How to 180 a Mountain Bike

I’ve been getting a lot of requests for another “how to 180” tutorial. this is pretty much the least practical thing you can do on a mountain bike, but it looks cool and gets you major style points, so let's get to it.

First you want to get comfortable coming out of a fakie. Rolling down a little slope or pushing off a wall is a great way to practice. Turn your bars and push down on your pedal to lift the front end up and whip around. You’ll eventually get this after a lot of trial and error. Once it's ingrained in your memory, drop your saddle as low as it can go and get ready to throw a 180.

You'll need a pretty decent grasp of either English or American bunny hops. I usually use an English hop to 180 a mountain bike, but it actually looks more stylish with an American bunnyhop. This method also lets you hop higher. The concept is the same though for both methods, so learn whichever way you feel most comfortable.

Now get going a comfortable speed and carve in the direction you want to spin. Preload your suspension while carving and then hop while twisting your body. You want to get yourself and the bike rotating, but also twist the bike into position. Once you land, you can bring your body back in line with the bike.

Once I carve and take off, I have a tendency to turn the front wheel in the opposite direction of the carve. This is a perfect setup for spinning back around.

If you want to roll fakie for longer then you'll need to have the bars dead straight when you land.

So now for some tips. A lot of people say they have trouble getting the full rotation. To them I say "jump higher and spin harder". You’re going to need to look with your eyes and commit to the spin, which I’ve said many times in the past. A lot of people whip the back end out, but this will only destroy your rear wheel. Concentrate on spinning, not whipping.

Another really common issue is that the chain pops off. If you have two chainrings up front this is almost inevitable. Having a good derailleur with a clutch is essential, and staying in sort of a middle gear helps keep everything straight. Mountain bikes are not really made to ride backwards on, so we can't blame Sram or Shimano for this.

So that’s it, hopefully you don’t taco you rear wheel learning this. Maybe next time we’ll talk about 360’s so you can taco your front wheel too. Thanks for riding with me today and I’ll see you next

[orion]

To avoid "tacoing" your back wheel, ask your friend to try out his bike, then try as many 180s as you can before he ask for it back.

[sahilraina]

Who could possibly dislike the video of a great man like him 😠😠😠. Seth you're awesome man. Keep it up

[tchang]

It's a nice way to start out the morning watching your videos, especially with the great music you have! I hope your old Trek isn't getting too jealous though!

[robbyinternet]

I wouldn't recommend trying to learn this on a mountain bike that isn't designed for street riding. The tips are good, but Seth doesn't really say how hard this will be for your average mountain bike rider to learn. He comes from a BMX background and he almost certainly learned to 180 on a BMX, which is far easier.

[rhinotana]

Hi seth I remember you saying you worked in a bike shop as a kid and wondered how you even got that since no bikes shops around me would hire an unexperienced kid. That would be a dream job for me. Keep up the great vids!

[yosephalabdulwahab]

Who else is here just rewatching sold seth?

[todduncyclist]

Love that protip at the end about tacoing both wheels ha ha

[Ryan-bsdn]

That’s sick💪🏼 I’m on a fixed 29, trying to learn the 180

[freerideforever]

Awesome I'm 51 and back in the jibbing game ..gonna give this a try!

[mtber]

haha the end got me. taco the front wheel too...

[Trebelhornc]

It never fails to humor me, that in most of your videos, you're seen wearing like khakis, jeans or some shit like that! Totally flips the status quo. Funny stuff, great videos, keep it up.

[TheVicFishing]

damn I knew you were in fort lauderdale, been going there 4-5 times in the past years for fishing and just noticed the gate where it leads to the beach next to the rocks, that's awesome. Greetings from Canada

[louisalettidegely]

Going to VK now be at Markham this weekend thanks, ride on

[cfith]

Awesome job on the videos dude, keep up the work!

[aatommypickles]

Do a full- suspension vs hardtail video with your new diamondbacks please! ☺️

[lehannie]

Nice! New vid! Recently started watching you Seth and your channel is awesome! :D

[TheJerseyBoy]

Hey Seth, like many here, I recently found your channel and love the videos! Your humor and style of footage is what makes you awesome! I had a question about mountain bike tires: Is it better to have a more aggressive tire in the front or rear? I have two different tires and do enduro type riding(Uphill, downhill, and flat/asphalt wet and dry). So just curious on your opinion! Thanks!

[peterblackhall]

Awesome video as usual i need to learn to do this now.

[Srpete]

What's up Seth ? I live in Hialeah and I realized you visit the Amelia Earnhardt trails. Maybe we can meet up and ride someday. Cool videos continue the great work.

[HyLifeSociety]

For those of you worried about ruining your nice bike, I recommend getting yourself a cheap Craigslist beater at first. When you're ready to try on your daily ride remember that it'll probably weigh less as well.