manuals

Have you figured out the point where you loop out? Your manual point is going to likely be right before that point. A reference point to try out is putting your weight over your rear hub. Keep your arms straight and practice fine tuning your balance point by either bending or straightening your knees out. The adjustments are pretty subtle. The more you practice, the less you'll have to think about it and your body will basically do it on it's own. That is the key to controlling your front end from going down or up. This is a trick that just takes a ton of practice and time put in. Results are not immediate and you will gradually get better with time and practice. As most people suggest, find a flat parking lot and practice setting goals by at first manualling one parking space, and then two, etc. Good luck and keep at it!!

Edit: In case I didn't clarify enough, straightening your legs out will bring your front end up (since your weight is being shifted back), and bending your legs/knees will drop the front end down. Again, after much practice, you'll just do this without thinking. You can also use your hips to shift your weight back and forth. Same goes for side to side in case you start drifting one way or the other.

You have to find your balance point. Practice really helps aswell.

It`s more about your hips and legs than your arms. Just imagine you try to push your bike away with your legs while pulling the handlebar to your body. That`s the basic movement. In reality your arms are not moving at all. It really helped me riding on pumptracks to find the balance point. Many street riders who are really comfortable with their manuals have a race background, like Chad Kerley. In this video you can see how this bmx racer is just using his legs and hips to controll the manual.

For me, atleast what helps for long distance is going at a comfortably fast speed, pulling a decent amount and leaning back as far as possible before looping out point, then I stare at what I'm trying to manual towards, whatever you do, do not look down it will make your front end drop, look straight ahead, try through your bars or just straight ahead. Hope this helps! good luck! in no time you'll be manualing down courts!!

hardtailer wrote:

It`s more about your hips and legs than your arms. Just imagine you try to push your bike away with your legs while pulling ...more

hardtailer wrote:

It`s more about your hips and legs than your arms. Just imagine you try to push your bike away with your legs while pulling the handlebar to your body. That`s the basic movement. In reality your arms are not moving at all. It really helped me riding on pumptracks to find the balance point. Many street riders who are really comfortable with their manuals have a race background, like Chad Kerley. In this video you can see how this bmx racer is just using his legs and hips to controll the manual.

...more

i can manual through the pump track so ima try the same technique. right on

Seems like all the best riders come from a race background, so I'm going to hit the bmx track soon as the weather decides to clear up.

Manualling in a whoop section is far easier than on flat ground because the up and down sections "assist" you. I raced throughout my teen years and assure you that flat manuals are far more challenging. Never the less, it's a great place to learn the feel for manuals.

It really helped me when I put my hands as far out as possible on the bars. It basically made the pressure even which helped keep balance I guess

You've got to pull up harder / lean back more! If you're not looping out and jumping off here and there then you'll never find that balance point.

Something that helped me was back pegs. also work on finding your balance point.