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 Approach - Wheelie
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 pedalling 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 pedalling 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 manoeuvre
The Mid Point
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
Finishing off - Rear
Wheel Lift
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
Balance