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Have a heavy, very stable all mountain bike and am having a hard time learning to ride wheelies, bunny hops, etc… Should I get a BMX bike and learn the tricks on it first?
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I would stick to what you are going to use regularly. If your intention is to only use the BMX bike for training, then just skip it and practice. Develop your skills using what you ride the most.
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"Gdb49" wrote
Have a heavy, very stable all mountain bike and am having a hard time learning to ride wheelies, bunny hops, etc… Should I get a BMX bike and learn the tricks on it first?
Just stick to the bike you are shredding now. BTW, it is manuals you need to practice and learn, not wheelies. Wheelies are just for show and have no value on any trail. Now, manualing your bike is an essential skill to learn and master for trail or urban riding. Wheelies are pedaling with the wheel up, but maualing is the wheel up without pedaling. Watch some YouTube videos if you do not perceive what I am speaking of.
Key essentials or skills you need to learn for trail or urban is…..track stands, manualing, bunny hops, hip turns, braking without braking, using the correct braking techniques between the front brake and rear, and loading and unloading your suspension (if you are shredding on full suspension). There are others, but those are the key essentials needed (listed above) to master trail or urban shredding.
Just keep working on them and it does help to get around (ride with) more experienced riders to hone in and develop these essential skills needed.
Good luck and happy trails to ya. 😄
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Thanks, helpful advice. What’s a Hip Turn? Looked it up without any luck. Don’t Ineed to learn the wheelie before the manual?
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"Gdb49" wrote
What’s a Hip Turn?
Pointing your pelvis through the turn in the direction you want to go and letting the bike follow. This is especially useful in fast, tight, twisty trails.
"Gdb49" wroteDon’t Ineed to learn the wheelie before the manual?
No. You don’t pedal into a manual. You lean back, pull up and extend your feet out and balance over the rear.
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Everyone’s technique advice is spot on, but I’m not sure I agree about the bike. IMHO, learning on BMX would be a great way to improve your all-around bike handling skill, particurly if you have access to a pump track or something equivalent to practice on. It’s no coincidence that a lot of top riders started out racing BMX as kids.
Obviously you’ll want to practice all this on your MTB as well, but if you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket I’d do it.
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"Tr0gd0r" wrote
Everyone’s technique advice is spot on, but I’m not sure I agree about the bike. IMHO, learning on BMX would be a great way to improve your all-around bike handling skill, particurly if you have access to a pump track or something equivalent to practice on. It’s no coincidence that a lot of top riders started out racing BMX as kids.
Obviously you’ll want to practice all this on your MTB as well, but if you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket I’d do it.
That’s what I was thinking, all the great riders seem to start om BMX. Just seems like fun, as long as it doesn’t set me back- like cheating.
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"Gdb49" wrote
Thanks, helpful advice. What’s a Hip Turn? Looked it up without any luck. Don’t Ineed to learn the wheelie before the manual?
Go to this link posted below and watch how they do the hip flexion or hip turn. Though ‘jtorlando25’ is right, he is a slight bit off on this essential maneuver. The hip faces the outside of the turn (away from the direction of the turn) as your knees (legs) face into the turn or other words twisting your body into the turn to bring your bike around more proficient (fluent) for railing berms or drifting, off-cambers, sharp turns, and switchbacks being fast or slow speeds.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/How-to-Hip … -2012.html
Again, good luck and yes manuals are key essentials for riding any where, being trails or the concrete jungle. Look up wheelies and also manualing skills on YouTube and you will see what I mean. Wheelies are for show and only show, manualing is a need to know skill to master MTB’ing, FR’ing, DH’ing, or any other riding discipline.
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Great video, thank you. I thought you would need to learn to wheelie as a step to manual?
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"Gdb49" wrote
Great video, thank you. I thought you would need to learn to wheelie as a step to manual?
No, but I guess you could if it makes it easier. Nothing wrong with that. To me, and I most likely speak for others here as well, it is much easier to learn manualing than wheelies. I was doing manualing way before I was doing any wheelies. Manualing is easy by far and as mentioned before, a key essential to riding trails and urban scenes. The only difference between wheelies and manualing is that you are pedaling while doing wheelies and not with maualing. The other difference is the balance point. Wheelies you can do sitting down in the saddle and are using your pedaling and rear wheel braking for balance whereas manualing you are out of the saddle and rearward using your body to balance the bike on wheel pretty much. Check out some videos my friend on YouTube or on MTB sites like PinkBike and such to see how easy it is and essential it is. Trackstands are very essential as well… 😉
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"Adonai-Yeshua" wrote
nice!
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