dkisluk

I've been trying to manual forever. But I can't seen to get it straight. Does any have any tips for me?

Jason222

Arms straight, keep weight over bottom bracket, keep knees bent. LOTS of practice.

hooligan

Nononoo, weight over REAR HUB. If you keep your weight over bottom bracket, you'll never tip back.

eXistenZ

just practise everyday and you will get it right.. it took me some time to learn it and now i can do it at big speeds without any problem.. and it feels great : D

mx_599

don't know all the terms, but a manual is a wheelie without pedaling....correct?

do you need to more or less be able to hold a controlled wheelie before you can learn a manual?

eXistenZ

manual is when you do it without pedaling and without the seat and wheelie is when you use the seat without pedaling or pedaling.. this is atleast in my point of view.. and probably many people see them like that.. i guess you have to learn to do wheelie perfectly before you can do manual.. manual is harder to balance than wheelie (without pedaling).. in my point of view

zx108

some people never master manuals, its just one of those things.

you need to get a real far back lean going. the first couple times you are going to just fall on your buttocks. but you will get it you need to coordinate how much you lean with how far you are pulling the bike up also.

good luck.

gattm99

I read a good article once on manuals and wheelies. It said before you even start seriously trying to pull them you should find a tree that has a low branch you can grab, ride up to it grab it and pop your wheel up, The article said to try and feel the spot where you were balanced and stay there as long as possible. THis helped your body learn where it needed to be to stay balanced on the rear wheel.

Haven't really cared enough to see if this worked though.

lyledriver

I learned by telling myself NOT to use the brake.
At first you will get really good at hopping off the back of the bike and running. After a while, your body will learn where the sweet spot is, and you will wildly oscillate around that. Then, after even more practice, you will start pulling up and just settling in that position.

eXistenZ

dont forget to use your rear brake whenever you feel you're going too much on the back its the most important thing on a wheelie or manual.. lol no wonder i got obsessed with brakes.. i want them to work perfect, so its important to first learn to feel whenever you're in balance or when you are about to lose it.. it's not easy.. but as i said if you practise alot you will get it going very good, theory.. wont help you much

Svr

Practice, practice , practice..... when you're sick of that, practice some more!

There aren't any words that can be typed here that will tell you where the balance point is for your bike, body type and riding style. PRACTICE!

WannaGetGood

Its all practice. Everyone does it alittle differently.

dkisluk

Thanks everyone for your tips!

quintessence22

There are people that say you'll never be able to manual unless you learn it before puberty.....
That's complete nonsense cause I just proved them wrong, I'm nearing 25 (but still youthful).

It's taken me 7 months to learn how to manual... I started back in September and now I can manual about 2-3 car lengths and I'm certain that I will be improving. Keep in mind I live in cold wintery weather Edmonton, although we had an abnormally dry and warm winter, which i'm grateful for. Here's how I learned to manual.

First, over the summer and early fall I thought that the only way to get into a true manual is to just pop the front tire up and get into equilibirum (sweet spot) while unseated, so I tried this out very occasionally with my V-brakes... Then in mid-October I got disc brakes. I started trying to manual a lot more, via just pulling up into equilibrium, it wasn't easy to find. Then I dropped my bike 2 weeks later and I blew the hydraulics on the rear disc brakes. LOL. Now I didn't have the option to bail or chicken out by hitting the brakes. So I kept trying in the same style, just yanking up and trying to hit the equilibrium point... I got pretty good at it, and without brakes I was forced to learn to shift my butt.

By now I was proficient at getting into equilibrium. I fixed my hydraulics after almost 2 months (don't ask) but now winter had settled in and I had to wear gloves with wind proof mitts over them. So I still had no rear brakes cause I couldn't use just one finger to hit the brake; had to use the whole mitt, not to mention the icy streets/sidewalks. Under these cirumstances, I was able to get into equilibrium and stay in it by shifting my weight a little bit and I could only stay in the sweet spot unseated for about 2 seconds. Then in February we had a warm day and I practiced manualling with brakes. On the same day after 2 hours of practice I suddenly learned to do a seated wheelie for about 50 feet (previously, i could only catwalk like 15 feet). I had learned to pedal seated and find the equilibrium whilst adjusting with the brake. After lots of wheelie practice I recently learned to do a quick one revolution pedal directly into equilibrium while seated and just coast (no pedalling), while modulating the brake if necessary. By now I had fallen on my ass, my back, and my arms at least 80 times. Lots of kicking my bike out rapidly and just barely landing on my feet too (when i had no brakes).

I was confident I could figure out how to do a true standing manual... I just had to get rid of the remaining fear and learn to modulate the brake. The equilibrium point for me was growing and was becoming more comfortable. Also, the weather is improving and the snow is melting. So last Tuesday I was practicing a bunch of seated and unseated manuals, just pedal once, coast, and feather the brake. I fell on my back/butt 6 times but I was rapidly improving the brake modulation. Today I finally conquered it and at higher speeds... I learned to seek out and love the equilibrium point, to maintain it. No longer afraid of the next move whilst coasting in equilibrium; instead, the next move is to just stay in the sweet spot and feather the brake if necessary. Actually, the next step is to learn to hop into a manual

So that's how I learned to manual and prove that it's never too late to learn. Keep in mind (throughout our mild winter) that I'm also commuting on this bike 19 miles (30 km) per day on average of 2.5 days a week over the entire winter. So everyone who said just practice practice practice, everywhere you see room to practice, until your back, neck, and arms hurt, are giving the best tip. Another tip: try manualling at all speeds, I learned to do slow coasts and faster coasts. Faster means less lateral movement but more fear. Slower means less time to stay up because of lateral movement but less fear.

DylanTremblay

Hello fellow Edmontonian....quick question is it easier to learn to manual standing or sitting?

PS aren't you glad that the snow is finaly starting to melt quintessence22 ?

quintessence22

I'd say you have to practice both standing and sitting at all times... once you find the sitting sweet spot though, cause it's easier to maintain by quick pedal strokes, it becomes easier to find the standing sweet spot. Also, you'll learn to use the brakes more smoothly when you have time to get comfortable in the seated coasting manual.

oh boy am I happy about the melting snow and drying up of the roads. When commuting in Edmonton, it's necessary to have different clothes for every 7-8 degree change in weather. So I'm very happy to be wearing less constrictive clothes and gloves.

So which side of town do you live? if you're willing to say...


Holy crap, your sig is what I think all the time. My buddy and I got kicked out of Snow Valley this winter because I didn't want to regret not taking my bike off the snowboard park tabletop.

dirtyamerican

Do a search, it's been covered.

Manualling rules.