OMG Laffo

Do you really have balance issues that are solved by speed moderation in your normal riding. I don't and low speed fg balance and wheelie balance isn't about weight shifting its about using the pedals and steering to keep the bike upright without spinning wheels. Everything improves reflexes. So yeah maybe you'll get to be a slightly better rider but you aren't really building the high speed handling, gap judging, vehicle awareness or any other core urban riding skills you use on a daily basis.

Compare that to mountain biking where the skills you learn in urban and trials are directly used later on the trails. Sure I may never encounter a picnic table in the middle of a trail or a large set of stairs but getting over a couple of logs or down a weird drop uses the exact same skills. Practicing on the table means that I can get over the log safely at 20mph gasping for air with a heart rate over 190. Same goes for the stairs the comfort I've built up as well as knowing how far I can go means that when I come on some 3' drop with a log at the bottom I can instantly hop over then mess as opposed to slamming on the brakes and praying for the best. With the exception of actual "tricks" riding urban and trials directly builds the skills you need for other mtb disciplines. In fact I will go so far as to say that there is little a novice rider can do that will increase their ability to deal with obstacles faster then going and ****ing around in a park or somewhere one or two afternoons a week.

Where Ø equals the cool points of trick
Cos Ø = Sin ( .5π - (frequency of said trick by hipsters))

Type all you want, I still disagree based on my personal experience.

I think that developing my trackstanding is giving me more confidence riding between buses and stuff like that. Balance skills are key in shooting narrow gaps and generally in holding hairy lines.

Rollers?

Sure, rollers obviously help train for balance as well.

I don't think this argument is going to be resolved by everyone reporting on their subjective gut feelings. Without actual data we are all more or less talking out of our assses. That said, my impression has always been that getting better at trackstanding improves my overall confidence on the bike. YMMV.

I feel like such a failiure.

I can't trackstand, wheelie, do reverse circles, anything...

I can ride forwards and do it fast though.

there are usually more than two options in any given situation. and the correct answer to many questions may be a blend of the multiple (not just two) options available. the modern mind seems satisfied with this black and white, all or nothing approach, and with the limits imposed upon options for thought and actions. witness the president's dictum that you are with him or with the terrorists, implying only two options and no grey areas.

perhaps the answer to this question incorporates both those options, and perhaps the option that hey, it's just fun. and maybe there's a mix of all three, or two, or no mix at all depending who you ask.

personally, i suck at tricks, but i try them for one reason only. they're fun.

mmmmm....i'd love a slice of 3.14159....

...26535...

if you learn enough tricks you will be able to fly away

trackstanding is deffinitly the most rediculously useful thing in any kind of street riding...i learned how to trackstand on my road bike because it was all i had... and whenever i would ride with people that didnt it was annoying how long it took them to get through the intersection we were stopped at and up to speed...
for all tricks, balance, control, limits has already been mentioned, but is deffinitly worth repeating
-pete

trackstanding is useful...the other sh*t is just fun, and no, I can't do the other sh*t.

**********??really**********

Yes I Cant Wait To Read Dutrets Mini Novel About How Hes Right And Wheelies Arent Actually Real

and i hope we explains why caps is blocked.

I'm pretty sure learning silly tricks doesn't hurt your abilities, and they're fun. So why not?

Sorry, that was more about trackstands then wheelies I guess. Side to side wheelie balance is a weight issue, for/aft is about power control especially on a fg. Trackstanding is pretty much all power control. Thats why we can trackstand easily but have trouble balancing on a bike with no chain. Either way riding on rollers will help you hold a straight line between to buses better then any fg trick I know of. XC riding would probably be the best way to hone these skills without all the danger. Why the **** would you cut between two moving buses anyway?

+1
haha

i went between a parked bus and a moving bus by accident one day near drexel's campus (coming into a right turn at an intersection too hot, didnt realise there was a parked truck on the other side of the street causing the moving bus to come over to the right side of the road where i was merging... that scared the living crap out of me... esspecialy when i felt something in the cargo pocket of my pants smack the moving bus...

i really really dont recomend this... and im not sure how any trick skillz would help here anyway... slow speed seems to be the much bigger issue for me... trying to get through traffic during rush hour in center city on my way into work... sneakboxing through cars that are either not moving or barely moving... and watching for the inevitable un-signaled lane change attempt into an already overcrowded lane while im approaching...

and my least favorite trick, which i havent mastered well enough... the "between a pedestrian and a hard place" dodge
-pete

The shortest, and quickest, path between two points is a straight line. And that line often lies between two busses. The term "threading the needle" comes to mind. It's a pretty effective way to get somewhere quickly (especially when the other options are waiting behind a bus, or attempting to maneouver around it into fast-moving car trafic), and FUN AS HELL. Probably should only be attempted when both busses are stopped, or not moving very quickly at the least. Oh, and there's still a BLOODY good chance you'll die. But, again, it's fun.

That last paragraph describes most of my favourite parts of being a messenger.

As for tricks...trackstands are BLOODY useful. No-handed ones provide a bunch of useful (but not necessarily traffic-related) options, like all them messengers who roll cigarettes and finish paperwork while waiting at stoplights. Bunny hops (not really fixie tricks, but very doable on a fixie with a little practice), especially at high speeds, when someone cuts you off into the curb CAN AND WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE. Skids are pretty self-explanitory - learn 'em dammit. And riding backward is just damn handy...I remember the exact moment I swore to get a fixie...I saw some guy pull a 3-point-turn on a bike.

Can wheelies make you a better/faster rider? Yes, for two reasons. 1 - they drop your rolling resistance by half. 2 - everyone knows, the cooler you look, the faster you go.

I once saw a guy in Berlin with a fixed stunt bike jump into a wheelie, roll around...get to the top of a staircase, jump halfway down doing a 180 in mid-air, landing in a wheelie, then jumping the rest of the steps with another 180 and landing in another wheelie. Not the MOST useful in traffic situations, but might come in handy. Or, at the very least, might help ye get some tail.

I agree about trackstands: an incredibly useful and a skill all riders on any type of bike should acquire. I don't however see how a trackstand with both feet threaded through the triangle or while facing backwards helps much. Similarly I doubt skidding with one leg over the bars as far as possible really improves your ability to stop fast when you need to.

Bunnyhops aren't a trick in my book but a core cycling skill for almost every type of riding. One that I have not mastered as well as I would like sans-freewheel.

My point is that in general even the most ridiculous trials course or urban gap is in essence training basic skills that are essential for all MTB. In fact is it by far the best way to acquire and hone such skills. To such a point that I think it is worth it for novice xc riders to trash their bike ****ing around in this fashion some. Even with the inevitable equipment damage they will become better riders and gain key skills much faster then they would just riding the trails. I don't think no handed skids, wheelies or complex trackstands are anywhere near this useful.

PS.... skids cost money.... my tire is torn to ****.

I like how practicing tricks that require balance doesn't equate to better balance in general. Here's something to consider: as your ability at specific tricks increases, your general comfort level of reacting instinctively with more extreme handling maneuvers increases as well. I'm just talking about off-balance turns and riding at slow speeds under awkward conditions (ie. big "something" under one arm, avoiding streetcar tracks at speed, etc.).

Turn that frown upside down, Dutret. It's okay to be wrong sometimes.