At this point I watched hours on how to bunny hop/manual, browsed countless posts from 10 years ago and spent hours practicing. My confidence is at an all time low on a bike and I'm thinking of quitting altogether.
But there's is still one thing lacking from my research and that is: can a bike be to big to lift the front wheel?
I tried plenty, but with the same result: (the front wheel lifted maybe about 10cm off the ground and fell like a rock)
I'm taking a weeks break from riding for now, but I will gladly read your guys' opinion, I will update this post and add more context if needed but here's a pic of my bike and the geometry (my height is 174cm) Bike: https://imgur.com/a/YfScwuN Specs: https://imgur.com/a/aJpxeQr
by Leviblue89
3 Comments
Record video of yourself. Post it here.
If you’re trying to lift the front wheel, you might be doing it wrong. It’s all about shifting your weight. You don’t pull up with your arms, that’s like trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps (it doesn’t work). You throw the whole weight of your body back to make the front wheel go up. Then you need to figure out how to balance once that happens.
The fact that your front wheel falls like a rock after you try to pull up suggests you’re just doing it wrong. Not saying that to rip on you, but popping a wheelie doesn’t require arm strength and if you’re slamming back down it means your weight is too forward and not far enough backward.
No, no bike should be so long you struggle that much. That said, yeah longer bike and longer chainstays do make it *harder* to get the front wheel up, but it shouldn’t be so tough you flat out can’t do it. I’m pretty confident your technique for doing it is wrong.