Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner
81 - 96 of 96 Posts
It's hard for us to understand that when you attempt to wheelie (lean back, arms extended, pedal HARD whilst in one of the easiest gears), you are unable to get the front wheel up more than just a few inches.
If it's about being extremely weak maybe you should work out your legs by doing squats, dead lifts, etc.
Not that weak (except compared to the racerboys and racer girls here) but it is ALL slow-twitch, and while I have gotten stronger, that does not change.

There's plenty of videos about this: GMBN have some very good ones pertaining to mountain biking.
l have watched those videos. Those guys can get back much further than I can due to being much taller and having bikes with short CS and very slack HTA and STA compared to mine.

Try a more static move at first, rather than a dynamic one where it becomes hard to diagnose what is going on: while coasting, get your weight far back and as low as you can, your arms should be fully extended and your shoulders near your ears. In this position, you should feel your front wheel wanting to lift off of the ground. No force/strength need be applied. It is an easy step from this position to get the wheel up, as it is almost fully unweighted.

If you do not feel the wheel lifting in this position (make sure you are really fully extended as far back as you can go - have someone take a pic of you if possible), then I would suggest that your bike fit and/or geometry is not conducive to you manualling on it.
Still plenty of weight on the front at full stretch. The position you describe is very familiar, as it is what I use going down steep hills to keep the REAR wheel on the ground.

The bike I usually practice with is a '97 stumpy M2 hardtail. Bikes of that vintage are notoriously hard to wheelie or manual, according to many reports here. The bikes I got since then, '04 FSR / XC (out of commission) and '13 Marin Mount Vision XM8 are even harder, possibly due to being heavier and full suspension. Shorter stems (much shorter) only helped a little.
Andy, have you use manual on the trail or up the sidewalk curb yet. If not you need to tap into that subconscious level.
What subconscious level?
 
I really appreciate this thread. I have been trying, very unsuccessfully, to manual for about 6 months. I got it occasionally but it was clearly to much work. The tip to feel like you are pushing the bike in front of you with with your hands and feet is very helpful. It made me realize that I was really trying to throw my chest back. I can't hit it all the time yet and I can't hold it for very long. But when I do it is a very different feeling.

Thanks for all the tips!

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 
if you cant get your weight far enough behind the rear axle at full extension then you need a smaller bike, if the bike is too big theres no point
The bike I'm practicing on is a small frame already. 13" frame which came with a long stem but now has a really short one. If I reverse the stem, my knees hit the handlebars.

Unfortunately going to a smaller frame size usually doesn't make the chainstays any shorter. "New geometry" only shortens them by an inch or so. To get back that far, I would have to grow longer legs.
 

What subconscious level?
Have you tried manual up the ledge or curb, pump the back side harder when you roll over the smooth bump(s) on the trails, stuff like that. It sounds like you are just practicing off the trail only.

As for bike geometry, the shortest chainstay 26" is just under 15" and avg classic hard tail geometry is 16"-17", current 29er HT range from 16"+-17.5". Switching 100mm stem to 50mm already make up for the reach difference.

You can also consider trial bikes 24" wheel with stay as short as 14" and overall geometry that promote rear wheel weight bias, super easy to keep front wheel up. A standing option is always used 16" bmx for under $50.
 
Have you tried manual up the ledge or curb, pump the back side harder when you roll over the smooth bump(s) on the trails, stuff like that. It sounds like you are just practicing off the trail only.
I do try it on the trail as well, but I am usually riding the FS there, so the wheel only comes up about half as far.

As for bike geometry, the shortest chainstay 26" is just under 15" and avg classic hard tail geometry is 16"-17", current 29er HT range from 16"+-17.5". Switching 100mm stem to 50mm already make up for the reach difference.
Shortening the stem only gained me a few inches. (Did that on both bikes, BTW).

You can also consider trial bikes 24" wheel with stay as short as 14" and overall geometry that promote rear wheel weight bias, super easy to keep front wheel up. A standing option is always used 16" bmx for under $50.
I have never even seen a 24" trials bike. Who makes them?

It is likely that I could get the wheel up higher on a smaller bike because it should require far less force to do so, especially if the frame geometry is designed to facilitate that. Would a trials bike be at all suitable for climbing hills? Would I have to be out of the saddle for all of them?
 
You don't want to climb a trials bike, and a BMX bike will still be a better tool to learn on.
You also don't need to get your wheel up high.

Seriously, quit dicking around and grab a cheap BMX bike. You'll find out then whether you should be blaming the bike, or whether manuals are just a lot trickierto learn than people tend to think.

Another good tip video (might wanna skip to 3:30)

Scotty Cranmer - Teaching Big Boy How To Manual | BMX UNION
 
I had an a-ha moment yesterday when it comes to manuals and so I came back to post about it and realized that it's already in this thread...

anyway, my a-ha moment was that I need to push the bottom of the bike forwards with my feet and time that push with when my arms straighten and start the pull... just like a deadlift.

Before I was doing most of the lifting with my upper and lower back because I spend a ton of time in the gym doing upright barbell rows and it was pretty much muscle memory for me. Once I started treating it like a deadlift it became really easy. The muscle movement now feels like it's mostly in my thighs and gluts.

Let me elaborate that for a deadlift, different people have different methods of visualizing it. I was taught to view it as holding onto the bar and pushing the gym floor down with your legs. if you don't visualize a DL this way then this might not make sense. It's like you're pushing the bike forwards with your feet to clear the drop as fast as possible. it actually makes sense... if you were going off a drop and the front wheel was about to go off it, you'd want the rear wheel to go off as fast as possible after the front wheel, so you push the bike forwards with your feet (the opposite of squashing a jump).

well, it became really easy for me to fall over because now I need to learn how to balance left/right wobbling lol. But hey, it's progress. I'm a newb so obviously take everything I say with a grain of salt, but maybe you can relate?
 
81 - 96 of 96 Posts