rear wheel manuals

Practice manuals take years for some to figure out , I still have off days with manuals

Here's two vital tips:

-If you feel the bike falling forward(endo), straighten your knees to counter act that force.
-if you feel the bike falling back(looping out), bend your legs to counter that.

How much you bend/straighten your legs depends on how much force you need to 'cancel' out. Too much or too little can send you overboard. It's all about making the right adjustments at the right times.

The balance point isn't something you find, it's something you create; in real time. Manuals are a constant fight in balancing forces.

yeah, manuals are one of those tricks that can take years to master in some cases. It can be one of the hardest to learn, but it's one of the easiest and most satisfying to do when you finally figure them out.

Just relax like youre sitting in a chair and let your knees, hips, legs & arms go to work accordingly. *right adjustments at the right times* stress that.

Thanks that us some really good pointers. I understand it takes a long time to master but I have a heavy background with riding dirt bikes and can wheelie them all day long and finding the balance point on one of them is sure alot easier than a bmx. When you initially roll into starting a manual how do you position your legs and knees? Am I right about having locked elbows and using forward then backward motion to start? I sort of feel like my setup is interfering with me. I want to try my bar position in different spots and also try a top load stem just to see how it feels for me compared to my normal setup. Thanks alot for the great tips

I too ride dirtbikes and struggle with bmx manuals. It is considerably easier on a dirtbike, but that's obviously because of the motor since you can just gas it when the front end starts to drop and pull it right back up, and tap the brake if you feel like you're gonna loop out and it'll drop instantly. If only bmx was that easy. Lol. It's alot more leg work on a bmx unfortunatly

How good is your feeling for the front of the bike?

Try to get a feel for the weight of the front end.
At first you might feel the front end being heavy before the balance point. Then feel nothing (unweighted) when you loop out, beyond the balance point. Somewhere in-between there you will feel the front when it is light and controllable to you.

Practice
that's how you get consistent

Also you never really "master" manuals, you just suck less the more you practice

bmxsteve99 wrote:

Also you never really "master" manuals, you just suck less the more you practice

bmxsteve99 wrote:

Also you never really "master" manuals, you just suck less the more you practice

Right
Only Yoda can master something
I might not be a bad ass rider like youself, but if I can't manual doesn't mean I suck at riding.

Wayne S wrote:

How good is your feeling for the front of the bike?

Try to get a feel for the weight of the front end.
At first you might ...more

Wayne S wrote:

How good is your feeling for the front of the bike?

Try to get a feel for the weight of the front end.
At first you might feel the front end being heavy before the balance point. Then feel nothing (unweighted) when you loop out, beyond the balance point. Somewhere in-between there you will feel the front when it is light and controllable to you.

I have noticed the lightness with the front end. Like everyone has said it does take practice...1 out of 10 tries I can hold a manual for a few seconds and feel awesome about it. I don't ride as much as I'd like but when I do ride from point a to point b I am always trying to pop the front wheel up and hold it. My bike has old parts on it. I have a fork that is way over built. It has larger tubing than forks use now a days. I have older 48h wheels that I'm guessing are alot heavier than modern wheels. I should of just bought all new parts when I got my 2014 colony frame. But I can't use that as an excuse. I just need practice. I was hoping for some small pointers on changing how I attempt it and how others manual. I have gotten some good feedback and I appreciate it

Did someones say manuals :D

bmxsteve99 wrote:

Also you never really "master" manuals, you just suck less the more you practice

bmxsteve99 wrote:

Also you never really "master" manuals, you just suck less the more you practice

fifth gear wrote:

Right
Only Yoda can master something
I might not be a bad ass rider like youself, but if I can't manual doesn't mean I suck at ...more

fifth gear wrote:

Right
Only Yoda can master something
I might not be a bad ass rider like youself, but if I can't manual doesn't mean I suck at riding.

Da fuq?
I said nothing about your level of riding.

Just try them when cruising and don't "try" them. Also if you have your ass far behind your wheel , it makes manuals more responsive imo.