Comments on How to Do a Wheelie on a Bike

I have leaned back too far three times. The first time, I was standing up doing a wheelie, popped up too far, and landed on my head and back (without a helmet; I could sure feel it). The second time I leaned too far back sitting down doing a wheelie, I landed on my feet. The last time, I was sitting down doing a wheelie again and I leaned back too far again and fell right on my back. I suggest wearing a helmet, even though I don't "practice what I preach!" -Mark

Pedal untill the bike is balanced. When the front wheel starts to drop, pedal some more. If you start to flip over tap the rear brake and it should bring you down safely.

Doing wheelies: When rolling forward (front end in the air), feather the rear break if your front end is rising too high and you cannot otherwise lower it.

For those who haven't done wheelies, try to use low gears. Once you get going with the low gears, try to move up a gear in the front. Once you find a good gear, you are ready to go. I like to use 2 in the front and 4-6 in the back, depending on how fast I'm going. I find it easier to wheelie sitting down. Lean most of your weight to the back of the bike. Then, give a good hard pedal crank and pull up on the bars. Continue pedaling, varying your pedal speed and weight distribution on the bike. Do not be afraid of falling off of the back, because it is easy to avoid injury if you bail properly. Don't let go of the bars. Take your feet off the pedals and put them on the ground without letting go of the bars. If you are moving at a good speed, prepare to move your legs in a running motion (so you don't wipe out).

I have leaned back too far three times. The first time, I was standing up doing a wheelie, popped up too far, and landed on my head and back (without a helmet; I could sure feel it). The second time I leaned too far back sitting down doing a wheelie, I landed on my feet. The last time, I was sitting down doing a wheelie again and I leaned back too far again and fell right on my back. I suggest wearing a helmet, even though I don't "practice what I preach!" -Mark

A good way to keep it going long is to lower your saddle, get into a catwalk, and then sit down and keep going. Just remember that the most important part is keeping your wheel at a good height. I was thinking about sitting on the seat and didn't see that the wheel was too high. It was too late, I flipped the bike and slammed my back into the cement. Whatever you do, make sure that you don't go too far back!

First, put your bike in a low gear then come to a really slow speed nearly at a stop, then pull up on your handlebars while you are pushing down with your pedal, then just keep pedaling.

Some tips that Hans Rey shares are to extend a knee or foot out to control lateral (side to side) balance. Even riding a wheelie bow legged (by sticking both knees out) makes you more stable. Also, turning the handles bars in the opposite direction helps. It sounds like a lot to think about, but if you practice enough, it'll come to you. I learned these tips from one of his videos a few years back. If you don't know who Hans Rey is, do a Google search on him.

To do a good wheelie you have to first find your gears. I like to use 2 and 1-3, but that's just me. Then I set goals for myself. I would look at cracks in the road and try to wheelie that distance and if I did it 3 times in a row I would go on to the next crack past that. If I couldn't do that, I'd go get some chalk and mark a line I could reach. Then I practiced getting to where I could balance my bike on the back wheel for 80 or 90 feet.

When I do a wheelie, I start off slow and keep it balanced. Then, I start going faster, still balancing my weight over the bike. When you're going fast, the bike will start to go down. If you pull the handlebars toward you and keep it steady, you can go longer and faster without dropping the bike.

This is a trick you can do after you have mastered the wheelie. First, find a pretty good sized hill (when your starting out don't choose too steep of a hill) then do your wheelie. Keep pedaling for awhile then ease off the pedals. Find your balance point. The hill will then take you and you can stay up on your back tire for literally blocks. If you feel yourself falling too far back, lightly tap the back brake. It took me about a week to get this down. But once you do, they are a lot of fun.

Put your front foot in the middle and the back foot on the tail. Slam the tail while sliding the front foot on front. While in the air, tuck your knees to your chest. Level out and roll away.

I find that shifting your weight from front to back, while pedaling strongly but smoothly, is essential to get the wheel up consistently. Once I am up, I keep pedaling until I get the front wheel where I want it, and keep it there by pedaling and using the rear brake very slightly. I usually try to keep my arms pretty straight so that I am leaning back pretty far. Look where you want to go, 10-20 feet in front of you. The main thing that will help is practice.

I have learned to do wheelies without leaving the seat of the bike. When I leave the seat, I have no center of balance. I also move the handlebars side to side to keep the balance maintained. This is a very helpful site!