3 Wheelie Tips I Never Knew!

I watched every single How To Wheelie video on the internet and found three unexpected secrets that changed my ability to ride long wheelies forever!

In this video I'll share those three wheelie secrets and then we'll attempt to break my long-distance wheelie record by going for a 100m wheelie at a track!

We've been working on every skill in the book when it comes to mountain bike control - lifting and pivoting both our front and back wheels, riding up and over obstacles, dropping off obstacles. If you want to learn more bike skills, check out the other videos on this channel. There's something for every skill level from beginner to advanced bike rider.

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Channel members got an EXTRA three wheelie tips and an extended cut of this video. Join us!

My mountain bike setup:
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Chapters:
0:00 - I Watched EVERY Wheelie Video
0:34 - The Funny Thing
0:59 - The Challenge
1:12 - Three Wheelie Tips
3:54 - Testing The Wheelie Tips
5:16 - Fifth Try's A Charm?
6:04 - Fifteenth Try's A Charm?
6:28 - You Missed It
6:56 - What Else You Can Do With Wheelies

#mtb #wheelie #bike #mountainbike #howtowheelie #mtblife #bikeskills #cycling #cyclist #biker

[kaneda]

While we’re all struggling with this there’s some school kid with a beat up old bike in every neighbourhood that can wheelie forever

[tonymighalls]

It took me what seemed like ages to learn this but when I got it I couldn’t stop wheelieing every where, so what helped me was…
Tilt the seat forward a little
Put the seat forward in the rails seemed to help with the balance point too
Heels down with the kick
Weight in the seat not the feet
More engagement points helped for when you stop pedalling it’s easier to hook back up
And staying loose and moving at the hips too helped

[katanensis]

I'm SOOO HAPPY that you posted this video... At least for once I can watch a video and say... "dang, this dude sucks! I'm better at this!!!"
I started on april 2nd this year and my record at that time was about 10yd.... as of today sep 15th I managed to go 350yd!!! it took "only" 30 min a day of sole wheelie practice to get there, that was a LONG TIME!!!!
But at least I found out that you can teach an old dog new tricks... being able to learn to wheelie, gave me the confidence boost to start to try to learn trials at the young age of 50 y.o. 😀and all of your videos and tutorial are being So helpful in this journey!!!

[ahendepe]

One thing i think is misrepresented in other videos that i internalized is they say pull up on the bars. In reality i didn't make max progress until i lurched forward and gave my torso rearward momentum by PUSHING hard on the bars and locking out my arms. Also i started going faster as well and my sweet spot gear is 1.70 (front/rear sprockets) on a 29er

[speedtrials]

Here is the tip that no one ever talks about: after you can wheelie with 2 hands on the bars, it's actually easier to wheelie with only one hand on the bar. This might sound counterintuitive but once you try it I think you will agree. The arm that's off the bar can move freely to offer a massive amount of correction you can use to stay balanced. Furthermore the hand that stays on the bar is able to turn the bar much more freely than when 2 hands are on it and this also offers a massive amount of correction you can use to stay balanced.

[JosephBank]

Fun video. I spent a long time before I took up trials learning to wheelie with my goal being a lap around my roughly 1/8 mile cul-de-sac circle. You had some really great tips in this video. Two more I'll throw in. Learn to shift gears while in a wheelie. It helps solve the problem you were having of finding the right gear to match your speed. You can start in an easy gear to initiate and as you speed up shift. The 2nd tip is one you already do a bit, but learning to freewheel and do "coaster wheelie" a bit. When you are starting to loop out, instead of feathering the break, just see if a bit of coaster wheelie will solve it, allows you to maintain speed without looping out most of the time. A bit like avoiding the brake when doing manuals. Pretty cool to see how much progress you made in just a short video; I'm not at all surprised, you have all the pieces already in your skillset.

[junka]

That's pretty epic. I am still working on keeping the balance point over short distances. I didn't realise until I first got there that the balance point feels weightless, no weight pulling forward or back, it freaked me out the first time. Now I try to find that feeling each time I try.

[phoebediehl]

Thanks for the great tips.
I'm 63 years old, {post quad bypass) and also ride a Chameleon. Still practice wheelies and probably can do half that distance on my best day. Biggest problem is feathering the back brake, it's always "grabby" but I'll I'm still getting better at it!

[McbrydeWithaY]

The one thing that instantly helps me is keeping my back straight and sitting tall.

[dansacco]

All this time I thought wheelie gear was a fresh outfit to impress onlookers.

[two-wheeledfun]

Aaron, you have a great channel. I have discovered you recently and you're already my first place to go for tips to learn something new or get better at something that I'm struggling with.

[Teracis]

These are wheelie good tips!
I'll be practicing wheelies on my next ride for sure. The constantly adjusting for balance is my favourite way to think about this, I 'knew' it but it's one to keep conscious of during practice rather than just 'knowing' the concept. Same applies to manuals.

[boblatkey]

I'm 58 and practice 20 minutes a day five times a week and it is taken me over six months but I'm finally looking pretty Styley!

[TheeGabrielAndrew]

The angle of my seat helped get me more comfortable, and gave me the extra bit I needed to "sit" more balanced and keep progressing.

Maybe try pitching the nose of your saddle down a bit. It helped minimize the feeling of falling back when my angle changed as the front wheel is up

[ExplosiveNotes]

I found back protector to be useful when learning wheelies, for cases when you fail at applying the rear brake soon enough.

[Allsystemsaredown]

Looking way, way off at the horizon helps side to side balance a lot.
Also, keep pedalling when you dab the rear brake to stop yourself going over backwards. If you stop pedalling it takes a moment to get the pedals going again after the brake dab, so the wheel comes down before you get a chance to catch it. I spent ages doing small wheelies and deliberately bringing them down with the rear brake to kind of hard-wire in the link between the brake and bringing the wheel down so it becomes automatic.

[Yabadabdobap]

What I am doing right now is doing really good wheelies, I can wheelie for a really long time and do some really good tricks, but I have had some negative comments and they have put me down for a bit but what I’ve done is not listen to negative comments and keep confident and believe

[craigmccall]

Tallish post and seat back on the rails.
BMX gearing.
Coaster wheelies make you a wizard. Especially down hill.
A smooth rear brake. Not too grabby.

[Soapmctowelish]

Excellent video. Informative and enthusiastic! I will vet practicing now!

[frank]

Hardtails for the win !! Wheelie is a great physical and mental exercise.