Tips for poppin' wheelies on a road bike please?

[lungimsam]

Hi. I would like to be able to pop weelies on my road bike. Any tips? As far as I can tell I need to balance hard enough (high enough gearing) pedalling to offset when I lift up on the bars?

Also, is this a bad idea for composite forks, alu rims, and kevlar type tires? I don't wanna do it if it means wrecking the bike.

[jeepseahawk]

When I pop my wheelies on the road bike, I find it much easier in the drops going downhill. You want to be in the 52/11 and bring the speed up to at least 40, when you approach a sharp corner pull up with all your might, cornering on the back wheel is a rush. Don't worry about the composite fork, they are designed to withstand 2 million lbs of force upon impact. You might try a different wheel, alum rims are not very tough, get carbon rims with a low spoke count, very flexible like a rubberband. You really want rubberband wheels just in case you do crash, very rare though. Tires don't really matter, all about the rim choice.

[labrat]

If you don't know what you're doing a road bike is NOT the place to learn popping wheelies. They're built for light weight and speed, not bike park tricks. If you do know what you're doing, popping a wheelie on a road bike really isn't any different than any other bike except you are more likely to cause damage to the bike if you get it wrong.

[achoo]

1. Get strong enough to do it.
2. Save up money to replace the front wheels you turn into tacos.

[LesterOfPuppets]

I wouldn't worry about wheels so much. Saddle, bars, brifters, fork, rear derailer, pedals, rear dropouts, etc will pay dearly if you don't know how to wheelie already. I'd get an olde roadie off CL for $100 or less, install BMX platforms and practice. Maybe start on the grass. Get used to the feeling of leaning back to far, save it by jumping off the back of the bike (platforms help greatly here).

[dpeters11]

If you have a bike with a carbon fork, I wouldn't do that kind of thing on it, other than a small hop to avoid hitting a pothole I couldn't get around.

[LesterOfPuppets]

Here's a carbon rig for wheelies!

[IthaDan]

Low gear/ slight uphill to keep from accelerating out of sweet spot of gear
Hands on flats
Tug to lift wheel
Lean back
Pedal (flare knees for balance)

Probably don't want to be clipped in.

Edit:

[LesterOfPuppets]

Do I have to look up the video of the dude doing roadie-trials on the carbon Raleigh roadie?

[Artkansas]

The most important tip I learned about popping wheelies on my road bike was to make sure that the quick release on your front wheel is firmly tightened. I learned this while popping a wheelie on my Peugeot and the front wheel fell off.

[jeepseahawk]

See, this guy is doing it right except going downhill and corner. He is in the drops with unique form, very important not to wear a helmet. Notice the low spoke count on those carbon wheels, I give this guy an 8 out of 10. Steroids will do a lot on better form.

[JanMM]

Those guys look kinda familiar...............

[rm -rf]

Floyd again.

[OldsCOOL]

The most important tip I learned about popping wheelies on my road bike was to make sure that the quick release on your front wheel is firmly tightened. I learned this while popping a wheelie on my Peugeot and the front wheel fell off.

WHOOOAAAHHHH!!!

[dirtclod]

Do I have to look up the video of the dude doing roadie-trials on the carbon Raleigh roadie?

YES! And HTFU please.

[LesterOfPuppets]

For dirtclod (totally forgot there was some skatepark action in it, too:



And Yessir! Hardening the eff up ASAP!

[dirtclod]

Thanks L.o.p. After watching that twice, I now know I'm lacking skillzz. And a roadie bike with drop bar back flip! Jeepers.

[enigmaT120]

I'm always afraid my rear fender will scrape the ground.

[Leebo]

You should try a stair gap to flat, 5 or 6 would work best. Wheelie right before top step. Seriously, try learning on a mt bike. Helmet and flat pedals on a smooth, slightly uphill grass slope. Get in an easy gear, strong foot forward at top of stroke. Pedal hard, pull up on bar, keep fingers on rear brake to prevent looping out. Let me know when you can pedal more then 3 or 4 times, I've been trying for about 40 years.

[stevebiker]

Poppin' wheelies. Wow. I haven't heard that phrase for years.

Reminds me of when I was a kid and me and my friends were on our motorbikes. A group of re-tards from the Magnolia School for special kids got loose and were wandering around, and one of them yelled out to us: Pop the wheelie!

[Doohickie]

When I pop my wheelies on the road bike, I find it much easier in the drops going downhill. You want to be in the 52/11 and bring the speed up to at least 40, when you approach a sharp corner pull up with all your might, cornering on the back wheel is a rush. Don't worry about the composite fork, they are designed to withstand 2 million lbs of force upon impact. You might try a different wheel, alum rims are not very tough, get carbon rims with a low spoke count, very flexible like a rubberband. You really want rubberband wheels just in case you do crash, very rare though. Tires don't really matter, all about the rim choice.

Win.