Once the object
gets that little bit bigger a whole new technique is need and
this is were all those nights showing of in front of the girls
doing Wheelie's starts to pay of. The basic technique for getting
over larger objects is do a small Wheelie on approach to the
object and a rear wheel lift as you go over.
The best way to practice this is to lay a stick over the
trail, then you can practice your timing without having
to worry about smashing into the object.
In a nice even gear (not too high, not too low) start pedaling
in straight line, when beginning its a good idea to yet the
front ring into granny gear and the rear into the second
or third gear.
Lean forward placing your weight over the bars, and get your
leading foot (the foot that leads when your ride with your
pedals level) into the upright position.
Slide you butt back slightly of the back of the saddle, a
couple of inch's should do.
Push down with your leading for, pull up on the handle bars
but pull the handle bars towards your chest so that your
body is the same position, before and after getting the front
wheel of the floor, this will help you keep your balance
Once you have the wheel of the floor you need to find you
balancing point, keeping pedaling though, as this is what
is keeping the front wheel up
If the front comes up to far, feather the rear brake
If the Front starts to fall pedal harder and move that weight
further backwards.
If you have a problem keeping your side wards balance then
as you lift the bars, turn them slightly to one side. Keep
your balance by shifting your knees in and out and side to
side.
The main objective of the Wheelie is to get you front wheel
onto the object so practice getting the front wheel up but
also aiming for a object, taking your front wheel over the
object will only make things harder for yourself as you will
have less time to prepare the rest of the maneuver.
Now you have got the front wheel onto/over the object the
pedals have to come over, if you are going over a log or
rock try and get those pedals level as this will improve
your ground clearance. When you see the object you want to
go over remember that chain ring, logs won't hurt it, rocks
will kill it
This is the opposite to a Wheelie and is used to get the
rear wheel up and over a object, it's no good getting over
a object for the rear wheel to slam into it and drag you
off the bike.
The best way to practice this, as with Wheelie is to lay
a stick over the trail, then you can practice your timing
without having to worry about smashing into the object.
As soon as your front wheel has cleared the object move
your weight to the front of the bike in order to un-weight
the rear wheel, making sure that you are slightly off the
saddle.
As the rear wheel approaches the object move your body away
from the saddle and lift the pedals, clipless or strapped
pedal users will be able to get away with a straight leg
lift, flay pedal users need to point their toes downwards
at the ground and push against the pedal while moving their
weight forward
Now hopefully you have cleared the object without any problems,
but remember Wheelie's and rear wheel lifts take practice
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