Bike. We learn to ride on his back wheel. Wheelie (The Complete Guide to Wheelie Riding)! Rearing on a bicycle

1. Subject of study

Willie. In English - wheelie. This word originally means riding rear wheel on any two-wheeled vehicle, and, in general, in any way. However, on MTB, a wheelie is a wheelie ride in which the rider sits on a seat and maintains balance by leaning, braking, and pedaling. It’s called a trick when a rider rides on the rear wheel while pedaling while standing, although this can also go quite far (this is important for trialists - they don’t have seats).

2. Speed

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact speed at which it is best to learn to do a wheelie. In principle, this is not so important for mastering, the main thing is not to set a very large or very small gear. The gearing should be approximately the same as what you usually use on sidewalks - well, or a little lighter. Usually this is in the range from 1-5 to 2-4 (however, again, other articles advised even more than 2-4 - try all options). You need to learn to pull from about 10-12 km/h - doing a wheelie from a standstill (or at low speed) will be much more difficult.

3rd place

Naturally, the surface must be flat and without potholes - it is difficult to drive on such a surface, even if you know how. Learn to do a wheelie much It's easier uphill. Why is described below. You shouldn't even try to go downhill - it will only get you down.

4. Preparation

Let me make a reservation right away - we do absolutely everything without lifting our butt off the saddle. Push leg- the one that during normal driving (during a banquet, during all tricks) is located at the back (it is more convenient to jump on one leg and you will stick it out so as not to fall if you are unexpectedly pushed in the back). Keep your finger on the rear brake, the brake must be well tuned and adjusted - of course, hydraulics are desirable, but on vibration breaks you can also easily spin wheelies.

Let's go. We bend our elbows and lean slightly towards the steering wheel. We go like this until the connecting rods are parallel to the ground (or at an angle - so that the front leg is lower than the back one), and the pushing leg is behind. If it is not clear, I will explain it differently - the initial pressure on the pedal is made by the pushing leg - for this it must be in a “charged” state, i.e. behind or above. At this moment a jerk is made.

The video clearly shows how the bicycle is pulled out in a wheelie.

5. Jerk

From this position, we sharply turn the pedals and, straightening our arms, pull the pedal back.

Attention: the main effort is made on the pedals; with the body we simply move the center of gravity back. If you jerk your hands too much, the bike will wobble a lot and it will be more difficult to maintain balance.

During training, pay attention to the strength of the jerk - beginners make two main mistakes: “over-pulling” - the bike is pulled too hard, the biker gets scared and sharply presses the brake (this can be repeated many times) - and “under-pulling” - the bike is not pulled out enough to get there to the balance point, the biker rides on the back, but not for long - due to acceleration (more on this below). Both are undesirable. Try to find an intermediate state - this is the whole essence of wheelie.

6. Balance

During a wheelie, your arms are always straight at the elbows. . Usually the situation is like this: a novice rider, having traveled two meters, at the last moment bends his arms and rides an extra half meter. It seems that this helped, and at any slight slump he begins to bend his elbows forward, and as a result, instead of straightening out with the help of a twist and moving on, he drives the same half a meter (at best) and the front wheel drops to the ground .

Let's turn the pedals . Clonit forward- we twist faster (we lean our body back more, bend our back, slide our butt over the seat), it falls over back- we slow down (we arch our back, move our butt forward on the seat, you can even tilt your head, the main thing is not to bend your arms! This will not help!). It is important to learn to brake smoothly, a little at a time, so as not to immediately lower the wheel to the asphalt, but simply lower it a little. Clonit right- place your left knee to the side, press your right knee to the frame. The steering wheel and body make a turn (which is also involved in balance - in order not to fall to the right, we turn to the right). Clonit left- the same thing, but in the other direction. In fact, it is quite difficult to describe the entire balance technique; the body, the knees, and the front wheel are involved, in general, everything that is possible. Only practice will help you master balance. And once you get good at doing a wheelie, you'll be able to turn and even ride in circles on your rear wheel.

In the video you can clearly see how the rider balances so as not to fall to the left/right.

7. Theory

Very important point: It's hard to explain in words, but I'll try. Here's a look at this art:

Figure 1 - the bike rides on both wheels. All pedaling effort goes into gaining (or maintaining) speed, and the bike goes straight. Figure 2 shows the main mistake of beginners (after bending their arms, of course) - the bicycle in this position will ride on the rear wheel, but not for long (if you turn the pedals with constant force and speed). At first, the wheel will rise a little and “jump,” but as you gain speed, the wheel will lower and you will drive like a simple tourist. I'm not particularly good at physics, but I think this happens because the front wheel is lifted not by balance, but only by torque from acceleration, i.e. The more you accelerate, the higher you rise. But it is impossible to accelerate forever, so the correct wheelie is a wheelie with minimal acceleration.

5) arms are always straight- remember this

6) do not stop at one or two revolutions of the pedals, continue to pedal as long as possible - your legs are just as involved in balance as your body

7) feel the brake - when you press it, the wheel should not immediately hit the ground, it should only go down a little

8) screw more, but focus less - as soon as you feel tired and everything is no longer working out - take a break, do something else

When you learn to ride a wheelie confidently, you can start learning wheelie tricks - one-hander, one-footer, no-footer, crankflip, etc., but more on that in other articles.

Of course, many people have seen entertaining video clips in which professional riders effectively and efficiently ride on a wheelie, performing various tricks. The spectacle, we must admit, is very exciting. In general, surfing - wheelie riding - is becoming increasingly popular. Not a single type of extreme skiing can do without this element. Therefore, there is no doubt that almost every teenager would like to learn how to ride a wheelie in order to surprise their beautiful girlfriends.

And there is no doubt that almost everyone who has a bicycle has made independent attempts to learn how to surf. Naturally, in most cases these attempts ended in failure. However, there is no need to despair, because wheelie riding is an entirely achievable goal. Studying is difficult, but no one promised an easy life.

The first lesson is to pull the steering wheel correctly.

Let's start learning. It is important to remember that to ride a wheelie, the rider must never sit - he must be on the pedals. While driving, you need to gradually transfer your body weight to the rear wheel. At the same time, you must use straight arms (only straight, never bent) to slowly pull the steering wheel behind you. The legs also work - they bend smoothly until right angle at 90 degrees.

Thus, the most important thing that any beginning surfer should understand is straight arms and bent knees. Otherwise, nothing will work.

Lesson two: bike control

At what speed should you drive? It just depends on the rider. For example, if bicycles are traveling at a very low speed, then it is very difficult to pull out the handlebars. But there is less chance of falling off the bike and getting bumps. In short, you selected the optimal speed and smoothly pulled out the steering wheel. All that remains is to catch the balance point. The easiest part of the path has been completed. Now you need to learn how to maintain balance. And to do this, by the way, is not so easy. Requires balancing using the steering wheel, arms and legs. You will have to spend a lot of time maintaining balance while riding on the rear wheel.

Lesson three - improving our skills

In general, that's all. You now know the basics of surfing. All that remains is to re-read everything again and start training. To be successful, you need to train constantly, not occasionally. Only then will you be able to surprise others with wheelie riding.

Shift into the correct gear. Most people, when learning to wheelie, turn on the speed at which they are easiest to pedal. This corresponds to the most big star on the rear wheel and the smallest sprocket on the connecting rods. This is fine for starters, but for more advanced levels you will need to include a second sprocket on the front derailleur and one of the middle sprockets at the rear. You must maintain a speed of 10-15 km/h, and too low a gear will not allow you to accelerate well and you will lose your balance.

Make sure your rear brake is working properly. The rear brake is a very important part of a long wheelie ride, make sure it works well so you don't fall off when riding at high speed. If it doesn't work, you'll most likely end up with a soft spot on the ground. While wheeling, you should keep one or two fingers on the brake lever.

Lower the seat. You want the most stable position possible, so the lower your seat is, the easier it will be to maintain your balance.

Lock the rear shock absorber. Hardtails are much easier to wheelie than dual-suspension ones. But if you are the owner of the latter, then look to see if it has the ability to block. The performance of your rear shock will greatly affect your balance.

Find a suitable training area. Find a long, straight, level road with a slight slope. Learning to ride uphill is easier than downhill, so take advantage of this in the first stages of learning. Also try to find a place where there is no wind. Even a light wind will disturb you.

Raise the front wheel in the air. Try to point the bike straight as you prepare to wheelie. To raise the front wheel, press firmly on the pedal and pull the steering wheel towards you.

Don't stop pedaling. Pedal evenly and vigorously.

Use the brake. When you feel yourself starting to roll over, apply the rear brake. When pressed, the front wheel will lower, to prevent it from touching the ground, begin to pedal more intensely. Wheelie riding requires a good sense of balance, as the balance point is right where you almost fall backwards. With experience, you will realize that it is easiest to keep the bike on the rear wheel just when you are at the balance point. When you find this point, you will have to use the brakes more often and pedal more carefully. If you have to pedal very hard to keep the front wheel in the air, then you need to lean back more and catch your balance point. With experience, you will find the right point and be able to stay there longer and longer. Soon, you will be able to drive around the entire city on your back wheel, simultaneously catching air kisses from your fans.

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It all starts in childhood, as soon as you, as a little boy, saw a slightly older guy riding a bicycle, and even when he rides on the back wheel, your heart immediately begins to beat faster, and you already see yourself in this image. This is how we are men, give us adrenaline, and more of it, and so, this wonderful hormone can be obtained by finding out how to learn how to ride the back wheel of a bicycle, and gradually learning how to do this, which is what we will actually do. Of course, this process requires practice, however, it does not hurt to take some tips from theory.

Preparation

So, wheelie riding has the simple name “wheelie” from the English. Wheellie. On a bicycle, you need to install the smallest sprocket on the chain at the front, and the middle sprocket at the back, it is best that it be the third, because on the fourth it will be more difficult. Although if you are a person with sports experience, then please. You need to decide on the training area; it should be level, but if there is a slight rise, it’s okay. Do not accelerate quickly, lean forward on the steering wheel, while you need to continue turning the pedals. At the moment when the leg that is pushing is at the top, you need to jerk the steering wheel towards you with a sharp movement, while remaining sitting on the seat and pressing the pedal. The most important thing here is to find balance and be at the top so that you don’t fly out, and so that the wheel doesn’t immediately go down.

Technique

The main task in learning to ride a bicycle on the back wheel is the ability to maintain balance, or learn to do so. And now to the point, when tilting the body back, press the back one with a smooth and short movement and release. Again, over time, the body itself will feel how hard to press.

After shifting the balance forward, press the pedal again, but even harder. Regarding bending to the right or left side, everything is not so complicated, you need to use your knees for counterweight, and the steering wheel, of course. When tilting to the right, the left knee is pointed to the side, etc.

First problems

The main fear is falling, so you can practice, for example, turning the handlebars as sharply as possible so that the bike flies out and you can group yourself and land on your feet. When you’re driving and accelerating, you don’t need to lean toward the steering wheel and stand up, and the pedal is pressed smoothly.

How to learn to ride a wheelie video

Among fans of cycling, video sketches posted on the Internet are very popular, where experienced masters skillfully and effectively move on the rear wheel. This spectacle is quite interesting, causing a special desire among teenagers to learn this kind of riding practice.

Riding on the back wheel of a bicycle is called Wheelie or surf riding. To learn this, you will need several mandatory lessons that will gradually reveal the technique and subtleties of the trick.

Getting ready for the first classes

Learning to properly control your bike

So, the first successes have been achieved - we are able to travel a certain distance on the rear wheel. Now you need to learn how to control a bicycle in this position.

Again we remember physics, the rules of vector expansion of the applied force, in this case from the center of gravity. Using my knees as a counterweight, I can quickly learn to “steer”- just tilt them in the desired direction of rotation. It is clear that they should be excluded sudden movements– this will provoke an inevitable fall.

You can adjust the direction of movement using the steering wheel, but mirror image– to turn right, the steering wheel is turned to the left, and vice versa. With more practice, every cyclist will find the most suitable way to make turns.

Disputes often arise - is it better to sit in the saddle or stand on the pedals with bent legs. General recipe no - both methods have a right to exist, the main thing is to maintain the correct location of the center of gravity above the rear wheel. By the way, this largely depends on the design features of the bicycle. In any case, if you have good skills, you will be able to ride while sitting in the saddle with an air of complete serenity.

Typical beginner mistakes

• Often, the fear of falling prevails over the desire to learn this trick. One thing I can advise is to overcome it. Protective ammunition can play a significant role in this, allowing you to avoid serious injuries. In addition, you can, for starters, practice the correct dismount on both legs from a bicycle that has reared up and is out of control, letting it “under you” - this will certainly increase your confidence.
• “Giving up” after the first failures. You shouldn't hope that success will come instantly. Don't believe those who say they went the first time. Even learning to simply ride a bicycle takes time and patience, let alone something like this extreme form driving. Practice shows that significant success comes after a week of training.
• This has already been said - when the front wheel comes off, you cannot rely only on jerking the steering wheel with your hands- This is a dead-end option.
• You should not bend over the steering wheel, even if this seems to be the safest position - it is impossible to maintain the center of gravity in such a position.
• Sudden movements, acceleration and braking are a direct path to a fall. Everything should be smooth and proportionate.

In order to learn how to ride a wheelie, it is important not to be afraid or panic at the first failures. Only persistent training will bring positive results over time. However, time will pass when you will laugh at your current self, when such a trick will be easy to perform reflexively and even the thought that someone cannot master this will seem strange.

Video

The video will clearly show how to lift the front wheel and maintain balance: