How I FINALLY learned to wheelie a mountain bike! | Skills with Phil Wheelie tutorial
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- Finally I can say, I know how to wheelie on a mountain bike! I had many problems learning how to wheelie a mountain bike. Mountain bike wheelies are hard, and I still can't wheelie mountain bike super well, but in this Mountain bike wheelie tutorial we'll look at a few things that helped me learn wheelies on a bike, and a few tricks that helped me learn mountain bike wheelies
In addition to everything you said: I found not looking at the front wheel massively improved things - in fact looking high enough such that it's completely out of the field of vision. It seems to improve the perception of feeling where the balance point is, whereas actually seeing the wheel is a distraction. Works for me at least.
Im proggressing atm and im at the Point where it's hard for me to get the hight of my front wheel right (braking and pedaling) and every time i dont Look at my wheel it gets soo much easier but I have looking at it in my muscle memory
Yes exactly- Looking at the horizont just keeps my body in automode, like it knows the best how to nahdle this and my mind is just an unwelcomed distraction. Also big improvement was incorporating my upperbody in cooperation with my knees to counterbalance. It works for me like countersteering while jumping a hip jump. You put your front wheel into like table position while your body moves the other way, the way you want to turn your bike. In 3 months I came from 1-3 secs wheelie to 10-20 secs wheelie.
You're like a philosopher of bicycles. Thinking out loud, trying to formulate the right questions and then contemplating the anwers
to gradually reach enlightment through optimal riding mastery. Must be a sound m.o. to achieve greatness at anything:)
Keep up the good work, mate.
Its so encouraging to see that even a Pro has to work for a long time on a new skill.
typedeaf is this guy a pro? Who sponsors him?
Brian Rand Fox and GT
You got to be kidding. Pro? What?
@@chadrides914 yeah watch his downhill skills
_LorenzHD just watched him crushing A line amongst other stuff at Whistler. Omg. What a shredder!!
These are great tips. I have trouble just getting my front wheel in the air. I can't manual OR wheelie to save my life, right now. One day I will get out and practice, but for now I'm content with gathering as much information about it as I can. Your tips will be noted. Have a great day. Stay upright and keep the rubber side down.
I watch this for the mustache and the mustache only.
So true
Best tip I have for learning how to use the right amount of brake is to pull the brake a little
then pick a low gear and power thru your brake into a wheelie so you don't drop the front end grabbing too much brake.
Really easy way to figure out how much brake you need to be using.
Dude... you're the coolest! Your positive attitude is contagious and I learned a lot from watching your video! Thanks for posting! I'm going to go practice my wheelies now.
What seriously, you pulled of that crazy backflip on the Tokul3 trail ride and you couldn't hold a wheelie. I feel so much better, I've never been able to hold a wheelie...I'm not trying to diss you, I think your skills are really cool, and impressive. I'm just impressed that so many of us who wouldn't attempt much of what you do have tried, and failed wheelies. I like the manual videos as well. Thanks, keep up the great videos.
Hey Phil, i've been drilling wheelies all summer almost every day for like an hour. I can finally wheelie several city blocks at a time. Man it takes practice! Interesting that you like wheelie in low seat position, I do them with a high seat position.
In the high position you get over the C.G. over the rear wheel at a less steep angle. With the high seat you have to get the front wheel up lower to hit the balance point. But, I think your point that side to side balance is easier with the lower seat seems spot on.
Your right on that higher gears are key. In the higher gear your bike is also moving faster which makes balance easier. I've been working on my wheelies in really high gear, it takes much more control with the brake because if you over brake your less able to get the front back up.
Great video man! Love wheelies!
Tip regarding using the brakes- i found it much easier to constantly feather the brakes ever so slightly, throughout the wheelie. This way, when you need to hit the brakes to avoid falling back, you just increase the pressure instead of "hitting the brake" full stop. your fingers dont have to "hunt" for that contact point, since the pads are already somewhat engaging the rotor. I found it improves my control significantly (especially with powerful brakes) and prevents me from sending the front wheel down every time i use the brake. I've had a couple of friends who felt the same and their wheelie improved significantly this way.
I’m trying this, top man !
That is a good point but I have Hydraulic brakes and could flood the fluid suply so I had to learn where the 'bite point' of my brakes are. Eventually i became so used to it that i can now wheelie for literal miles because of the amount of practice i put in.
i totally agree with you when you say its easier and way better to wheelie while the seat is low ...... and as always love you❤❤
All your vids are so helpful. Best tutorials on the internet in my opinion
I've been trying to wheelie for a long time now and haven't made much progress, but after trying with my seat down, I've made a lot more progress in the last day or two then I have in the last 6 months. Good tip Phil!
It makes me feel so much better that it's taking me forever to learn wheelies when the literal god that is Skills With Phil also has trouble with them
Love this, I'm struggling with wheelie and manual too, but I'm not even near to your start level
Your pretty good Phil. I remember back in the 70's "popping a wheelie" was what all the kids tried to do. I don't recall ever hearing about a "manual" back then. Only a few kids could actually ride a wheelie for more than 10-20 yards. No-one I ever knew could ride a wheelie that long. I guess this is the progression of the sport.
Gotta say man, your tutorials are definitely a step above anyone else.
Oh you are actually human? This is nice to see that someone as really good as you sharing your troubles, makes me motivated when things aren't going as good as i hope. Very encouraging, thanks for this video 🙏
My best tip is using your brake most of the time I can consistently get over 1.6 km or a about a mile. The best way to practice is to drag your brake when going uphill and use to pedals to push through the brake to keep the wheel up. It make finding the right lever pressure super easy
This makes me feel much better about my wheelies. I'm getting better at them again, but the most difficult part is staying relaxed and concentrating on my hips and pedals.
Reminding yourself to stay relaxed is along the lines of telling yourself to act natural haha. :P
Skills With Phil Pretty much! 😂 I'm going to keep practicing. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get comfortable with the balance point. I've found standing wheelies to be helpful in getting used to hanging out back, especially for manuals. And the slight downhill you mentioned is good for wheelies in the saddle, since the acceleration gets you used to not going crazy with the pedals and going too fast to keep the front up.
@@artmadaofficialyoutube update?
On a mission to wheelie / manual and watch everything I can on it (not feeling like I'm the only one who can't do it anymore, thanks internets). Had a huge breakthrough today where I held it for just over 5 seconds a few times. I've been following the advice of locking out the rear shock, lowering the seat partially, and going in around 2 gears up from the lowest. Everything there was pretty comfortable, but raising the seat up actually helped me find my balance point. This seems counter-intuitive from everything I've come across, but it goes to show that you have to play around to find what works best for you. You advice on the gearing and brakes yielded immediate results. Thanks for all of your informative videos, Phil!
tl;dr maybe raise your seat to help you find your balance point & Phil is the man
Thanks for the valuable insight. You are able to voice the same inner dialogue I am having when trying to improve my wheelies. Going to try them with a low seat. Waiting for my flats to come in as the combination of clip-less pedals and a decent resulted in a concussion and cracked ribs.
This will help me. I'm learning to wheelie at the minute. I unicycle everywhere but never been able to wheelie a bike. Good work man.
Loving your vids Phil, good balance of tech, riding skills and humor. Please don't change a thing.
Hi Phil....and others here. I just started watching your videos Phil and i wanted to give you some feedback. I really enjoy your tutorials and i have been riding for over 45 years....still go seriously offroad and love tricks involving technical riding. Although i am experienced and an above average rider...i find i can still learn and find your teaching style, attitude and video production very relaxing to watch and an ideal way to get good advice. YES i have subscribed and i rarely subscribe!!!!
Please keep up the great work mate.
One thing I noticed in my own attempts is that when I initially started trying to use the break for balance I would also stop pedaling. In order to not overcompensate it helps me to always keep the pedals moving even when I feathered the breaks.
really good comments and suggestions on how to do the wheelie Phil. Thank you!
Hitting corner wheelies is so satisfying! Good stuff Phil :)
Best wheelie video ever tho brah. Im riding wheelies now thanks to you. U pointed it out ( let the wheel feel like its falling but not) perfect advice
For someone who considers themselves not very good, mate your bloody awesome!!!!
One thing that made a big difference for me is to keep pedalling when you dab the rear brake (rather than freewheel). That way you can catch the front before it drops if you're a bit heavy on the brake.
this is what i figured out after 35 odd years of trying i got it thanks phil
Going uphill with an easy gear worked for me because it gave me confidence to not use the brake. After getting used to keeping the wheel up, that’s when I start going on flat ground to play with feathering the brakes.
bro u can manuel like a boss(and it's way harder then wheelie), wheelie is so 80's (i wheelied in road bike race for all most 1km back then), the only use for wheelies is in the parking lot showing off, i must say i progress my manuels thanks to ur instructions thanks phil
I'm not afraid of looking like a dum-dum. I've landed on my tailbone once as a kid and my back once as a young adult. Tailbone = laying in the street for a few minutes before crawling out of the road on my hands and knees. Back = back pain for 3 months. Also, you are a very good teacher Phil.
I just spent one day doing only wheelies and I've gotten pretty decent by my standards like holding it 4 seconds
thats just when the real work starts. It took my 3 months to go from 1-3 secs wheelie to 10-20 secs wheelie.
I've found if I'm between my fifth and sixth cog, I have the most control over my wheelie. And I've also found that I will almost always drag a little brake. Also, learning how to coaster wheelie has made a huge difference, because anytime I feel like I'm moving too quickly, I will coaster wheelie, and slow myself back down. All of these have really enabled me to wheelie almost three blocks, which I never thought I'd be able to do. Practice practice practice!!!
Thanks Phil, very helpful info! I've been trying to dial in my wheelies and manuals and I find your videos extremely insightful! Keep the great videos coming my brother! 👍🏼
Brake lever cam FTW! Cool shot!
After watching you fly down a twisty downhill track like a pro, and backflip like a boss....this video is quite amusing.
Love this guy man thanks for the pointers .u care about ur viewers and know your craft
1:21 look at the right hand side of the road-theres a caterpillar😏👍
Good Eye 🐛
yummy grubby eat
Ok
I noticed it and scrolled down to see if any one else did
How did you see that?
Phil, you seem like a nice, likeable guy. I enjoy your content.
I assume all you youtube bike studs are wheelie masters. It's encouraging for me, because I have a decent base for wheeling, I won't be satisfied until I can maintain it as long as I want. At the moment I'm very inconsistent. Sometimes it's up, a few pedal strokes, and back down. Sometimes I hold it pretty well, but never as long as I want. I won't be satisfied until I can consistently hold it up as long as I want. From watching this video, it's clear that I just need to put in the time, and practice and practice.
I'm much further along with the wheelies than I am with the bunny hop. So far I'm a complete fail with the magical bunny hop.
I'm pretty much as good at doing wheelies as you are. I learned wheelies last winter when the trails were full of snow and I had nothing else to do than just play around on my bike. I didn't do any ''consistent practising'' I just tried to do wheelies all the time riding around on my bike on different places. And slowly I got used to doing the right stuff to keep the wheel up. So I think there isn't any shortcut to learning wheelies or manual or any other trick. its just practise makes perfect!
Keep up the vids!!! Lots of fun to watch. Thanks for checking your words and not swearing.
I do my best, I know there are a lot of parents watching with their kids :)
Found a couple new tips I can try, thanks Phil! Appreciate your videos
Thank you for showing your finger on the brake. It is very helpful. Great video!
Good stuff! Skills don't usually come natural... got to practice!
Very helpful. The cues are great and I like your analysis and approach (that you encourage experimentation). And I appreciate how you set realistic expectations.
Great job filming,thank you for sharing,I'm 55 and want to learn to do this !
Thanks for the video. I thought it was your manuals you had trouble with a year ago. Which confused me because you have those on lock. It's awesome to see someone so skilled learning something so basic in comparison to their other abilities.
Well I used to have difficulty manualling as well! I'm trying to check off the boxes of things I can't do well and change that! Skinnies are pretty high on the list!
I just bought a bike a month ago, I couldn’t wheelie very long just just two day ago, but today I was able hold them a lot longer now awesome feeling, I had the same problems with the braking my brakes a very touchy and feathering was a bit of a learning curve, but I needed to lift the wheel a tad higher to feel where the limit was
Phil, This is awesome! I have watched a couple GMBN videos on wheelies and Hans Rey mentioned that he prefers to wheelie with his seat down. Better center of gravity. I am not a good wheelie guy myself, so I have no pointers, but I do like it better on with my seat down. Keep up the awesome content, it keeps me pumped to be out shredding!
"Now were going to present day" "this is a clip from last week"😂
Great vid Phil... my two cents worth ( duh and I still can't wheelie that well so take from it what you will) play with seat height it's interesting to do say a relatively high height then come back to a lower height ( I agree with Phil - lower equals easier) but the biggest game changer for me was getting a great spinning gear ( I am currently playing with - smallest cog up front - out of 3 - and 2nd biggest at rear) holy smoke completely changed the game. Start as slow as possible and just pop up, go for balance point or just below a couple of pedal strokes and it just feels like finally on my way to another level of improvement. Oh and another thing really concentrate on leaning back with your upper body and arms straight as possible - whoa game changer!
Thanks Phil, the explanation on power and gears was really helpful!
I've really enjoyed these more casual vlog style videos. Confirming that you (Phil) are in fact human, and actually do struggle with some skills (and needs practice, like the rest of us) makes you more credible and endearing. Liked.
So humbling to watch you struggle and how much you've practiced to get where you're at with your mono's (Australian slang for wheelie)
I look up to you as a rider and it's nice to know that even you struggle and need to practice.
Shrimp on the Barbie mate kangaroo bloody hell
Learning to hold a wheelie was one of my mountain biking goals this year. I'm not so sure that's a realistic goal for me now that I see a pro downhill racer struggled with it.
This actually helped me hold it for 5 mins, thanks phill
I recently finished the 30 day wheelie challenge. I still have a way to go, but that was a huge help to get the basics. I have no idea how long it will take before I feel like I can wheelie forever, gonna have to keep on tryin!
I met you at santos in the free ride pit and I was the kid who did the no handed wheelie. The advice I can give is for you to angle the front of your seat down so the seat is more level in a wheelie. And obviously practice.
Hey dude!! That's solid advice for people who want to dedicate a bike to just wheelies. However, wheelies are just something that I'll be doing in between the fun sections and I'd rather have my seat set up for when I need it most on the climbs.
You want to see someone that really sucks at wheelies? Me
Hey Phil I don't know if you will get this and I don't know if you already tried this or am doing this but it helped me to put my seat in the middle not all the way down but not all the way up it allowed me to get in a higher gear and maintain control with my pedal power and balance left and right still is there I hope this helps you. Thanks for making videos keep it up what your doing is awesome.
I also believe that wheelieing with my seat relatively low is easier for me because sometimes I try to wheelie with my seat high and I just topple over and I can't balance but if I have my seat lower then I feel like I can balance side to side more and put more power down.
Phill try to hold your finger at the point that your brake pads almost touch your brake disc or the point where you almost feel you are goig to feel a litle brake, that helpt a lot for me. I can hold wheelies for more then 10 kilometers now (6.2 Miles). I am sory for my bad English, it is my second language. I am from Holland and I am 15 years old I hope you learn to do good wheelies. And keep up the good work your videos are amazing.
Best wishes from Kevin
Pro tip, try to be relaxed and dont make too many sudden movements. Also, its way easier with the saddle a bit lower.
Hailey Sarausky Yeah i know
Mighty Id definitely disagree... i have it at my normal height for pedaling and i find it works a lot better
Der Führer no because you re able to keep your knees way further out to balance because your legs are closer to your body so its actually easier
@@hendrkweiss nah, I find wheelies with a high saddle much, much easier and relaxed than one with a low saddle, bcause it's easy to balance the front wheel like this.
And yeah I know how to wheelie (2km consistent wheelie) and I also can ride curves. (that's a bit easier with a low saddle but not much)
I'm not even the best MTB guy but I'm blessed I can wheelie as long as I have breath to!
have equilibrium issues, so balance is my hardest obstacle to overcome.
Wow you've gotten a lot better! That being said, I'm still way better :P
You won't be truly *good* at wheelies until you can wheelie with the seat up because at that point you will truly be able to balance your bike properly. Also I lean my bike to corner rather than using my knees... but again, you are getting a ton better!
This was wheelie good!
I'll see myself out...
Very insightful Phil, I wheelie on my wreckoning better than my following. The Shimano brakes on the wreck I find to be less grabby than the sram's on the following therefore easier feathering and better wheelies. Also think the stiffer boost spacing on the wreck plays a part also
I personally don't think I'd personally be able to notice the difference in rear axles during a wheelie but I've never been able to try a comparable boost and non boost bike back to back.
Good vid Phil! I tend to drag the rear brake to the point where I slow down and require pedal input to keep the front end up. I like this struggle because it is like the clutch & throttle balance of a manual car. I have fallen into seat up position lately and that may affect the side to side balance like you said. The wheelie-bend clip was impressive!
Alot of vids out of guys on SE ridged(24,26,29) sit down wheelies, that blows my mind. Now add rear suspension. Idk how to fathom this. I ride 24 ridged single. Looking forward to getting a (27/29)hardtail and seeing what happens. Idk how it looks so effortless for you. Would like you to post same topic vid on a hardtail and add your Pros/ cons.
Awesome progress, for turns I find it easier to lean the bike and sit on the opposite side of your turning so you're pushing it down
Not that I'm an expert by any means (about as good as you by the looks) but one thing I see in your wheelies which may be helpful - I notice your shoulders are a little 'shrugged forward/tense'. If you fully relax your shoulder blades (not great for general riding but just for wheelies) allowing your back to be further back away from the handlebars then the balance point of the bike is less vertical, i.e. the angle between torso and bike is bigger than when your shoulders are shrugged. I'm not sure why but I think this feels more stable. My theory of why is that it gives more leeway for the bike to come higher before you loop out. Because it is easier to smoothly correct the bike front falling down via increased pedal power than to smoothly correct falling back via smooth braking the extra leeway makes it easier. Another way of saying what you already said about relaxing. For sure fully relaxed upper body for forward back correction and hips for side to side really helps me. Incidentally an exaggeration of not doing what I say is the common beginner wheelie problem of riders bending their arms pulling the bike and body closer and closer together until they are very unstable and come crashing down.
Great to see the update! Think you would be able to ride a trail with the camera showing how/when you apply brake like @6:16? I've always been really curious to see where YOU apply the brake because you seem to slow down just enough to maintain traction on turns... I'm obviously very jealous haha
Feathering brakes: I had a really tough time with organic pads since they're really 'grabby', I switched to sintered and I found it easier to learn how to feather. Just my experience
I learned how to wheelie with a dirt bike without a saddle. I know it's weird, but now i can wheelie with a normal bike a lot better than i did before
Cool have been trying to learn them before you started..!!
It seems I haven't tried as hard as you did, will try to get them before year end.
I can do a short wheelie that gets the front wheel in the air long enough to get off stuff at a slow speed but not much else. I do this with the seat low and standing up.
5:40 - the most important advice of all!
And yes, it makes a perfect sense;-)
This is the first wheelie video that has finally pointed me in the right direction to improve my wheelies!
when the seat is lower your closer to the bike and can correct anything faster than when the seat is higher. higher seat just makes it easy to get up and hold for a short distance
Looking good man! Awesome advice too. Practice practice practice
Extremely helpful. Thanks!
You got the skills Phil.
That makes total sense Phil. Thanks for this, I have been struggling with that.
Blah,blah,blah.....got it! I'm 46 still trying but great vid Phil and the part with you feathering the lever was helpful as I seem to just grab a gobfull !
love this channel :D So nice to just relax to 'skills with phil' 💪
I'd just like to say you are doing wheelie good!
Bo that stash is incredible 👏
Phill, your videos are so rad and I love the transparency! Thanks for talking through things and keeping it real! Are you going to watch Rampage this year?
I like wheelie-ing in 1-5 with the seat lower.. I like going slightly uphill
It's all in the back brake control 👍
In the UK if you ride your bike to school or whatever, you basically are forced to learn by everyone around you doing wheelies, then you feel left out. I think it ended up taking me about 2 months to 'master' the wheelie after that. How long did it take other people to master?
VipeR. i could wheelie like 50m after a month but with shitty balancing. i got very good wheelies after like 2-3 months
It's quite amusing when they don't use the rear brake though, and just keep looping out constantly
2 weeks
VipeR. Same 2 months also to learn to hand scrape
VipeR. Same I live in London where everyone does wheelies (me included) it took me like a week
Dude, your glove tan lines are crazy widdit
Phil. I need to tell that if you can wheelie longer.. WHEELIE LONGER IT HELPED ME
Thanks for this video I will try your tips to learn a wheelie
Good luck my friend!
i want to learn to wheelie on my grom 125cc motorcycle. its similiar though with a motorcycle you just want just enough power to get up and keep it there and then back brakes are key also. a lot is just practice too.
Wheelie interesting video Phil (pun intended), thanks for the information!