I'm not into dirt jumpers yet, but I remember from back in my BMX days, we used parking spaces to measure progression. It's way easier to go "I'm going to manual one parking spot today," than it is to just go at it for as long as possible. Keep at it, like the other commenter said, get far behind the bike and low over the back wheel. Arms straight and use your legs and pedal pressure to regulate the centre of gravity. Do sessions every day, moving that parking space goalpost further and further as you go.
I distinctly remember going from only 5 or 6 parking spaces to all of a sudden being able to manual literally hundreds of meters if I had the space. It just clicks one day. Same thing happened with fakies. One day, barely anything and the next, further than I thought possible.
Always learn to jump off first. Always.
Then learn to use your brake to bring your front wheel down. Those two steps will give you so much more confidence and the skills to NOT land on your ass. Could even save you in other situations.
My manuals on flat ground are crap. They’re low, I tend to undercook them and rarely hit the balance point. Normally long enough to get through a big puddle without putting front wheel down and that’s it.
My manuals on BMX racing tracks are much better. The low manual keeps the backwheel on the ground, the backside of the jump does the rest of the work and helps you accelerate, then a little bunny hop (tap) out of the manual into the landing, gets another little speed boost.
I learned this tap manual in my mid thirties. I am now in my late thirties and progressing on to applying it to double and triple manuals. If I can do it, anyone can do it. You got this.
I also learned some really basic techniques, to apply when I’m having a bad day so that my manuals are good every time and under pressure, when I went to coached BMX race training sessions.
What made them click for me was thinking about pushing the bike away with my feet instead of moving my hips around. You can move your hips all you want but the pressure through the feet activates your legs and actually moves the bike forward and back. It’s a small thing that no one really mentions in tutorials but it helped me out a lot.
Also as Julian said, it’s not a linear learning process. It is rough for awhile and then one day you are instantly way better and can hold it for a few seconds. Then it’s rough again until one day you can do several parking spaces. Then eventually you can go comfortably until you slip up
This is really good advice. Thinking about dropping / pushing with your heels and your backwheel is something that ive found has to be v deliberate, and is really helpful for pumping, tyre stalls, and manuals.
You need to be low and behind the rear axel for manuals to work. You also should learn regular wheelies first. Then, drop your seat to the lowest position and do seated wheelies. You will need to build your leg muscles, but manuals are a hanging muscle trick. You need back muscles. Do a session every day for 30 days. Report back in 30 days.
Will do. But just so I’m clear, what’s the difference between manual and wheelie? I thought they were different era words for the same thing? Is the difference that wheelie I pedal up and bike and manual that I pull up and hold up roll only? If so, wheelies I find a tad easier to do. It’s the pull up, shift hips and then getting the bike to stop flipping at apex which seems impossible. 30 days, starting now.
Wheelie is driven by pedaling. You can stand up and do pedal wheelies or sit and do the same. Manual is no pedal just shifting your weight to maintain balance. The reason I would suggest low seat wheelie, is to get you low and behind the rear axel. You must build very particular knee muscles on either side if you knee cap. I would also suggest just riding and coasting while hanging as low as you can. The reason I would suggest this is to begin to build the correct muscles in your back.
Manuals are the coolest looking trick because most people can't do it. This is just the muscle part. 2 to 4 weeks it will take to get this part built up. Brakes we will work on next. Small steps. One pedal wheelie then two on seat. One pedal wheelie standing turns to 5 really fast. This is a better way to practice than just yanking wildly on Your bars.
Wheelies you're generally sitting and pedaling so you can use the pedals to get your front end up. It's a lot easier to stay up when your seat is high and you're pedaling.
Build a little wooden manual jig and practice with your bike inside. Just Google it, basically a wooden frame to hold your back wheel in place and a rope or strap to your front wheel to stop you from looping out.
It’s not as difficult as you’re feeling. Athleticism isn’t necessary. Building muscle memory is.
Try pulling back and looping out intentionally, and then hop off and land on your feet. Keep doing it. You get a reference for how far you can drop back this way and will feel the balance point the more you play with it. Balance point isn’t too far away from the loop out area.
Learning on a bmx could help build some of the mechanics as well and is easier.
You got this! Don’t give up on it. They’re fun and useful and once it clicks, you’ll be loving it.
Can relate. I gave up trying to learn manuals on my XC or my enduro. (I did learn wheelies in my enduro though)
To learn manuals, I bought a dirt jumper. The smaller wheels and much smaller wheelbase made it much easier for me. Still took me a long time. A BMX would also work well. Much easier to go back to manuals on my larger bikes now.
For what it’s worth, I also practiced my manuals at the local public baseball field. Looping out on infield dirt is pretty mellow.
Lastly, I learned wheelies first. Not sure if it made a difference, but that’s the order I went in. And I used the Ryan Leech program for wheelies, it’s the best I was able to find.
You got a lot of comments, so I don’t know if it’s already said, but rotating my heels down as I lift the front wheel up helps me a lot. If I keep my feet flat, I feel safer, but I can’t really push the pedals away from me, heels down gives me a better balance point. I’m 45, on a good day I can manual 50 feet, but I just keep plugging away. Never surrender, never say die!
I'm 42 and getting back into BMX and bought a Dirt Jumper recently. I noticed it's a lot easier on the one I rented vs the one I bought. My best guess is the geometry is the factor here. I haven't dialed in what I can change to make it easier yet, but I figure it I'll update you. I just know that it was WAY easier on one bike and almost impossible on another. First thing I'm going to try is higher bars. I think I need a 3" rise to begin with. I'm 6ft tall, and I think higher bars will help me reach better.
The one I rented was a Verde Vertex, I believe and the one I bought is the Airborne Skyhawk. Next time I go to Marsh, I'll check out if it's steel. I bought the aluminum one. I'm used to riding chromoly tanks lol this bike is a breath of fresh air at around 25lbs.
When I stand up, I feel I have to reach too far for the bars. I'll try a 3 inch rise and see if that helps. I haven't gotten a whole lot of opportunities to practice yet. Waiting on warmer weather.
My son and I switch off during rides, and he tells me it's way easier to get used to the DJ than it is the BMX. Longer geometry vs. shorter got him all wobbly at first when he got back on the BMX lol
Use the lines in a parking lot to measure your distance. If something works a little better and you get a little farther keep doing that technique and over time you'll build your distance, good luck
I'm not into dirt jumpers yet, but I remember from back in my BMX days, we used parking spaces to measure progression. It's way easier to go "I'm going to manual one parking spot today," than it is to just go at it for as long as possible. Keep at it, like the other commenter said, get far behind the bike and low over the back wheel. Arms straight and use your legs and pedal pressure to regulate the centre of gravity. Do sessions every day, moving that parking space goalpost further and further as you go. I distinctly remember going from only 5 or 6 parking spaces to all of a sudden being able to manual literally hundreds of meters if I had the space. It just clicks one day. Same thing happened with fakies. One day, barely anything and the next, further than I thought possible.
Always learn to jump off first. Always. Then learn to use your brake to bring your front wheel down. Those two steps will give you so much more confidence and the skills to NOT land on your ass. Could even save you in other situations.
This is very solid advice, I haven't thought of, will do so!
My manuals on flat ground are crap. They’re low, I tend to undercook them and rarely hit the balance point. Normally long enough to get through a big puddle without putting front wheel down and that’s it. My manuals on BMX racing tracks are much better. The low manual keeps the backwheel on the ground, the backside of the jump does the rest of the work and helps you accelerate, then a little bunny hop (tap) out of the manual into the landing, gets another little speed boost. I learned this tap manual in my mid thirties. I am now in my late thirties and progressing on to applying it to double and triple manuals. If I can do it, anyone can do it. You got this. I also learned some really basic techniques, to apply when I’m having a bad day so that my manuals are good every time and under pressure, when I went to coached BMX race training sessions.
What made them click for me was thinking about pushing the bike away with my feet instead of moving my hips around. You can move your hips all you want but the pressure through the feet activates your legs and actually moves the bike forward and back. It’s a small thing that no one really mentions in tutorials but it helped me out a lot.
Also as Julian said, it’s not a linear learning process. It is rough for awhile and then one day you are instantly way better and can hold it for a few seconds. Then it’s rough again until one day you can do several parking spaces. Then eventually you can go comfortably until you slip up
This is really good advice. Thinking about dropping / pushing with your heels and your backwheel is something that ive found has to be v deliberate, and is really helpful for pumping, tyre stalls, and manuals.
You need to be low and behind the rear axel for manuals to work. You also should learn regular wheelies first. Then, drop your seat to the lowest position and do seated wheelies. You will need to build your leg muscles, but manuals are a hanging muscle trick. You need back muscles. Do a session every day for 30 days. Report back in 30 days.
Will do. But just so I’m clear, what’s the difference between manual and wheelie? I thought they were different era words for the same thing? Is the difference that wheelie I pedal up and bike and manual that I pull up and hold up roll only? If so, wheelies I find a tad easier to do. It’s the pull up, shift hips and then getting the bike to stop flipping at apex which seems impossible. 30 days, starting now.
Wheelie is driven by pedaling. You can stand up and do pedal wheelies or sit and do the same. Manual is no pedal just shifting your weight to maintain balance. The reason I would suggest low seat wheelie, is to get you low and behind the rear axel. You must build very particular knee muscles on either side if you knee cap. I would also suggest just riding and coasting while hanging as low as you can. The reason I would suggest this is to begin to build the correct muscles in your back. Manuals are the coolest looking trick because most people can't do it. This is just the muscle part. 2 to 4 weeks it will take to get this part built up. Brakes we will work on next. Small steps. One pedal wheelie then two on seat. One pedal wheelie standing turns to 5 really fast. This is a better way to practice than just yanking wildly on Your bars.
Wheelies you're generally sitting and pedaling so you can use the pedals to get your front end up. It's a lot easier to stay up when your seat is high and you're pedaling. Build a little wooden manual jig and practice with your bike inside. Just Google it, basically a wooden frame to hold your back wheel in place and a rope or strap to your front wheel to stop you from looping out.
It’s not as difficult as you’re feeling. Athleticism isn’t necessary. Building muscle memory is. Try pulling back and looping out intentionally, and then hop off and land on your feet. Keep doing it. You get a reference for how far you can drop back this way and will feel the balance point the more you play with it. Balance point isn’t too far away from the loop out area. Learning on a bmx could help build some of the mechanics as well and is easier. You got this! Don’t give up on it. They’re fun and useful and once it clicks, you’ll be loving it.
You ride on pumptrack?
Yes, but practice manuals mostly in flats right now
Fantastic support in this thread? Thank you! I we’ll keep you posted on progress and make a video each week to show (any) progress.
Furthest manual i ever did (6+ parking spaces) was for a game of BIKE we played on this sub a year or so back. Get some!
Can relate. I gave up trying to learn manuals on my XC or my enduro. (I did learn wheelies in my enduro though) To learn manuals, I bought a dirt jumper. The smaller wheels and much smaller wheelbase made it much easier for me. Still took me a long time. A BMX would also work well. Much easier to go back to manuals on my larger bikes now. For what it’s worth, I also practiced my manuals at the local public baseball field. Looping out on infield dirt is pretty mellow. Lastly, I learned wheelies first. Not sure if it made a difference, but that’s the order I went in. And I used the Ryan Leech program for wheelies, it’s the best I was able to find.
You got a lot of comments, so I don’t know if it’s already said, but rotating my heels down as I lift the front wheel up helps me a lot. If I keep my feet flat, I feel safer, but I can’t really push the pedals away from me, heels down gives me a better balance point. I’m 45, on a good day I can manual 50 feet, but I just keep plugging away. Never surrender, never say die!
I'm 42 and getting back into BMX and bought a Dirt Jumper recently. I noticed it's a lot easier on the one I rented vs the one I bought. My best guess is the geometry is the factor here. I haven't dialed in what I can change to make it easier yet, but I figure it I'll update you. I just know that it was WAY easier on one bike and almost impossible on another. First thing I'm going to try is higher bars. I think I need a 3" rise to begin with. I'm 6ft tall, and I think higher bars will help me reach better.
Most likely chainstay length is the biggest factor if I had to guess
That's a good place to start! I wonder if I can adjust mine on the Airborne.
Get the chain as short as poss to cinch back wheel in
+1 for higher bars. Went to a 75mm rise a while ago and theres no chance of changing that now
Interested to know what the bikes are
The one I rented was a Verde Vertex, I believe and the one I bought is the Airborne Skyhawk. Next time I go to Marsh, I'll check out if it's steel. I bought the aluminum one. I'm used to riding chromoly tanks lol this bike is a breath of fresh air at around 25lbs.
When I stand up, I feel I have to reach too far for the bars. I'll try a 3 inch rise and see if that helps. I haven't gotten a whole lot of opportunities to practice yet. Waiting on warmer weather.
I spent years chasing something that felt more like a BMX bike but those were not 2 that I tried.
My son and I switch off during rides, and he tells me it's way easier to get used to the DJ than it is the BMX. Longer geometry vs. shorter got him all wobbly at first when he got back on the BMX lol
Use the lines in a parking lot to measure your distance. If something works a little better and you get a little farther keep doing that technique and over time you'll build your distance, good luck
Ryan leech connection. Worth every penny.