Childhood was an amazing time, we grew up watching spectacular shows, from cartoon shows to amazing reality shows. One of those shows included dirt bike races across amazing vistas, those racers would do all sorts of stunts.
Including those amazing stunts were wheelies, a spectacular display of skill and discipline. Now that we have grown up, we still watch those shows, but now there is a fire within to do those exact same wheelies. If you have a desire for that then you have certainly come to the right place!
From normal wheelies to power wheelie, this guide contains all the information you need to do amazing wheelies. Written by our cycling maestros, you will find all sorts of guidance here, so let’s get started.
Why Would You Want To Wheelie?
What is the reason for learning to do a wheelie anyway? What does it bring exactly? Wheelies are the main epitome of happiness when you are going for stylish cycling. Wheelies help you maneuver on different kinds of obstacles when you are cycling while also keeping the bike up.
Other than that, it makes you feel and look extremely cool, like a skilled professional! Once you learn how to do a wheelie perfectly, may it be mountain bikes or regular bikes, you will always look spectacular.
What’s In This Guide?
We know that the readers are getting impatient about the guide, but let us break down what actually awaits you in this guide.
This guide has been drafted by our expert team, they have gone through all the details and will make sure that you have all the amazing wheelie skills by the end of this guide.
These are some of the topics that will be addressed by our cycling professionals:
- Having A Right Starting Position
- Having The Appropriate Gear
- Having Protective Gear
- Finding The Perfect Balance Point
- Practice Wheelies All By Yourself
The main thing with wheelies is that you have to balance things out, the bike needs to keep rolling with constant dabs of pedals and rear brakes, failure to do so will not result in a wheelie but rather a complete disaster.
Once you have gotten used to the techniques, you will need to practice over and over again. The only thing which will make you perfect with anything will be practice, so make sure that you do a LOT of that!
Start By Controlling Your Bike
The first thing that you have to do here is to control your bike when both the wheels are on the ground, this has to be done before you attempt any kind of trick. It does not matter what kind of bike you have in the first place, master yourself at controlling it first!
The perfect balance will allow you to do the wheelies smoothly and without any kind of problems, even if you fail at some point, you can easily regain balance again. Test out the full potential of your bike is the key here-say all the professionals. You should check out the following aspects of the bike:
- Maximum Speed
- Stability
- Maneuverability
- Comfort
When all of these aspects have been fully checked, only then can you try out the wheelies and other tricks. Your bike is your loyal steed, it won’t let you down, you just need to ease into it, feel fully comfortable with it. Next up is training in a large area, this will be your ultimate playground! Just make sure that you have those elbow pads ready!
The area that you will choose for practicing must be flat and without any kind of obstacles, we don’t want you getting into any kind of accidents. There are many examples for that, but you can choose the best ones by yourself, if you want to take things up by a notch then you can try riding uphills too, that would be extremely fun! Make sure that the balancing point is accurate though.
While practicing, make sure that you gain enough speed so that you can ride the bike without pedaling for a while, this shall make you prepared for the wheelies. Flat pedals come really handy here, they are best known for giving a lot of speed.
Get Into Low Gear (For Mountain Bikes)
If you tried going upslope then this one is for you. Make sure that are on low gear, this will help when you have to pop the front wheel. The combination of flat grass and flat pedals does wonders here, practice just becomes better and easier with them.
For things to go smoothly from here, you have to select the ring at the front and four gears below the easiest gear. When this is done, pedal the bike while dragging both the brakes with you. Make sure to do this easily and with patience otherwise, things will not go smoothly for you.
Time To Put The Dominant Foot Forward
Now that you have gotten comfortable with whatever bike you have, it is time to put the dominant foot to work. Make sure that you put your non-dominant foot down, if you are right-handed then that will be your left for and vice-versa. Put that foot at the bottom of the pedals, your dominant foot must be at the right here, all ready to go forward.
People make a huge mistake here, they don’t put their knees in parallel with the pedals. Make sure that they are parallel, or you might go out of balance. Having the sideways balance is a necessity while doing wheelies.
Lifting The Front Wheel
This is where the real fun begins. Your feet need to be in the same position as the bike when it is in motion. After doing that, stand up on your seat gently and slowly, then lift the front wheel up by pulling the handlebars back. Keep on practicing this step, it is completely okay even if manage to lift the wheel by a few inches.
Some people don’t get it when we ask them to practice this step. Lifting up the bike like this syncs the upper body with the bike and makes balancing easier. You will also get to know how much force is required for you to lift off the bike.
In order to make things easier, stop pedaling the exact moment when you lift the bike.
Practice Manuals Frequently
Doing manuals and practicing over and over again is only going to help you out with the wheelies. Consider this a much-needed mountain bike step or a necessity with other bikes, but this will only help you out in the long run. What you have to do here is put your weight back and pull the handlebars so that the front wheel lifts up. You counter this by putting your weight forward again but slightly.
Lean forward slightly, there is no need for haste here, just make sure that all of this is done without pedaling. Here are some tips to make the manuals easier:
- The bike must be 40-degrees off the floor
- Arms should be vertical
- Legs should be bent to push the rider inward and backward, this is very necessary for balance
Time To Practice A Wheelie
Now that you have gotten most of the stuff, it is time to do a wheelie or at least practice it. While going in a straight line, pedal hard and shift your whole weight to the back. Your buttocks should be outwards now towards the seat, do that and pull the handlebars to do a wheelie.
Your arms should be vertical here, also make sure that they are parallel to each other otherwise you won’t be able to balance the bike.
Using The Dominant Foot Again
It is time to use the dominant foot again, make sure that you put your dominant foot forward while you pull back the handlebars. In order to have a good start, make sure that the foot is already at the top of the pedal circle, keep on pushing your foot forward. The non-dominant foot here will start from the down while the dominant one starts up.
We need to create a stronger pulling force than the pushing force, that is the main trick. Even the forward motion should be strong so that you don’t actually fall backward while popping a wheelie.
Your knees need to be in sync with the pedals, make sure you do that before the thrust forward. Bend the elbows slightly and keep your arms straight. Moving the handlebars forward and backward is necessary to maintain the balance, this way you will have a backup in an emergency.
Don’t Stop Pedaling
The pedal stroke should not be abandoned if you want to do a wheelie properly. Enough torque should be exerted so that the front wheel can be lifted off without any kind of problems. Check the back wheel and rear brake, you need to make sure that you don’t fall sideways while popping a wheelie.
In case of an emergency like falling forward, you need to pedal really hard and quickly. If you want to stop doing wheelies then just slow down pedaling and the front wheel will come lower down itself. You can also apply the rear brakes to put the bike into an immediate halt!
Congratulations, you have just done a successful wheelie. Now as we discussed at the start of the guide, the only thing that will make you perfect here is practice!
How To Wheelie – Better Wheelies In 1 Day
Recap
Wheelies are a lot of fun, but executing them perfectly takes a lot of practice and skill. This guide is specially made for people that love to do wheelies, may it be for fun or profession. Different tips and tricks are also shared but I must say that having a wheelie bike makes things a lot easier.
Wheelie bikes are perfect for, well, wheelies, because they have a stronger rear wheel than a front wheel. We will discuss more of this later but we hope that this guide answers all of your burning questions about wheelies.
