wheeling?

[Four - Twelve]

hey
at the moment im learning to wheelie (in case of any word confusion the one where you ride on the back wheel whilst pedaling). Anyway i was wondering what is classified as a decent wheelie, how long?, slow or fast? any repsonses would be appreciated

[eam]

i'm average at wheelying i suppose and i can go probably 50-70m on a good day going relatively slow. its a good skill to have. i reckon a slow wheelie looks more stylish then peddling really hard just to keep the wheel up and going really fast. just my opinion though.

[Tailus]

I can do them slowish but faster is easier and only uphill. That way, I can keep my balance at a point where power lifts the front, and less power lowers it, but t's balanced because you're going uphill. On a good day can maintain it indeffinitely. THe trick is just maintaining your speed and actually balancing rather than constantly getting faster until you can't pedal anymore.

[malcom4kona21]

id say an average speed looks the best, if you go too slow it gets boring towards the end- im working on the slow balance thing and can only go mabey 30m so i tap the front brakes to make the wheel stop moving when nobodies looking so i look like i can wheelie hardcore

[rohan_mck]

up hill i can go for as long as i want at a pretty slow pace. on flat i have done 100meters pretty fast with out tapping the break. i was trying to do a lap of the athletics track but it didnt happen

[Dicky]

I'm sure there's been a few threads on this... meh.

650m ish is my best so far - with a small downhill/uphill, and a few corners.
I'm working on a full circle in a carpark, then aiming to get the radius smaller and smaller.

some tips:

Cover your rear brake with one finger. This is important.

Don't spin your legs off trying to drive your front wheel through the air.
Find your balance point, get comfortable going past it and tapping the rear brake to correct.
If you find yourself with too much speed, either shift up, or hang out off the back and drag the rear brake.

Stay off the front brake!
The gyroscopic effect of your rotating front wheel will help with balance.

Hang your inside knee out while pedalling, lean your lower body weight slightly to get around corners. Keep your upper body reasonably upright, or the bike will lean over with it.

Speed depends on the situation.

Speed wheelies in traffic are fun, especially when you're moving faster than it is...

Very slow is easier to correct, but a little harder to stay on the balance point, because you've got less gyroscopic motion to help you out.
The opposite is true for higher speeds - the wheel is now exerting more force and makes the balance point easier to maintain - but requires more effort to correct.
It's all just physics...

[tomass]

its all practice, i absolutley rely on a back brake. Ask Live_to_ride how far i can wheelie. I got this really weird style where i just kind of dont pedal fast just balance and brake stall for a few seconds and keep going.

[Plow King]

I can pretty much do em aslong as I want

there quite easy actually

All you have to do basically is lean back pull and pedal. Doesn't sound to hard now does it?

It takes a while before you can get them going really well, but its true

Practise makes perfect.

[Four - Twelve]

thanks for the feedback, ill try some of these techniques out and see how i go

[S_M_I_D_D_Y]

for the newcastle guys: a friend of mine went from fernleigh tunnel to the road at adamstown on the back wheel. it is all downhill, with corners. i was in top gear pedaling to keep up (i have single front ring, he has triple) im guessing this is around 1km? havnt been up there for a while

[jamsta]

There's a small secret to the ultimate wheelie. Now, come closer and I'll tell ya, but shhh, its a secret...

use your rear brake - constantly!

Just feather it as you're pedalin'. it'll help control your balance point as you begin to fall back - tap it, then crank on those pedals to keep the front up. Lean back as far as possible while using the brake as you balance point control. Once you get the feel of this, you should be able to mono slower than walking pace, and around corners, one handed etc..

Good Luck and Have Fun.

Wheelies are ACE! ;)

[downhiller_1]

doing whellies is sic. if you can wheelie more that a couple of hundred metres you are good. wen i started i set a goal of getting from one piont to another. now i can go about 400 metres on a good wheelie. getting your balance is good you dont want to go wondering from side to side. if you are good you can go fast or slow depends wat fells comfortable cheers cobber

[Four - Twelve]

hey
just to get a general idea, do people find it easier or harder to wheelie on a daul suspension in comparison to a hardtail
thanks
John

[Plow King]

It would feel different

the pedaling would be abit harder on a dually

But it wold take as much skill to do it on a ht as it would on a dually

Hope that helps.

[Dicky]

geometry makes more of a difference than the presence of rear suspension - a bike with short chainstays and a reasonably upright rider position is generally easier to handle.

that said, a duallie seems a little easier.

[louie]

my firends mums sister's aunties dog can wheelie for like a gazzillion years. pretty cool

[2 smooth 4 u]

i used 2 ba able 2 wheelie a fair way but then i went single speed i thought it was better down hill and starthing slow then speeding up and use the rear brake alot