> Instead - keep riding, learn the basics, learn about bikes, and figure out what kind of riding you like to do. And while you're learning, start saving money. By the time you have a good amount of money saved you'll be educated enough to buy a new bike which suits your needs.


I meant change the bike altogether 

I guess i'll have to buy something like a trek....but i really need to convince myself well enough before I cough up that kinda money for a bike! A little more time on my battle tank before I change my bike I guess....until then I guess I'll just keep giving it a go until I get whatever best I can out of it! Will factor in all suggestions in tomorrows ride and post back 

I have a feeling my handle bar height is adjusted a lil too high....need to lower that and see if it makes it any easier!

Thanks again!
San


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## lampy29 (Oct 16, 2008)

A little rear brake moderation can make all the difference while doing a wheelie. 

Also, 22 kilos = 48 pounds. That is freakin heavy. That is insane. Might be that your rear travel is sucking up your power / weight when you shift back for the wheely making everything squirrelly with the nose up. Another thing about your bike: The barends (if yours are set up the same) should be almost horizontal with a long bar like that - maybe pointing up a few degrees but not vertical as shown in the pic. 

Out of curiosity where did you pick up the bike?


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## one incredible donkey (Jul 19, 2007)

lampy29 said:


> Another thing about your bike: The barends (if yours are set up the same) should be almost horizontal with a long bar like that - maybe pointing up a few degrees but not vertical as shown in the pic.
> 
> Out of curiosity where did you pick up the bike?


What's really weird is that all of their bikes seem to have the bar ends positioned that way: http://www.myatlascycle.com/products.php?catid=1


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

dreamtheater39 said:


> I meant change the bike altogether
> 
> I guess i'll have to buy something like a trek....but i really need to convince myself well enough before I cough up that kinda money for a bike! A little more time on my battle tank before I change my bike I guess....until then I guess I'll just keep giving it a go until I get whatever best I can out of it! Will factor in all suggestions in tomorrows ride and post back
> 
> ...


I wouldn't say you need to spend a lot of money, I know this is MTBR forum, but if you want to learn a lot of ryan leech like trials stuff, fing your self a BMX bike, you'll be very surprized how easy you will find a lot of the tricks (like wheelie and manuals) on a smaller hard tail 

Then like most people here have said, practice, practice and after that more practice... :thumbsup:


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## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

lampy29 said:



> A little rear brake moderation can make all the difference while doing a wheelie.
> 
> Also, 22 kilos = 48 pounds. That is freakin heavy. That is insane. Might be that your rear travel is sucking up your power / weight when you shift back for the wheely making everything squirrelly with the nose up. Another thing about your bike: The barends (if yours are set up the same) should be almost horizontal with a long bar like that - maybe pointing up a few degrees but not vertical as shown in the pic.
> 
> Out of curiosity where did you pick up the bike?


22kilos is heavy eh? Whats the ideal weight that I should look for?

I've taken off the handlebar ends....so mine's rather flat....and the mud guards and all the other excess has been clipped away.

This i picked up from a local bike store here in India (Bangalore - my city ). It costs sooo damn cheap in comparison to all the trek bikes etc. Any guesses what it could cost? 

I dont think you're anyway close....it costs just 140 USD 

Cheers,
San


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## eatdrinkride (Jun 15, 2005)

> I dont think you're anyway close....it costs just 140 USD


Well that would explain why it weighs 22 kilos, lol.


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## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

eatdrinkride said:


> Well that would explain why it weighs 22 kilos, lol.


I had no clue about what to look for in a mountain bike when I bought this! Its only after I bought it and started riding around....I started getting obsessed about learning all the tricks and then started to get interested in learning trail riding skills and stuff.

A lot of research followed and then I figured why bikes cost more....no remorse here fortunately as it only costed 140 USD . When I was buying my bike all i was looking for is a full sus system and 21 gears shimano as my only qualifier....and this fit the bill then!

Some questions guys....if I need to buy a bike to use it pretty ruggedly (all on concrete surfaces) for doing jumps (off the kerbs etc.) which bike do you suggest from TREK? TREK has a distributor here, so that would be easily accessible. Will i need rear suspensions at all? (Guess its imp for it to absorb impact when I jump off and land I'm thinking) What would the cheapest bike be which will work well?

I can also buy firefox range of bikes here....so if you could look one up from this site - http://www.firefoxbikes.com/bikes.htm and recommend something I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks so much!
San


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## lampy29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Regarding your question about weight - a cheap hardtail out of the LBS would be around 13 kilos (30lbs), and that's pretty heavy by XC mountain bike standards. Race XC bikes weigh around 9 kilos (20 lbs) so 22 kilos is off the charts for what your looking at. 

I would stay with the Trek bikes if I personally were buying. Will you be just jumping off curbs or will you be doing 'big jumps' as well ie where you will get more than 3 feet of air?

In terms of which bike from Trek it totally depends on your budget. How much do you want to spend?

One more question: are you sure you've using a good LBS?


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## drain bamage (Nov 24, 2008)

Hello... I have a 38 point full suspension bike and I got it for christmas and to this day I still cant ride any longer wheelies than 100 feet... The people that can ride them say it took about a year to learn. Every day I practice about 30 minutes to an hour or more.


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## lampy29 (Oct 16, 2008)

On long wheelies I've found the trick in moderating speed with the rear brake. Definitely can take a long time to learn.


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## holycrikey (Sep 7, 2008)

Holy CRAP. 22 kilograms!? That is insanely heavy.

I thought my Giant was a fattie at a tad over 30 pounds (13 kilograms). Wow.


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## dontheclysdale (Mar 12, 2008)

Riding wheelies is all about balance. You have to find the balance point and stay there. Once you find the balance point it's a fine line between balance, pedal torque (to keep the wheel up,) and rear brake (to keep you from spilling over backwards.) I've got motocross buddies who can ride wheelies for miles. Same with mountain bike buddies. Me personally, I can't ride a wheelie on either for very long. I simply can not get comfortable when on the balance point. By comfortable I mean knowing that you are a lb of pedal torque away from spilling over backwards. When you're on the balance point you are VERY close to the point where your back brake will no longer save you. 

Once you master the feeling, you can pretty much do it on any bike though it may take a couple tries to find the balance point. IMO trying to learn to ride wheelies should be done and grasped on a hardtail bike before trying to learn on a heavy suspension bike. Not saying it can't be done, I'm saying you're making it a lot more difficult.


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## dreamtheater39 (Mar 12, 2009)

Nothing like a budget....it has to be sensible and not insane! (not looking at the carbon fiber babies for sure!!!)

I want something which will last atleast a good 3 years of biking and some fairly rugged usage on concrete surfaces....

btw, a quick update on my current skills 
I've been much better at it after factoring in a lot of tips here....I can now effortlessly get the front wheel off....I've basically got the timing right in my opinion....I mean the pedal down stroke along with the pull up.

I seem to be getting a lot of lift from the pedal stroke now than the pull up.....so thats great! I hardly throw in any effort in pulling up my front wheel. I guess it was also about the right gear choice along with a good pace before attempting to lift off. I've gotten to the balance point many times and have kept it going fairly well....feels euphoric! Its not consistent as yet....and thats the killer! Also, its not to long a distance.....but it feels like i'm getting there!!! 

@dontheclysdale
I think you're so right here! The suspension really makes it quite tricky in maintaining balance as my bike starts bobbing up and down....and that kills the balance...

Well, its addictive.....and i cant wait for my next fix ;o)))

Cheers!
San


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## drain bamage (Nov 24, 2008)

I can wheelie as long as I want. I started practicing in january. I have about a 38 pound bike full suspension. I had the same problems use your brake! look at the horizon and make smooth pedal srokes.


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## davidbeinct (Dec 6, 2007)

dreamtheater39 said:


> 22kilos is heavy eh? Whats the ideal weight that I should look for?
> 
> I've taken off the handlebar ends....so mine's rather flat....and the mud guards and all the other excess has been clipped away.
> 
> ...


I don't want to burst your bubble, but I doubt anyone here was very far off the price guess at all. That bike is the equivalent of the inexpensive bikes sold in department stores in the US, where most MTBR readers are. It looks very fancy to the untrained eye. but is obviously not a serious mountain bike. I'm not trying to knock you, you have it now, ride the heck out of it.

But, when it comes time to upgrade, and I most definitely mean the whole bike, look at some inexpensive hardtails from the likes of Trek. You will be amazed at how much lighter the bike is and how much more precise the shifting and ride. As far as your current bike, don't upgrade anything on it, unless something breaks to the point where your safety would be compromised to continue as is.

David B.


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## mlepito (May 1, 2007)

You know I've been riding for almost 15 years, and I can't wheelie. I can ride over almost anything. I can clear a 2 foot log going uphill, but I can't wheelie. Never have been able to.


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## drain bamage (Nov 24, 2008)

I cant even bunny hop if that makes you feel better, i can wheelie for 2 minutes but cant even get my back tire off the ground!


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## 550 (Jul 26, 2009)

I cant even pull my wheel up more than 8 inches at most hahaha


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