Who can ride a wheelie?

[c-record]

Who can do it? On any kind of bike. Extra credit for being able to do it on a road bike or fat bike. :)

[carpediemracing]

There are two kinds of wheelies, at least to me.

1. The front wheel gets up off the ground a good foot or two.
2. The front wheel gets up off the ground a good foot or two and stays off the ground for a long, long time. At least 5-10 revolutions.

I can do #1 on non-road bike bikes, like BMX or mtb. I can't do it on a road bike because I don't trust me landing the front wheel properly.

I've never been able to do #2. 2-3 revolutions maybe, but nothing more than that.

I also have not been able to master a unicycle. Perhaps the two things are related.

[Nooch]

the last time I tried, when I was a kid, I landed on my back... i've never tried since. i forever sit in awe at the kids who can ride wheelies down the damn street...

[William]

Yes, though I posted about one that went wrong a few years ago....OUCH!!!:eek:





William

[c-record]

Ok,wish I had these skills:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns5CeDHKMaA

[d_douglas]

When MTBing I can/will kickpedal to get up on things, but I dont do wheelies.

My 'pro' buddies were impressed by my trackstanding skills. I can even do it with my kids in the Chariot, though will have to calm them down when I lose my balance and wipe out at an intersection ;)

D

[eippo1]

Hmm, don't see an option for my skillset:
"Can get the front end up easily exactly when I don't want to while climbing steep dirt hills."

I did it inadvertently last year on my cross bike during D2R2 and just decided to go with it for about 10 feet or so until I hit a rut and almost lost it.

[Gummee]

Back when, I was the champeen wheelie rider of the neighborhood. Then I stopped riding bikes. I was out practicing again this afternoon. Coming back.

The key's finding the balancing point.

Last time I tried it on the road bike, I ended up on my rear end. Haven't tried again lately

M

[JayBay]

Blatant showing off picture. I'm not real fast, but I can ride a wheelie with the best of 'em.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2766/raidrockinghampromo79.jpg

[coylifut]

back in the day, i could ride a wheelie as long as i wanted, any time I wanted and on just about any terrain, including downhill. i could do just about the same on the nose of a skateboard. these days on a 29er, not so much.

[Cat3roadracer]

I see guys do it in cross races, I see myself with a broken wrist.

[thashicray]

Kinda reminds me a little bit of myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onamrs8jx2I

[Bob Ross]

When I had a Stingray with 20" wheels I could do it pretty well. Not like up & down the streets for 20 minutes non-stop well, but definitely past the criteria for #2 in OP.

Of course, I haven't ridden a Stingray with 20" wheels since 1969, and I don't think I've even attempted a wheelie since then!

[dogdriver]

Not me, but awesome...

[ultraman6970]

In my old banana seat bike when i was a kid i was able to do it all... full blocks of wheelies but in the road or track bike never could...2 guys that raced with me were able to do it but i never couldget the weight distribution right to do it.

Was HOY the one that did one to win a race?? cant remember..

[tuscanyswe]

I wish i could. Always thought it looked cool on a roadbike. Last time i tried i realized its gonna get expensive to learn so decided not to try n learn for the time beeing atleast.

[habes78023]

I agree with carpediem on this, I can do the 2-3 rotations thing fairly consistently, but for some reason can't follow through.

On the roadbike I hardly get off the ground, though I don't actually try to. I mainly just do it to hop a small curb or something so I wouldn't even call it a wheelie. I find it more fun actually to lean forward and hop, bringing the back wheel off the ground. Just a way to pass the time when I'm stopped. I guess that's more of a bunny hop than wheelie...

[gasman]

Used to do them all the time on my stingray. Then did them on my son's BMX before he sold it.
since then-don't have the balls to try it on my road bike. Too afraid I'd land on my back.

[victoryfactory]

When I was a teenager there was one kid in the 'hood who could
ride a wheelie on any bike for as long as he wanted. He had several
girlfriends and was the best guitar player in the best garage band.
I had none of that so I chose a different path…
World class wiseass extraordinaire. Turns out most girls don't like
wiseasses too much. Even world class ones. Who knew?

VF

[SPOKE]

All I can say is that I'm a "has been". I was pretty good with wheelies. I was probably best on a road bike though. Now about all I do is some pretty good bunny hops over road hazards that I just can't avoid any other way while ridding with a group.
I will occasionally loft the front wheel while taking my Ducati for a spin....;)

[pcxmbfj]

I can, maybe could, get two or three rotations on the mtbike but not so much now that I ride 29ers.
Still practice in places where I have some uphill for easier front lift.
Never sure of the difference between "wheelie" and "manual".

[c-record]

A wheelie is pedaling and a manual is keeping the front wheel up while just coasting. It seems to be an entire nother level.

[redir]

I can do it but I screwed up a couple weeks ago. I was starting to go to far and fall backwards on my cross bike and I was pulling on my brakes and nothing happened. If you are rolling backwards you just hit the rear brake and you come forward. Brakes are reversed on the cross bike Doh!!!! :eek:

So I landed on my tail bone good and hard and got a few laughs from my fellow teammates. It hurt like HELL too but the ego hurt worse :bike:

The reason why I can do it is because I spent a lot of time over a few days getting it right. That's all it takes I think is several hours of dedicated effort. Then all a sudden you just 'get' it. It's a technique of balance and confidence is very important. Practice with regular shoes on.

[Waldo]

On Thanksgiving, a bunch of us did the Berkeley Hills Death Ride (http://inl.org/cycling/rides/the-berkeley-hills-death-ride/). I popped an involuntary wheelie about two blocks from the top of Marin and, after teetering back and forth, fell on my left side at 3mph. Survived unscathed with only my pride injured. Completed the ride successfully, throwing in Hiller Drive at the end just for the hell of it.

[merlinmurph]

Wish I could, wheelies are so cool. I love seeing guys ride so nonchalantly, holding a wheelie forever. It's on the bucket list, along with riding a unicycyle.

[umami]

Or at least, how I learned to do it. Learning to do a wheelie on purpose--a good one--is a great way to know what to do when you do one accidentally. Much less chance of falling, plus every kid in your neighborhood will think you are a superhero.

a) Find yourself a grassy field with a slight grade. The grass will make it ten times easier to control your wheelie, and if you fall you won't hurt yourself nearly as badly.

1) Scootch way back on your saddle. You want your weight far back to lighten the front end. This is even more important on a road bike where you tend to be leaned forward much farther than a mountain bike. If you're on a mild grade, your front wheel should practically be hopping off the ground with each pedal stroke.

2) Put your hands on hoods, make sure you have a finger or two on the rear brake lever.

3) Position your dominant cranking foot a little above 90º on the downstroke.

4) Simultaneously push down with your foot whilst pulling up on the bars and letting your upper body come back with the momentum of the bike. OMG YOU ARE AWESOME

5) Resist the temptation to clamp down on the rear brake in a panic. This WILL put your front tire down, but it's abrupt and probably causes more crashes than it prevents. Get used to how it feels to modulate the brake with a light touch--just enough to get the front end back down when it comes up.

6) Stay relaxed and focus on feeling the balance shift as your body tips over the axle of your rear wheel. A good wheelie doesn't require faster and faster pedaling to maintain--you're looking to maintain the balance point with core strength, pedaling and light braking.

7) A good scotch, preferably a single malt of some sort, can help tremendously with technique. Can also be used as disinfectant when you scrape up your knees from the wipeouts.

If anyone has better tips, post 'em! My wheelie skills are in need of some polish.

[fa63]

I used to be able to do a pretty good wheelie on a MTB. I haven't ridden a MTB in a while, and haven't tried to pop one on my roadie, so not sure how I would do now. But it is pretty easy, really (as long as I am not clipped in so I can bail out easily if it doesn't work).

[rustychisel]

Haven't tried since 2005 when in Germany somewhere I tried one to impress a young kid. F***ked it up proper and fell off backward. It was a loaner bike, so that's probably the only reason I tried it. That and the beer.

As a kid I used to be able to wheelie to the shop and back. Hell, I could justabout park the bike doing a wheelstand and it would still be there waiting for me when I came out of the shop.

[redir]

Or at least, how I learned to do it. Learning to do a wheelie on purpose--a good one--is a great way to know what to do when you do one accidentally. Much less chance of falling, plus every kid in your neighborhood will think you are a superhero.

a) Find yourself a grassy field with a slight grade. The grass will make it ten times easier to control your wheelie, and if you fall you won't hurt yourself nearly as badly.

1) Scootch way back on your saddle. You want your weight far back to lighten the front end. This is even more important on a road bike where you tend to be leaned forward much farther than a mountain bike. If you're on a mild grade, your front wheel should practically be hopping off the ground with each pedal stroke.

2) Put your hands on hoods, make sure you have a finger or two on the rear brake lever.

3) Position your dominant cranking foot a little above 90º on the downstroke.

4) Simultaneously push down with your foot whilst pulling up on the bars and letting your upper body come back with the momentum of the bike. OMG YOU ARE AWESOME

5) Resist the temptation to clamp down on the rear brake in a panic. This WILL put your front tire down, but it's abrupt and probably causes more crashes than it prevents. Get used to how it feels to modulate the brake with a light touch--just enough to get the front end back down when it comes up.

6) Stay relaxed and focus on feeling the balance shift as your body tips over the axle of your rear wheel. A good wheelie doesn't require faster and faster pedaling to maintain--you're looking to maintain the balance point with core strength, pedaling and light braking.

7) A good scotch, preferably a single malt of some sort, can help tremendously with technique. Can also be used as disinfectant when you scrape up your knees from the wipeouts.

If anyone has better tips, post 'em! My wheelie skills are in need of some polish.

Hahaha when I first started reading this I was going to reply that a bit of Bourbon in your water bottle is great for the confidence required to tip it back to the balancing point. But I see you have included these wise words ;)

[umami]

Great minds think alike!

[Chance]

There are two kinds of wheelies, at least to me.

1. The front wheel gets up off the ground a good foot or two.
2. The front wheel gets up off the ground a good foot or two and stays off the ground for a long, long time. At least 5-10 revolutions.

I can do #1 on non-road bike bikes, like BMX or mtb. I can't do it on a road bike because I don't trust me landing the front wheel properly.

I've never been able to do #2. 2-3 revolutions maybe, but nothing more than that.

I also have not been able to master a unicycle. Perhaps the two things are related.

In my opinion a "fixed" bike would be somewhat related to a unicycle because of direct drive. Any kind of freewheeling changes the equation drastically. Can make an educated guess :rolleyes: that if the bike has a freewheel the closest to a unicycle would be if going up a hill. That should make it a lot easier to maintain for a long distance because the rider can control fore-aft balance merely by pedaling harder or softer. Basically "negative" pedaling as such wouldn't be required because the hill makes you pedal positively all the time. The rider can therefore control not falling backwards onto his back a lot easier even if he is riding with a freewheel. A video of this technique was linked on this forum a while back.

[Slonie]

I've considered dedicating an entire season to the investigation of the genetic predisposition to being able to ride a wheelie in a subject who hasn't otherwise demonstrated the ability. Stay tuned for results!

[umami]

I...I got nothin'.

http://youtu.be/h5U7-il3aHE

[cnighbor1]

seems my in his 50's neighbor up on mercer island Wa decided he should try a wheelie
Well he didn't factor in he was 6'-7'' and over 250 pounds. He got the front wheel up in the air OK but he continued going up and over. his back was Ok in a few months

[umami]

Sounds like he needs to focus on steps 2 and 7 of my Wheelie Guide™.

[killacks]

Coolest trick ever imho

Never could do these as a youngster (I'm 30 now), but I just learned how this past year on a fixed/road bike. It was a New Year's Resolution.

I'm currently learning how to manual on a bmx. Wheelies are apparently not cool in the world of bmx, btw.

Anything is learn-able with practice and a bit of guidance :)