(You may need to zoom up on the video to see me. It’s a pretty wide angle)
So I’m almost 2 weeks into learning to wheelie. Actually, I’m 36 and I haven’t ridden a bike in well over 20 years. I picked up a stance 2 and decided to learn to wheelie the next day. I always wanted to learn. Since then, I’ve been practicing at least an hour a day. Sometimes up to 4 hours a day.
My biggest struggle is side to side balance. I’d say 60% of the time I pick the front wheel up I INSTANTLY have to drop it to the ground because I can feel I’m already off. I can’t even attempt to find balance because I already know I’m crooked before I even start. The 40% of the time that I don’t come up crooked and have to drop the front wheel, I start leaving within seconds and I have to come down. If I could just fix this problem, I could ride a wheelie indefinitely. The front to back balance isn’t an issue. I can find balance and maintain that point using my pedals and brakes.
I’m so frustrated. I keep working at it every day and I feel like I’ve hit a point where I’m not progressing. Any help is greatly appreciated.
13 days into learning to wheelie. I constantly fall side to side. Help please.
byu/bindtime inMTB
by bindtime
7 Comments
Not hating on what youve got going on, but you should learn to Manual instead of wheelie. (A manuel is a coasting wheelie, where you find the balance point and you learn to ride on it and stay on the balance point). It’s a much more useful skill out on the trail.
Check out some videos on YouTube and have fun!
That’s not bad! I started biking at 37 and 280lbs last year. I’m about where you are. I keep my seat so high that my center of gravity wants to pull me to the side, lower your seat height by an inch or two but not so much that when you pull up you’re pulling your back out.
Stick your knees out to control the balance (which will feel awkward).
I found it WAY easier to practice on an older bike with 26″ wheels and a rear brake that is a bit softer. If you have any hills in your area, practice riding uphill. As soon as you feel your balance point fall off middle, steer the other way with your bars and lean your shoulders that way.
My main advice is to get your knee out and turn your wheel slightly. I’ve also found having a lower seat helps to be able to get your knees out wider for balance (it also moves the balance point back, which is fun).
use your hips and knees as counterweights to control your balance. keep your arms as straight as possible. a bit more weight over the rear may help (either more tilt or scoot back on the seat) also set your dropper post at like three quarter or half of full extension. your form is really solid though tbh. you just need more practice and repetition at this point
Hi!
2 things that are happening here
1 – your **possibly** creating tortional rotation with your arms. This can be happening because your upper body movement is not completely straight. I found putting a emphasis on my lower body fixed this, as it means your less reliant on your upper body to get the bike up. therefore less likely to yank
2- your naturally drifting to one side. This is normal. use your hips and knees to move around the bike to counterbalance.
Jeff Kendall-weed is a wizard at wheelies and does this really well, watch him on youtube and you’ll see him sticking out his knees constantly to stay upright.
I found this video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h0AmExKvWs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h0AmExKvWs)
super helpful for learning.
Goodluck (your doing awesome), you’re nailing the hardest part which is actually getting out there to practice
That’s great progress for 2 weeks!
You’ve got good height and brake control so the rest will come. Don’t feel rushed – just keep doing it and you’ll improve. It took me years to learn how to do effortless wheelies as a kid. 2 weeks is just the beginning.
The video isn’t so clear but there are a two things that really helped me in the beginning;
1. Sit up. You’re already doing this, but it’s a good reminder. Slowly moving into a hunched position transfers weight to the front which means more work/panic/poor balance/end of wheelie. Once you’ve started the wheelie, make sure you keep sitting up. This has lead on consequences for manuals later too.
2. Look up. As soon as your gaze drifts down, the wheelie will become unstable and you drop the wheel. Just like sitting up, looking up keeps you straight and mentally opens the possibility of continued movement. Looking down is a dead end. Your head is more important than you think – it’s 10lbs of weight that you are balancing.
Again this is an active thing – in your video you start to tuck your head in and start looking down just before you drop the wheel. You need to actively look up/sit up to keep centred and balanced.